Car Sunroof-Yes or No? (home, buy, living in)

[AlaskaErik]

I recently noticed a lot of cars in Arizona don't have a sunroof. Is there any reason to avoid one? Since I'm going to special order my retirement car, I would like some advice on whether or not they make any sense. In Alaska they tend to have water melt in the seam, which then refreezes overnight or when you take it out of the garage, the result of which is a whistling noise. Shouldn't be a problem in Arizona, but something else might be.

[Finger Laker]

My car has a sunroof - I really don't use it much though ........ the car is well over 10 years old with close to 11 years in AZ and there have been no issues with the sunroof

If it's something you'll get use out of, then go for it

In the summer I generally would keep the car tight and use AC .... it can be uncomfortable even driving at night when th sun is down as the temps are frequently in the 90s and the air coming into the car can be like a blast furnace

This time of year though I'll open it up on occasion when I have my windows down - I drive predominately freeway miles though so it can get loud and I just keep the car closed up

[UNITYinternational]

No

[cre8lite]

i LOVE sunroofs & want all my cars to have them BUT i can understand not wanting one while living in phx. your seats are already gonna be H O T during the summer months, the sunroof is just another way to have the sun beating down on your interior. which could potentially lead to some sunbleaching.

if you plan to live somewhere else in az, it may not be that big of a deal....

[Bummer]

YES, AlaskaErik . . . if I didn't own two Convertibles I would definitely have a Sunroof.

[rambrush]

No both of our vehicles have them and we never use them. We did not have a choice as they came with em.

[DetroitN8V]

All sunroofs in modern cars are tinted and have sunshades. It's a non issue. Get one if you want one.

[R_Cowgirl]

As DetroitN8V said, it won't matter much if you have a sunshade you can pull shut during the hottest summer months. My old car had one and it helped vent the car a tad bit faster after sitting in the sun. The interiors of cars can get into meat temperature cooking range pretty quickly on the hottest of days. I would pay more attention to the color of the car and the interior. No black cars, no sticky leather seats. I have white, light gray or cream colored cars here. And I prefer the cloth seats. Some people like leather and some leather is better than others. But you'll wind up with something covering them more than likely. You will want to leave your sheepskin seat covers up north!! Oh, and don't forget to get your matching set of potholders to keep under the seat for those days where the seat belt threatens to brand you!

[kell490]

What ever you do don't get a aftermarket sun roof installed make sure it's a car manufactured designed into the car as standard option not a dealer option. My friend bought a brand new Toyota Tacoma truck back in 06 the dealer told him, "oh we have a dealer installed unit just as good as factory" so I went with him to the place that installed it. The guy drills a hole in his roof and takes a sawzall cuts a big hole in his brand new truck drops the sun roof in after running a bead of silicone around the edge drops the sun roof in says we can drive it home in about 30 minutes. They did cut the headliner and make it look factory. Over the next 3 years when he opens this sun roof on the freeway the air comes in and makes a strange bumping noise because too much air is coming into the truck he has to drive with the back windows down a little. The dealer and sun roof place say sorry nothing can be done about it. Then it starts to leak after the silicone drys up. Make sure it's a factory design I have never seen any trouble with one of those.

[43north87west]

It's a matter of personal preference, nothing more. In my entire life, I have had only one car without a sunroof, moonroof, or convertible top--and I've had a lot of cars. I won't buy a car without one, but some people could care less.