How is the "fake" leather on the 3-series? Just curious, as I'm looking to buy/lease one and as long as it is pretty nice, don't won't to chalk up the money for leather.

Thank you,

I have it in mine and I like it! I would say save the money and go for the leatherette...

I have it too. Save your money. the layman CANNOT tell the difference! Even most of the service people can't.

I really like it. Does not feel cheap at all or bring down the feel of the interior. I liked it even better when my son, while getting in the car, spilled an entire bottle of gatoraide into the passenger seat.

There is nothing wrong with the leatherette. You absolutely can tell the difference. I opted to spend the money for real leather. Reasonable minds can differ. Just go to a dealer and look at it and touch it to make up your mind.

It's better than leather when it comes to durability and ease of maintenance. Color choice is limited though and some just love cow skin!

I went with the 'ette, it works fine. BUT the gf still reminds me that its fake and she was pushing for the real stuff.
I wanted real for the better colors, but $$ . . .

I went with the 'ette, it works fine. BUT the gf still reminds me that its fake and she was pushing for the real stuff.
I wanted real for the better colors, but $$ . . .

lose the GF, sounds like a materialistic biaach

lose the GF, sounds like a materialistic biaach

I think she will lose him first. After the leatherette she will always be wondering about the stone in the ring.

lose the GF, sounds like a materialistic biaach
heh not at all actually, she just though if I was getting a new bimmer I should go all out

heh not at all actually, she just though if I was getting a new bimmer I should go all out
Well tell here if you were to go all out, you might as well get a new g/f too, that should make her quiet (or get you slapped). ;)

Well tell here if you were to go all out, you might as well get a new g/f too, that should make her quiet (or get you slapped). ;)Hah yeah that wouldn't go over so good

I think she will lose him first. After the leatherette she will always be wondering about the stone in the ring.

LOL hahaha

Congrats on your new toy.

I went with the 'ette, it works fine. BUT the gf still reminds me that its fake and she was pushing for the real stuff.
I wanted real for the better colors, but $$ . . .

lose the GF, sounds like a materialistic biaach


Hello all:

I guess I am lucky. The OL (old lady) does not mind the leatherete in her X5. Did not mind me buying the real leather in the 335. I think both are done well.

Try them and judge for yourself. Put some Zaino "leather in a bottle" on them and get back to me.


Then, tell me how I should answer her complaints that she should not have to drive the X5 3.0i after test driving the 350 HP 4.8 liter v8 X5 ...

How is the "fake" leather on the 3-series? Just curious, as I'm looking to buy/lease one and as long as it is pretty nice, don't won't to chalk up the money for leather.

Thank you,

I'm no expert but I couldn't tell the difference. I also wanted something a little more durable since the leather in my passat is starting to show its age and I know the leartherettee would last longer. Since I own the car I wanted something that would still look new 5 years from now.

^^^ I thought leatherette wears faster than regular leather? I have it btw and love it!

I went with the 'ette, it works fine. BUT the gf still reminds me that its fake and she was pushing for the real stuff.
I wanted real for the better colors, but $$ . . .

I have the real leather in mine....but I sure like a previous ex-gf with....ahem...fake parts, IMO once it is installed it is just as good as the real thing. :D

Coady, I think the leatherette is a lot more realistic looking than the, uh, ahem ... fake parts on an ex gf. As least with leatherette you can't *always* tell!

Leatherette is easier to clean, wears better, looks pretty good. But there is definitely a difference btwn leatherette and the real thing. I agree - go to the dealership and see for your self!

When I went to my local dealership 2 weeks ago to order my new 328, I was determined to order my car with leatherette because of the reasons stated here - easier to maintain, more durable and ~$1300 cheaper.

To confirm my decision, I sat in one car with Sports and Premium packages and another with just the Sports package. I have a very bad back and I didn't like the manual seat. And I liked the feel and smell of the leather. Since I'm an enthusiast and I like caring for my car, I decided to spend ~$3K for the Premium package and partially justified it by thinking I'd get back some of that when I sell the car.

I don't think you can go wrong either way. The car will look and drive the same way. If you don't have kids or animals, you don't mind caring for the leather and you are willing to dig deeper into your pocket, the leather is a very nice alternative.

How do you maintain leatherette?

Thanks,
Ron

How do you maintain leatherette?

Thanks,
Ron
Wipe it with a wet rag when it gets dirty :-).

I don't mind the leathette in my car, but it's much hotter in the summer (doesn't breathe) and I like the smell of leather. I also wish I had heated seats because it has been cold here 32-degrees!

You can say you're being "green' and saving a cows life.

I don't mind the leathette in my car, but it's much hotter in the summer (doesn't breathe) and I like the smell of leather. I also wish I had heated seats because it has been cold here 32-degrees!

You can say you're being "green' and saving a cows life.
Not to nitpick, but leather is probably greener since it is biodegradable while leatherette is plastic like and is not (maybe recyclable at best). But I agree with saving a cow, until BBQ season is here again ;). You definitely should have opted for the heated seats, although at 32F you probably will use only the 1st setting. Even at 0F here I couldn't keep it higher than 2nd setting, my butt would be on fire. Strangely enough, my wife keeps it on the 3rd setting all the time :dunno.

I was joking about the "green" I didn't have the option because when I got the car I had to take what was available.

I have leatherette in my car, I like the real deal a little better but I got the car as a present so I'm definitely not going to complain about it. An E90 is a hell of a gift even if mine is the baby of the North American line up hahaha.

I have leatherette in my car, I like the real deal a little better but I got the car as a present so I'm definitely not going to complain about it. An E90 is a hell of a gift even if mine is the baby of the North American line up hahaha.
That's one hella of a gift. From who?

I think there is a minor difference in the "ette" and the real deal. I noticed that the stitching on the bolsters are a little different, but besides that there isnt really anything different. I love leatherette, its way more durable and easier to care than real leather. No color options though :(

I had leatherette in my E30 and at 185K when I traded it for my E36, it looked as good as when it was brand new. Back then though, you could tell leather from leatherette. The leatherette was perforated. Now, you really can't tell the difference initially. A few years later you will as the leather wears.

Their is a difference, at least to me. My 2000 323i had the imitation and my 325 Xi has the real leather. A little bit more maintence, but get what works for your lifestyle. If you are driving kids around all the time, get the pleather. If you don't mind conditioning the leather once a month, then get the real stuff.

I got the 'ette in May and throughout the summer noticed how it didn't breath. Does the real leather breath? Since my brick has fabric I didn't even think about that - only the kids and the spills. Actually most of the spills have been my own anyhow! I do think the leatherette was the best choice for me (again - the lifestyle thing with the kids) though I wish it did breath a bit more.

The 'ette is alright with me!

I think it breathes better. The next new car I get will have AC seats...ThAT should be standard issue. Just like women need heated...men need cooled.

Cows give off methane gas which is very bad for the environment. We should kill all cows and eat them or use them for BMW seats.

In my past experience leatherette is far more durable than real leather. I am going with leatherette

IMHO I think that the leatherette is harder than the leather, I could tell the difference, once the leather in the car starts to break in it becomes very comfortable. The Leatherette stays harder, so I thought it was worth the extra money. But honestly the leather in a Lexus is much nicer.

I agree. I was set to buy the leatherette because it is more durable and easier to clean, but it didn't have the great feel leather did.

I think it all boils down to lifestyle. If you are hard on your cars, don't like taking care of them (or as my wife would call obsessing over them), or if you have kids, buy the leatherette. But if you like the feel and smell and leather and you don't mind caring for it, buy the leather.

The problem is that most people buy the leather and they don't take care of it. Buying leatherette is a better choice for them.

look at any car from the 70's, 80's, or 90's or even 5 years old that has leatherette and you won't find many that are worn. Look at any car 3 years or older with leather and you will find at the least bolster wear.

buy leather if you are trading it in 2 years.

My gf and I spend 20 minutes sitting in car with leather and leatherette. Both of us can't tell the difference and both of them are just as comfy. At the end we picked leather because of her brother's stupid comment "BMW!? should get leather since it's an $$ car!!"

I think she will lose him first. After the leatherette she will always be wondering about the stone in the ring.

lol awesome

I don't mind the leathette in my car, but it's much hotter in the summer (doesn't breathe) and I like the smell of leather. I also wish I had heated seats because it has been cold here 32-degrees!

You can say you're being "green' and saving a cows life.

Being hotter is the one issue I would have with it...I'm interested to hear if this is the general consensus? Looking at a use 328i with 'ette, and I've always been impressed when I saw that stuff...I'd be happy with it, unless it would cook my bum in TX heat...which my leather already does!

Greg

my opinion is with black, you can't tell the difference.

i have leather, but a girlfriend of mine has leatherette.



lighter colors don't look as good.



get one of those leather scented air fresheners...lol

Was just in my buddy's Jetta with fake leather...great looking and feeling stuff.

My dealer threw the Dakota leather in. I guess they are looking ahead to when the car becomes a CPO.

My 330i has leatherette while my 335i has real leather. As with anything else there are pluses and minuses with either choice. Over all the real thing is better. However, I am not happy with the early wear of the leather. Since the sport bucket seats are sculpted, I usually slide my behind against the side bolsters and I'm skinny. I noticed that even one of those while wearing jeans can leave a nasty light mark on the dark leather. This never happens with the leatherette and leatherette is very easy to clean. The leatherette, however, doesn't look, feel and smell as good as leather.

Beware that not all BMW leatherettes are the same. The 3 series one is really nice but the X3 one that my sister has is a total disgrace.

My 330i has leatherette while my 335i has real leather. As with anything else there are pluses and minuses with either choice. Over all the real thing is better. However, I am not happy with the early wear of the leather. Since the sport bucket seats are sculpted, I usually slide my behind against the side bolsters and I'm skinny. I noticed that even one of those while wearing jeans can leave a nasty light mark on the dark leather. This never happens with the leatherette and leatherette is very easy to clean. The leatherette, however, doesn't look, feel and smell as good as leather.

Beware that not all BMW leatherettes are the same. The 3 series one is really nice but the X3 one that my sister has is a total disgrace.

Hello "Bandit335":

No kidding on the X3 being crap. I mean they killed all those little Naugas to finish the seats. The entire X3 feels lousy and cheap after driving the wife's X5.

Get the real dead cow. Spend a bit of time with a quality cleaner and conditioner. It will not stain from your pants if you clean it once in a while.

BUT, if you get the vinyl, get some "Leather in a Bottle" and it will smell just fine.

i just got a 2008 328i coupe with black leatherette. It looks nice and less of a headache in the long run

i had a chance to compare 2 absolutely the same cars (e90 325i w/30 & 31 Kmi respectively) w/only difference in leather/rette... for me, I did notice the diff in material and found leather beeing a lot better (more comfy, looks/feels real, not fake) with only 500$ more so I opted for it...
however, i must say the looks of "ette" did make it look like it was straight from factory (not that leather was in bad condition but just saying that ette looks absolutely not used - brand new)... like i said though i went with real material and like it a lot better (well besides leather there actually was the whole premium package for the extra price)

You can tell the difference between the two if they were right next to each other but without the real stuff to compare it too you'll fool a ton of people. Not one person yet has thought my leatherette was "vinyl". Too much of a price difference to warrant getting the leather given the slight differences IMO.

I've had grey leather in my X3 for 3 years and never done anything to it, and there is hardly a sign of wear at all. From certain angles it looks a little shiny, but no color differences.

The leatherette is very comfortable, but I'm a worrier and overanalyzer, and I'd just as soon buy the real thing than regret not doing so. That's one reason I'm at Bimmerforums right now rather than Nissanenthusiasts.com. I struggled with the decision on my 328i, but eventually went with the leather again. Really, if they had cloth seats, I would've preferred those.

I went with leather because my wife insisted. I would have stood my ground for cloth if it had been available.

I have it too. Save your money. the layman CANNOT tell the difference! Even most of the service people can't.

Seriously... I haven't had anyone make any negative comments about the seats yet.. A lot of people have mistaken it for regular leather. It's comfortable, it still smells pretty good and it lasts longer with less maintenance.

My next BMW will also be leatherette.

But honestly the leather in a Lexus is much nicer.

This is true.. The Lexus I have has the most comfortable seats I've ever sat in. The only thing that sucks is that it can get scorching hot in the summer. It seems to retain more heat than the e90..

I can honestly say the leatherette verses real leather doesn’t make a difference how the BMW performs and I don’t think anyone’s Girl Friend would even know the difference.

I spent a lot of years on vinyl (sorry - leatherette) seats in Texas in summers, and I never want to do that again. (I could buy those fine beads seats cab drivers use to keep their backsides cool, I guess...) I've always wondered why BMW considers leatherette next best to leather. Yes, it's more durable, and yes, it cleans better, and, probably, not everyone looking in your window at the mall can tell the difference, but those are ancillary issues - the main issue is seating comfort, and they aren't comfortable for me. They're just too damn hot. (I speak as a prospective BMW customer who has, what, an hour of BMW driving time under my a$$. If someone tells me they're breatheable, I'll just play the nevermind card...)

I'm extremely happy with my leatherette, when friends sit in my car they can't tell the difference....if i had to make the decision again i'd pick leatherette easily