so how does the percentage thing work? I've never known for sure. Is a higher percentage lighter or darker?

 

Higher percentage is lighter, the percentage is how much light comes through the tint.

 

I'm in Jersey (one of the most ball busting states about ANYTHING) and here we're not allowed to have tint on the windshield or the side windows. For the rear windows and back side window we can have whatever we want. Kind of silly, don't you think?

Try this site to see what the laws are.

http://www.tintcenter.com/

 

Seems like your local tinter would have at least some responsibility to sell you what's legal. ?

Bought my 96 in 99 in Tennessee. Had tint all around. Smoked tail light and headlight covers. Looked great, but trooper at a road block had a problem with the headlights / taillights, and the dark tint of the top few inches of the windshield (he said couldn't be below the marks on each side of the windshield). I tried to trim the windshield piece, but messed it up so bad, I decided to scrape the whole thing off! Took the tail light covers off. Replaced the front smoked covers with clear. Trooper didn't have a problem with the side and rear windows. Side tint is now deceased after about ten years. Back window holding on still except for a small place on the bottom edge and a gash I put in it by shutting the hatch on something that wouldn't fit. It was 105 degrees in Austin today, so a darker back tint will be nice as soon as I can knock a few items off my "things to spend money on" list.