I have a 2002 WRX and want to add a sunroof. Is it best to have a 04 factory sunroof installed or a good aftermarket unit?

 

i dunno about subaru but when i owned a mitsu eclipse and it was being worked on i would walk around the lot and look and drooled over the evos. i would ask a billion question mostly to the parts guys because the sales men arnt that smart. at least at this dealer. i found the cheapest evo they had. (no sun roof, gauges, struts, etc) then i stated noticing that alot of the evos didnt have a sun roof but had every thing else so i asked how much would a sun roof cost. i forget now what they said i think it was somthing between 2-4 grand. any way they told me they would put a after market one on because those one were nicer then the ones mitsu supplied and thats why they didnt have alot of evos with factory sun roofs because the buyers liked the nicer sun roof beter

 

read over some of the forums about this, somewhere i heard sunroofs are not good on a WRX, it causes the body to twist. This won't be a problem as long as you are a road only driver and don't plan on off-roading your subaru. That is why most subarus from that year didn't have a sunroof option. But you should check the other forums because I am not positive on this information.

 

one of the reasons that i got my wrx at the time i did was because we found a good deal on one with a sun roof . it also came wit heated seats as well

 

There is a support beam in the roof that should not be cut. Because of this the only way to add a sunroof safely is to install a small one that fits ahead of the beam.
You can't install an OEM roof from an 04 because it's not just a matter of cutting a hole and putting it in. It is built into the roof and headliner. The only option is to add an aftermarket one.

 

i would not do it cause it probably wont turn out perfect

 

I agree with Subaruski42o, almost everyone that I know that got an aftermarket sunroof leaked. You can get it fixed but most likely it will leak no matter what later on and eventually ruin your interior. Think about the long term effects of it and the future drivers of your car . Also it may create more road noise in your car also that you probably don't want, and you will lose some valuable sound from inside your car like your radio out it.