Hi Folks,

I currently have grey leather in my '98 328i and will soon need to decide on an interior color for my E60. Black seems to hide the dirt better; however, I do have some noticeable wear on my 328i leather seats -- In the obvious places where you slip in and out on the drivers side. :(

When grey leather wears, it turns white. There's also the problem with dirt on the grey leather. With two kids the dirt seems to magically appear. Over time, some of that dirt just doesn't come off :angry: Thank goodness they're good kids! :D

When black leather wears, does it also turn white? I would imagine that white on grey leather seems to not be as noticeable as white on black leather. Thanks for any thoughts/advice you can share.

Cheers,
Tony

After looking long and hard at the various options for my 2005 530i, I selected gray leather over black because the gray leather was somewhat softer and more supple. Noticed the same thing in the Lexus ES- and GS-series cars. Must have something to do with the black dye and leather processing. Another consideration, especially in So. Calif., is that gray is not as hot in the summertime.

As for wear, noticed my neighbor's 2-year old 325i with black leather showed a LOT of wear (white) at the entry point of the seat and seatback on the driver's side. He does have the Sport Package and the additional side bolstering of the SP seats would result in more rubbing when entering or exiting.

IMHO, the gray would show less wear. Fully understand the connection between dirt and kids, however.

All things considered, seven years on your 328i with "some noticeable wear" isn't bad!

Martin

After looking long and hard at the various options for my 2005 530i, I selected gray leather over black because the gray leather was somewhat softer and more supple. Noticed the same thing in the Lexus ES- and GS-series cars. Must have something to do with the black dye and leather processing. Another consideration, especially in So. Calif., is that gray is not as hot in the summertime.

As for wear, noticed my neighbor's 2-year old 325i with black leather showed a LOT of wear (white) at the entry point of the seat and seatback on the driver's side. He does have the Sport Package and the additional side bolstering of the SP seats would result in more rubbing when entering or exiting.

IMHO, the gray would show less wear. Fully understand the connection between dirt and kids, however.

All things considered, seven years on your 328i with "some noticeable wear" isn't bad!

Martin
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My 330 has black interior. Yes it shows some wear, but the interior in my 5 series is very different. IMHO, Black is the way to go. Especially if you will have any kids in the car.

second time round for me with Black leather ... black doesn't turn white. Black is easily the easiest to mantain .. I too have 2 children and for me black is a must.

incidently, I went from a e36 328iS to e60. :thumbsup:

I chose black because 1) it wears better than the other colors (I have had no whitening at all over the last 19 months) and 2) it looks great. I never really cared for grey leather, doesn't feel natural to me.

My brother had an M3 with the gray leather seats... the kind that almost look white.


They are HORRIBLE with the dirt. It doesn't matter how good you take care of them, black dirt will get into the leather grain and is impossible to remove completely.

I love the look of gray leather.... but will never get it because of the dirt issue. It just makes the seats look awful when you can see dark grain lines in a light colored seat.

I choose the black interior for the same concerns you have listed. I think the overall wear will be better with kids and for the amount I sit in the drivers seat. Besides, I like the look.

However, I find it more difficult to keep clean. Not necessarily from a dirt standpoint, but dust, lint and shoe marks than I do with my Grey interior on my Yukon, which gets used primarily for family trips. I keep my car pretty clean and ever week I have to wipe down/vacuum the seats, shoe marks on the back of the seats from the kids - even though they are farily careful. Also, you see every piece of lint on the floor, even with all-weather mats.

So, I think the trade off is long term wear versus everyday clean.

If you have children go with black. I am single..and love my grey.

Go with black, especially with kids.

I had black Montana on my E39 and they are "just as beautiful" over time. I have 3 kids and the youngest loved to rest his feet on the magazine storage behind my seat, I would probably need to clean it every now and then if I had chosen another colour!

Naturally, on my E60, black Dakota is the choice - it hides more than dirt :)