Well I test drove another MY02 Sebring on black last night. This car was in much better shape then the last one I drove. I also liked the fact that this was at a Honda dealer. The carfax showed one owner, who had leased it, and the dealership picked it up at auction. It was Certified Honda. It had exactly 23k on it and was still under the 36k mile warty and had a 7 year 100,000 mile extended warranty. The price was 23,500. I know I could find one for around 22k from a private buyer, but i like the warranty behind it. And the car was very clean.

Outside I only found one scratch, and it did look very deep. I think it could be buffed out. One wheel had curb rash, the other a bad spot on the finish, but i could live with it.....I mean I plan on replacing them in a year or so anyway.

The interior was also super clean.

QUESTIONS:
I found a very small hole in the roof when checking for wear marks. Under further inspection, I found that it was not from wear alone. This was not the bar that the roof touches at the top of the window but the first bar back (Kind of the one right over head/Middle of window). On the driver side the bar had been twisted, and the edge came to a point and it was causing the whole/wear. When I talked to the manager about it, he said that he knew a place that could fix it, AS IN PATCHING IT. I told him i wanted it replaced. I told him I know that wear on the roofs was an issue especially on the 00, 01s and that I had seen them replaced under it before on the internet. He said that he would look into it in the morning. Doesn't honda cover the tops under the 36/36 warranty? He is supposed to call me after he finds out.

They had also replaced all 4 tires. When the guy told me this I was like bonus, but then I looked and they weren't SO3's or SO2's. They were Fuzion ZRi's.....
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....ce=21&index=21
They retail at $72 for fronts and $73 for rears. They are an off brand of Bridgeston/firestone. MY02 should have S02's and they go for 163/176. Thats a big difference. I know that traction/tire setup is important on this car. This being my first s2k, I don't want to end breaking the back end loose because of some cheap tires. What do you think about this? Should I ask for a few 100$ off on price?

Following are results from TIRERACK survey
FUZION 258 surveys submitted 1,126,257 miles reported
SO2's 220 surveys submitted 2,263,820 miles reported

FUZION--------SO2's
Dry Traction------------8.6-----------9.2
Wet Traction------------8.2-----------7.2
Hydro Resistance-------8.1-----------6.7
Snow Traction----------N/A-----------N/A
Cornering Stability-----8.4-----------8.9
Steering Response-----8.4-----------9.0
Ride Comfort ----------8.1-----------7.4
Noise Comfort----------7.9-----------7.3
Tread Wear-------------7.4---------- 5.3

Thanks for all your help on both this tread and the last. I appreciate any and all feed back.

 

FuzionZRi are the very best CHEAP tires money can get(225/50 245/45)
On the steet nearly as good as SO2 in the dry(you'll never reach their limit)
Way better than SO2-03,in any other circonstances.

 

I would be very careful about that roof. I'm not sure exactly where the twist is from your description, but it sounds like you need a new roof frame or at least a new linkage on the driver's side in addition to a new canvas. Even if it's covered by warranty later, it will be a nightmare if the top is screwed up because they'll still want to bend it back in place and patch the canvas rather than replace anything.

If you're in alexandria (VA?), you should have no trouble finding another good used S at a good price, so you shouldn't have to compromise. Good luck!

 

It was the bar that run from the driverside frame to the passanger side. I believe that it would be the one that is located over the center of the window, if the roof was closed. The part of the bar that was bent, was the flat metal part that the top fabric is used to be folded under to secure it to the cross bar.

I want them to replace it, and being that its still under its original 36k honda warranty I think it should be covered. I did a search and found post refering to other post having people getting it replaced under warranty, but having problems getting this done after 36k. Can anyone clearify that honda does replace roofs under warranty?

 

i had zri's on my other car. they were great tires for me and held up well