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Old 12-17-2008, 08:34 PM
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No pics readily available, but I own the Thule Rack and I love it.

It's definitely not generic universal fit - you have to buy specific brackets that follow the curves of the door jam. They are rubber coated and of excellent quality, you'd have to try pretty hard to scratch the paint with them.
The Crossbar and braces which mount have rubber "feet" that line up the rubber seam gutters along the sides of the roof. Again, rubber, padded, can't scratch.
You do however need to clean the spots where they mount (I washed and then claybar'd the spots then some wax) to get any sand/dirt/dust etc. otherwise some vibration will make the tiny particles abrasive under the rubber mounting surfaces.
Thule also includes decals so once you've done the measuring and initial mounting process, you can put the stickers in the door jam to idendify where they front and rear racks mount. The first mounting took about 45 minutes to align and straighten/measure etc. Now I can get the rack on and off in 5 min. tops.

I'll try and get some pics, but I assure you, speaking about Thule specifically and from experience, it is excellent quality, will not scratch as long as you take the precautions I mentioned, and will last - if you get rid of the fit, you'd just have to get a different "fit kit" of brackets, otherwise the crossbars and feet mount on anything. (Perhaps that's where the "universal" misnomer comes from)

Hope this helps. I'm sure more pics will come from other members.

Also, I'm partial to Thule - I've seen Yakima and Thule parts and I have to say Thule just looks and feels stronger and better. But Yakima is good too.
My local outfitter's price was 239.99 plus tax for the Yakima system, and 241.99 for the Thule - worth the extra $2 if you ask me. It'll be a negligible price difference if you purchase new; shop on ebay or craigslist and either find a good used system and purchase a new fit kit for the fit, or peice it together from different sources and save more.

Hope that helps.
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