Originally Posted by jhoehn

I'm not interested in convincing the originator of this thread and his aftermarket rack, but for those of you surfing and trying to make up your own mind, I must tell you BUY THE MERCEDES RACK. It is so amazingly engineered it is frankly a pleasure to put it on or take it off. It fits into those hidden little flaps beside your panorama roof. It comes with a little wrench engineered into each mount. Each pillar has a little map on it, so you know exactly where the pillar goes, front left, back right, etc. Which is an issue when it has been off for 6 months since the last time you used it! I looked for a cheaper rack, and am so happy that I ended up buying the original MB rack. If you want an examply of quality well thought out engineering, and take pleasure in a well made, precisely fitting piece of machinery, don't trash your R class with anything other than the factory rack. I have zero connection with MB other than owning a R-350, just advice to fellow drivers based on my own pleasure with this purchase. Jack.