F80 Leather is not M quality

[TypeOne]

You know, I was kinda thinking the same thing. I recently traded in my F30 335i on an F80 and one of the first things I noticed was how different the leather between the two are.

The F30 has really tough, textured leather. Even at 45,000 miles the seats looked and felt firm and new. I conditioned them often and always got complements on how nice the coral red seats were.

The moment I got into the F80 for the first time, my initial thought was that, while the front seats were far more comfortable, they didn't FEEL as nice as my previous car. The leather seems rather thin, soft and seems to scratch or scuff far more easily.

I condition my M3 seats often but I feel like they certainly aren't going to hold up as well as my other car's leather. My driver side bolster is already showing signs of wear and the steering wheel has started to crack. All in all, I bought the M3 for its performance and it blows me away every time I drive it, I just wish I wasn't so disappointed with the interior.

Oh well.

[GrussGott]

Originally Posted by TypeOne

I condition my M3 seats often

My driver side bolster is already showing signs of wear and the steering wheel has started to crack.

It's probably because of all of the "conditioning" you're doing.

Modern leather (easily the last 20 years) doesn't need to be "conditioned", rather, just simply and gently dusted and then cleaned ONLY WHEN and where it's dirty. This is because your leather has a polyurethane coating similar to the clear coat on your paint (which also has a zero chance of being conditioned.)

The leather comes from the factory completely sealed: If you've touched the actual leather, you've already ruined it.

For example lots of people will just put goop on a rag and go to town, but in the process they're mixing their goop with dust, dirt, and grit on the leather that creates a rubbing compound and abrades away the protective polyurethane coating. The goop can also get on the stitching and seep into the raw leather through the holes and corrode the leather.

If you look at my seat picture above, I've never cleaned my seats once in 20,000 miles and I think they look great.

Done wrong, cleaning or conditioning is a disaster.

Example:

[LukeM15]

17' ZCP M3 owned since January my Full Merino still looks the same as day one no issues to report.

[Sassicaia]

I find the leather to be very high quality. A lot of people associate thick corse leather as being "high quality", but thats not the case. The Marino is clearly a high end leather.

[iatacs19]

It's all the same "cheap" high traffic corrected leather. Nappa/Merino being a grade above Dakota. You should see how "real" aniline leather wears...

[sjuhawks19]

My golden brown full leather is beautiful to see and touch on my 2017 M3. It's on par with the nappa leather I had in my Audi S4. Only 4000 miles, I wear jeans daily though and it looks amazing.

[TypeOne]

Originally Posted by GrussGott

It's probably because of all of the "conditioning" you're doing.

Modern leather (easily the last 20 years) doesn't need to be "conditioned", rather, just simply and gently dusted and then cleaned ONLY WHEN and where it's dirty. This is because your leather has a polyurethane coating similar to the clear coat on your paint (which also has a zero chance of being conditioned.)

The leather comes from the factory completely sealed: If you've touched the actual leather, you've already ruined it.

For example lots of people will just put goop on a rag and go to town, but in the process they're mixing their goop with dust, dirt, and grit on the leather that creates a rubbing compound and abrades away the protective polyurethane coating. The goop can also get on the stitching and seep into the raw leather through the holes and corrode the leather.

If you look at my seat picture above, I've never cleaned my seats once in 20,000 miles and I think they look great.

Done wrong, cleaning or conditioning is a disaster.

Example:

Ehhh.... cleaning/conditioning... whatever you want to call it. I have proper leather care product and CLEAN them often. I used the product on my F30 seats maybe 5-6 times throughout the year that I owned the car. The leather always looked and felt amazing.

I've cleaned the leather in my F80 once since I've owned it (going on 5 weeks now) and have wiped the seats down with cleaner twice. I keep my car clean so there isn't dirt, debris or crumbs in my seat cracks. If there were... I certainly wouldn't be gooping conditioner all over it.

The reality is that the leather in the F80 I have now seems like it is far more delicate than the material in my F30. High quality? Sure. Nicer and softer than the F30? Sure. It still seems like it's going to scratch and scuff easier than my previous car regardless of how you clean it.

[Draper]

Originally Posted by TypeOne

Ehhh.... cleaning/conditioning... whatever you want to call it. I have proper leather care product and CLEAN them often. I used the product on my F30 seats maybe 5-6 times throughout the year that I owned the car. The leather always looked and felt amazing.

I've cleaned the leather in my F80 once since I've owned it (going on 5 weeks now) and have wiped the seats down with cleaner twice. I keep my car clean so there isn't dirt, debris or crumbs in my seat cracks. If there were... I certainly wouldn't be gooping conditioner all over it.

The reality is that the leather in the F80 I have now seems like it is far more delicate than the material in my F30. High quality? Sure. Nicer and softer than the F30? Sure. It still seems like it's going to scratch and scuff easier than my previous car regardless of how you clean it.

You didn't have leather in your F30, that's why.

[Wills2]

I would say that in terms of softness and grain the current F8* leather isn't as good as my old M3s (e46/e92) and M5's leather.

I think it's harder wearing and tougher but not as luxurious or soft, the merino in my M5 was as soft as butter and had a lovely waxy feel to it which was great but not very hard wearing.

I completely agree regarding people "conditioning" this leather (that's applying a leather cream in some vain attempt to moisturise it) it's simply a waste of time it's sealed and you'll do more harm than good, just vacuum and clean with a high quality leather cleaner and soft clean brush (from the Swissvax range as an example) when its dirty.

The Dakota leather in the cooking BMWs is a joke I'd rather have cloth than that rhino hide.

[GrussGott]

Originally Posted by Wills2

I'd rather have cloth than that rhino hide.

I'd rather have cloth overall - only Porsche seems to be getting into the textiles ... I don't get why this focus on leather, especially for a sports car, it's like the worst material imaginable.

It's an anachronism (like thinking you can condition or that you're even cleaning "leather" - you're cleaning polyurethane) from the days when it was raw leather or canvas.

It's the 21st century, let's start getting some great textiles.

[Ian1973]

Originally Posted by Draper

You didn't have leather in your F30, that's why.

How so?? How do you know he didn't option it in?

[AchtungF80]

4k miles, my bolsters look great but thats because i hop over them and land on the shoulder bolsters - little bit of wear on sides.
And re: the F10 leather - I was sorely disappointed when I shopped for an F10 m-sport 2 years ago. The leather was definitely on par with Chevy quality (below Cadillac quality) etc.

[Sedan_Clan]

I've owned two M4's - a '15 and '17 respectively - and I haven't had any issues with the leather.

[Draper]

Originally Posted by Ian1973

How so?? How do you know he didn't option it in?

Oh I'm sure the build sheet said leather, but in reality Dakota is closer to a spray-painted tarp than actual leather. http://blogs.youwheel.com/2015/05/03...her-explained/

[Wills2]

Originally Posted by GrussGott

I'd rather have cloth overall - only Porsche seems to be getting into the textiles ... I don't get why this focus on leather, especially for a sports car, it's like the worst material imaginable.

It's an anachronism (like thinking you can condition or that you're even cleaning "leather" - you're cleaning polyurethane) from the days when it was raw leather or canvas.

It's the 21st century, let's start getting some great textiles.

Indeed I have a fully aniline leather arm chair it's completely different to automotive "leather"

[Alpine300zhp]

Originally Posted by SakhirM4

Have a 2015 M4 that is almost 3 years old with black full leather. Interior looks as good as the day we bought it. No problems.

Same here. But I have noticed a lot of complaints from 2017 owners. I suspect that BMW changed suppliers and the new supplier is putting crappy leather in the new M's. My interior at 2 years old and 46k miles looks almost brand new.

[skyline408]

Originally Posted by Alpine300zhp

Same here. But I have noticed a lot of complaints from 2017 owners. I suspect that BMW changed suppliers and the new supplier is putting crappy leather in the new M's. My interior at 2 years old and 46k miles looks almost brand new.

probably not. we're in a forum so it's like a given we nit pick and complain about everything.

you put a gold bar in front of some folks, and they'll find a way to complain about it.

[gatorfast]

Originally Posted by Wills2

I would say that in terms of softness and grain the current F8* leather isn't as good as my old M3s (e46/e92) and M5's leather.
.

Agreed! The leather on my e90 M3 was buttery soft whereas the F80 texture isnt as nice. I agree though that it may have been a sacrifice for longevity as after 30k miles in my F80 the seats still look factory new whereas the e90 definitely had some wear creases/cracks.

[Biorin]

I'm starting to get what I can only define as "cracks" in my steering wheel. It started in one area, and I figured it had to have been scratched by a nail or key or something -- a bunch of fine horizontal ridges in a row that are clearly felt and clearly visible. However, I've now noticed the same thing in two other places on my steering wheel, and at the bottom where I barely touch it. Has anyone else had something like this?

[Spritztour]

No problem with my Extended Merino Black and treated on day 7 after pickup with Lexol. It's perfect.

[zamboni]

Mine was 18 CP and the seat felt harder compare with my previous F30 and F93 M3.

[CanAutM3]

Originally Posted by Jockey

2015 full SS leather, mine still looks great.

Of course, I condition it and clean it every so often.

Same here !