[trev230]

Needed a hitch after purchasing an inventory vehicle that did not have the factory hitch option. I first contacted my parts guy at our local dealer and he said nothing was available from BMW right now. The only way to have a trailer hitch was to order a vehicle with it included. Already owning another X5 I recalled the hidden hitch and found them online. It's called stealth hitch and there are two options for the assembly. You can opt for the trailer hitch with ball or the accessory hitch (bike rack, etc..). I needed the trailer hitch with ball to pull my dirt bikes so I had to elect for the more expensive option.

Positives-
-Quality is top notch. Packaging was superb as well.
-Install instructions were excellent and color photos were great.
-Factory trunk kick is retained, no problems there.
-Engineering on this thing is outstanding. It's solid as a rock and has a killer locking mechanism and design. Made in GA.

Negatives-
-It's pricey but worth it in my opinion
-You have to remove the entire rear bumper and support assembly, some wiring is also required.

All in all I'm very happy with this setup. You can't even tell it's on the vehicle unless the ball attachment is connected. The installation instructions state 2.5 hours of labor. I can work on anything and had a helper which is definitely needed for this job. It took us a little over 4 hours. Some of that was due to taking our time. Some of it was due to a stubborn bumper clip that would not release for about 30 minutes.

Pic attached of hitch with and without ball assembly attached.