Atera Casar XL roof box, textured lava grey, 082295

The Atera Casar has a purposeful, fine-looking lid design that maximises the internal space while still providing the rigidity and stability required. The roof box base includes recesses which bring the whole box closer to the car roof; these recesses are long enough to accommodate widely-spaced roof bars or prominent rear tailgate spoilers; in other words, we expect the Casar to be able to be fitted to all cars.

Dual-side opening, and claw-style fittings: As you'd expect for a box in this price range, it includes dual-side opening so you can mount it on the left or the right of the car roof for easier fitting and easier access (you can of course position it in the middle of the roof if you prefer!) Its low-profile Premium-Fit claw style roof bar fittings include a torque limiter, so you can't over-tighten them. Claw-style fittings will limit the positioning of the roof box if they clash with the roof bar mountings, but the Premium-Fit system is very easily replaced with T-track adapters (listed below), allowing you to position the box wherever you want on a pair of aluminium T-track roof bars.

The SafeGuard System: The Casar includes a very clever new box opening and closing system, called SafeGuard:

• Box opening: When you pull the metal handle it lifts the lid just enough to separate the locking components in the lid and base, and to 'break the seal', so opening the lid is particularly easy to do, jerk free and smooth.
• Box closing: It's a 'Just pull to shut' system, with 3 point central locking. Pull on the lid until all 3 locks engage - you'll hear a click and the opening handle will have snapped shut into its housing; you'll then know it's properly closed.
• Locking is separate from closing: You don't need to use the key to open or close the box - you lock it only when you want to lock it, usually when leaving the box unattended. This can make for a better all-round experience, especially if the box key is on the car key set. For example, you may not wish to lock the box while you're loading it (but you still want to shut it, if it's windy or raining) or if you're travelling around a ski resort, or from a campsite to the beach.

Other features:

• This box has a textured lava grey lid on a matt-black base.
• Externally, 215cm x 90cm x 43cm - space for one bike carrier on 120cm or 122cm aluminium roof bars
• Internally, 210cm x 85cm x 42cm
• The empty box weighs 20.5kg, and it's certified to carry a maximum load of 75kg. You should note your vehicle's maximum roof loading limit, and the weight of the roof bars and roof box, before working out what maximum weight you should carry.
• Premium-Fit box to bar fittings are suitable for almost all roof bars - they'll fit 95mm wide x 38mm deep oval or wing-shaped bars, or 95mm x 28mm rectangular bars). Note that Premium-Fit will not fit Thule ProBars. T-track adapters (listed below) will provide more flexibility about where the box can be placed on the roof bars, and may be required if your roof bars are unusually deep. Note that Premium-Fit include a locking device so they can't be loosened accidentally.
• Internal luggage straps are included to help secure your gear inside the box; they should be used, especially if carrying narrow and heavy items such as skis.
• Atera Casar boxes have been thoroughly tested by the German TÜV to the latest standards, including "City Crash testing".
• 5 year guarantee

Atera is the leading German car rack systems brand, although they have their boxes made for them by Hapro in Holland. Atera's commitment to engineering excellence and quality is demonstrated by the fact that the majority of their business is with the Original Equipment market, i.e. direct to the car manufacturers, where major customers include Audi, BMW, Daewoo, Chrysler, Fiat, Honda, Mitsubishi, Mercedes, Opel, Subaru, Suzuki, Vauxhall and Volkswagen.

Summary: A top-notch box with superb build quality; it's a pleasure to use. The materials quality is up there with the KAMEI Corvara S (and better than the Thule Motion XT); we're pleased to give it an overall five star rating.

Do you need roof bars as well? If so, check out our amazing box and bars package deal which provides everything you need, including this box, locking roof bars, and a roof box storage device, all for a fixed price! Click here for more details.

Very few customers know much about the roof box market before they visit our site. We have a lot of information about the things to think about before buying, and the “real world usefulness" of various roof box features, but you’ll be buying sight unseen, and you probably won’t have used a roof box before, so there is inevitably some luck in getting a box that you’ll be happy with.

We want to remove the risks of buying these large and often expensive items, perhaps from brands which almost every other roof box retailer doesn’t stock, and so we have a unique “90 day Exchange Scheme” for roof boxes.

This allows you to use a roof box and, with the benefit of experience, to exchange it for a new one within 90 days of invoice date, only paying a contribution to our carriage costs. Most exchanges are from a shorter box to a longer one, or from a wider box to a narrower one.

These are the rules of the Exchange Scheme:

• You are allowed one exchange only.
• The original box must be in "as new" condition, subject only to fair wear and tear.
• The replacement box must be a different model. Not just an alternative colour.
• The replacement box must not be part of a package deal or be from our Bargains section.
• Roof bars are never part of the Exchange Scheme.

This is how the Exchange Scheme works:

• We charge in full for the replacement box, including carriage charges, and a charge for any packaging needed for the return of the original.
• If you want us to collect the original box, there will be a £50 carriage charge (please note that regional surcharges may apply).
• We arrange the collection, if requested.
• When the original box arrives back here we refund you for the invoice value of the original box, but you won't get back more than the invoice value of the replacement box. In other words, if the replacement is cheaper than the original we won't be giving you "extra cash back".

Please note: we can only collect roof boxes from mainland UK.

Delivery charges and arrangements:

We charge a contribution towards delivery costs, depending on what you order, where you live, and how quickly you want the goods.

These are our standard charges; there are usually surcharges for all offshore destinations and some remote postcodes - for details please see our delivery information page.

Delivery of this item

Delivery of other items

Delivery times

Delivery times are calculated in working days (Monday to Friday, excluding Bank holidays).

Cut-off times for Express Delivery orders
Express Delivery orders placed before before the cut-off times shown below will usually be desptached on the date of order. Express Delivery orders placed after these cut-off times will be despatched the next working day.

Delivery FAQs

When will my order arrive?
There are no deliveries on Saturdays, Sundays or Bank Holidays, except for postable items where Royal Mail has a Saturday delivery. Express Delivery orders placed on a Friday (before 1pm) should be delivered on the Monday or Tuesday, Express Delivery orders placed on a Saturday or Sunday should be delivered on the Tuesday or Wednesday. The arrangements for Very Heavy Items are different and are shown above.

What about Next Working Day delivery?
Most Express delivery orders will arrive on the next working day, if the order is placed before the cut-off time (see above). Some will arrive on the second working day if there has been a "split-delivery". So-called “split deliveries” happen when the couriers do not have enough trailer space for everything that should be moved around the UK, so they will load what they can and leave the rest for the next trailer.

Is my delivery day guaranteed?
No retailer or courier company can ever "guarantee" a Next Working Day delivery. As well as split deliveries, all courier companies occasionally have the same transport problems as can happen to everyone else, including snow blocked roads, closed roads, traffic jams, mechanical breakdown, an inability to find the delivery address, or to gain access to it if, for example, it's in a block of flats. We work with some of the best couriers in the business, and overall they provide an outstanding service.

Do I need to be at home?
We are very flexible with our deliveries and will aim to deliver to an address which suits you – this does not need to be your home address. Goods can usually be left without signature - we prefer this with roof boxes. There's a "Special Delivery Instructions" box in the checkout area where we'll ask you to choose a typical instruction and then amend it to suit your particular requirements.

Payment options:

We take the following cards, and also PayPal. Please note that the entry on your card statement will be from "The Roof Box Company".

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