Hi all
This is my first Post. Trying to figure everything out. My wife and I just bought a 08 MAZDA5 Touring and looking to buy a roof rack for it. I called the local dealer and they said it's no longer available. So I searched ebay and amazon and found racks to be out of my budget. Thule and yakima racks are out of my budget also. I have read that the mazda5 is the same footprint as the mazda3 --would a m3 rack work? (My local craigs list has one) We will be using it maybe twice a year. I would even consider a used one at the right price.
I will also be installing a hitch. I would like a 2in-- any suggestions on this. I thought of just using a hitch haul carrier (because I already have one and forgetting the racks ) but not sure if the extra weight (175lbs) would make the back sag.
I usually use storage totes to hold everything but sometimes it's a pain to open the rear hatch if tote height is to high.
thanks
jason

 

We bought a Thule for our Mazda 5 from Lordco. Was around $300 CDN.

Not sure if a Mazda 3 rack will fit, but why not go check it out and try to fit it onto the car. If it fits, great, if not, don't buy it.

You can probably get some generic cheap racks that wrap around the door frame, but they won't look as good as the Thules that use the Fix point on the roof.