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Factory crossbars purchased post-delivery
- Thread author Yossarian
- Start date
HillCountry
Well-known member
Probably installation cost
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2019
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It is a higher cost to us at the dealer side.. and installation cost. You can ask if its cheaper to install yourself. It really is not that hard of a job. For one person may take 30-45 minutes. With two people it is easier to line up and will take about 15-20 minutes
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Yossarian
Active member
Not disputing the assertion, but are you saying that Kia charges the dealer more than the customer factory invoice price of $310? If that's truly the case, Kia (the company) must be making a bundle on after-market accessory sales, unless they sell them at cost on factory orders.
For the record, the $519 price did not include installation.
HillCountry
Well-known member
Per Kia Accessories Guide - Home (I believe the site is authoritative), the $519 includes installation. If the dealer wants to charge you this, be sure to insist on the full service. HTH.
True. But, it is also true that some dealership parts departments offer more competitive pricing.
You may want to look in eBay. Also, do general searches on the internet for OEM crossbars.
Before posting this, I found at Kia.parts (Gilbert, AZ), OEM crossbars, including shipment to Houston, for $410. The bars were $350. Shipping ~$57.
And Stephen is right-on when he said they are not hard to install. I did it myself. Easy Peasy!
Yossarian
Active member
Thanks for the info @HillCountry and @Katy_Tell.
Having added crossbars to two Volvo's, I'm aware that "installation" is a pretty generous use of the term. I wasn't planning on paying anyone for such a simple job.
I misread the email and was wrong about the price. It looks like they are only $485; the $514.10 includes tax but is still sans installation. Here is the email response verbatim:
"We have them in stock and they sell for $514.10 after tax that does not include installation of the part. You would have to call up and speak with someone from service and find out a time and day for you to have it installed."
I may wait until REI has their 20% sale and get the Thule mounts and bars from them. The discount would make them about the same as the Kia part from the dealer, though more than from kia.parts. The Volvo bars were Thule's and the quality is quite good.
Having added crossbars to two Volvo's, I'm aware that "installation" is a pretty generous use of the term. I wasn't planning on paying anyone for such a simple job.
I misread the email and was wrong about the price. It looks like they are only $485; the $514.10 includes tax but is still sans installation. Here is the email response verbatim:
"We have them in stock and they sell for $514.10 after tax that does not include installation of the part. You would have to call up and speak with someone from service and find out a time and day for you to have it installed."
I may wait until REI has their 20% sale and get the Thule mounts and bars from them. The discount would make them about the same as the Kia part from the dealer, though more than from kia.parts. The Volvo bars were Thule's and the quality is quite good.
HillCountry
Well-known member
I know REI just had their Labor Day, but there will be another soon I’m sure. And the big anniversary sale is in May.
Someone posted a positive review here of an Ant Rack on their Telluride. I might try it in spring. Good luck with your roof rack!
I was watching the Labor Day sales for deals on roof racks but there was nothing. I also noticed most if not all sites sell at the same price. Thule fit kit 186095 wasn’t available anywhere either.
arattle
Well-known member
If you're not too picky about the brand name, these have the same load rating and cost less than half as much. They look just like OEM setup.
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Yossarian
Active member
Thanks @arattle - glad to learn that they look similar to the OEM crossbars. They kept showing up in my searches for third-party bars, and I was pleased to see that their reviews were overwhelmingly positive. One big selling point for me was the reports that their wind noise was modest, something that was not the case for many other alternatives.
As they were only 1/3 of the price of the Kia bars through the dealer, I took a chance and pulled the trigger on a set that should be on my doorstep on Monday. My biggest worry is if they will work with my Thule top box; I did not know that the mounting for all of the Telluride OEM-style crossbars is fixed. Hopefully the attach points will be within the range that the Thule accepts.
As they were only 1/3 of the price of the Kia bars through the dealer, I took a chance and pulled the trigger on a set that should be on my doorstep on Monday. My biggest worry is if they will work with my Thule top box; I did not know that the mounting for all of the Telluride OEM-style crossbars is fixed. Hopefully the attach points will be within the range that the Thule accepts.
arattle
Well-known member
I'm still waiting to see when I'm going to need cross bars for lumber or skiing...for now, I'm holding off, but these are in my amazon cart, ready to go. Let us know how you like them!
Yossarian
Active member
Edited to add photos
- Follow up on the Snailfly crossbars.
They arrived yesterday as promised and my first impression was positive. The extruded aluminum bars are well-made and the anodized finish is nice. The mounting towers have a lot of plastic, but are metal where it matters, such as the plates that clamp to the rails. The clamps themselves have a nice, thick vinyl coating and overall, the towers look like they are sturdy and will work well. It's a bit difficult to get the compartments that provide access the key lock to pop open as they're designed to do, but that's probably because things are new and stiff, and so should improve over time.
Unfortunately, the Snailfly package did not contain any of the hardware needed to attach the bars to the towers (looks like this should be 8 machine screws and 4 small plates). The package did not have any keys either, so there is no way to attach the cover plates to the towers. Finally, there were no instructions, diagrams or even a parts list in the package.
This would normally not be a major issue; you would simply contact Snailfly customer service and they would send the missing items out. The problem is that there does not appear to be a way to do this. The Snailfly website, which only appears accessible through Amazon, does not have any contact information. I instead contacted Amazon about the issue, but have not yet heard back. If I can get the needed parts, I'll mount the crossbars and provide a revised review. If not, the only choice will be to send everything back.
Photo 1) - complete package as received (wo crossbars and four mounting towers);
Photo 2) - detail of crossbar inserted in tower (no hardware to attach was provided - looks like a plate and two screws are needed for each tower however, since there were no instructions included, this is just a guess.)
Some have speculated that the Heka and Snailfly crossbars are the same. This is true - the mounting towers have "Heka" stamped on them, so they are obviously the manufacturer. The two designs are somewhat different hower. If you look at the Heka website, you'll see that the locks on their crossbar set are exposed and do not have the cover plate that the Snailfly does. It also looks like the roof rail clamp design is a bit different: the Snailfy has two hex bolts, the Heka appears to have one. There is a significant price difference between the two, with the Snailfy being about $30 more.
- Follow up on the Snailfly crossbars.
They arrived yesterday as promised and my first impression was positive. The extruded aluminum bars are well-made and the anodized finish is nice. The mounting towers have a lot of plastic, but are metal where it matters, such as the plates that clamp to the rails. The clamps themselves have a nice, thick vinyl coating and overall, the towers look like they are sturdy and will work well. It's a bit difficult to get the compartments that provide access the key lock to pop open as they're designed to do, but that's probably because things are new and stiff, and so should improve over time.
Unfortunately, the Snailfly package did not contain any of the hardware needed to attach the bars to the towers (looks like this should be 8 machine screws and 4 small plates). The package did not have any keys either, so there is no way to attach the cover plates to the towers. Finally, there were no instructions, diagrams or even a parts list in the package.
This would normally not be a major issue; you would simply contact Snailfly customer service and they would send the missing items out. The problem is that there does not appear to be a way to do this. The Snailfly website, which only appears accessible through Amazon, does not have any contact information. I instead contacted Amazon about the issue, but have not yet heard back. If I can get the needed parts, I'll mount the crossbars and provide a revised review. If not, the only choice will be to send everything back.
Photo 1) - complete package as received (wo crossbars and four mounting towers);
Photo 2) - detail of crossbar inserted in tower (no hardware to attach was provided - looks like a plate and two screws are needed for each tower however, since there were no instructions included, this is just a guess.)
Some have speculated that the Heka and Snailfly crossbars are the same. This is true - the mounting towers have "Heka" stamped on them, so they are obviously the manufacturer. The two designs are somewhat different hower. If you look at the Heka website, you'll see that the locks on their crossbar set are exposed and do not have the cover plate that the Snailfly does. It also looks like the roof rail clamp design is a bit different: the Snailfy has two hex bolts, the Heka appears to have one. There is a significant price difference between the two, with the Snailfy being about $30 more.
Attachments
Last edited:
PittPa
Well-known member
certainly look like the KIA OE ones I have except for the logo. (and the missing keys and bolts 
)
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Yossarian
Active member
Update: Snailfly contacted me through Amazon this morning, requesting photos and my address and promising to send the required parts. Will update this thread when/if that happens. Seems a cumbersome way to go about things using Amazon as the middleman, but if it works, I'm happy.
