I finally sold the old SUV and now I have a 2002 Mini Cooper. I need to get a roof rack to transport my kayak. I have looked at various brands that all say they work on a Mini, but I need some advice from actual Mini owners! Please help me out!

 

Your MINI dealer can help you out, they sell a nifty rack for Kayaks, in fact, a couple of them.

Their racks are actually made by Thule, and priced very competetively with what Thule sells on their website. I've been looking at rooftop cargo carriers for my Clubby, so I've been doing some comparison shopping....

 

The nearest Mini dealer is 3 hours away so not much help there. I will have to buy it on-line and hope that it's right.

 

I have the Mont Blanc one with Mont Blanc snowboard rack. Works great for me.

 

On my previous car I used a Thule rack and loved it. I would have used it on my '10 MC but I wound up getting the MINI rack from the dealer because I liked the way it mounted better. That being said, I believe that on first gen MINIs the factory rack required drilling into the roof so in your case go with a Thule or Yakima setup