Rich

Anyone who's checked their dealer for the ski rack that fits directly on the A4 factory rack might be dismayed to find that it lists for something over $250! This isn't the whole rack, but just the ski rack attachment! This sounds ridiculous to me, but that's what they told me today. Guess that Audi specs the parts and sends the order to Thule, but probably 'cause the volume's not high and they have to "engineer" the fit kit, the price shoots up.<p>So, for about $80, you can get the regular Thule 4 or 6-pair ski rack attachment, and make a quick trip to the hardware store for some carriage bolts to slide into the fac rack. I'll try to post a pic after my trip to the local hardware store. BTW, you can also use the carriage bolt method to adapt the yakima or thule front fairings to the Audi rack. <p> As I've said before, the fac rack works great, fits pretty flush with the sides of the car, includes locks, and may be cheaper than aftermarket roof racks if you get your salesperson to get it for you at cost, and they should oblige.<p>Rich<br>'98 2.8Q sport

Chris H.

The following is what I found out from Barry at Clair: "First item required for the ski rack are the cross bars even if your car is a Avant. Your cost on the Audi cross bars is $219.30. The ski racks that attach to the cross bars are $97.75 per pair. Each pair will hold 2 pairs flat and you might fit a 5th ski on each side to make a total of 5 pair w/o poles." <p>I questioned the high cost for the cross bars and was told that he did not know why they cost so much. I will be most interested to hear how you are able to adapt another rack to your car. THANKS for the post!<br>--Chris (98 Avant QMS 2.8)