I wonder when it will start to feel like a real autumn. My four year-old son is whinging that he wants ‘ice lolly’. As we sit waiting outside the school grounds waiting for his sister, even with my windshield sunshade up and all four windows wound slightly, it feels like a sauna in our car under the glaring sunlight within just three minutes of me turning off the engine.

And here’s why. Temperatures can get 20 degrees hotter inside the greenhouse trap of a vehicle through sunlight penetrating the car’s windows. The car acts as a greenhouse, and heats up the dashboard, the seats, my son’s plastic Transformers toy figurine and my plastic spring water bottle. They have the propensity to sizzle up to an estimated 70 degrees celsius or more under direct sunlight—eeeoww. If you’re wondering, scientists say objects give off energy, and that’s what heats up the air inside the car through convection and conduction. Such is the efficiency of nature and science.

But it’s autumn! Who said anything about it having to be an especially hot day? On a 21 degree day, for example, our cars can spike up the mercury to the 46 degree range. Beyond dangerous for anyone who breathes — particularly pets, kids and the elderly. I wouldn’t take the risk leaving anyone of them in the car, and I can’t be grateful enough that we decided to go with the darkest legal shade of window tinting when we purchased our car. The best part was that this aftermarket tinting was bundled into our car finance deal making the up-front cost seem almost irrelevant.

The thought of having no window tint is unimaginable in this sweltering weather, plus all the reasons I can think of that could only be beneficial when we do tint our cars.

Grey Car with dark window tint

Stylish, cost effective window tinting

Reasons To Tint Your Car In 50 Shades Of Grey

Health Protection

About 95-99% of skin cancers are directly caused by unprotected exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. By tinting your car, you can reduce up to as much as 99% of these hazardous rays, a pity we can’t tint the windshield or we all might!

Added Safety Precaution

In an accident, tinting your car could act as a form of added safety feature to prevent (as much as possible) large glass shards or tiny glass fragments from causing injury to vehicle passengers when glass is smashed.

Saving Fuel Consumption & Energy

Who knew that tinting your car could save you on fuel and energy consumption? Almost 80 percent of the heat that penetrates untreated windows can be blocked using solar control window tint film, reducing air conditioner usage and making fuel consumption more effective.

Added Driving Safety

It’s no fun driving in the blinding glare of the afternoon sunlight when it hits us unsuspecting drivers, dazzling or impairing our driving vision. When you tint those windows, you’re actually enhancing road safety measures by reducing glare by up to 90 percent.

Tint Your Car For Privacy

It’s fun to be able to see them when they can’t see you, isn’t it? Talk about instant glamour and that bit of mysterious celebrity elegance for your vehicle! Not sure about you but I do appreciate my privacy!

Preventing Opportunistic Theft

What petty thieves can’t see, they can’t steal. Dark tinting for your windows reduce the visual temptation for would-be thieves. Another way to keep those prying covetous eyes away from your designer bags, your kids’ Nintendo and other what-have-yous that one should not have left on the car seats or boot where they scream “Steal me!”

Increasing Your Car’s Resale Value

Hardly a surprise that adding that bit of window tinting to your vehicle not only improves its appearance but its value. Just think of your celebrity-looking self in sunshades and the equivalent it does to your car’s overall substance and style! More than just improving its aesthetics, when applied professionally, tinting your car could very likely help increase its future resale value.

I would opt for the top tier range of tints with UV protection. In the long run, these are better value than scrimping on quality and going with the fast food class of low-end tinting products and shoddy installers (Hint: $99 all you can tint). Also note tinting laws that apply.

Car Window Tinting Laws In Australia

Regardless of where you live in Australia, the law requires a minimum VLT limit (stands for ‘visual light transmission’) of 35%. This means at least 35% of the visible light must be able to pass through the tinted glass while the rest of the 65% is effectively blocked. The only exception is the front windscreen. Very minimum tinting is allowed on windscreens by law. Car windscreen areas are allowed ‘minimal tinting’ such as a visor strip on the top of the windscreen.

Minor Exceptions (On Windows Behind Driver)

The only exceptions are states like the naturally blistering Northern Territory, which allows a minimum VLT of 16% for windows behind the driver and also Western Australia, which allows 20% VLT on all windows behind the driver. Do note that trucks, commercial vehicles and buses have their different tinting laws in most states and territories.

Colour Of Your Car Interior & Exterior

Does the colour of your car exterior or interior affect its capacity to heat things up? Absolutely. This will make you think twice about that suite of handsome dark leather seats and dark colour shades for dashboards. Dark shades tend to allow for rapid heat conduction. However it doesn’t matter if your upholstery is fabric or leather as research shows that there’s a negligible difference between which gets hotter. There is no need to worry either if your car is black. It barely even makes a difference.

However, your car’s sunroof or moon roof is another matter. Because it’s another window that sunlight can enter, it does turn up the heat.

What else can you do to beat rising temperatures in your car in the age of global warming? Winding down the windows won’t be the best advice. First it could be against the law in many states. Besides, it won’t significantly reduce the temperature inside—like two degrees?

Your best bet is to block out that sun. Windshield sunshades can help some, depending on the angle of the sun. Parking in the shade is by far the most effective thing you can do, only that it isn’t completely foolproof as indirect sunlight still harnesses a lot of energy.

Besides the common sense advice to never leave children or pets in cars unattended for any amount of time, I’d say—you should definitely check out the 50 shades of grey for your vehicle.

For car financing, call 360 Finance today to explore the multiple shades of vehicle financing options that are just quicker, easier and smarter. We help you keep your cool and your sanity when you buy a car.