i turned down a $100 draw-tite w/oem wiring harness for this reason.

BMW of Bloomfield has 5 of them in stock (now 4). Mine is being shipped to California today! WooHoo!!!
Parts Phone: (800) 796-4698.
Also, BMWNA has given the end of the month as an estimate for the new ones to come out. This should all be over soon.

They are the full kits so I had to return the wiring to ECS Tuning. They were very cool about it as I had not received them yet.

now 2. i just grabbed one!!

It may be possible that the hitches are available again. I called BMW of Bloomfield this morning and they still had two left. I ordered one of them online. However, in the meantime I got a shipping confirmation from Tischer BMW on the hitch I ordered from them last July! I cancelled my order from Bloomfield so there may be one available again from there. They said they have received a lot of calls on E53 hitches today. Also, Bloomfield said they are charging $550 shipped, although the web order shows it as $430 w/ shipping.

I just called Rusnak and they said thier system shows they are still on back order and BMWNA told me yesterday they wouldn't have the new ones until the end of the month. Who knows! At least I have one coming from Bloomfield.

you paid a premium - did you at least use the Microsoft live 9% instance cash back promo going on?

How do you use the promo? Got a link.

go to live.com type in "wii" click the cash back link up top.

This is from BMWNA:

"Thank you for contacting BMW of North America, LLC regarding a trailer hitch for your BMW X5. I was sorry to read of your concerns and I hope the following information fully addresses any issues you may have.

BMW does not offer an estimated timeline on parts availability. There are many factors such as BMW center inventory, vendor supply, international shipping, and US customs inspections that determine parts delivery timelines. Rest assured that we are working diligently towards making the hitch available as soon as possible. You will find that the parts manager at your BMW center is the best resource for the most up-to-date information on your part. We are sorry if this is disappointing information for you.

If you have any further comments or questions, please respond to this e-mail or contact the Customer Relations and Services Department at 1-800-831-1117, Monday through Friday from 9:00 A.M. to 9:00 P.M., Eastern Standard Time. Again, thank you for contacting BMW.

Sincerely,

Darlene Hawley
Customer Relations and Services
Representative"