After market sunroof

[Emanuel]

What experiences have you had with aftermarket sunroofs?

I'm buying a new LS1 and my daughter will be getting my 98 SL2; She wants a sunroof. The shop that installs roof racks for my dealer also installs aftermarket (electrically operated) sunroofs ($650). He claims to have done about 90 saturns and he gives a lifetime warranty against leaks.

I would appreciate any advice you might be able to give me on this.

[joeybagodonuts]

in my 15 years experience every aftermarket sunroof i've seen is eventually a nightmare.
unforseen things like the headliner starts sagging or the rrof rusts.
nor have i ever seen a "lifetime " warranty on one, does that cover you for rust, operation, motor, etc?
even factory sunroofs create problems down the road, dont get me worng, i like them and have one in our volvo but its not something i would install aftermarket.
i've chopped the roofs off several cars and have replaced more t-top and sunroof seals through the years than i care to recall.
its your call, if car is meant to only be kept 4-5 years, what the hell? Go for it, if your keeping the car for a long time you may want to carefully think about it first.

[Jon94SoLo2]

Another consideration is how well you plan on taking care of the car. I have the factory "moon roof" on my '94 SL2. I purchased the car new in July '94 and it's been garage kept at home and in a parking garage at work since new. I also have the moon roof rails lubricated every so often. I've never had a problem with leaking or operation of the moon roof. (Of course, now that I've made this post, it'll probably break today! Grrr.) I can imagine if it were left out, exposed to the elements, I might have a different story.

Jon

[------SC 2------]

I had a aftermarket sunroof put in one of my coupes. In Central Florida the best place is Classic Soft Trim a place in tampa. They have the one touch button to open and close the roof. It looks just like factory. Lifts up over the roof. It carrys a 3year or 36,000 mile warranty. They did a good job on my car and I was refered to them by a Saturn dealer over in Tampa.

[wei_]

A Saturn retailer by my workplace sends LW's out to a shop for aftermarket sunroofs ($750). They use the factory sunroof for the S-series and implant them into the L-series wagon. It also comes with a 'lifetime' warranty, but I'll have to think about it since:
1) the shop could go broke, leaving me with a worthless warranty,
2) said Saturn retailer may not service it,
3) warranty or not, headaches are not fun.

The warranty is said to cover the motor, rails, seals, and rust. Much like a factory sunroof from Saturn.

In this case, I'd try to get the Saturn retailer to co-sign/stand behind this installation somehow since I expect them to be around longer than the shop.

The sales consultant did mention that several LW's have been sunroof'ed so far and they look great.

-Wei

[saturned]

I agree with Joey. Our experience at S of S is that aftermarket do not hold up as well as factory sunroofs. The point - what good is a lifetime warranty if the shop goes out of business is a valid one. especially in the auto business. For that matter I lease a 98 SL2 with leather and roof and i had the roof replaced last month because of rust intrusion on the sliding panel.
South Fl humidity does wonders to metal of any kind except
if kept garaged all the time.
Saturned1

[saturned]

I agree with Joey. Our experience at S of S is that aftermarket do not hold up as well as factory sunroofs. The point - what good is a lifetime warranty if the shop goes out of business is a valid one. especially in the auto business. For that matter I lease a 98 SL2 with leather and roof and i had the roof replaced last month because of rust intrusion on the sliding panel.
South Fl humidity does wonders to metal of any kind except
if kept garaged all the time.
Saturned1

[Mike Silva-1993 SL2]

I've had aftermarket sunroofs in all three of my Saturns and never had any problems. In fact I prefer them to stock sunroofs. You get more features and if there is ever a problem it can be pulled out and the entire unit replaced in less than an hour. Just make sure it is installed by a reputable shop and that the sunroof is from a brand name. I have a Hollandia ( http://www.hollandia.com/ ), it has a lifetime warrenty as well as the installation. These are things to look for when purchasing an aftermarket sunroof. If the manufactuer and installer stand behind their product for the life of the car, they are going to do good work.
Here is a link to some pics of my sunroof. http://lowsaturn.com/sunroof.html

-Mike Silva

[Mike Silva-1993 SL2]

I've had aftermarket sunroofs in all three of my Saturns and never had any problems. In fact I prefer them to stock sunroofs. You get more features and if there is ever a problem it can be pulled out and the entire unit replaced in less than an hour. Just make sure it is installed by a reputable shop and that the sunroof is from a brand name. I have a Hollandia ( http://www.hollandia.com/ ), it has a lifetime warrenty as well as the installation. These are things to look for when purchasing an aftermarket sunroof. If the manufactuer and installer stand behind their product for the life of the car, they are going to do good work.
Here is a link to some pics of my sunroof. http://lowsaturn.com/sunroof.html

-Mike Silva

[Chuck]

Arghhhh, by all means I would avoid any aftermarket sunroof, or any other aftermarket structural (or should I say anti-structural) modifications to a vehicle. You've already read previous tales of woe here about rust and leakage which are viable. Cutting a hole in the roof exposes raw steel to the environment, no galvanized or electro-plated protection of an OEM sunroof - rust never sleeps. Leakage is likely, as an OEM roof has carefully designed drains leading down the vertical pillars of the car that are difficult to duplicate after the total vehicle is assembled. However, an even worse consideration is that there is typically a structural roof bow going right across the area that is cut out for a sunroof. An OEM application would typically have a ring-type member that surrounds the sunroof and gives equivalent structural integrity. I'm afraid aftermarkets may just cut right through the beam to package the sunroof, with some structural implications. Please note; perhaps I am being too cynical here, and if there are aftermarket roofs that equal OEM for rust protection, drainage and structural integrity, I appologize for any offense. However, it just doesn't seem likely that an aftermarket roof installation could do all that and be cost competitive to an OEM with all the advantages of installation during initial vehicle assembly.

[Marc]

I had a choice of getting a new SC2 and having an aftermarket sunroof put in or waiting 8+ weeks for a SC2 with a Saturn sun roof. After reading the posts, I'm glad I waited. (Actually it's been 9 weeks exactly since I ordered my blue SC2. It should be here any day now.)

Impatiently waiting,
Marc

[Marc]

I had a choice of getting a new SC2 and having an aftermarket sunroof put in or waiting 8+ weeks for a SC2 with a Saturn sun roof. After reading the posts, I'm glad I waited. (Actually it's been 9 weeks exactly since I ordered my blue SC2. It should be here any day now.)

Impatiently waiting,
Marc

[joeybagodonuts]

actually the factory roofs arent much better if at all (except for the fact that their usually installed right)
they rot the roof itself out
the module the sunroof sits in also rots out
the motors break constantly
the tracks break allot too.
most people dont see 80k before having to drop big money in their saturn's sunroof.
i watch things, my inventory has been kept in my head for 11 years
when things sell fast i make mental notes and start watching the parts going out.
sunroof parts we cant keep in stock.

[Saturnmeister]

I've never liked the idea of sunroofs, for that exact reason; they're just rust and leaks waiting to happen. If you're the type that frequently turns your cars over, you might be able to enjoy the sunroofs without dealing with the problems that come later.

Of course, in my case, at 6'1", there's also the headroom (or more appropriately, the lack thereof) issue...

[BobL]

That's it, Joey.

When my son wanted to get a sunroof on his new SL1, I took your advice and told him to pass that accessory by. seeing the several sunroof threads in tech talk, they echo what you say about the sunroof. It's nice as long as you get rid of the car when the warranty expires.

Aftermarket's also a risk because all you've got behind the installation is the local shop. If they disappear, guess who's holding the bag?

The service people at my dealership also recommended against the option. Of course, they only see the broken ones but they do see a lot of 'em.

My son got the power windows. he puts 'em all down and calls that his sunroof.

Bob