How do you guys like it? I'm hoping to go order an 05 soon...and dont know if Ill have the extra money to throw leather into an MCS. Any opinions? Thanks :smile:

Oh yeah, I'm Jesse...nice to meet you.

 

Hey, Jesse...welcome to NAM! I recommend the leatherette. I read up on it a lot in these forums before placing my order and saw lots and lots of positive comments...I can't remember any negatives. Now that I have it myself I can tell you it's soft, easy to clean, and most people think it's leather when they see it.

 

I love the leatherette... Its durable, looks nice, not much care needed, and I saved 1300! You can't go wrong with the leatherette.

 

Agreed- Leatherette rules I couldn't be happier with it- it's more durable than leather and doesn't stretch -Everybody mistakes my interior for leather when they first get in the car.

-S

 

Awesome, thanks a lot guys. All I gotta do now is sell the car I have, and Im ready for the Mini S

 

Have you looked at the Space Cloth? I had that in my MCS as it gets hot in Hawaii. Throughout our hot summers I could get into a hot car and not burn my legs on leather or leatherette. During our winters (yes we have winter) the cloth seats were always a comfortable temp, unline leatherette or leather.

 

Get the Leatherette. I have it in both of my MINIs, a '02 Cooper CVT with 21,800 miles and a '04 MCS with 6,300 miles...not a single problem with it and still looks factory brand new.

You got to love German vinyl seats. I have seen the space cloth seats and look cheap. MINI's "real" leather is overpriced and of dubious durability (Wrinkles, sags, etc).


I live in hot South Florida and the heat has not been an issue with the Leatherette seats, but then again neither one of my cars have sunroof.


MINI's leatherette is the same exact high quality vinyl seat material found in the more expensive BMW 325i sedan/coupe/wagon. looks the business, requires very little maintenance and gives the cabin an upscale look and feel.


To clean your leatherette seats, I highly recommend picking up a bottle of Vinylex by Lexol (www.lexol.com) as it is specially formulated to clean, condition and protect vinyl materials.

 

I dunno...for some reason Ive never been a cloth kinda guy. I have this mental image in my head that when I sit down, all the dust is gonna fly up...kinda like when the Munsters sat down on their couch. LOL But honestly, I havent even looked at the cloth, maybe Ill sit in one next time Im at the dealership.

 

>>I dunno...for some reason Ive never been a cloth kinda guy. I have this mental image in my head that when I sit down, all the dust is gonna fly up...kinda like when the Munsters sat down on their couch. LOL But honestly, I havent even looked at the cloth, maybe Ill sit in one next time Im at the dealership.


I am sorry if I offend anyone, but to me cloth seats in a car are DISGUSTING. Cloth traps dust, absorbs body odors, perspiration and if you stain those seats, good luck cleaning them and getting the smell out of them.


I have had cloth seats before and in this tropical climate they are barf...never again.


Leatherette all the way!

 

I vote cloth for the long haul, if you vaccume on a regular basis. My vote for comfort in the long haul. If you have kids, they will soil it faster so vinyl or leather are far and away the best. I like leather but it cracks without lots of TLC... if it gets too hot in the sun, throw a towel over it while you're away. Vinyl smells, releases PVC into the air. No thanks.

 

>> Vinyl smells, releases PVC into the air. No thanks.



Well my cars smell great and no harmful gases from the seat, so far ops:

 

Sounds good then, I definatly wont cough up the extra money for leather. I'm down in South Florida too, where do you guys meet up?

 

Choosing which seat to get is tough since there are some pros and cons.

Leatherette
Pros
Low cost
Durable-great for spills and animals and small children
Easy to clean
Good for water sports/resists trouble if person is wet/sweaty
Wears nicely over time- clean it and it looks new.

Cons
Looks like vinyl (some think it looks more like leather)
Smells like vinyl/plastic
Only one color

Leather
Pros
Colorful in Lapis blue, Green, or cordoba (brown)
Has leather look, smell, and feel.
Can be textured-Profile leather

Cons
Highest initial cost
higher maintenance-need to use leather conditioner and cleaner
May wrinkle and sag- not all seats do.
Gets sticky feeling on your skin in hot weather- use the AC to fix it.

Cloth
Pros
Low cost
Various colors
Doesn't show dirt or wear too fast due to pattern

Cons
Might not wear as well over time, seams or material might tear/split
Will show dirt eventually
moderate maintenance-needs some cleaning

I like the space cloth but I have tried out the Leatherette extensively and it is OK even in Hawaii.
My MCS has Lapis Blue leather and I like that as well but I bought what was in stock and didn't have much choice.
My leather is doing quite well, I do clean and condition it once monthly.

 

>>Choosing which seat to get is tough since there are some pros and cons.

NOW that's what I call a perfect post. Concise, to the point, someday I'll manage some smarts like Minihune... :smile: :smile:

 

>>Sounds good then, I definatly wont cough up the extra money for leather. I'm down in South Florida too, where do you guys meet up?


We meet 3 Thrusdays a month in front of the Best Buy parking lot located in West Kendall (SW 88st [Kendall Dr] near SW 127th Avenue) and the first Thursday of every month in North Miami, that way some of the Sunshineminis.org broward people can come and meet us.

Here is "Minis of Miami" message board:

onecleancooper.proboards25.com

feel free to register and introduce yourself to other members there!. Also check out the calendar of events once you have registered and login.


Here is the link to the Florida MINI enthusiast website:

http://www.sunshineminis.org


Hope to see ya there!


Where are you buying your new MINI from? I bought in Ft Lauderdale (best MINI dealer in Florida) as I can't stand the Miami based MINI dealers.

_________________
'02 Cooper CVT PW/B, MFSW, CD Boost, 15" 8-Spoke silver wheels.
'04 MCS CR/W, UJ Roof Flag, Aux Input, HK, Sport MFSW, Rain sensing, Auto dim mirror, 16" silver V-spoke wheels, Chrome grille, Chrome mirrors, OBC, front fogs.

 

I'm gonna go to Lauderdale...and I'll probably be buying from Debra. I was in there monthes ago...but need to sell my car 1st before I can do anything. I'm looking forward to joining you guys one day! :smile:

 

>>I'm gonna go to Lauderdale...and I'll probably be buying from Debra. I was in there monthes ago...but need to sell my car 1st before I can do anything. I'm looking forward to joining you guys one day! :smile:


Debra is fantastic. I have heard nothing but good comments about her. I bought my 2 MINIs from Crystal she is also excellent. Make sure to meet Bonnie (Sales Manager) and Larry (Asst sales manager). They are the best bunch of car dealer people I have ever had the pleasure to deal with.


Even if you don't have your MINI yet, you are more than welcome to come out on Thursday to check out the cars and meet the club members!

 

I see your question has been answered -- I got the same response when I asked about the leather! The 'rette seems to be a good deal - and at $0 additional cost you can tack on a few more options instead of throwing down for the seats! =)

 

:smile:

Chow!

Donna

 

We've got leatherette and like it. My big problem with MINI leather is that aftermarket options are so much cheaper.

 

I have the leatherette and it really is the best way to go.The only leather that makes sense and actually feels like it would hold up over the years is the profile leather.Now if they ever decided to offer different colors in leatherette[ie green; beige; red;etc] you could kiss the leather option goodbye.

 

 

I have the leathette with heat. It's chilly up here

Mine still looks new with about 16k miles. Cleans easy and most people think it's real leather.......

 

15K on my PS/B MC, and love the heated leatherette sports seats. I'm getting them on my next MINI (JCW MCS), unless the JCW seats come available, have airbags and are heated.

 

I havent been near leatherette, but I do have profile leather I loooove when it gets warm out they like start to sweat or something, this intoxicating leather smell comes out and mmmm mmm mmm mmmmmmm!

no im not a sicko, I just love the smell of leather!