Leather vs. Leatherette - Page 2 - XBimmers

TKM399 · 12-01-2012, 01:29 AM

How much "care" do you guys put into your real leather seats? Mercedes leather is relatively studry, and I just clean my seats with saddle soap every 4 months.

Grovsnus · 12-01-2012, 10:09 AM

Er, a damp towel every couple of weeks? Leather is pretty low-maintenance.

Yes, saddle soap is good for the hard'ish kind of leather that BMW uses. One way of using it is like shining shoes, where you let it sit and then brush and shine off the excess.
With my red leather, I won't be doing that - I want the two-tone worn look, with the shiny areas being the well-used ones, and the rest gathering patina.

stefan · 12-10-2012, 09:28 AM

Trust me, BMW leather truly is terrible, especially modern BMW leathers. It just doesn't last, and requires constant care and conditioning, particularly if it's your DD and you live in a dry climate. Just get the leatherette and never worry about it.

Anyone who says otherwise hasn't owned one past 80,000km. After a few years and some mileage, bolsters wear down to nearly paper thin, tons of cracks, etc. Unless maintained.

Grovsnus · 12-10-2012, 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stefan

Trust me, BMW leather truly is terrible, especially modern BMW leathers. It just doesn't last, and requires constant care and conditioning, particularly if it's your DD and you live in a dry climate. Just get the leatherette and never worry about it.

Anyone who says otherwise hasn't owned one past 80,000km. After a few years and some mileage, bolsters wear down to nearly paper thin, tons of cracks, etc. Unless maintained.

80 Kkm and several years doesn't seem bad. I've never had any car where the interior survived for longer than that without wear and tear, and I'm not a young guy.
I honestly don't expect my leather car seats to last longer than my leather office chair.

nospam · 12-10-2012, 12:06 PM

The low-end leather appears to be improved in regards to wear vs 10 years ago. My E46 leather showed obvious signs of wear. My wife's 2009 128i has 75k miles on it and no signs of wear. We use Maguires leather cleaner/conditioner wipes periodically and that's it.

I just sold my 2009 335i and the grey leather was good as new (40k miles).

Sport seats on both and no sign of wear on the bolsters (most common wear).

FStephenMasek · 01-01-2013, 01:24 PM

I'd appreciate more people relating their experiences with BMW leather durability.

At 143,000 miles, the leather in my 2006 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer V8 rear wheel drive is good. The drivers seat bottom in my Explorer has some wrinkles on the left side where I slide in and out of the vehicle, and new foam would mostly fix that.

The leather in my 2002 Mercury Mountaineer looked just fine when I sold it at 98,000 miles.

The leather in 1996 Chevrolet Impala SS looked just frin when I sold it at 120,000 miles (although a spring had broken and poked through it, a problem I also had with my 1984 Pontiac Sunbird cloth seats (by the way, 1.8 Turbo 4 and 4-speed).

12-10-2012, 09:28 AM	#25
stefan Colonel Drives: E92M3 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Calgary Posts: 2,020 iTrader: (2) Garage List 1999 VF BMW M3 [5.00] 2008 135i [5.00] 2003 M3 [3.10] 2011.75 BMW M3 [4.17] 2009 STi [3.83]	Trust me, BMW leather truly is terrible, especially modern BMW leathers. It just doesn't last, and requires constant care and conditioning, particularly if it's your DD and you live in a dry climate. Just get the leatherette and never worry about it. Anyone who says otherwise hasn't owned one past 80,000km. After a few years and some mileage, bolsters wear down to nearly paper thin, tons of cracks, etc. Unless maintained. __________________ ///M Power - 2011.75 LMB M3 6MT (fuelly)

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12-01-2012, 01:29 AM	#23
TKM399 Enlisted Member Drives: 2007 GL450, 2013 X1 X28i Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: San Francisco Posts: 30 iTrader: (0)	How much "care" do you guys put into your real leather seats? Mercedes leather is relatively studry, and I just clean my seats with saddle soap every 4 months.

12-01-2012, 10:09 AM	#24
Grovsnus Lieutenant Drives: Le Mans blue X1 35i Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: CT Posts: 597 iTrader: (0)	Er, a damp towel every couple of weeks? Leather is pretty low-maintenance. Yes, saddle soap is good for the hard'ish kind of leather that BMW uses. One way of using it is like shining shoes, where you let it sit and then brush and shine off the excess. With my red leather, I won't be doing that - I want the two-tone worn look, with the shiny areas being the well-used ones, and the rest gathering patina.

12-10-2012, 12:06 PM	#27
nospam Captain Drives: X1 x28i; 128i; S2000 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Orange County, CA Posts: 601 iTrader: (0)	The low-end leather appears to be improved in regards to wear vs 10 years ago. My E46 leather showed obvious signs of wear. My wife's 2009 128i has 75k miles on it and no signs of wear. We use Maguires leather cleaner/conditioner wipes periodically and that's it. I just sold my 2009 335i and the grey leather was good as new (40k miles). Sport seats on both and no sign of wear on the bolsters (most common wear).

01-01-2013, 01:24 PM	#28
FStephenMasek New Member Drives: 2006 Ford Explorer EB V8 RWD Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: southern California Posts: 21 iTrader: (0)	I'd appreciate more people relating their experiences with BMW leather durability. At 143,000 miles, the leather in my 2006 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer V8 rear wheel drive is good. The drivers seat bottom in my Explorer has some wrinkles on the left side where I slide in and out of the vehicle, and new foam would mostly fix that. The leather in my 2002 Mercury Mountaineer looked just fine when I sold it at 98,000 miles. The leather in 1996 Chevrolet Impala SS looked just frin when I sold it at 120,000 miles (although a spring had broken and poked through it, a problem I also had with my 1984 Pontiac Sunbird cloth seats (by the way, 1.8 Turbo 4 and 4-speed).