Cycle rack for car - idiot guide please

[CindersAgain]

We need to put a rack on the boot of the car. For one bike. I have no idea where to start. We don’t have a tow bar. It’s a BMW grand tourer.

How do I work out what would work? Drive to Halfords?

DH says a tow bar will reduce the value of the car.

Are you planning on selling it soon? If not, not an issue. You can always remove it.

Potential dents from cycle racks will also devalue the car.

Good point. He is coming round slowly. He thought they cost thousands, so this has helped already.

thanks. 😂

He thought they cost thousands, so this has helped already.
He could be right unfortunately. It depends on the age and type of car. If it is a modern, reasonably well specified car then yes, you could easily spend over £1000 on a "smart" towbar. They are not just lumps of metal that you can easily fit yourself these days. A smart towbar tells the cars computer when it's in use so alters the electronic functions like parking sensors etc. You can only get them fitted by someone who has the software to access the car's operating systems which for most marques means a main dealer or an approved towbar specialist. I paid just under £900 for a smart towbar fitted at a towbar specialist about 18 months ago. Main dealer prices would have been more and I didn't go for absolutely top of the range either. You can't tell my car has a towbar on it when it's not in use though which is good, and there's no accidentally reversing into things with the tow ball or banging your legs on it when loading stuff into the back of the car, which I used to do a lot with my old car. We use ours a lot so definitely worth it, but for occasional use it might not be cost effective. I would gets some quotes for the towbar before you think about carriers if I were you.

Oh, and if you do get a towbar fitted don't forget to inform your insurers as it counts as a modification if it wasn't factory fitted. They'll probably just say "Ok, we'll make a note of it" - mine didn't even ask who had fiitted it and it didn't increase my premium or anything - but if you don't let them know it could cause problems if you do have an accident.