First of all- Hi to everybody!

I've lurked for a while, had a good look through the forums before buying a Fabia estate, and have also had a good read since (may as well make use of the search facility). Really impressed with the helpful nature of the forum, and was wondering if anybody out there could offer some help or advice about fitting roof bars to a Fabia estate that has neither bars or fixpoints? It all seems so easy, but despite some serious Googling and trawl of the forum I'm no closer to working out what will fit!!! Halfords very kindly ordered three different sets of Thule fixings for me, before throwing in the towel. I'm at a loss really as other websites either give different foot / fixing combinations, or just state that it's simply not possible. Help! Has anybody been here before?

Dont dispair, I think its very possible... Have only got a few seconds at the moment but I have fitted roof bars to my Fabia vRS and they were thule bars. Will try and see if I can get some pictures or dig out some instructions for you!

Hi there. I have had a little look at my roof bars to help you out. These fit my Skoda Fabia vRS hatchback. I have taken a few pictures to help you out. (I hope they work as its the first time ive used pictures here)

Picture 1 - Complete roof bar

Picture 2 - Where they attach to: (To remove the plastic covers from the runner I inserted a small flat screwdriver allong one of the shorter edges (I think the outer edges) and applied presure inwards, then the popped out without breaking. I have had these covers off for about 18 months and there is no sign of corrosion without roof bars fitted, just a little dust etc. This is where the grippers from the feet of the bars grip onto.

Picture 3 - My roof bar feet box label

I hope this helps. I dont know if its the same on an estate fabia but I hope this helps in your search. If there is anything else you need to know let me know. Although I have not used these bars much they seem really sturdy and quite reliable!

Good luck

Chris

If they're only for occasional use, the kind that grip the underside of the door openings have been fine for us when we go on holiday or have the odd large item to shift. As long as the the feet and the areas where they go are kept clean, you won't have to worry about your paintwork...

You can get the parts to retro-fit the longitudinal roof rails to the estate. I did that with SWMBOs car for aesthetic reasons as we both decided that it looked unfinished without them.

It takes a bit of time to do and you need to take care lowering the headlining around the edges to access the mounting points, but it is worth the effort.

If they're only for occasional use, the kind that grip the underside of the door openings have been fine for us when we go on holiday or have the odd large item to shift. As long as the the feet and the areas where they go are kept clean, you won't have to worry about your paintwork...

If these are the really cheap ones from halfords then I have used these on my car for over a year. I got the bars free and had to buy the little gripper plate specifically for my fabia. They're grand, last weekend I had a fairly weighty (and un-aerodynamic) boat on the roof and at 60mph the rack was solid as a rock.

Personally, I'm not a fan of how the roof rails look on the estate, although if you only want to mount them occassionally they're probably much handier (not to fit intially tho).

Thanks for the help everybody.

Sadly, there are no fixpoints on the estate, so the 'claw' attachments that go into the roof (as they do on the hatch) won't work. I may have to give it a few weeks and go back to Halfords - they may have forgotten who I am by then! I can't imagine they were too happy trying to work out what would fit in the pouring rain... ...all for no money! The el cheapo ones may just be the ticket, I just need to keep surfaces clean so as not to ruin the paint. My local dealer dealer quoted £250 for the rails+ parts, plus around £150 labour to fit them. :eek: I like rails, but not at that price! Of course, I could do it myself and save a few bob.

Fit the factory roof rails then use the propper cross bars, job done.

I think that your dealer has quoted you for the individual parts for the longitudinal rails. I got caught out like that too. I believe that there is a kit with both rails and the replacement black trims that run the length of the roof which is arounf £160.

There was a new one for sale on Ebay not so long back. Take a look, it may still be for sale.

Thanks for that - had a word with the dealer this afternoon and they'll have another look. I'll probably go for the rails as I do need to do a fair bit of roof-mounting (oo-er!) at the end of the month!

I think that these are whay you need;

?koda Accessories

This should be the longitudinal roof rail kit I think as it says for use in conjunction with transverse roof bars.

my first fabia estate didnt have them but my current one has them though i have not used then as yet but i am gong to buy cross bars and roof mount bike rack and possibly if i can find a half roof box......

QQ1`