Rack Attack

Rack Attack continues to serve me well! I have bought a few more accessories from them including a Thule cargo box. Everything is competitively priced and you just can’t beat the service. I drove from Rowley to Framingham on multiple occasions to shop there. They also have a great website which details what they have in stock.

Returning customer, very bad visit. Avoid at all costs. Will not be returning. The REI five minutes away thankfully had the Thule I wanted. Bad language from back area (anti-​LGBT) should be investigated by management. Weekend of February 6^th (Saturday).
Edit: I used to get great help from Brock and Patrick. I would stay far away from the current Rack Attack.

David, thank you for clarifying your response. Attacking my review as having no merit (what Unilocal is for, not your judgement) can be countered as such: Hatespeech should not exist, or be experienced by a customer within a business. The recent poor reviews of your store on Google and Unilocal name you specifically. You now serve only 5999+ customers a year, for after 8+ years, I will be taking my business elsewhere. I wish you luck, but you have made an REI’er out of me.
Regards,
Mark

Had a problem with my Thule rack I purchased from them. It was definitely a Thule issue. They could have ordered a new part but They re threaded the bolt on the spot and fixed the defect. Great service.

We’ve been coming to Rack Attack for years. Had several different racks ordered and installed by them. First time I had a real problem, but the customer service was so horrible I feel the need to comment. One hitch rack was wobbly. Probably wobbly from the beginning, but didn’t realize it was a problem. Came in to have it checked and buy/​order a small part. Was told that it was real problem that it was wobbly. They would order a part for it and call me when it came it. They did. I came back and left my car for about 3 hours to get it repaired. When I show up was told that the part didn’t fix the problem. It was a bigger part that was the problem and not clear it would be a warranty repair. He would talk to his manager, order the part, but I might have to pay for the part. After a couple of weeks I called and was told they had no idea if the part was ordered. Had to talk to someone else. They would leave a message for the right person. Exactly this process happened at least 3 times. It’s now at least a month later and still no idea what happened with a part. Finally spoke to someone who apologized that it took so long. I should come in and they’d give me a new rack and they’d deal with the manufacturer. Great, I thought. Made an appointment for this afternoon. A couple of hours before my appointment I get a call. They made a mistake. It wasn’t a warranty issue, I’ll have to pay for a part. Fine I thought, expecting that I could still come in today and get my rack put back together. Afterall, my rack has been inside my car this whole time, and therefore the car is not really usable. No, they tell me. They first have to order the part!!! They never ever ordered the new part!!! Absolutely no explanation for why absolutely nothing was done for over a month!!! So I first brought my car there in early August. It’s now October 6^th and my rack is still not on my car, and no part was ordered!!! Thought that good customer service after all this time would be to split the cost and make my rack work today, as promised. But no, they want full price for the part before they order anything and then I get to wait and wait again, hoping they remember who I am. Don’t think so. Time to find another place who knows what customer service is.

These guys are awesome! I see some bad reviews, but I guess you can’t make everyone happy. I went into to get some parts for a old system that someone had given me, and these guys really came thru get everything I needed to fit my car. Thanks for helping a broke college kid get set up! Now I can get my kayak, and bike loaded up, to get out and enjoy this summer!

I just want to say these guys are knowledgeable, friendly and helpful! I purchased a Yakima track system for my older minivan, and the install went smoothly. The rack was secure, was very adjustable, and looked great. After several ski trips, I felt that the setup needed to be tweaked from the default setup (I had trouble getting at the back of the cargo box). Fortunately, Dave and crew were able to come up with a solution that looked good, was secure, and they made sure I was happy! I have bought many racks/​components here in the past, and will continue to in the future!

Customer-​Hostile Is Dave’s Middle Name
I needed a somewhat unusual hitch for my car, and this required considerable research in order to figure out. I come from Southern California, where lots of people have hitches, so I called around there and asked hitch people what they do. Armed with knowledge – ha, ha – I called Rack Attack. And called and called and called.
My first experience was overwhelmingly positive. I called, got a guy whose name I forgot, and he realized what the problem is – this particular sport model has an unusual exhaust, whereas most versions of the same car, don’t – and said, «I’ll call you back.» After much – much – research, he called me back and said, «His manufacturer couldn’t, but if I could find a hitch… And if I do, call him back.» Wow. What great customer service.
Then came Tuesday, and Dave was on the line. He a) would not find the person I had talked to and b) wanted to sell me a hitch. So he said, «Sorry, whoever it was isn’t working today, and of course I have a hitch for you.» Just come on in.” (It’s an hour drive to Framingham for me.) So I walked him through the issue, and even though he was «The Hitch Expert» (capitals his), he grudgingly admitted that I might have a point. So he said, «Call back tomorrow (Wednesday),» and you can talk to the other guy.
Here I am teaching Hitch Experts about hitches. Yccch. So trust-​inspiring.
So I call back on Wednesday. Boy do these guys stink. Nobody answers. I just get the answering machine. I leave a call-​back. Nobody calls back. I call again. Nobody calls back.
Now we’re at Thursday. Dave answers the phone. Having found something and done my homework, I tell him the solution. He says, «We can’t do that. We don’t do fabrication.» (The guy on Monday had told me the exact opposite.) So I tell him that the guy on Monday has said something like «We’ll do what we need to do.» He says, «Did he tell you we’d do fabrication?» in a menacing tone of voice? I gave up and said, «Do you know somebody else who can do this?» And he hung up on me.
I think if you get the right guy and you have an easy car, you might luck out and get a really good job. I don’t doubt that they’re geared to make people like some of the 5-​star reviewers quite happy. Hitches are pretty easy. But this is not a well-​run company. Get the wrong guy or have a problem, and you’re toast. And heaven help you if they run into a problem – as so often happens – while they’re trying to install the hitch. Then you are burnt toast floating down the proverbial river without a paddle.

Good dudes. Knowledgeable staff.
I came in a here a few weeks back to buy a bike rack for my Jeep Patriot. I had an idea of what I was looking for but one of the guys on staff recommended a different product (same price) that might suit my needs a little better. We did a side my side comparison and 30 minutes later I walked out with a new Thule rack that allows me to carry up to 4 bikes and swing to the side so I can open my rear cargo hatch. Simple, easy process. I also noticed that the price at Rack Attack was 25% cheaper than the listing at REI. Aside from just selling hitch/​rack products they also do installs here if you need it. I would recommend these guys to friends and would definitely come back in the future.

These guys were great! We are taking a long road trip for the week of July 4^th, and wanted to get a roof rack installed on the Chevy. We were debating putting up the money for a factory rack from the dealership, or should we have something aftermarket installed on our Equinox.
We worked w/​Felix there. He was very knowledgeable and helpful. We were a little hesitant only because I don’t think the aftermarket stuff looks as good as what the manufacturer does. It ended up being half the cost so we went for it. I couldn’t be happier with the outcome! We had the sliding rail installed w/​the Thule blade cross bars. These guys are professionals and do a very nice job. I looks fantastic on the car and I’m happy about this decision. I would do business with these guys in a heartbeat.
Well deserved 5 stars!!!

Just needed a simple 2-​bike carrier to stick into a 1.25″ hitch. The only reason we came out to their store was the $ 89.00 ProRack they had listed online.
We got to the store, explained what we were looking for and for what type of car. The salesman showed us a ~$ 350 Thule model which is very similar, where you simply hang the bikes on by their frames. I asked if there were any other alternatives, and he showed us a $ 400 Thule model where the bikes sit on their wheels and have a spring-​loaded rod go over the wheels to secure them.
That seemed to be it, so I asked if they had some options online that were not in the store, and he said no. Then I said that I had seen a ProRack online, and he said they were of low quality and disrecommended customers from buying them.
This felt like a really hard sell, so we went down the road to REI and ended up buying a $ 200 Thule model. If I’m going to overpay for what amounts to a Z-​shaped hunk of metal with some hinges in it, I’d rather do it at a store where the sales staff at least feels comfortable showing customers all the available choices.

Long story short:
Was supposed to purchase a Jeep Wrangler.
Received Thule «Spare Me» rack for Christmas.
Purchased Jeep Liberty Jet Limited instead.
Rack Attack allowed me to exchange the Thule Spare Me, for another rack, since the Spare Me wasn’t opened, FULL CREDIT, even though it wasn’t purchased there.
Bought Thule Helium Aero for Liberty trailer hitch…
Thanks, Rack Attack!

It’s a great place to check out the racks in person. Not so great though for actually buying things there because the prices are frankly ridiculous. The same hitch they sell for $ 170 (+ shipping fees) costs $ 110 on
(ships free). The hitch involves screwing on 4 bolts to the frame of my car– youtube videos show how to do it, and the estimated install time for a newbie is 40 minutes. Rackattack guy says it’ll take more than 1 hour and at their hourly rate, it’ll cost ~$ 130.
What’s funny is that the rack I was looking to buy can be bought from any of a number of online vendors (popular gear stores) for $ 120 less. The guy offered to give me a 10% discount if I purchase right then, but even with that, I’d be paying $ 70 more.
If this is not a total rip-​off, I don’t know what is. And I don’t know why anyone with a little bit of patience to shop around (online or other physical stores) would want to shop at Rackattack.

I was really impressed with the staff at Rack Attack. I went to pick up the Thule Force (Large) that I had purchased over the phone. While I was there I decided to purchase a kayak carrier (J style).
Ben helped me out and he was great. He spent almost 2 hours with me, helping decide between the options and accessories for my car. It was 95degrees outside and he did an awesome job problem solving and installing everything.
He did not push the Thule brand, in fact pointed out that the J carrier I bought was made by Thule but cost much less.
Unfortunately, it broke on the first trip and I’ll be replacing it with the Thule brand.
Other than that it was a great experience. Thanks Ben!
I’ll definitely go back to Rack Attack in the future.

Just bought a Thule aero 3 for our rav4. TJ was our salesperson and he was friendly and very helpful and knowledgable. They matched REI’s sales price. He did not pressure us toward a more expensive model in fact no pressure at all. Great store!

I can’t help but think the vast disparity of reviews and ratings for Rack Attack are more of a reflection on the reviewers than the business.
The guy I dealt with on the phone and then at the shop was awesome. Every other customer service interaction I witnessed while I was there (waiting for my install) was totally professional on the part of the staff member, even with some less than civil customers.
You catch more flies with honey than vinegar folks, it’s amazing the customer service you get when you don’t act like a complete dick to people.
Protip: The best way to use Unilocal is to read the bad reviews — not look at the average/​overall rating.
Great Job Ben. Thank you.

Clue 1: No prices listed in the sales room.
If you’re a yuppy wanting to put something fancy on your Subaru so you can act like you’re some kinda NH /​VT /​ME backpacking native, then cool. You can splash some mud on it and you’re all set.
If you’re trying to find something affordable to carry luggage for your family on vacation, without spending more than you would on FedEx’ing the stuff, go to Sears.

Have bought a number of racks over the years. No issues. But, the first time I needed customer service, they failed.
I had a new car and needed to find an adapter for the rack. The salesperson found it, after much prodding on my part, but was unsure it would work. All we had to do was try it out on the piece I’d brought into the shop. But, the sales manager said we could not try it. I’d have to buy it and take my chances.
Your kidding! You won’t allow a customer to see if an adapter will fit, that you have no idea if it will fit? Their answer, No!
I was about to leave, when I asked about their return policy. They take returns, even if opened. So I stood there and bought it. Opened the box and tried it. It fit.
Good customer service would have gone a long way. From now on, I’m only buying from REI.

Wowzers! I read through some other reviews, and I think there’s been a staff change. The guy who helped me out was awesome! We quickly went through all options, even some used stuff, and found me the exact thing I wanted to mount my kayak to my roof. And, then he got me a discount, on top of that. Cheaper, than online.
Truly friendly, and helpful.
My only complaint about the whole Magilla comes from the guy who was before me, in line. It was easily 95 degrees outside. I get it’s hot, and you sweat, and such. He smelled like an untanned goat hide. If you wanna go Natural; still take some showers, and rub a crystal on your pits, Dude! I smelled things that don’t come from armpits. And, that’s all I am going to say about that!

Not a consumer friendly store, especially if you are not sure what you need! I went down the road to REI and got excellent customer service, plus their prices were cheaper.

To be honest, I’m surprised this place currently has a 4-​star review. I just got off a call with them to check on items in stock and felt compelled to immediately go to Unilocal to leave feedback. It was terrible customer service.
The person on the other end of the phone was so short that they put me on hold before I could finish my sentences and even hung up before saying goodbye. When they did speak, they came across as patronizing and not interested in my sale. Needless to say, they won’t be getting my business.
Thule racks are easy enough to self install, documentation is easy enough to find online, and pricing is much better online. If you truly need help, any local bike shop will suffice — this small chain of stores is certainly not destination-​worthy. [Side note, having owned both in the past year I would certainly recommend Thule over Yakima — definitely worth the price increase]
Since I had limited interaction with them I’m giving them the benefit of one-​star but a below average (3-​star) experience.