Just wondering how much and if its possible -

In the process of finding a nice example VRS octy II but damn hard to find one with Jumbo pack and electric sunroof. - I need a sunroof!

Sell, its this or splash out on a 3 yr old used 5 series - but can i afford to run it? probably not!

It's trickier than it seems. It needs a new roof altogether (+painting), it's not just cutting a hole. The sunroof has channels that direct the water towards the back of the car, behind the rear wheels. Those need to be added as well.

So:

Roof, pipes, sunroof, headliner, interior light with sunroof switch, wiring, etc.

I'd be surprised if dealers offered this service but I dont mind someone telling me im wrong

Despite most peoples view - I wouldnt buy a bigger car without a sunroof!

Good luck,

Lee

Some german companies, such as Webasto offer retrofit sunroofs, but I've never seen one installed on a car myself.

Webasto England you're lucky. Try asking these folks.

Don't see why it's not possible - my parents had a webasto electric roof retrofitted to a civic

I thought Webasto did pre heaters.....

Me too, until about 3 months ago when I first read about it.

Going back about 50 years Webasto sun rooves were fitted as original equipment in a lot of British cars. My father and I both had Riley RM series cars, which had a fabric roof (hardtop) with a concertina folding Webasto panel.

Having said that, Webasto would, I suspect, simply cut a hole and fit one of their units into it. You would not get the proper Skoda unit! A decent body shop might be able to help!

About 4 years ago I was quoted around £300 to have a sunroof retrofitted to my Mk1 VRS by a small company in swansea. They did not seem to think it was a big job. I never did get it done so can not tell you about the quality of the work (decided that a sunroof was not that important- up to that point I had always wanted a sunroof). As posted above I doubt it was a skoda sunroof. However, am I corect in thinking that the skoda sunroof is pretty small anyway and really not that good.

for £300, you would have most likely got a manual popup type one like the one thats fitted to the felicia and the required new headlining. The popup ones are prone to leakage from various points and could potentially devalue the car because they dont always look that great. The factory one as retrofit is most likely not possible or cost prohibitive. I would keep looking, the right car will be out there its just a case of waiting. Jumbo pack has been fitted free for quiet a while now so it may not list that on the spec sheet.

Simple answer is NO. It is impossible to retrofit a sunroof that is anything like the factory one as the roof panel is different, the roof has the hole pre-cut, hole edges are turned in and the interor trim is completely different. The webasto style is a fabric folding roof and the manual one is a flip up/remove type. None of these are anything like the OE and are a hole cut int he roof with a sunroof fitted into it, not part of the roof as is the OE one. My advice - don't do it, will look poor and will seriously affect the value - in a downward manner

Anything is possible to retro fit, bit i would imagine the cost would be a couple of grand (new roof skin, head lining, interior light, plus drain pipes).

My Octavia (Elegance) had a sunroof that i rarely opened, it was useful to let more light in the car but thats about it.

My Superb doesn't have one fitted, even after every car i have owned in the last 15+ years having factory fitted sunroofs, i don't miss it at all.

I guess the quastion is do you want OE or aftermarket. If you want OE then no, it can;t be done reasonably but if you want aftermarket then yes it can be done.

When I looked at an Imprezza back in the mid to late 90's the electric sunroof was a dealer fit option. :eek:

not trying to be funny but perhaps curious

why would anyone need/want a sunroof?

These days cars have climate control to keep a suitable temperature and if you want some fresh air just open a window.

Sunroofs also rob headroom.

Simple answer is NO. It is impossible to retrofit a sunroof that is anything like the factory one as the roof panel is different, the roof has the hole pre-cut, hole edges are turned in and the interor trim is completely different. The webasto style is a fabric folding roof and the manual one is a flip up/remove type. None of these are anything like the OE and are a hole cut int he roof with a sunroof fitted into it, not part of the roof as is the OE one. My advice - don't do it, will look poor and will seriously affect the value - in a downward manner

So the Webasto 700 is nothing like factory then?

Sure the controls are not the same, but you could fit the OEM sunroof section and use that to control the roof.

A company who shares a site with us often have new cars in for electric sun roofs to be fitted. They do make a good job of them and on the exterior they are only distinguishable from the factory roofs by the frame that can be seen around the roof.

not trying to be funny but perhaps curious

why would anyone need/want a sunroof?

These days cars have climate control to keep a suitable temperature and if you want some fresh air just open a window.

Sunroofs also rob headroom.

To let more light in , for one thing. It makes the car a much nicer place to be.

For another , climate control is great in really hot weather but on warrm days fresh rather than processed air is preferable , and having the sunroof open creates a lot less turbulence than windows.

I have mine open a lot when driving at less than 50mph on decent days.

Oh , and when you get back to the car on a really hot day it's much better at letting the heat out.

To let more light in , for one thing. It makes the car a much nicer place to be.

For another , climate control is great in really hot weather but on warrm days fresh rather than processed air is preferable , and having the sunroof open creates a lot less turbulence than windows.

I have mine open a lot when driving at less than 50mph on decent days.

Oh , and when you get back to the car on a really hot day it's much better at letting the heat out.

All IYO. I like the clearview panel too, but automotive aircon doesn't "process" the air beyond reducing very high humidity, and filtering out dust and pollen. The dust doesn't bother me, but my sis suffers from hay fever.

All IYO.

Well , yes , but given that the question was "Why would anyone want a sunroof" it's an entirely reasonable answer

I haven't got the time to read the entire thread, but I imagine my thoughts will just be repeats of what has been said.

Don't get a retro-fit sunroof. They are nothing but trouble no matter what the fitter promises they always seem to lead or you get lots of wind noise. It would probably cost a small fortune to retro-fit a sunroof to an Octavia which is another reason not to go for it.

Well , yes , but given that the question was "Why would anyone want a sunroof" it's an entirely reasonable answer

I agreed with you about the point which really is subjective. I disagreed on the other because, unless it's actively hot and or high rH outside, automotive aircon frankly doesn't do much other than filter dust or pollen.

To let more light in , for one thing. It makes the car a much nicer place to be.

For another , climate control is great in really hot weather but on warrm days fresh rather than processed air is preferable , and having the sunroof open creates a lot less turbulence than windows.

I have mine open a lot when driving at less than 50mph on decent days.

Oh , and when you get back to the car on a really hot day it's much better at letting the heat out.

^^^^^^What he said. Climate control is no where near as good as a sunroof. Windows down, sunroof open, almost as good as a cabriolet

Might be easier to get one with a sunroof and retrofit the jumbo pack? Just a thought. Or wait for the right car! My car had almost every option available at the time....