Hitch for an 89+ . .

[snicko]

Hey guys

First post!

So I've got a new (to me) 89 coupe. I want to put a hitch on it to put one of our bike racks on it. I ordered the Curt hitch which was supposed to fit, however it doesn't fit with the plastic bumpers on the 89.

As a quick sanity check, I checked it on the '87 SpecE30 car and it fits right up. After finding this out, I checked Curt's site and it turns out that the hitch I have will fit up to an 88 and they only have a hitch with a ball mount built in for the 89+ cars.

I've loooked at the other mfgs (Reeese & Valley). They do not make one for E30.

Sooooo... Anyone know of an off the shelf hitch that'll work with an 89+ or am I stuck going to somewhere like Echartd's and getting reamed on the price for a custom one?

[JinormusJ]

What's wrong with a roof rack?

[vert_this]

is this what you have? because in the add it says it fits plastic bumper cars.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Curt-Class-1-Euro-Trailer-Hitch-117021-w-1-7-8-Ball-for-BMW-325-325e-325i-318i-/140884768552?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Make%3ABMW&hash=item20cd62f728&vxp=mtr

[snicko]

That's what I have. It won't fit the plastic bumper. Its the same P/N that I have here. Curt's site shows that it only fits up to an '88.

Roof rack - I'm not a fan of putting a bike on the roof. I'm liable to forget its up there and drive into the garage or something silly and that would be a seriously expensive "oops".

Plus, I already have a Thule hitch mounted rack. Its a lot simpler ( and probably cheaper) to throw a hitch on and use one of our existing hitch mounted racks...

[MR 325]

The only hitch that's going to fit has a fixed ball and not an actual reciever so I doubt your rack will work.

http://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Hitch/BMW/3+Series/1989/C11514.html?vehicleid=19896920

Had this same hitch on my old 1990 sedan and 1989 coupe.

[snicko]

Thanks! That's pretty much waht I have found as well. I guess I'm off to Echardt's and other such places to see what a custom hitch will run. Ugh! Can't be cheap I imagine!

[YosemiteSam]

What's wrong with a roof rack?

There's a lot wrong with a roof rack, things like low hanging objects and the fact that you have to get out of the car to see if your bike is still mounted properly. I have one since it's the only way to carry more than two bikes using my car, but I never use it unless I have to, and my bike doesn't actually fit on it.

[snicko]

Yep, there's that too.

Cost is also a factor. I already own two hitch mounted racks (one for the truck, one for my wife's car). A Yakima rack is about $400 all said and done (rails, clamps, bike mounts, locks, etc). There's only two of us, so the chances of us needing to transport bikes on all three vehicles is pretty much zero.

So as long as a custom hitch is less than $300, its probalby the better way to go...