Leatherette VS Leather

[TT335i]

I wondering wich one of these gets wrinkle after a while and also which is better to get. I want my seat to be looking new after a few years. Please let me know.

Thanks!

Chris

[Bob Marley]

Personally I prefer leather - it feels and smells better. There is no doubt that leatherette wears better over the long term though. But, if you take good care of your leather, clean and treat it regularly with a good quality product like Lexol for example, it will stay looking good for a long time.

[paul335cpe]

i looked at both before deciding. my sales guy said he has to read the spec sheet to be able to tell the difference. this is especially true for black leather/leatherette. have blk leatherette on my X5 and w/80K miles, it still looks like it did when new. just bought 335i w/ blk leatherette and alum trim and i love it. also depends on whether you are after the total luxury sort of look or more of the performance enthusiast approach. being more of a minimalist/performance enthusiast and w/ my X5 experience, the choice was easy for me....

[TT335i]

From what I noticed, leather gets worn down and gets wrinkle easy and little period of time. Plus Leather gets loose after seating on it for a while. Leatherette/Vinyl stays new almost the whole time you have the car. Do you gusy agree with this?

[doubleapex]

leatherette does seem to wear better and is easier to care for. leather is def softer and more luxurious...but leatherette has that 'new car smell' that many people like. of course, another benefit is saving 1,450 by not choosing leather.

[paul335cpe]

again, i have blk leatherette on my 335 w/ sports pkg. it looks great w/ the sports seats, it has a nice matte finish. is hard to tell the difference between the two by appearance alone and the leatherette wears like iron...

[NaTuReB0Y]

i have leatherette.....and it's easy to clean....damp towel.

but i prefer cloth seat......southern cali weather is too damn hot!

[pix335i]

I chose leatherette for no other reason than I did not want to spend the extra money on leather. Most people I know cannot tell the difference anyway and that extra money can be spent on other things for the car

[zeroday]

leatherette guys please do me a favor and don't try to pass it off as leather to your friends. i have a buddy with an audi a4 1.8t that has insisted since new that his car has leather seats. unfortunately he doesn't realize how easy it is for a car enthusiast like myself to tell the difference and one of these days I'm going to have to call him on it. this could all have been avoided with honesty!

[Bryan@Mwerks]

Originally Posted by TT335i

From what I noticed, leather gets worn down and gets wrinkle easy and little period of time. Plus Leather gets loose after seating on it for a while. Leatherette/Vinyl stays new almost the whole time you have the car. Do you gusy agree with this?

That's been my experience too. I detailed cars for several years (mostly German) and leatherette definitely looks new longer. My old business partner's 5-year-old A4 interior looked as good as new when he traded it in. No surprise, he chose leatherette again.

Most of today's automotive leathers are sprayed with a surface dye that wears off over time, especially in high-wear areas like side bolsters. And no matter how gentle you are or how often you clean, leather develops its own patina in time.

[stinkboy]

thats why you get a new car every 3 years. leather looks like new when you trade it in and you get new leather. but thats just me. i think the longest ive owned a car 4 years.

[pix335i]

My Audi A4 is over 7 years old with 47k on it, the leatherette still looks great. I am much more of an owner and enjoy my cars for long periods of time. I guess it all depends on what you like.

[stinkboy]

i like cars and i mean all kinds of cars. i just get bored looking at the same color and seeing all the new gadgets out there on new model cars. more HP better trannys nicer rims, bluetooth that works, better leather like the new bmw has versus my only three year old car. i mean more/better heated seats, comfort access. bells and whistles are sweet. some of the things you can fix and upgrade on your own but some you cant.

[tim330i]

I got leatherette and would get it again no question (unless cloth was an option). It costs less, wears better and looks almost identical. Most of my friends (not auto enthusiasts) think my car is leather....but I always correct them (nothing lamer than trying to pass it off as leather).

The new leatherette on pix335i's coupe looks and feels much more like leather than my 2001 330i car.

Tim

[stinkboy]

well tim, the new dakota leather is alot nicer/softer than the previous leather that we have right now. it was very nice when i tested the car. more like a great pair of leather gloves and not hard like the vinyl feel i currently have on the 04

[tim330i]

That is sweet! I hope they also increase the wear-ability of the leather as well.

Tim

[paul335cpe]

traditionally leather was always associated with expensive sports and luxury cars but the reality is that man made materials have improved dramatically in quality and are now in many cases more expensive than leather, but for the traditionalists, leather is the way to go. one concern about the softness of the dakota leather is what it will look like after 2 years. personally, i hate when leather gets shiny, i prefer the matte look that it has when new....

[kyacheck]

my last BMW was a 540 with leather. after 6 years it did show some wear. I just purchased a 2009 328 conv with leatherette and cant tell the difference. I like the idea of saving money for other options as well as the wear factor. It really was a simple choice. I showed the car to many friends, they love the look of the "leather". i think I made a wize decision.

P.S. when I asked the salesman to show me the difference he had to look at the car's window stickers to tell the difference !

[ZiggyStardust]

I can't believe this is even a topic of conversation for BMWs. I will concede that a pleather seat may last longer but when I bought mine I could live with the thought of having a car like a BMW and stuffing pleather seats in to it. My dealer can turn me on to peple who can redye or redo my seats if necessary and I am more than prepared to do that rather than have pleather seats in my car. Imagine the shame of pulling in with your BMW and having your brother in-law stick his head in and ask are these pleather.

[tony20009]

I got leather b/c the leatherette does not come in the color I wanted. My first BMW had leatherette and it was fine. It was soft, easy to clean (Windex, worked fine...LOL) and many folks thought it was leather (actually everyone I know did until I told them otherwise). I's say, if the color you want (or can live with) comes in leatherette, choose it over leather. Particularly, since the leather used on these cars is pretty low grade leather; the really good leathers is found on good shoes, handbags, horse saddles, and fine clothing. The leather in the BMW 6-series begins to reach that caliber, but even so, still isn't of that quality.