Went to the dealer the other day. He recommended against the factory rack. They don't like to deal with drilling the roof. I have a 2004 MCS w/ sunroof. Is the Mont Blanc rack the best option? Or Thule? Or Yakima? or other? I have a roof cargo box and BMW Bike Holders I would like to mount. Ideally I would like the factory rack because I beleive my BMW accesories will mount directly. If I buy Thule ar Yakima posts, can I install the crossbeams from my old BMW rack? Sshould I sell all teh BMW stuff and start over from scratch? Lots of questions...All opinions welcom and appreciated!!!

Thanks,

J. Tucker
2004 MCS
1992 C2 Coupe

 

There are a few discussions on roof rack options. I don't have experience with the others, but we have a Yakima - mostly because we had the bars and attachments accumulated over several cars, and all I needed to do was but the mounting clips.

The yakima is not the the sleekest looking, but is very sturdy and works well for our bike trays. It may be over-kill for what is needed on the mini. The load bars are round, so you can see if your BMW trays will attach directly, but I think there are various attachments that yakima makes that might work. The rear bar has about 1/2 in interference with the operation of the sunroof, if that is important. (I customized the rear bar and moved the trays to outsides of the sunroof and can fully open the roof now.)

I sold my C2 last year..nice car.

 

The factory rack is very good... by far the sturdiest roof rack I've ever seen. And very easy to install / remove day by day - as long as there aren't any attachments that span from front to back.

If you don't mind having the frankenstein bolts on your roof, and you need a roof rack as opposed to simply wanting a roof rack, find a dealership that won't complain about having to install the factory rack. It's really good.

 

My 2006 came with the Mini drill mount rack on it. not my favorite way to mount but it's pretty seamless and I keep the rack off most of the time with the covers over the mounting holes and it looks good. I have yet to buy any attachments for it and hope they don't quit making them by the time I need...That would be the benefit of going with Thule or Yakima, they aren't going anywhere!

 

Also, I found a PDF with the Gen 1 base roof rack installation instructions somewhere online, google it. If you're decent with measuring and drilling, it really isn't that hard to do your self for much less than dealership. OUtmotoring.com has the Gen 1 rack in stock!