I have a 96 850 Turbo wagon with roof strips on it, no rails. The strips are in good shape, no lifting or peeling. I want to get a roof rack to carry bikes and a cargo box. I like the look of the factory roof rails, but don't know if the cost of them warrents the functionality. Does anyone see any advantage of rails against say a Thule rack system? That being said, does anyone know of any good places to buy racks?

If you're not opposed to drilling holes in your roof there's a sliding roof rack system on ebay at the moment.

Sounds like it's going to be pricey no matter how you go. Of course, as witnessed recently, occasionally someone here offers up there eurorails free for shipping cost or exchange for your roof strips.

I'd like a set myself but won't pay list.
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Erwin in Memphis, '95 855t

Did you try the Volvo dealer? Mailorder Volvo dealers seem to have the best prices. Volvo racks are made by Thule.
Best of luck,

Eddie W. in FL

I have an 850 wagon withOUT any factory roof racking. I purchased the Thule mounting system for $197. Purchased from a local sports store. Three parts: Load bars, Aero Pack, and Fit kit. For more information try the Thule.com. The system included everything but the cargo box.

The eurorails are definitely the "best" solution to carrying loads on your roof; the loads are kept back from the sunroof (I presume you have one of these since you say you have a turbo) which reduces noise considerably. They also keep ANYTHING from touching paint. With this best-of-class solution comes a price, though. The EuroRails alone set you back about $300, I believe. Then there's crossbars and mounts, which, even if discounted, probably come in around $250. Then there's whatever you need to actually carry something, e.g., mid-grade Thule bike mount is ~$75 per mount.

The Thule system you need is a 400 foot pack, a fit kit, and 50 or 58 inch cross bars (the 58's will stick pretty far out from the edge of the car, and the rears will be right in the way of the rear door).

The nice thing about the plain Thule system is that when you ditch your current car for another, the Thule mounts will go with you, and the only thing you'll have to spend money on will be a new fit kit. I've had my Thule rack system for over 10 years and just last week had to buy a replacement part (50 inch bar) because of a stupid thing I did that caused the bar to bend. It's been through 3 cars and keeps going.

I'd ballpark that the eurorail package will set you back at least $200-300 more than the straight Thule system. So, you just have to decide what it's worth to you.

-cj