Roof Bars for MY12 Avant

[Tony_N]

Looking for a set of roof bars but don't want to spend a £200+ for the audi or thule ones. Seen a few on ebay for roughly £60 but the locking system looks a bit suspect.

Has anyone got any recommendations for a cheap yet reliable set?

[Stan82]

There are some cracking discounts on thule bars online at the mo. I would be reluctant to go cheap based on the reviews online reviews for the thule bars. They do offer cheaper square ones avoiding the expensive wing bars. it's like anything, you get what you pay for !!

[Steve Hut]

I went for the Audi ones as they worked out cheaper than Thule ones as didn't fancy any of the cheaper brands. Did nearly 1000 miles with them and fully loaded large roof box without any problems. Looked at some cheaper sets but didn't want the worry over them.

[shinycarot]

Thule bars are worth the initial extra investment. I've had the same set of square bars for over 15 years over 5 cars. I just replaced the fitting kit for each car and will do again when I move from my A4 to A6.

[EssexGonzo]

Thule bars are worth the initial extra investment. I've had the same set of square bars for over 15 years over 5 cars. I just replaced the fitting kit for each car and will do again when I move from my A4 to A6.

Exactly wot he sed. You will get many years on many cars out of them.

[johnsimcox]

Looking for a set of roof bars but don't want to spend a £200+ for the audi or thule ones. Seen a few on ebay for roughly £60 but the locking system looks a bit suspect.

Has anyone got any recommendations for a cheap yet reliable set?

I bought a set of Green Valley ones vai eBay (via a cycle shop in Nottingham) for about £80. I only use them occasionally but they are of good quality with perfectly acceptable locks. The cycle carriers I use are then also locked to the bars so whilst I am sure a determined thief could steal them it is more than enough to deter the opportunistic thief

[EssexGonzo]

Of course, there is a question of sartorial elegance here......you have your lovely £30k to £40k car bought partly for it's good looks which means you probably don't want to attach a set of mingers to the roof. Don't scrimp and get the cheapest - after all you didn't do that with the car, did you?

The Audi or Thule ones are worth it for this alone but if you also want future value for money (i.e. use them with other cars in the future) then Thule is the way to go. I've had my aerobars since my car was new 8 years ago and they still look good. I believe the latest Thule bling are Wing Bars and I wouldn't be surprised if they manufacture them for Audi too.

And when it comes to cycle carriers, the same rules apply.....Thule 591 bought from eBay for half of the new price is again a good buy, and they all integrate of course.

[wildbore]

I am currently in exactly the same position as the OP, looking for bars. Whilst I want to spend as little as possible, I think that the consequences of a cheap eBay-sourced Hoki-Koki 2000 bar coming adrift whilst transporting something are so frightening (from the damage-to-car point-of-view, as well as the danger to other road users scenario) that it has to be a good brand - especially given that the Audi roof rails are solid strips and not conventional bars, so attachment is not as straightforward or as secure as it could be.

Thule is the way to go in my book - loads of optional extras and you can re-use them from car to car.

[richball65]

I managed to get a genuine set from Wolverhampton Audi on Ebay £100 cheaper than my local dealer

[Justinos]

I think Atera make the Audi ones. I had OE ones for my S3 many moons ago, and found the Atera logo. I then bought some Atera ones for a previous car, but never used them. I contacted them recently to get a new set of feet to fit the new A6 Avant with flush roof bars, and they said they didn't sell them separately, I'd have to buy the whole set again which I thought was a bit rubbish. Having said that quality is superb

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