Leather vs Leatherette on a BMW X-3

[wilke3169]

A lady at work is looking at an X-3 BMW. It is exactly what she wants but has Leatherette and not leather seats. Does anyone have experience with this. I read a few things and found it mostly being a resale issue. She drives cars until they die and hopes to with this one as well.

Thanks,

[svandamme]

how much does she weigh?

[Nostril Cheese]

Warm.... Leatherette......

[Rot 911]

Actually many people on the BMW boards will tell you the leatherette will hold up better than the leather. Almost impossible to tell the difference. Hell on the E46 board there is actually a tech thread to explain how to try and figure out the difference between the two!

[David in VA]

My wife chose leatherette on her 335 for durability and ease of cleaning. I would say that unless you know what you're looking for, most people could not tell the difference. For somebody that drives cars until they die I would actually consider leatherette a plus.

[widgeon13]

My experience w/ BMW leatherette is that's it high quality, won't dry out like leather and wears very well. I had a BMW 3.0 that I kept and restored after 30+ years and the seats were in beautiful shape when it was sold.

[wilke3169]

Thanks for the advice. I know she will be glad to hear this. As far as her weight I wont guess, but I will say I often say I am the luckiest man in the world because of the ladies I work with.

Thanks again, This board is the best...

[McLovin]

It is very easy to tell BMW leather from BMW vinyl (aka leatherette). You just have to touch the two to feel the difference. Leatherette is very "rubbery."

She should just check and see for herself. Some people don't mind leatherette, others hate it.

IMO it looks ok from a distance, but I hate the rubbery, too soft, very synthetic feel of it.

If she is going to buy the car and keep it for a long time, I'd def. recommend springing the little more for leather. Amortized over the life of the car, it doesn't cost much.

[David]

We've only had leather Bimmers, but I ridden in several with leatherette. It's difficult to tell it's not leather especially compared to new leather. I imagine it would last longer. The leather sport seats in my wife's 2 year old car are showing wear and my wife's pretty small.

[onewhippedpuppy]

The difference? At 100k, the leatherette will look new and the leather will show substantial wear (without regular treatment). So unless she wants to spend the substantial amount of time required to regularly treat the leather with leatherique, go with the leatherette. Leather, and BMW leather particularly, requires regular treatment or it will not hold up.