Quote:
Originally Posted by ATX78703
i do think it's cool to finally have some upgraded leather options on the 3er. nappa / merino is so much better. i could care less about exterior color - that is a personal choice anyway. hard to say that one color is an upgrade over another color.
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I think it's about time BMW simply upgraded the quality of the base leather...period.
The leather they now use makes me question why I get it compared to the leatherette.
I had leatherette in my E46 325i, and after 3 years the seats looked like new. The leather in my 135i is showing signs of wear in one particular area, but still, I've only had it for 3 years. Imagine 3 years from now, and that sport may actually be worn through.
I seriously considered NOT getting leather this time for that very reason.
But, I decided to go with black leather, hoping it will hide it's wear better.
I had a 1982 Audi 5000 Turbo, many years ago.
I bought it used after college in '88. It was a rich dark chocolate brown.
Even after 6 used years, that leather was still thick yet soft at the same time. It didn't look worn, but nicely "worn in". That's what leather seats should look like after a few years, "worn in" NOT worn, just like a quality leather jacket.
That is not the case with the current quality of the base leather BMW uses in the 1 and 3 series. I don't know what they use in the 5 or the Z. I do know they have higher quality leather in those models, just like the M's.
Any exterior color, or interior trim, that is standard in any BMW market, should be offered to any customer that customer orders, without having to pay extra. After all, if the color or interior trim is already available in other markets as a standard option, then it's obviously going on the same assembly line.
I can see charging a bit extra for customer exterior and interior trim or seats, but not that much.
If the costs were brought down, then more people would likely order, and the cost per unit drops, while giving customers a greater reason to want to customer order.