So I've just bought my first car, a 56 reg 1.4L Ghia. It has all 3 rear windows tinted and I'm wondering if they could have come factory fitted? Or hopefully you guys can lead me in a direction where I can find out.

I'm fairly sure the tints are within the glass and not the stick on type, but if they were added as a modification I won't be able to get insurance with them on so will have to change the glass.

Cheers for any replies in advance!

If its privacy glass rather than tint film then it will have come factory fitted.  Was probably an optional extra though.

50 minutes ago, JHarpoon10 said:

So I've just bought my first car, a 56 reg 1.4L Ghia. It has all 3 rear windows tinted and I'm wondering if they could have come factory fitted? Or hopefully you guys can lead me in a direction where I can find out.

I'm fairly sure the tints are within the glass and not the stick on type, but if they were added as a modification I won't be able to get insurance with them on so will have to change the glass.

Cheers for any replies in advance!

 

I would be surprised if you would not be able to get insurance because of this. From the dealings that I have with insurance companies over the years providing that you declare this sort of thing when taking out the insurance then I would be surprised if they would not insure you. It is when you come to make a claim that they get a bit upset with undeclared modifications. Perhaps ETIS could tell you if they were factory fitted.

I assume that they are not so dark that you cannot see through them ?

 

If you can't scrape? the tints off, then yes they're factory fitted.

Try searching for your car on the internet and see if you can find images showing the tinted glass. If there are others, then don't worry about it

13 minutes ago, Enduser said:

I would be surprised if you would not be able to get insurance because of this. From the dealings that I have with insurance companies over the years providing that you declare this sort of thing when taking out the insurance then I would be surprised if they would not insure you. It is when you come to make a claim that they get a bit upset with undeclared modifications. Perhaps ETIS could tell you if they were factory fitted.

I assume that they are not so dark that you cannot see through them ?

Cheers, I'll check it out in a minute.

With the insurance however, the cheapest through comparethemarket without tints is tesco bank but when I declare the tints it just says something along the lines of "sorry we are unable to provide you with a quote" and the cheapest through CTM is 2.5 times dearer which I can't afford. Not the end of the world if I have to change the windows however, just would prefer to keep them.

Can see through them a bit, I'll have to check the strength in the morning with some light.

26 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

If its privacy glass rather than tint film then it will have come factory fitted.  Was probably an optional extra though.

Yea, it looks like privacy glass so I'm hoping it was an optional extra, cheers for the help!

7 minutes ago, Daelpix said:

If you can't scrape? the tints off, then yes they're factory fitted.

Try searching for your car on the internet and see if you can find images showing the tinted glass. If there are others, then don't worry about it

Tried peeling and gave it a bit of a scratch and nothing happened also, doesn't look like there's any bubbling so I think they might be, cheers!

If they are as from factory then I can't see why insurance would kick off.

If it's factory then it's not a modification.

Put your car details in here to check what the build specs were for the glass.

https://www.etis.ford.com/vehicleRegSelector.do;jsessionid=166448D14E0F055330F36024B1408438.fcvas505

You may find listed something like With/Less privacy Glass.

if you see 'with tinted glass all round' that just refers to the standard % tint all cars generally have as standard.

All this goes to show how important it is what you tell your insurers, or more importantly what you don't !!. Don't forget they record the conversations that they have with you when you are taking out insurance.