Thanks Jeff, I appreciate the help.

Ciao,
Dick

I'm replacing the radiator myself. Just took it out, the one from dealership has only 3 holes and the new hose, can anyone explain how to connect it properly?

Huh. Welcome back.

Shall we assume that the one in the car has something other than 3 holes??? What does "and the new hose" mean?

Did you buy it from YOUR dealer? Did you give them the VIN, they should have looked up the part based on the VIN and it should be right....

2007-08 models I guess get new updated radiators. The stock ones that came have 4 hose connections out of the radiator for circulation (2 larger and 2 smaller holes), the new radiator that you get now only have 3 exits/holes, which was why I got confused with the 4th hose. I didn't know where it goes, until I saw the new hose. The 4th exit hole is sealed in the new hose, so you just put the radiator back in with the new hose that comes with it, and it circulates only through the 3 holes.

My 2008 CPO X5 low coolant light started showing up a year ago. I wasn't sure what the problem was, so I habitually added more coolant which would keep the problem at bay. Sometimes the warning wouldn't go on for a couple of months, other times I had to renew like every 2 weeks. Recently I had the car serviced at a 3rd party because the brake fluid needed to flushed. They told me coolant was leaking and would I like to do a pressure test for $50. I said that would be a good idea. The verdict was that the radiator was the culprit. They quoted me a price of $1200 to fix the issue, using OEM radiator. They mentioned the new hosing design. Price seemed costly, especially for a car that only had 55900 miles. I decided to wait and research it more.

I came across this thread which reaffirmed my issue but it also got me to check my in-service date. Turns out it was 11/27/2007. CPO warranty was still good! Basically only had about 2 months left. Completely forgot about it or actually thought it had already expired. It was actually the free maintenance that expired. I just got the car back from BMW Manhattan. Total cost was the deductible, $54. I can only imagine what BMW Manhattan would have charged me if it was out of warranty. $2400?

I'm a happy camper :D.

Btw, if the warranty had expired and the repairs did cost $2400, I was considering paying $1800 with 10% discount = $1620 for the new 7 year Gold Wrap extension. In the end, it might have cost $1620 - $1200 = $420 more than 3rd party quote, but at least I would have had another warranty year. Food for thought, in case anyone else is in a similar situation as I am.