E46 seat leather and better coupe headlights?

Hi Jim,

Thanks for the fast reply! I tried the refurbishing of the leather using the Leatherique system. I filled the cracks and redyed the leather, but after driving down to Spartanburg, SC to a BMW Performance school, most of the crack filler has mostly fallen out! My poor workmanship, I guess. I am thinking I may just recover the original seat foam. Or, hopefully find a tan sport seat out there. I like that you recommended TRS as that is where I was thinking too! Thanks again, Doug

Have you considered repairing and/or restoring rather than replacing? I used to own a pair of matching cars. After 15 years of owning/driving, both cars had some really worn-out leather seating. The rears were nearly perfect, but the fronts were bad. Missing color in the creases and cracks, abrasions, and even several small wear holes on the bolsters. One seat even had a splotch of metallic pearl white paint on it from a previous accident repair. The cost for new OEM seat covers (the least expensive of the lot) was $500 per seat on dealer clearance, and that wasn't including labor. I decided to restore the seats, so purchased a complete repair & restoration kit. I purchased the Colourlock system (not an endorsement). It came with everything needed from prep and fillers to final color and coating. I spent a little over 6 hours per seat, but once completed they looked nearly new. Nearly, but not exactly. I was quite happy with the completed restoration, and happier I saved a little over $1k per car by going with a restoration. The seats matched the overall state of the car so it didn't appear like I tried to turn a sow's ear into a silk purse. The seats just looked like they were very well cared for, and maintained like the mechanicals. The kit cost me a little over $85 and my time on a rainy weekend. Most of all, I didn't pay Gucci prices for a knock-off Walmart bag, but the resale value of the cars when I finally sold them paid off. Their respective new owners made specific note of the seating condition, and were impressed at how good they still looked for 18+ year old cars. You can find plenty of videos on YouTube for leather seating repair kits to determine if restoration if a good choice for you and your car. For lighting, you might want to look at Turner Motorsports. I purchase plenty of BMW OEM and aftermarket parts from them. Good quality, and decent pricing. Otherwise, look at a retrofit conversion kit. TRS (The Retrofit Source) carries quality kits I've used on other cars. Best of luck to you.