OEM trailer hitch
 

Called My local dealer while on my way to work today to ask if they have the hitch in stock and to my amaze.... they had one!! Right after the phone call, I exited the freeway and made a detour to the dealership.....by the time it was all said and done..I was already 2hours late for work. Got chewed by my boss but i didnt care as I was looking for this hitch for almost a year now :)

Are they back in stock now?

Awesome. I did the same when I found one. Hopped in the car and drove for 2h to get it. I'd suggest getting it powder coated before you install it. I didn't but I'm sure I'm going to regret it. There are a few great links for install and tips. Nice score.

Wow. Now I'm gonna have to check. Did you buy just the hitch or the wiring kit too? I have a hitch, but the PO must have removed the wiring.

I haven't opened the box so not sure if it' there. I'll check and will revert

I agree with the powder coating. They rust quickly, the paint on them is not very good. Mine looks like a rusty tumor sticking out of the bumper.

Congrats!

Mine came from a Florida junk yard. Was rusty. Had it powdercoated, looks great!

sweet deal! mine came from a wrecker, i sandblasted it and powdercoated it, looks good as new! i find i have to respray the inside of the receiver every few months, as the hitch i have seems to chew all the powdercoat off the inside of the receiver hitch! did they install a factory hitch (one that requires removal of the backing plates and support bar between the two bumper dampers?) or an aftermarket one that "fits" the X5? was the wiring included as well as the module?

How do you know if you have an oem one or not? The 4.8is I just bought came with a hitch and was just curious if it is the real deal.

Mikes123, look at the OEM installation .pdf on the first page of the long thread on installing the OEM kit to sure. The OEM is very much integrated into the rear bumper mounts so as to spread the load across the unibody. Most aftermarkets are seriously inferior bolt-on affairs. Crawl under the back and eyeball behind the bumper cover. Also, the OEM has a nice, OEM looking ;) mount for the 7 point elec. connector mounted just to the right of the hitch socket. Also - the uhaul sticker is a dead giveaway .....

Here are some pics, but looks like mine is not OEM. :(:(

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3856/...e5d4001a_z.jpgimage by MikeandGabby, on Flickr

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3883/...e1b666ea_z.jpgimage by MikeandGabby, on Flickr

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5563/...f898ebff_z.jpgimage by MikeandGabby, on Flickr