If you were as old as I am he probably would!

But, that is a NICE setup. Just what I need.

Earl

 

Teh wonderful world of leather!!! The door side bolsters on all of the sports seats I've owned has always been the first to show wear. 1979 320i, 1983 911, 1986 320i, 1988 M5, 1989 Taurus SHO, 1995 M3, and now the MINI. It is one of the main reaosn I now shy away from leather. Cold in winter, hot is summer is another. Modern upholstery and leatherette (read "vinyl") are excellent now and resist wear much better than leather. I would not have leather in the MINI except that I valued the lumbar support more than the eventual demise of the leather. All said, Lexol works pretty good and my seats at 15 months and 15K miles still look very good. (Some character wrinkling is to be expected)

 

I've always used Hide Food on leather seats in 911s and other sports cars I've owned and never had a problem with bolster wear, even after as long as 7 years. Maybe Porsche and the others use better leather but I think the Hide Food (or probably any conditioner) really helps.

btw, I decided to get the leatherette in my MCS because even in the low-mileage demo cars that I saw, the leather wasn't holding up very well (ie, it was wrinkling). Don't know if it's the leather or the way it's put together but I'm glad I got the leatherette...

 

YES!!! It can be repaired. Mine was worn because of the lack of caution in getting into my Mini. Mini/BMW dealer have a person they call "leathertech".
Great job. $95.00. Ask your BMW dealer or yellow pages.

 

I was talking to my MA about mods and he told me tha if you install an aftermarket driver into the seat that it sill void the warrantee on averything he touches. Leather included.


So the question to ask is did the driver of your mini come from the mini pars dept?

 

Yeah, I've seen the same thing on my emerald green leather

I think it's more of a "me falling into my seat" thing rather than a quality issue.

Regardless, I'm very careful getting into it now

 

To repeat: Mine was worn because of the lack of caution in getting into my Mini. Mini/BMW dealer have a person they call "leathertech".
Great job. $95.00. Ask your BMW dealer or yellow pages.
Mine was done by Mini/BMW sevice department.

 

Since I got my Mini in 9/02 I have applied at least two layers of conditioner to the black leather driver's seat every few weeks in the summer.......less often to the passenger's seat. After almost two years the leather is in very good condition.......so I think keeping it that way depends mostly on regular maintainance right from the start. I don't like having to pay it this much attention......but it is what it is.

 

I take very good care of my Lapis blue leather and do the regular cleaning and conditioning. Yesterday I notice more cracking and now peeling of the leather on the black outside bolster of the driver's seat. The rest of the seat is fine.
Disappointing to see this after about 18 months and 15,000 miles even with very good care on a monthly or more basis and garage kept. I have the sports seats.

 

Can you post a pic so we can compare it to ours???

Thanks - and sorry, thats a real bummer.

 

For what it's worth......I use Griot's Leather Care.

 

I actually noticed some "chipping" of the leather on the door-side driver's bolster within the first two days of ownership. Looks like 4 pin-head-size areas where the surface of the leather has "chipped away." I think I was being careful climbing in/out from day 1, but I KNOW that I've been careful since day 2. I'm giving MINI the benefit of the doubt (the leather can't be THAT cheap, can it?) and taking the blame myself - I assume it was a pair of cargo pants I was wearing that have zippers on them that did the damage. Just hoping my increased care (and regular cleaning / conditioning) prevents further damage! (And I'm going to keep that "leather tech" recommendation in mind for future reference) :smile:

 

Had my repaired and it is perfect, for over a year. Be careful when getting in & out of seat.

 

At 21000 the dealer replaced the leather on the drivers seat back - no questions or comments from the service writer. As reported earlier by myself and others it appears that the black leather bolster portion seems to be of a poor quality. I doubt if anything has changed and will expect the same in another 20000.

 

After I complained twice about my cracking and peeling driver's leather side bolster my dealership allowed a "one time" redying of the leather at no charge to me. I think the redying was only to the area in question, not the whole seat.

Looks like they roughed up the surface of the leather to smooth out the cracks and lost chips of leather and redyed the same color over that area.
I have Lapis blue leather. No sags or wrinkles.

From a distance it looks OK. The leather was not replaced. There are no cracks or peeling visible.

Close up the leather is not exactly smooth, more rough in texture but color is very good.

Overall, I'd have to say that the fix for me is acceptible but I don't know if this will halt the problem or just mask it. I started to note the leather cracks within one year and now I am at two years and 19,800 miles.

No amount of leather cleaning and conditioning helped and I am very good about keeping my leather in top condition at all times. (my first car with leather). I have no other wear areas on the driver's seat and I have no other cracks or peeling in any leather of the other seats.