Deutsch

Not long ago I mentioned that I went w/ one of my best buddies to look at an M & Z4 roadster/coupe. He saw that he was being charged for leather and thought it was rather silly, as did I. This prompted me to think, is it really worth it to pony up for leather trim on the seats of your car, or to just enjoy your car for what it is and opt for other trim (i.e. leatherette, textile, cloth, etc.)??? More and more I'm of the mindset that it depends, but by and large, especially with todays cars textile/cloth/leatherette really isn't all that bad, especially in BMW's. I also think leather wears pretty fast, especially on the cushion bit, so it looses a bit of it's magic over time.

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Mr. Chigga_Chan

In some cases, such as the MB Text, its nice enough where it doesn't really matter. Its also more durable and resistant to spills, mud and pets as my family found out with our dogs.

THe downside is that there are more color options with the Upgraded leathers, but the usual black, gray and tan are available.

Deutsch

Leather wears hella quick too. In some cases it's only after a year that the seats start to become worn and their age truly begins to show. I enjoy the smell and feel of leather, it's quite special but becomes trite with time. Fabrics offered in cars these days are 100 x better than what they use to be.

siko

Both my current 325i and my previous 325Ci had leatherette and it's more than fine... the only problem is colour since only black and beige are offered. But if you can live with that, then there's no reason to upgrade IMO unless you feel rich.

auto1

We had a 10 yr old 525i with grey leather interior and even after all that time the leather still looked despite being a little faded. Imo the creasing and wear bring character to the interior....

cawimmer430

Here in Europe, cloth seats in luxury cars ain't such a big deal. I'm happy for that because I don't need necessarily need leather in my car.

Our E320 has a 50-50 cloth-leather seat combination for instance. It's the best of both worlds.

Mirage77

In Singapore, if it's half leather than it's perceived as cheapskate. Almost every car sold here (even our Jazz) has a standard leather (PVC or genuine) trim.

I think the wear of leather is actually desirable... Isn't it supposed to be a good thing to look 'weathered'? Anyway, if you take good car of the leather it shouldn't wear out this quickly.

cawimmer430

Oh yeah, happy birthday!

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