Anyone had luck recently finding an OEM hitch? Ebay shows nada thus far :-(

Bought one from the dealer a few months back. They ordered it in without a problem. Said it might be 6 weeks but got it in 1.

I called Bloomfield BMW, listed earlier in this thread, and he said they are now out of them and expects none coming anytime soon ... or ever unless BMW contracts someone to make another large run :banghead:

You might want to try another dealer. Mine had no problem ordering it. They didn't make it seem like anything unusual. If you want to try Jon at Tulley BMW in Nashua NH tell him Brad from next-door at the bank sent you. Good guy i think it cost me about 400 bucks. I can't imagine what it would cost to ship this sucker. Its huge. I would be happy to bring it to UPS for you though.

I think that's the ticket - you have to find someone to care enough to scour inventories everywhere. I just happened to ask the right person and they found one at a dealer 2h away. Previous attempts all came up "sorry, we're all out and so is BMW, and they're back-ordered". I kept on looking and asking and 3 months later found one. Wreckers were useless - they all said they were original BMW hitches. Most weren't and the ones I found were shot (need full sandblasting and powder coat) and missing a lot of the parts/wiring.

I've talked to 3 different BMW dealerships ... all 3 said they show none available in the US or Germany.

reckon this would work on my x5? as in, does it look like everything is included? it says it has the wiring harness as well

Excellent condition includes wiring harness. Fits x5 2000 to 2006
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTAyNFg3NjQ=/z/he8AAOSwxH1UA5P4/$_20.JPG

Hard to tell what it actually is, but if that is all it includes I wouldn't touch it. No reinforcements or bumper strengtheners. No longitudinal brace in lieu of those stiffeners. No electrical interface module.

You need everything you see in these pictures. Anything less and it'll be a pita to source it all.

BMW E53 X5 N62 4.4L Exterior Hitch - 71600009711 - Trailer Hitch Kit - ES#185392

Ditto that. E30cabrio [I think] had a heckuva time assembling an OEM hitch from a junkyard start. The picture, and .pdf of instructions linked at the start of the thread, say it all.