Really basic question I’m sure, but I thought I’d ask the experts!
I have a 2020 Volvo XC90 which lease ends in June of 2023. I cycle a lot and will be traveling over the summer with my bike. The car doesn’t have a tow-bar so I’d need to have one installed.
The local Volvo dealership always has deals on tow-bars and bike racks but together it is around $1500. If I purchased these what happens at the end of the lease with those additional costs? Are they just lost (ie. am I only getting them for 1 year?).
Is there a smarter way to get a bike rack onto my car?
The dealer is just another shop selling an item you want, those items are yours and should be taken off at lease end or you’ll just be donating them to the dealer for free.
Look on Amazon or an online or local auto specialty place for a hitch and get a mechanic to install it if your not mechanically inclined. It’s typically 4-6 bolts that hold it on. Then def get the bike rack from Thule / Kuat / Yakima or whichever retailer has the best price or check NextDoor / Craigslist / FB marketplace.
Those items are marked up so heavily at a dealer their is now way I’d consider it. Yes, at lease end you would need to take those items off or give them to Volvo.
Not my Volvo specifically, but I have added a trailer hitch to a couple different leases for my bike rack. I’m team U-Haul for that , it has probably increased but roughly 1/10 of what the dealer is quoting you. The only concern if you have a power lift-gate, a non-OEM one could block the kick sensor for your hatch. Presumably you could remove them at the end of the lease, I just left them on the car.
Doesn’t the XC90 come with roof rails? Couldn’t you get a roof mounted option like some cross rails, then strap a bike carrier to that? Much cheaper and removable option for your next car. Itll hurt your MPG, but you didn’t get an XC90 to be good on gas
I don’t lift hehe… had to haul around and use a stepladder. Hold the bike to your chest, and walk up. Not easy lol then have to position it and tie it down
Then Got a tow hitch and Kuat bike rack - snap, click tighten and you’re good in <1 minute.
You lose it. Please for all that is good in this world do not pay $1500 for a hitch to use for a year. I’ve installed a couple of hitches myself on cars and I get them online for under $200 and put it on in an hour or two. As mentioned, i have no idea what the implications are on an xc90, though (e.g. the tailgate).
The absolute very best way to transport a bike is indeed by a tow hitch (I’ve carried five on mine at once), but if you insist on not putting it in the car go with one of the roof mounted options if you’re okay lifting the bike up there.
EDIT: I’ve heard that for those who carry on their roof it’s not if but when you will drive into your garage with the bikes on the roof. So be careful. My advise on that would be if you have a garage every time you put the bikes there you also put something like a large bucket in front of your garage to ensure you don’t have to “remember” not to drive into the garage with the bikes on.
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