Remove ROOF RAILING on 2009 BMW X5 - how?

[Donibm]

I want to remove my stock roof railings - the ones that stand up off of the roof - with the aluminum ones that sit flat on the roof.

I'm hearing that the way to remove them is to remove the interior headliner, but when I've looked at the X6 installation guide, it appears as though the roof trim "snaps" into place (which is what the roof railings attach to). So, if it does snap into place, I'm wondering if the trim can somehow be pushed out and the entire set (roof trim and railings) be lifted out and off of the roof.

Has anyone done this or had this done to thier X5?



NOTE: BMW charges $166 for the railings, $160 to paint them, but then 4.5 hours of labor, bringing the cost to just over $1,300.