The initial purchase of Saris racks can be a bit unnerving, as everyone else seems to have purchased Thule or Yakima, and chances are your local outfitter will not carry them. Saris seems to distribute their products through bike shops, and even these shops will likely not have anything to show you other than a catalog.
Once you have made the leap of faith to purchase Saris, things get a whole lot better. I purchased mine because neither Thule nor Yakima made a fit kit for my car. I used RackAttack.com for my purchase because they offered good pricing and a return policy (just in case).
These racks took almost no effort to assemble or place on the car. In fact, I take the racks off when I'm not using them, as they take practically no time to take them on or off. There's no frustration with this product, it just works.
I bought mine with a set of Malone Autoloaders. While I am very happy with these (and will review under Malone), the Saris saddles are worth looking at. The Saris fittings on the saddles are specifically made for the racks. My Malone's fitting (being more of a universal design) requires an occasional tightening or they will shift a bit. It only takes a minute to do, but it's another thing to remember.
I give this product a 9 instead of a 10 because the product needs better distribution to paddling resellers and a broader offering of paddling saddles. It's not just a bike rack.
The racks are a solid 10, but the integrated locks make the system vulnerable to theft so I had to give the overall system a lower rating. The racks perform as advertised. They are strong and fairly priced. Like others said before, installing them is a breeze. For the money, these racks can't be beat.
Unfortunately, here is the negative:
On some cars the locking mechanism may be ineffective. The brackets that hold the rack to the car attach to the base of the rack with a bolt that is somewhat exposed when mounted on my vehicle. A thief with a wrench could easily just unscrew the bolt that attaches the brackets to the base of the rack, effectively bypassing the locks, and lift the rack and it's contents right off the vehicle. I emailed Saris regarding my concern and I received a prompt reply. Unfortunately their answer was as follows: "On some cars the slider, where the bolt attaches, can not slide up far enough to hide the bolt....I have found that most thieves are lazy and don't carry the tools needed to undo the bolt..." That answer just didn't seem acceptable to me!
However, don't let this negative turn you off from these racks. THE RACKS ARE GREAT AND I KEPT MINE! I just accepted the limitations of that facet of the product. Check a local retailer to see how they fit on your vehicle. The problem only applies to certain vehicles.
Even though I wish I had known about the bolt issue prior to purchasing, I would still buy the Saris racks with what I know know! They are great racks!