I have yet to buy a bike rack for my new car, a mondeo mk4 hatchback.I’m now looking to do so but am unsure what to go for because my car doesn’t have any fixings on the roof. I know there are ones that clamp around the door sill but am worried they might damage the car in some way.

Anyone any experience of this type of rack? Thanks

Suction mount one like a Seasucker?
I’ve recently purchased a cheaper Rockbros one off eBay which seems alright quality wise, but haven’t actually used it yet (except testing it on the side and bottom of my boat) so can’t actually recommend it yet

I had a top quality Thule set up which clamped around the door frame on my Toyota Corolla and I ended up hating it. Looked ugly, was a real pain to set up properly (didn’t keep it on 24/7 as didn’t need it all the time) and whistled like crazy even though they were aero bars. Also flexed a LOT. Went to a top Thule boot rack in the end then a tow bar rack when I got a car with a tow bar.

Using whispbars on a golf with thule 598.
The bars stay on. The Thule will come off if I have to go anywhere further than 100 miles.
The bars are quiet and low profile, look better than the vw issue.

I just fitted Thule aerobars to my little polo with no fix points. Beware – Thule don’t provide the best instructions …

We bought some Ford-specific racks that are supposed to clamp to a Focus. Tried them the other day for the first time. Didn’t fit properly, couldn’t get them to tighten fully enough to stay fixed in the same location and scratched the door frame. So will try one of the alternative suggestions above (and maybe get a towbar mounted bike rack).

Hmmm, Thanks for the replies. I had thought about getting the sea sucker ones but the cost seems so steep for what it is.

Doordonot confirms my fears so I think I may investigate getting a tow bar fitted. I intend to have the car for the next 8 years so would probably be a sound investment.

Open a door and peel back the door seal at the edge of the roof and look for two holes plugged with plastic screws that’s where my Jag (which is basically a Ford) has them. Mk1 Focus has the same arrangement.

My Thule bars came with four brackets that bolt to these holes and then the bars clamp to them. They only use one of the two holes though.

Mk4 estate clamps on, assume hatch is the same. Thule racks are fine normally you just fit them and tighten them into place, as long as you’re careful how you first set them up.

They always mark the car a little bit, clean and polish the area around them before fitting and the underneath of the foot pack really well so nothing will scratch and it should minimise the issue. Has my current ones 2 years now and you can see where they’ve been but a really good polish would remove most of it there’s no dents – there’s more general dents and scuffs on the roof from loading the kit on than the bars themselves. Had a cheaper set on an old car and they really dented under the feet so I’d stick to thule.

That said if you’re keeping the car that long I wouldn’t worry about it – it won’t be worth a lot then whatever condition the roof is in.