People (lotsa dealer people too) always comment on how nice the cloth is, and ask why its not offerend in the US.

I've met one other person in LA who has black cloth in his ED 330Ci.

Nice car, good choice of options

Jeff

Cloth seats are one of the most enjoyale aspects of the WRX.

I worry about long term wear and tear, though.

The cloth is pretty nice...

Just wondering, if it were offered here in the States, who here would have opted for it over 'ette??

I have cloth in my Audi and it is holding up well, choose it over the ette. Got ette in the wagon and it gets hot and I live in costal SoCal!!!

Jeff

I'd definitely take it over 'ette. It's a little more difficult with leather, though...

This quote from the ad ir pretty funny
" You buy a BMW 3-series for two reasons: Engine performance and reliability and the M-Tech suspension. This is The Ultimate Driving Machine!!!"


Uhhh . . . isn't that 3 reasons ?!?!

honestly, I would have to see the quality of cloth seats before judging. To me I picked leatherette 3 times so far over leather. Just cuz of the tear and wear on leather. Leatherette much easier to maintain in my opinion and looks almost same to me.
However, if I had the choice of seat - I would want suede over anything else...

LIL Raja

geomax said:

The cloth is pretty nice...

Just wondering, if it were offered here in the States, who here would have opted for it over 'ette??

Click to expand...

Cloth is great!

I have, thanks to Jon Shafer, anthracite cloth interior on my 325i with sp. I love it! For me it is the clear choice over 'ette or leather.
:thumbup:

From the ad:

M-Tech suspension like the one in the M3!

Click to expand...

:lmao: :lmao: :lmao:

A high quality cloth seat is my first choice. We've had a 1995 Honda Accord EX in our family for the last 7 years - the cloth seats are in perfect shape. Of course, Honda uses a very high quality cloth, and that makes a big difference.

I have had a number of cars with leatherette (vinyl) - very durable, but hideously hot and sticky in the summer and freezing cold in the winter.

Something to be considered.

First of all, I like cloth seats. I had cloth inserts in my 944, and also had some Recaro's installed in my Trans Am. They (cloth)really hold you firm when you're hitting the esses or surpentine type roads.

But seriously consider resale value before you make the leap for them in your BMW. Most people look for leather or ette seats. You'll significantly lower the playing field because very few people want cloth seats in a luxury vehicle.

Just my .035 cents (CN) worth.

I agree - cloth seats in a luxury car will seriously damage its resale value. Around here, if you don't have leather in a luxury vehicle, you will have an extremely difficult time selling it. Of course, if you plan to keep the car 10 years and you are not concerned about its resale price in the future, get the cloth and enjoy it.

Re: Something to be considered.

IndyMike said:

Just my .035 cents (CN) worth.

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The exchange rate is BAD--- but not that BAD! 3.2Cents it is!

If the quality is right....I would....

I have to agree with one of our fellow posters.....I too have owned some late 80's and early 90's Honda's with the cloth seats.
They did use real high quality stuff back then. Recent examples aren't too good.

I would have preferred to have a cloth option for our E46's. It's ashame that BMW felt that only Europeans would like the cloth seating surfaces.

In terms of driving and being held into the seats, I would take cloth anytime.

In terms of resale.....leather is probably best.

Although I don't mind doing the maintenance on the leather seats....it's just one more thing to worry about as the car ages.

If anything, it'll show how good the quality of materials BMW chose when this car has some miles on it and the years have goneby.

Resale value-wise, I agree that cloth will take a hit... to an extent. In the first few years when options make a difference in resale, that's true. When the car is 7 or 10 years old, fancy stuff like a moonroof, leather or power seats aren't really gonna get you another $500 more.

Cloth for me, no doubt. I'm keeping my car for a long time so no consideration on resale.

BTW, I'm curious on how that guy from LA got cloth on his ED. I asked about three special order items for my ED on 2000: topaz on sedan, rear power sunshade and cloth seats. Only got topaz but that was #1 on my list anyways.

Re: If the quality is right....I would....

bmwsfca said:

It's ashame that BMW felt that only Europeans would like the cloth seating surfaces.

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Last I checked Canada isn't in Europe. :angel:

Cloth is an option on Canadian 3's

Didn't know that the cloth seat option is available on Canadian 3 series cars.