Didn't think of the supplemental insurance and my guess it will be minimal. So no problem there.

As for durability . . . hammering it and not breaking? NICE.

Now the question would be "worth the cost on a 7 or 8 year old car"? :dunno:

The idea of buying these things become more ideal when we are riding in our X5Ms.:D

it seems that some manufacturers of high end cars (BMW included) are toying with this technology, for the time being with the opaque sunroof that runs the length of the whole roof, but it also seems that the darkening tint is being looked into as well... probably it will be offered as an option on the top of the line, as 7-series, M-series, the S-class and the like...

Also, like anything else on the market, as time is passing by, the cost of the system will be dropped to the point that simple commoners will be able to afford something like that - reverse cameras are going to be mandated in US spec cars from 2014 on, meaning, that a very basic car will have to have an LCD monitor, the lowest end cars now have some kind of MP3 player... something that just a few years ago was considered to be a serious retrofit, or a serious mod....

So, hopefully, the electric tint will become more of a mainstream, maybe not in time for the E53 to fully enjoy the benefits of it, but nevertheless...

This could be another avenue for graphene, but it's still too early yet....maybe 5 yrs? Cover your windows and they become moniters!

i emailed the US distributor coule of days ago, but have not heard anything yet... i will try again later

You mean the one that's a glass replacement? I'd seriously consider a front window of the tinting stuff! Keep me posted!

i did that too as well a while back

i know that there is glass replacement for the side windows, not sure if there is anything for the front one... somewhere on the russian websites, i saw a number of like $8K for the complete install with the pre-fabbed glass... given the price doubling in russia and high taxes, i still suspect that this tint job may be in the vicinity of a couple grand US.

but, this is an UNCONFIRMED rumor...

here is an unconfirmed supplier of Vario Plus film...

Vario Plus Window Smart Tint Film - Buy Smart Tint Film,Vario Plus Window Smart Tint Film,Black Electrochromic Tints Product on Alibaba.com

"minimum order - 30 sq. meters" at a price of $320-$600 per sq. meter ...that's commercial quantities......unless anyone wants to do a group buy?! :rofl:

so... 30 sq m by $600 = $18 000!!! that is assuming their high price... not accounting for the shipping...

How many square meters are in the glass footage of an X5? i would think, that for the side windows to be properly tinted with this stuff, the glass will need to come out the doors, but the fixed glass can stay put...

I wonder, what is the footage of
two front side windows - ?
two rear windows and the rear quater triangular fixed glass on the rear doors - ?
two rear fixed glasses between C and D pillars - ?
the rear hatch glass - ?
the sunroof, the regular - ?
the sunroof, the panoramic - ?
the front windshield - ?
the headlights - ?
that is not taking into consideration the electronics needed to run the tint and the installation... also, the losses involved in the fact, that the glasses are not square and there will be some film lost in the cutting and fitting process...