Is a car with a sun roof safe to buy?

[bk7794]

Hello!

I am in the market for a used car,

Topic

[Matt]

If you find a car that you like with a sunroof, check carefully around the headliner by the sunroof looking for obvious water damage, then take it to a car wash and hose it down to check for leaks. If the owner won’t let you, don’t buy it. I have a ’99 Toyota Rav4 I purchased from my mom, and she bought it used (with 20k miles) and it had an aftermarket sunroof installed. Knock on wood, it doesn’t leak, and it’s 13 years old. I have heard that every sunroof will leak eventually, but you can say that about anything if you think about it. I’m not sure why you would be more concerned about the theft of a car with a sunroof than one without… Other than that, it comes down to preference. I love the sliding moonroof in my Toyota, and my mom never opened it while she owned it, so to each their own.

[dreamer2355]

I have a sun roof in my Jeep and love it.

+1 with Beefy’s post on what to look for.

[EricTheCarGuy]

I wouldn’t consider the sunroof the most important consideration when purchasing a used car but in addition to what was mentioned above I will add that most times if Honda sunroofs leak it’s due to clogged drains. It may not be widely known but factory installed sunroofs ALL ‘leak’ they just channel the water down drains in the pillars to another location to drain away, if the vehicle was parked under a tree for some time the debris can clog the drains causing the tray to overflow and leak. I believe the EX model comes with a sunroof standard so you don’t have to worry about it not being installed correctly or leaking like an aftermarket unit might. You might want to open the roof and inspect the front drain holes and tray to see if it has the debris that I’m referring to.

[bk7794]

Quoted From EricTheCarGuy:

I wouldn’t consider the sunroof the most important consideration when purchasing a used car but in addition to what was mentioned above I will add that most times if Honda sunroofs leak it’s due to clogged drains. It may not be widely known but factory installed sunroofs ALL ‘leak’ they just channel the water down drains in the pillars to another location to drain away, if the vehicle was parked under a tree for some time the debris can clog the drains causing the tray to overflow and leak. I believe the EX model comes with a sunroof standard so you don’t have to worry about it not being installed correctly or leaking like an aftermarket unit might. You might want to open the roof and inspect the front drain holes and tray to see if it has the debris that I’m referring to.

I do know what you are talking about. I do know also that it is not the most important thing to look for on a used car, but its a pretty high priority becuase if that leaks then the interior is pretty much sacrificed..

Quoted From Beefy:

If you find a car that you like with a sunroof, check carefully around the headliner by the sunroof looking for obvious water damage, then take it to a car wash and hose it down to check for leaks. If the owner won’t let you, don’t buy it. I have a ’99 Toyota Rav4 I purchased from my mom, and she bought it used (with 20k miles) and it had an aftermarket sunroof installed. Knock on wood, it doesn’t leak, and it’s 13 years old. I have heard that every sunroof will leak eventually, but you can say that about anything if you think about it. I’m not sure why you would be more concerned about the theft of a car with a sunroof than one without… Other than that, it comes down to preference. I love the sliding moonroof in my Toyota, and my mom never opened it while she owned it, so to each their own.

I am worried about theft in general, with both cars, DX and EX…and HX if I do find one.

I will and plan to always check around there, the gaskets, and outside. Just to see what condition everything is in.

I am just worried about longevity, I plan to find a lower mileaged car, one maybe around low 100k high double digits possibly and try to keep it aslong as possible. I currently have a 91 dx sedan and I love the simplicity of everything. Makes it easier to diagnose and easier to be kept as an older daily driver.

[Author]

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