This really annoys me... the car is just one year old and as you can see from the pictures the leather has already taken a beating. I have contacted my dealer and they will forward the pictures to the warranty section, but the dealer said that BMW seldom accepts these claims. Well, the jury is still out, but can you believe it? Maybe I should buy a Dacia or a similar quality car next time?

 

I would imagine BMW will blame it on the clothing you wear in the car. Obviously some garments are more abrasive than others and lots of short journeys increase the wear.

It is bad at 16 months old though. My car had some similar wear at 54k miles and appears to be the same leather as yours. I don't know how the previous owner abraded the seat but I don't have the problem. Anyway if BMW reject the claim you can get some excellent stuff to repair it for not much cost. You can buy leather dye matched to your leather that you just apply with a sponge and the results are excellent.

I'm talking about this stuff (although I used a different brand):

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-CAR-LE...item3cbc0b221b

 

The short answer is that it shouldn't happen. I have the non-perforated leather and my sure didn't wear like that. And mine is 2 1/2 years old.

 

Is it wear or discolouration? I had once a E32 with white leather and it got blue from jeans but you could remove it with http://www.liquidleather.com/car-shop.html GT12. It made it as new!

 

This is annoying.. but the latest poster might be right - it might just be coloured by the jeans.
Worst case, take it to someone who can repaint the leather.
It won't alter the conclusion that factory leather quality was crap, but at least you won't get angry every time you get in the car..

 

If you're referring to the staining, I've seen that much in ONE day. Saw a brand new X3 at an Auto Show this year, and it had cream colored leather seats, that were totally stained with blue, from all the jeans that day that got in and out of the car. That's why I'll never buy that colour leather seats. Look great new, but easy to stain.

If you're referring to the creases, I don't know how a perforated leather seat wears, but the non perf ones I don't think crease in the hip area that quickly.

My previous Volvo's smooth leather seats though creased like that way quicker than a year, and I was furious at first, but got told it's normal...

http://forums.swedespeed.com/showthread.php?118538

 

A clarification: I have no jeans and I more or less only drive my car wearing a suit. The discolourisation is due to the "top layer" of the leather is missing - it's really gone. :thumbsdown:

Crease is fine - that doesn't bother me much.

As mmitev says - the excessive wear makes me angry everytime I get into the car.

 

Ok, if no jeans then it's really bad. And I think I know what's the reason - the perforation.
It distorts the surface of lacquer (leather also has it) and paint and they both get rubbed away much easier than on non-perforated seats.
Its just very very ironic that especially the expensive perforated seats (and maybe Nappa leather?) are more vulnerable to wear than the cheaper versions :thumbsdown:

And the creases are another typical problem of the comfort seats - the side leg support is made of a soft foam which gets damaged already after 1-2 years (by getting in and out of the car), and these creases are the result.

I did the radical solution on my car - took it to a professional to restore the leather, replace that left piece of foam on the driver seat and also firm up the bottom of the seat with new foam (it also had softened with time). The seat had to be removed and it was rather expensive, but it looks and feels 1 year old now and it still better than buying a new car because of this.

 

I think two things are at work here:

1. The foam cushion isn't supporting the leather facing and causing the wrinkled appearance and surface distortion. In time that will DEFINITELY cause the leather to wear prematurely.
2. As the OP described, unless the business suits are made of sandpaper - that leather face wear indicates a quality issue with the leather seating material. In my opinion that would be unacceptable in an inexpensive car - TOTALLY not acceptable in a BMW.

I bet there is a supply chain problem that needs to be fixed ASAP before BMW gets socked with warranty claims that further degrade customer quality survey feedback. If they don't take these little things seriously and focus instead on putting more weak 4 cyl engines in 5'ers the next step is they might entertain being acquired by FIAT

 

Much appreciated for all your help - will of continue to push BMW (they won't get away that easy) and also use your input when approaching a leather restorer.