Aftermarket Hitch Installation - what were they thinking?

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Originally Posted by UCrewX5

Apologies in advance if this is an X5 of one of our members, but it does beg the question - was going the aftermarket route route really worth it??

We just had a hitch installed by uHaul on a 2005 X5 (was in a bind). Just the hitch was installed (no wiring) since we needed it for bike racks.

1. The hitch seemed considerably larger that what I thought it would be. It's a Class III hitch. Is the hitch big just because it's a Class III hitch.

2. Similar to the picture, there is a piece of the hitch that protrudes under the car. Is that normal? The metal goes through a plastic cover (looks like it was cut through by uHaul)

Thanks