Now that I have a nearly crack-free dash, a recently carpeted rear deck, and many other replaced, restored, or repainted parts inside my car, I need to find a way to protect the interior.

Front is easy: I'll buy a shade for the front window.

But the rear window is another huge ingress of sunlight, which, as we all know, is the biggest enemy of the fragile plastic in our cars.

I have options, but I need opinions.


1: OEM-style shade. Volvo once made a roll-up shade which attached to the rear deck and clipped to the headliner (see accessory catalog). Aftermarket companies make a similar product. <--- Click here.

2: Tint. I DO NOT WANT TO DARKEN MY WINDOWS. I don't like the look, at all. That said, there is a nearly optically clear tint called UV Shield which apparently blocks all UV light while only blocking about 15% of visible light.


Pros of #1: Shade rolls out of the way; easily removable; keeps car cooler and darker ONLY when I want it to; OEM treatment; Cheap(ish). Euro-style?

Cons of #1: Not invisible - the shade is not hidden, even when rolled up. Some people (my girlfriend) think it looks stupid.


Pros of #2: Nothing visible (very important to me); ALL UV blocked; always protected.

Cons of #2: No tinting will last as long as I plan to keep this car; expensive (relatively); cannot be easily removed; does not keep interior significantly cooler.


What do you all think? Is there another option I'm missing? I've not had good experiences with tint, can anyone change my mind about that?

Most importantly, does the OEM style shade look stupid/stylish/bad/good/lame/fancy etc.?

Thanks,
Sean