After watching a PETA special on how the Naugas were slaughtered just for their hides (Naugahide=Leatherette)while their meat was being made into dog food, I opted for real Leather. At least the rest of the cow's anatomy is put to human consumption.

 

>>I read an article that said, get the Cloth or Leather, the Leatherette does not breath.<<

First, I feel the need to correct this misconception. Part of the reason that BMW's leatherette feels so nice compared to vinyl (and, IMHO, not different enough from the leather to warrant $1,200) is that it DOES have 235 microscopic holes per square inch that allow it to breathe.

Be careful to not get hung up thinking about vinyl when considering leatherette - they are very different.

Also, as has already been said, this topic has been covered MANY times (as well as the carpet vs. rubber floor mat debate). Here are just a few of the previous threads:

Real Leather vs. Leatherette

Is leatherette simply vinyl?

 

>>At least the rest of the cow's anatomy is put to human consumption.

Including those lips and a@@ used in so many of our favorite foods.


_________________
02 MCS ~ Sport, Aero, Rally Lights

 

:evil:

 

I have a couple questions:

1) Does the heated seat option work with leatherette? and,

2) I've read that if you order the leatherette and don't like it, you can simply have all the seats replaced with leather seats by BMW at a later date for approximately the same as the original leather option--$1250. Is this true?

Thanks,

Craig

 

of course you can get leather fitted to any seats after the fact!
it probably will be nicer than the factory leather too!
not to mention you can get whatever you want.
i got the factory profile leather, i'm pretty happy with it.
i've seen some really sweet custom leather jobs on mini2.
cool color combo's, you name it!

 

>>I have a couple questions:
>>
>>1) Does the heated seat option work with leatherette? and,
>>
>>2) I've read that if you order the leatherette and don't like it, you can simply have all the seats replaced with leather seats by BMW at a later date for approximately the same as the original leather option--$1250. Is this true?
>>
>>Thanks,
>>
>>Craig


1. Resounding YES!

2. There have been a few owners who have reported getting custom leather upholstery for around $1200 after getting their car. However, I believe that this is false of OEM seats - I think it has been reported to cost substantially MORE than $1200 to have OEM leather seats retrofitted. Of course, this depends on whether my memory is accurate, because I haven't searched the forums for these threads recently... but feel free to search on your own!

 

I have the black profile leather and am very happy with it. They are extremely comfortable and I stay in my seat. Also, with leather, you get the lumbar support which is an added bonus you don't get with the leatherette. I ski, climb 14'rs, bike and end up w/a sore back more often than I would like. The seats are great!

 

>>of course you can get leather fitted to any seats after the fact!
>>it probably will be nicer than the factory leather too!

Hello nfo,

Thanks for the post. Actually, I'm not talking about fitted leather seats, I mean the actual, say, Lapis Blue or Black Gravity leather seats that come in a new Mini. Can you remove your ENTIRE leatherett or cloth seats and replace them with the ENTIRE lapis blue or gravity leather seats for around $1250 after a few months? I think mini2go addressed this in his post, if OEM refers to seats that MINI puts in the car from the factory. So thanks to you as well, mini2go. But, just for my edification, what exactly does OEM stand for? Please excuse my ignorance.

Thanks everyone,

Craig

 

OEM is "Original Equipment Manufacturer"
i think to have OEM leather seats installed it would cost more than $1250, i could be wrong!
call up https://www.northamericanmotoring.com/classicauto.php
i'm sure they will have the best price!

 

I just got my MINI and I chose the leatherette for my MC. I like the feel of the leatherette when combined with the sport package. The seat hugs you and don't slide around the seat like you do on some leather. People in my car haven't noticed the difference, in fact I have received compliments.

Plus, I used the $1000 savings to buy other stuff more important to me such as the HK system, which is very nice.

Birdie

 

Wow, this seems to be a popular topic of discussion. Next time I will certainly search the board for existing threads as some members had mentioned that this topic has been discussed numerous times. Based on everyone's comments, I am definitely heading to the dealer to do some on-site research, but I think that I will probably re-invest the money to be spent on leather on other upgrades to the car (Harmon-Kardon is calling - gotta have my tunes!).

Thanks for all of your "2 cents"