OEM Dove Gray leather....who do you get it from?

[Meeyatch1]

I have a 1999 M3 with the manual Dove Gray Vader seats, and I would like to source OEM leather if possible. The car is low mileage, and all original, so quality and accuracy are important to me in getting the seats back to perfect. Who is a trusted source that you have used and been happy with? I tried my local dealership, and they said they would not be able to get it for me.

Thank you!

[TostitoBandito]

I don't think it's possible any longer to get the actual OEM leather. They don't keep making them long after the car is out of production. This is why sites like autoberry exist:

http://www.autoberry.com/details.php...&categories_id=

Basically, the options are to either get new leather from someone like autoberry which should almost exactly match the original, or try to find the unicorn that is a pristine set of original seats in the correct color and swap those in.

Note that if you do replace the seat covers, you'll probably want to have a professional bolster the foam as necessary so it fits nice and snug like new. If you put new leather over foam that's been worn and compressed over the years, you can sometimes get a loose fit.

[Nate047]

Autoberry is pretty much where you're at with it at this point in the game. The quality is supposed to be very high though so I wouldn't call that a bad thing.

[123bmwm3]

I recently paid a professional to have my dove grey seats recovered in new leather.

The options I found were (1) purchase pre-made leather covers from Autoberry (2) purchase pre-made leather covers from GAHH (3) have leather covers custom made by a local upholstery shop. Autoberry had the best price. GAHH cost way more than Autoberry but the GAHH leather sample seemed to be thicker than the Autoberry leather sample. I went with option (3) since the local upholstery shop could get high quality leather at a reasonable price.

Also, definitely rebuild your seat pad bolsters when re-covering your seats.

[Braymond141]

I recently paid a professional to have my dove grey seats recovered in new leather.

The options I found were (1) purchase pre-made leather covers from Autoberry (2) purchase pre-made leather covers from GAHH (3) have leather covers custom made by a local upholstery shop. Autoberry had the best price. GAHH cost way more than Autoberry but the GAHH leather sample seemed to be thicker than the Autoberry leather sample. I went with option (3) since the local upholstery shop could get high quality leather at a reasonable price.

Also, definitely rebuild your seat pad bolsters when re-covering your seats.

There is a fourth option. Custom color leather.

[tjm3]

You might check with World Upholstery, www.worlduph.com . They have access to a lot of original raw materials for BMW but you need to call them and ask as it may not be listed on the website.

[persiandude]

Is Autoberry able to provide Napa leather? I understand that Napa is lambskin which is why it feels so much better.

I have been researching getting this done to my driver seat then having fibrenew.com match the color of the rest of my seats to the new driver

- - - Updated - - -

just found this - guy has a good comparison between GAHH and Autoberry

http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=402928

[Braymond141]

Is Autoberry able to provide Napa leather? I understand that Napa is lambskin which is why it feels so much better.

I have been researching getting this done to my driver seat then having fibrenew.com match the color of the rest of my seats to the new driver

- - - Updated - - -

just found this - guy has a good comparison between GAHH and Autoberry

http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=402928

BMW Nappa is cow hide. It is a smooth grain.

Misleading I know.

[persiandude]

BMW Nappa is cow hide. It is a smooth grain.

Misleading I know.

well that helps - it was an endless cycle of me looking for lamb skins for the seats and then giving up to then starting the search again...

I may have just succumb to Autoberry