The sunroof debate ????

[John Savage]

think the whole debate can be sumed up as follows:-

did they have them fitted by the factory yes or no?

if no, does this devalue the car in anyway? if so by how much and are you bothered by it?

are you looking at putting the car into bufty spec?

are you happy to keep sun roof as it is YOUR car?

if you like to roof then keep it as part of the history of
the vehicle anyway.

but thats just my take on things.

[Skids]

think the whole debate can be sumed up as follows:-

did they have them fitted by the factory yes or no?

if no, does this devalue the car in anyway? if so by how much and are you bothered by it?

are you looking at putting the car into bufty spec?

are you happy to keep sun roof as it is YOUR car?

if you like to roof then keep it as part of the history of
the vehicle anyway.

but thats just my take on things.

Well put John ,could never see what the issue was myself ,people seem to think it is a way to devalue a car , never bothered me when I bought mine and the same when I sold it if anyone mentioned it when they were looking I just told them if it's such a problem don't buy the car as I'm not knocking any money off and if that's the only point you can raise you might as well F off yourself as you are obviously not serious about buying one.

[rwdrs]

Well put John ,could never see what the issue was myself ,people seem to think it is a way to devalue a car , never bothered me when I bought mine and the same when I sold it if anyone mentioned it when they were looking I just told them if it's such a problem don't buy the car as I'm not knocking any money off and if that's the only point you can raise you might as well F off yourself as you are obviously not serious about buying one.

That's as maybe but it ain't limited to just a few thinking sunroofs devalue a Mk2. In ads in Germany they also explicitly mention that the car for sale has no sunroof when selling a Mk2, obviously nobody really "likes" them or thinks it doesn't devalue the car, otherwise why mention it???

[mk1gaz]

Sunroofs will 100% devalue an Escort bodyshell . It's not a maybe it's a definite . Buy one with a sunroof and then reskin the roof later on with the money you saved by buying it . Simples .

[jimmer]

Sunroofs will 100% devalue an Escort bodyshell . It's not a maybe it's a definite . Buy one with a sunroof and then reskin the roof later on with the money you saved by buying it . Simples .

Yes no one wants a great big hole in the roof!

[rwdrs]

Sunroofs will 100% devalue an Escort bodyshell . It's not a maybe it's a definite . Buy one with a sunroof and then reskin the roof later on with the money you saved by buying it . Simples .

It depends on the saving. The money and hassle of getting the roof reskinned (not to mention having to mess with an intact shell to do so) is the reason most would rather just buy a car that doesn't need the metalwork. It's like a car with high mileage, you can replace the components, but once a it has done the miles it's never the same as a low mileage car.

[mk1gaz]

Roof skin is fairly easy to change , the spot welds are next to the gutter and on the top of the screen surrounds . Drill them out and lift it off whole . 2nd hand roof skin from a 4 door is cheap so use that .
I would knock a few grand off for a car with a sunroof so that would easily cover the cost even if you got a pro-bodyshop to fit the roofskin . My mates cost him £800 i think .

[mk1gaz]

I think Escort-tec keep 2nd hand roofskins in stock ready to go .

[l j shaw]

Wait a few years ...fashion changes, so does the sunroof requirement, few years ago having a factory sunroof was a good thing. I'd say if you have a factory fitted item and its serviceable leave it alone.

[RS2000EXPRESS]

Don't forget that there are some on here that would love a sun roof, it appears that you either love them or hate them! If I was considering buying a car with the right sun roof fitted and in good condition, then I would look at it as a bonus and be prepared to pay the going price for it. There's no air conditioning in a Mk2 you know, open it on a sweltering hot day and you will learn to love it, but it all depends on the type of model of course. I would even consider fitting one to mine if I wanted to, it would blend in beautifully with my vinyl roof......I've no intention of rallying it, I've had them before and so I have no negative issues with them!

Tim

[Frosticles]

Wait a few years ...fashion changes, so does the sunroof requirement, few years ago having a factory sunroof was a good thing. I'd say if you have a factory fitted item and its serviceable leave it alone.

They weren't fitted at the factory. All sunroof's are after market.

[l j shaw]

For many years I've classed a webasto, as a ford fitted item, I know it's not but when you see so many of them it kinda sticks. As they do look period and as if they should have been a factory option.

It's all the other types that look odd and out of place to me,

[mk1gaz]

Webasto's really suck but if you do like aftermarket sunroofs in Escorts then the car you buy will be cheaper than if it was without one so you've had a result .

[Dave1800BDA]

For many years I've classed a webasto, as a ford fitted item, I know it's not but when you see so many of them it kinda sticks. As they do look period and as if they should have been a factory option.

It's all the other types that look odd and out of place to me,

lets not forget there was many companies like webasto who also did "local" deals for the dealers on roof options, for one theres Slideaway based in the midlands iirc

[Jim S]

Don't know about SA escorts but European Escorts were never offered with a sunroof, either from the factory or as an accessory (it'd be interesting to see if a sunroof was listed on a Ford SA microfiche but I doubt it). A steel sunroof, from a Cortina or Capri would've been a nice addition but never done by Ford AFAIK. It's like a lot of things added in the 80s, people think this stuff is "period" (like white batteries) but it's not.

I've seen one RS2 back in 1985 with a steel electric sunroof and it was a genuine Series X with loads of the right bits added (but no arches). I very nearly bought it and now I wish I had as I still have the one that I bought instead and a genuine Series X would be nice.