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OC, CA - Shark Fin Antenna / XLNT TINT

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Accessories & Modifications' started by jhall, Oct 26, 2007.

  1. jhall

    jhall New Member

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    Location:
    Orange County, CA
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    2008 Prius
    Hello,

    First time poster here. First of all, I would like to thank everyone one this board. This is an awesome community and I have learned so much here. I just picked up my 2008 Touring #6 Magnetic Gray on Saturday and I am having so much fun with the car.

    I am curious if anyone who has the Shark Fin in OC has had reception issues. I would imaging the bigger stations come in fine. I listen to 89.9 (KCRW) sometimes which isn't the strongest signal as well as a few others that aren't so strong and they come in decently with the stock antenna.

    Also, I am probably going to get the windows tinted soon. My leading candidate right now is XLNT TINT (xlnttint.com) in Anaheim with the ceramic tint. Has anyone used them? Any opinions on them?

    Thanks!
     
    #1 jhall, Oct 26, 2007
  2. firepa63

    firepa63 Former Prius Owner

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    You will have some degradation of signal with the shark fin antenna. Unless there is a real important reason to change the antenna, I recommend staying with the OEM antenna.
     
    #2 firepa63, Oct 26, 2007
  3. jhall

    jhall New Member

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    Thanks for your reply. Yes, I have read it degrades the signal, I am just curious to know how much as I like the look of the Shark Fin alot better.
     
    #3 jhall, Oct 26, 2007
  4. bustedryde

    bustedryde Junior Member

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    hi jhall, i live in oc as well and was willing to travel to culver city at tint connection based on the reviews here (the shop has experience with the soft pillars) or signal hill, also based on a couple of rec's here, but anaheim would definitely be better. do you know if they have experience with the prius?

    ps..i also ordered the shark fin, i have two more weeks until i receive it, but i'm pretty sure we'll be fine since the signals are strong around here
     
    #4 bustedryde, Oct 26, 2007
  5. jhall

    jhall New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bustedryde @ Oct 26 2007, 12:52 PM) [snapback]530837[/snapback]</div>
    I do have family up in LA and was thinking about Tint Connection as well. XLNT TINT claims they have Prius experience, and they seem reputable from what I have found on other forums. They are a bit on the pricey side though. I am still thinking about it.
     
    #5 jhall, Oct 26, 2007
  6. Scafremon

    Scafremon Junior Member

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    I can concur that XLNT Tint has Prius experience - they did mine last Saturday! ;)

    I'm sure they have done more then just mine, as they said they had experience with them prior to my visit. The owner actually owns a Prius, but not sure if the Anaheim location tinted his windows (they have locations in Las Vegas and DC also).

    I'm not sure what ceramic tint is. It appeared to me that they have (2) basic types of tint: A metallic tint that is less expensive ($195 as I recall for a Prius) but could interfere with Blutooth or GPS signals. The other was a 'carbon' tint, which is what I got, $245.

    I did not shop around for tint places. Two friends of mine have had about 6 cars tinted there over the years, and recommended them to me. I really like the look of their facility - very clean. Kris Cruz was the young man that helped me, and was very nice.

    They have 4 basics shades in each style. I went with the middle 2 shades - lighter of the two on front windows, and the darker on the rest. I believe these were 35% and 18%. It's only been a week for me, so the fact that my tint still looks good probably doesn't mean much. But I'm very happy so far.
     
    #6 Scafremon, Oct 27, 2007
  7. jhall

    jhall New Member

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    Nice. Thank you very much for the info. Yeah sorry, I meant "Carbon" not "Ceramic". That is about the same quote I got over email. I asked and they said the manufacturer of the Carbon film is Sun-Tek/Commonwealth which seems pretty good from some posts I read over at www.tintdude.com (a forum for pro tinters I found while googling about auto tint). Anyway, I'll probably go for it this week.

    I am assuming that price included the smaller side windows in the front and rear? They also said there is about an $85 adder for the windshield. I am still thinking about that one. I want to protect the dash area from fading (too lazy to put a sun shield up), but I don't want to worry about the possibility of a fix-it ticket.
    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Scafremon @ Oct 27 2007, 08:08 PM) [snapback]531420[/snapback]</div>
     
    #7 jhall, Oct 28, 2007
  8. blzlovr

    blzlovr Junior Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jhall @ Oct 26 2007, 11:02 AM) [snapback]530779[/snapback]</div>
    I just installed the shark fin a couple of days ago, I haven't noticed any difference in reception. I mainly listen to 94.7 and 1070, was able to get the same reception when traveling down to No. San Diego (from HB).

    I got my windows tinted (35% front side - 20% back and rear) by Picture Perfect in Signal Hill, CA. They were recommended by someone in this group. He gives a discount to PriusChat.com group members, I paid 175.00. Lifetime warranty - SunTek film. I'm very happy with the work they did. There is a thead about this here: http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=3...mp;#entry415439
     
    #8 blzlovr, Oct 28, 2007
  9. Scafremon

    Scafremon Junior Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jhall @ Oct 28 2007, 11:00 AM) [snapback]531612[/snapback]</div>
    Yep, Sun-Tek was the product they installed. The price was for all windows sans the windshield (10 windows in all). Lifetime warranty included, and they do offer an additional one-time remove/replace warranty for $40.

    The $175 price bizlovr mentions sounds good for same product, same warranty, and you gotta like a priuschat discount! Maybe I should have shopped around, but with XLNT Tint only a few miles from my house, it was nice to just get it done the same day I thought about it, and not be one of the many things that I tend to over-evalute for days/weeks/months.

    If you decide on XLNT Tint, you might want to print out this thread, and take it with you, and see if they can cut you even a better deal.

    Since I have never had a car tinted before, I was curious about the process, and Kris took me into the garage area to let me watch them do some of my car, and walked me through the whole process in another bay.

    Good Luck to ya!
     
    #9 Scafremon, Oct 28, 2007
  10. jhall

    jhall New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(blzlovr @ Oct 28 2007, 12:24 PM) [snapback]531642[/snapback]</div>
    Nice. Thanks for the info on the Shark Fin Antenna. I'm sold.

    For the tint, that does seem like a very good price for Picture Perfect. I am still kind of leaning towards Anaheim as it is much closer. My plan is probably just to get it done during an extended lunch this week. B)

    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Scafremon @ Oct 28 2007, 01:51 PM) [snapback]531664[/snapback]</div>
    heh. Sometimes I have to slap myself for taking too much time picking a vendor/brand for even the smallest of purchases.
     
    #10 jhall, Oct 28, 2007
  11. jhall

    jhall New Member

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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    So, I got my tint at XLNT TINT and it looks XLNT B)

    Very clean and professional office and staff and a nice waiting room. They even offered to allow me a Wi-Fi Internet connection but I had left my laptop at work. They said it would take 3 hours (a bit extra time because of the windshield) but it ended up being only about 2 hours and 15 minutes.

    Anyway, I ended up doing the Carbon Tint which is non metallic and does not interfere with GPS and other radio signals (Lifetime warranty against peeling, fading, etc.). I did 35% on all windows (I did the Windshield too which is at my own risk and illegal in California). I also paid a bit extra for insurance which means if I do get a fix-it ticket for the front windows (Or even if they get scratched or something as i have 4 and 6 year old boys) they will replace the tint on any two windows.

    I told them about PriusChat.com. Also confirmed that it seem the guy that runs the place has a Prius (he drove up while I was waiting). They gave me $25 off the tint job and also said that anyone else from PriusChat.com could get $25 off.

    Here is the cost breakdown:

    $240 all windows for Carbon Tint
    +$85 for Windshield
    +$39.95 for the the warranty insurance
    -$25.00 for the Priuschat.com discount
    =$339.95 OTD (includes tax, etc.)

    I'm sure there are better prices out there, but I felt comfortable with the experience and would definitely tint there again. If anyone is interested, they are in Anaheim (they also have offices in Las Vegas and Owings, MD) their web site is www.xlnttint.com and their phone number is 1.800.495.6884.
     
    #11 jhall, Nov 2, 2007
  12. Scafremon

    Scafremon Junior Member

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    Very cool on getting the members here a discount!

    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jhall @ Nov 2 2007, 09:32 AM) [snapback]533923[/snapback]</div>
    Along with the referral that I had, the above is the main reason I had these guys do my tint. The other tint places close to my house do not seem to specialize in tint, but also do car stereo installations, car alarms, screen door repair, and income tax preparation. Their lobbies and waiting rooms tend to be cluttered, since they offer so many various services. It's nice to go to a place that just does tint, and provides a comfortable place for you to relax while they do their work.
     
    #12 Scafremon, Nov 2, 2007
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