To anyone who has used this, will this destroy my paint if used on the S?

http://www.usedcalgary.com/classified-ad/6232478

Great price at $49 for a Thule, I do believe.

 

I will add a follow up, what can be done to protect the paint and avoid any damage to it?

I'm not interested in spending 500 on a hitch and trailer-mount rack really, though I know it's best.

 

I bought one of these racks,


http://www.treefortbikes.com/265_333222333...Trunk-Rack.html

based on a recommendation from a friend. I haven't used it on my S yet, but my Contour SVT has suffered no paint scratches so far.

The rack has big rubber feet which rest on top of the bumper and on the top, front of the trunk near the rear window of the car.

 

I have the saris bones 2 and the rubber feet leave residue on the trunk. Mine is yellow so they are more visible as compared to what they would look like on your black s2000. Furthermore i did get two minor scratches on the trunk hood since the clips don't really contour to the sides of the trunk well. Also the rack rests on the bumper which above the reg. plate has no support. If you are going to get one of these you need to be prepared for some body work. Sadly, it is still one of the better ones out there.

 

i run a bike shop and from my experience (12 years), every, EVERY trunk mount rack will scratch your car to some extent. I agree that the hitch way is expensive, my suggestion is by a beater that you can put the bike inside, that way scratches won't matter and it will be harder for a theif to take your bike....

-Doug

 

i have the same one it used it on my s2k and miata to carry two of my mt bike(full size + accessories)

first thing first, it's a budget model so the padding is not enough, i went to toy r us and gotten those polyurtherane foam stick(for pool and floats) and padded the entire contract area with it.

it's for paint protection as well as dent protection(pressure=Force/area), and on top of that i put mirco fiber cloth underneath, so far so good, no scratches. I think the main thing is keeping it secure and have a clean mating surface(no dirt, or anything that could scratch/swirl the paint)

edit: also being a budget model i added some quick fasten tight down so both of my heavey bike will not shift around.

 

Great advice, thanks to all of you.

Can really deal with another vehicle at the moment, or justify having to get additional parking in my condo garage to keep a utility truck. As it is I'm only putting roughly 10k miles on my S each year anyway and it's my daily driver. I looked at the Saris Bones as well and it seems like a fine unit, but the concern with the lack of bumper support jumps out at me as well.

I think the key really is weight distribution and I wonder if I could fab up a piece in some sort of non-abrasive yet rigid material that would conform to the bumper and distribute the weight across more space than just 2 small points.

If I come up with something I will definitely post back. Thanks again!