Hello; I have a 2000 Saturn SL2; what are my options regarding replacing the headliner? can I get one at a junkyard and install it myself? approx. cost? or is this something to leave to a professional? Thanks for the help.
I think it’s best to talk to a body shop or a specialist to deal with headliner replacement. For me, the risk of not breaking something like the hard foam in the process leads me to finding a pro to get it done right. Last time I had one done, the price was $125 or so, with new fabric stretched; not worth my time to deal with it otherwise.
There are kits available, possibly at your local car parts store. You need to pull the headliner down and strip the old cloth off the backing. All (absolutely all) the glue must come off the shell. Then you can install the new cloth. The kit should have a replacment cloth and glue. You may need to supply the scrubber to get the glue off.
You can do it yourself if you are handy but requires some disassembly of the interiors panels in order to get the styrofoam ceiling shell out. Then you have to scrape and remove the old headliner, then spray on 3M heavy duty adhesive and apply the headliner material to the shell, then reassemble and hope for the best. Car upholstery shops do this work for several hundred dollars or more, or you can do it yourself for about $50. You can get the matching OEM material and proper adhesive from Atrim.com out of OK. They have the best selection and the lowest cost and are quick shippers. I’ve done about three of them now.
If you’re just trying to keep the cloth from hanging down and don’t care too much about looks, you can fix it yourself for a few dollars. Buy upholstery screws at a fabric store and screw then into the headliner. They work great and you don’t have to remove anything.
What can be done if the hard foam shell is damaged; can it be repaired or does it need to be replaced to get the new headliner looking good?