Leather vs Leatherette in a BMW

13 Aug

Posted by Horatiu B. as Car Tips

How many of you were faced with this decision: leather vs leatherette in your BMW. I know I was, and it seems like everytime I purchase a new BMW, I am still asking myself if I’m making the right choice.

Before I will go ahead and present you the advantage or disadvantages of one over the other one, I have to tell you that each time I’ve chosen the leatherette and I will mention why later.

Leatherette

Advantages:

cheaper
wears better
easier to clean and maintain
if leasing, you don’t have to worry about the resale value
perfect if you own pets

Disadvantages

it doesn’t feel as good as leather
in the heat of summer, it feels somewhat rubbery and sticky
no resale value

Leather

Advantages

adds resale value to the car
it “breathes” better
it softens over time
it gives a luxury look
some people like its smell
more color options

Disadvantages

more expensive
wears out faster
harder and more expensive to maintain
not pet friendly
it feels colder in the winter

Each time I have decided to go with the leatherette for two reasons:

I have always leased my cars for 2 years, so financially it made sense not to invest the money in leather, and rather get other options, such as BMW Assist
It feels great to me, and people can’t tell the difference. In my opinion the leatherette in the BMW has a really high quality.

If there are any other advantages or disadvantages that I missed, please feel free to let me know and I will update the article.

11 Responses

CJ

August 13th, 2007 at 1:18 pm
1

Is it possible to get leatherette on higher models i.e. 7 series?
BMW Blog - News, Information and Photos site details and rss feed Info

August 19th, 2007 at 7:08 pm
2

[...] Leather vs Leatherette in a BMW 13 Aug 2007 [...]
Augustrain2004@e60.net

November 29th, 2007 at 7:39 pm
3

What is the real cost of maintaining the two. what products to you recommend to keep either options in good shape and looking well.
How well to they keep by just keeping them maintained every 4 months with some product set.
What are the most effective products to keep the L..ette or Leather in fine shape. This is people most concern when choose, Look and Keeping it Looking !!
Megan

January 19th, 2008 at 12:17 am
4

Ethical reasons! I’m a vegetarian / animal welfare nut who happens to be in the market for a new X5 - in Australia they’re currently only available with leather and not leatherette. Don’t think that doesn’t mean I’m lobbying furiously to have the ‘ethical’ option made available to me - they’re made in the same factory as the US models that have leatherette as an option!! I’m at the point where I actually won’t buy the car unless I can get the leatherette…
fsume93

February 13th, 2008 at 11:04 am
5

Ethical huh? The survival of the human raced depended on animal sources for nourishment and sustenance over many thousands of years. How nice of you in this day and age to present yourself as superior to anyone who doesnt share you own minority point of view.
Megan

February 13th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
6

fsume93,
‘In this day and age’, when there’s options that don’t involve the exploitation of animals, I choose those options. Where in my post do I suggest that I’m superior for wanting leatherette? Did the originator of the blog not ask for any other advantages and disadvantages of leather vs leatherette? I’m sorry you feel so angry and bloody-minded because I’ll go without for my ethics, where I imagine you just consume everything in sight without a second thought. Thank God the world is slowly waking up to the plight of its fellow creatures…no thanks to self absorbed ppl like yourself.
Animal Devourer

February 18th, 2008 at 11:56 pm
7

Torturing animals is wrong, but if killing and eating them is wrong, you should hate animals, because they do it too. Lions kill hyenas, baboons, wildebeast, pronghorn, etc.

Lions are evil!!! They eat them while they’re still alive! Kill all lions, oh wait, I like animals, even though they do what I don’t like!? Oh it’s so confusing to be a hippie.
Animal Devourer

February 18th, 2008 at 11:57 pm
8

And if you’re a hippie, WHY WOULD YOU WANT AN X5!? A huge polluting waste of resources that NOBODY, and I mean NOBODY needs.

Soccer mom pretending to be a vegetarian that cares, grow up.
Stunned

March 12th, 2008 at 11:59 pm
9

Animal Devourer, are you on drugs? ‘Lions evil?…kill all lions?’ I don’t know about the hippies but you are a confused, sad little person.

I am no vegetarian but can respect someone who has the ability to stand by their beliefs and fail to see the relevance of your maniacal rantings. Why does ethics equate with ‘hippie’ anyway, or is that just a term for anyone who happens to not share your particular views.

Another beautiful example ignorance and small mindedness disguised as opinion by bluster and aggression.

Let us pray we don’t all ‘grow up’ to your level.
GasGuzzlr

March 21st, 2008 at 7:03 pm
10

Wow this is the most bizarre thread I’ve ever read. Firstly, let’s tackle the leather-vs-leatherette buying decision:
1) Leatherette feels almost as good as most leather on the market, though BMW’s leather is superior in feel to its leatherette.
2) Letherette does indeed wear better and last longer than leather, I’ve had it on a half dozen cars and never complained about it.
3) Leather is softer and smells nicer, but tends to age poorly unless you nourish it with LExol or HideFood every once in a while.
4) Leatherette is a problem for resale - many people walk away from a car with leatherette, particularly if you do leasetrader.com swaps like many of my friends.
5) Unless you tell them, most people will assume leatherette is actually leather - this works particularly well if you order the wood trim

Now, let’s talk about the ethics that Megan espouses.
1) Animal welfare and vegetarianism are not intrinsically bad or good - they are personal choices, and Megan should be free to make whatever choices she likes. If she doesn’t believe in killing animals, then why does anyone else care? She’s not forcing YOU to become a non-leather-consuming, non-meat-eating citizen, she’s just saying it’s her preference. Leave her alone.
2) Animal welfare and vegetarianism have nothing to do with hippies. Some people like animals. Some people like Cadillacs, too. No one is saying you need to buy into either. Leave her alone.
3) Animal welfare and vegetarianism are COMPLETELY UNRELATED to greenhouse gas emissions, gas/oil consumption, or ENVIRONMENTAL friendliness. They are, again, an ETHICAL (and hence, personal) decision. You can, indeed, buy an SUV and still not eat meat or buy leather - the two are completely different choices, and one does not necesarily assume the other. If you think they do, you should probably take a logic class and understand the difference between correlation and causation. It could be argued that greenhouse emissions pollute the environment and hence deplete rainforests and cause problems for all living creatures, but that’s not the question, debate, or contention that Megan raises. All she’s saying is she likes animals and doesn’t want to eat them or sit on their hides. At the end of the day, that’s her choice and no one else has the right to complain about it. So leave her alone and stop being so bloody ignorant…you give the rest of the BMW buyers out there a bad name.

In case you were wondering, I’m neither a vegetarian nor a non-leather consumer. My M roadster and 540 both have extended leather options, I enjoy a good steak, and I have a bunch of gas guzzlers. Do I love animals? Yup, got a dog or two somewhere around here. Do I feel much affection for cows? Not particularly, which is why I eat them and sit on their tanned hides. I’m neither a hippie nor a tree hugger, but I believe that Megan, and others like her, should be free to make their own choices - after all, she’s not pushing it on you. Best option? Leave her alone and do whatever the hell it is that you want for yourself.

Cheers.
Divya

May 23rd, 2008 at 2:12 am
11

Like Megan, I want the leatherette option for personal beliefs regarding animal treatment. I respect BMW for having the option available at such good quality too! However, I want all the other features of the premium package too! And I cannot get the premium package without leather!! I wish like carbon offsetting, there could be some sort of animal-pain offsetting!