I parked my car, a 2003 S with 55,000 miles, at the airport for a few days. Upon returning from sunny California to slightly less sunny Connecticut I opened my sunroof as usual to cool the car off and there was a loud cracking sound. I looked up and saw that one of the supports that pushes the roof up for tilting was broken/hanging loose.

Since the car is not in warranty, any thoughts on whether this is an owner servicable item or if I'll need to spend big bucks at the dealer getting it fixed? I'd hate to live without the sunroof, though if it is a $1,000 repair job I just might... either that or I have been jonesing for a convertible S on trade-in.

 

Even though it's out of warranty, I suggest you contact the dealer. Sometimes a manufacturer will authorize an out-of-warranty repair on this kind of thing as a goodwill gesture, especially if the warranty just recently expired.

Since this kind of failure is very unusual, BMW might treat it as a "hidden defect".

How companies handle situations like this separate the really good ones from all the rest.