My buddy got his 335i tinted at a local stereo shop that he usually goes to. The guy sold him some B.S. about having to put a special expensive tint on the 335i that was "non-metalized" because he said the radio antenna was in the back window glass. He said that if you used regular tint, it would make the radio reception horrible.

He charged him $325 to do the tint, and I'm a little skeptical, and think he ripped him off.

I have a 328i and I was quoted $160 at a place about 1/8 mile away from that same stereo shop, with a place that does just as good work.

Can anybody tell me if that's true or not, about the radio reception?

I don't know about the radio reception, but there are a few posts suggesting that metallic tint affects the comfort access features of the car negatively. I can only assume it would have a similar impact on the radio reception (since both use radio frequencies to communicate).

From the 2-3 tint shops I talked to before getting my tint, they told me the xame thing... the metallic tint interferes with Comfort Access and Radio reception on our cars. I would recommend not getting it. I too was quoted over $300 to get my entire car tinted.

Now as for the Nav System, that wouldn't be affected because it's antenna is part of the shark fin.

Metallic tint can interrput a lot of things on the 335's electrical system. Ceramic tint is much better anyway and for the record $325 is pretty cheap. Mine would have been around $500, but my dealer picked up the tab for me.

I have metalic tint and have experienced no problems... so far...

Our ceramic tint came in @ $180 utilizing a 3M product. I've used this shop before but, if I was getting quotes that high, I'd definately shop around. There's no shortage of good tint shops.

I can't comment on the price and how true it is that the lower price tinting is done with metalized film. But metalized film, depending on the nature of the coating and its thickness, does have the ability to shield low energy electromagnetic waves. When applied against an antenna that is affixed to the rear windshield, it can severely limit its ability especially in the direction where the film is located. It can also affect other things such as remote control (CA included) and cell phone reception.