Many thanks to Fastbuck. The reason i asked the question on this forum was because the quotes from BMW UK and dealers seem to vary hugely in terms of part and labour costs. I hoped for some educated answers considering the fact that we are all x5 owners. Instead, i get a series of pedantic replies. Feel free to give BMW a call. They have always termed it dechroming for every car they have ever made. If you don't know that, you don't know about BMW. It's the "chromed" look they are referring to rather than using actual chrome.