The keyless remote for my '03 X5 has progressively stopped working. At first, it was sporadic... Now, it basically doesn't work. (The other key -- which my wife keeps -- stopped working about a year ago...)

I'm assuming the battery is dead. I went to BMW Parts, and they said these older keys can't have their batteries replaced.

Any suggestions?

I noticed they sell this model key, un-cut, on eBay for around $50... But then it will need to be cut and programmed (not sure how much of a "gouge" that will be from a BMW service dept). Not worth it to me to spend $200+ to fix this... Just looking for any ideas.

Thanks!
SM