Ray Hull

If anyone has considered these expensive ($295) BMW rear seat covers, I have just gotten one from our friendly 25% discount mail-order parts dealer in Rhode Island and it is very nicely made. It is much more tailored than the model I had for the E 39 (which is a tad too narow for the E60). The old one was black vinyl while this one is gray, similar to the fuzzy carpet on the trunk floor. It has a zipper down the center for half-seat use (fat chance with a Newfoundland) and has two door side-covers that I won't bother with. It even comes in a carry case!

My dog wasn't sure what to make of it tonight, but he settled in and figured a way to hang his head in betwen the front seats without the "chin rest" of the old style.

In sum, very sturdy and probably worth the (discounted price) money to protect the leather and "we" like it.


Ray and Dov

MidnightRider

Ray,

Cool dog! I went with the BMW branded seat cover. It is expensive but works like a champ for my golden retriever. She is a fur machine and it takes an hour of detailing after each trip to get all of the fur out of the car. Forget openning a window as that would scatter fur into corners I could not imagine. Nose prints on the rear windows are easy to clean. Couldn't imagine not taking her along for a ride. The BMW branded cover fits like a glove, stays in place, and has a material that traps the loose fur. Glad to see I am not the only one with a dog in the back seat.

westcoast550

With a face like that I say spent and do whatever it takes to make him happy.... cars can always be cleaned.Beautiful dog !!

Cheers

Bart sMartWeed

I just finished of tailoring one myself. I used black imitation leather that matches the interior perfectly. Why I made one myself:

Our two border collies are very vivid and one of them just wants to see everything outside so she jumps from left to right and from back to front. The hole between the front seats was just an invitation to crawl through for her. An elastic net didn't work either. When she looks out of the side windows then she puts her paws on the upper ledge (where the windows goes into the door). Also the back head rests and even the back plate (where the rear speakers are) aren't spared. So I began to design my own.

The detachable door covers are fastened to a plastic plate (with a Velcro strip) which fits between the rear side windows and the rubbers inside. The whole ledges are covered except for a hole for the "door closed indicator". At the bottom of the door the cover is secured with two snap fasteners (also called snap, popper, press stud, drukknoop (nl)).

The main cover starts from the front head rests. The cover is attached to a pipe (aluminium) which in turn is attached to two plastic plates the snap to the head rests. The pipe rests in fact on the top of the front seats without touching the head rests themselves. This pipe goes from left to right (full width of car) so dogs can not crawl between the seats to the front. However, you could make a "door" there to have that option. The cover hangs down and make a dip then continues on the back seat, up the back seat and over the head rests (so back head rests are covered too). There it is attached again to an aluminium pipe that in turn is fasted with two self closing hooks to the things where normally the read window blinds would be fastened.

As a bonus I added black towel fabric (with Velcro) to the cover at the front side so you don't see the back of the cover fabric. Why towel fabric? Well ... if you have dogs you'll know what they are meant for.

It took me about a month to figure out the best design and how to fix what where and looks 50K? car worthy. Material costs about 150?. To put it all together (when you have the plans) take 1-2 days (buying stuff, cutting, stitching, gluing, bending plastic, ...).

It fits and looks like tailored but I have to test it yet with dogs on a real trip.

Ray Hull

WOW! That's quite a project. You may want to consider individual "pipes" with a hole to slip over the headrests. That's the way the E39 cover was, and it made for quick on and off (just drop it over the headrests) I think they were about inch thick wooden dowels. The new one has a rigid cutout that has to "squeezed" between the headrest posts. >---<

The old one had a curtain in between to prevent front access, AND a bib-like flap in front of that to cover the arm rest (but then your guys don't drool like mine...). That's where Dov rested his chin on our way to the dog park.

But back to the single, vs. dual "pipes", the BMW model allowed seats to be very separately positioned, and would not risk poking the oppossite side of the car's upholstery with that long rod. Just a thought in case you want to do a bit of sawing and sewing ...

I still have my old one if you'd like to see a pic with some rough measurements. (PS I paid all of $85 for it on eBay--appeared to have never been used).

Ray

Bart sMartWeed

Great you understand the concept. That's not easy only from a bit of text ...

I said I spent a month about figuring out things and ... that was one of the things I had to take a saw !! The pipe is fixed on two separate plastic plates each with a swivel point. The plates however are fixed in distance to each other by the pipe. The both plates have two L shape "holes" that slides around the two bars of the head rest and that snap around it due to a little (1mm) thickening.

I attached a drawing of one plate. Other detailed images will be posted soon.

Ray Hull

The new one has opposing holes, >----< like those in your drawing. You have to squeeze the rigid plastic that is sandwiched in there to get the tips around the headrest supports. But that's the only rigid part of the whole cover. Not sure how it will hold up under the weight of my dog, he likes to stand on the unsupported forward section so he can lean on my shoulder...lol.

Another concern for that pipe is that it might present a problem or restriction during an accident. But it seems you've thought all that through. Good luck with it.
Ray

AlwynMike

Why on earth do you buy an expensive driving machine like an E60, kitted out with high quality leather and fabric, and then go and put a smelly "fur machine" in it???? It must be a doggy owner thing. I know that the number of times I have driven my car without the dog can be numbered by the fingers on only two hands. Wouldn't be without the car or the dog!

Don't know if I'm lucky or not with my mutt (no pedigree's for me - a labrador x border collie). He is quite content to stay on the passenger floor, ear pressed hard against the 'speaker grille (irrespective of how loud the music is). He knows not to sit on the seat and has never been invited in the back. He occasionally puts a paw on the edge of the seat to brace himself when I indulge in spirited cornering. Having had a 330d Touring previously, he still wants to jump in the boot (trunk) every time I open it though! - Picture this: 3 series Touring. Smallish black dog. Winding English/Welsh roads. High speed. Dog slides from side to side as he has not got the level of grip a BMW has! And he still wants more!

The only complaints are from the good lady, who sometimes struggles in vain to get legroom in the front.

The downside? The dog is black (going grey, like his master), the upholstery is beige. A bad move, but he's worth it.

Mike

ipp

My dogs told me to pick a touring instead.. They would destroy a sedan, too much spare energy I guess..

mtw1116

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