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Retrofitting OEM leather armrest?

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albanoodle
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Retrofitting OEM leather armrest?

Post by albanoodle » Sun Sep 30, 2007 8:48 am

I am slowly beginning to mod/upgrade my car and one thing that I would really like is the OEM armrest.

My question is - as a newbie I have no idea which parts I need?

This picture:

Image

Shows two center console trim pieces - 3 and 22. These are mutually exclusive right? I believe I have number 3 (no armrest) meaning that I would have to get both 22 and 4 to get the black leather OEM armrest - correct? Is there anything I'm missing?


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WLH
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Re: Retrofitting OEM leather armrest?

Post by WLH » Sun Sep 30, 2007 1:40 pm

To the best of my knowledge there is nothing I would call an OEM armrest...

Are you thinking of something like this...?
Image
...if so they can be purchased from leatherz.com
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Re: Retrofitting OEM leather armrest?

Post by sp3ctre » Sun Sep 30, 2007 2:48 pm

No WLH, he's right, part #4 is the OEM armrest... it's not so much a large armrest like the leatherz one, but more of a small pad akin to the leatherz door armrest.
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Re: Retrofitting OEM leather armrest?

Post by WLH » Sun Sep 30, 2007 3:20 pm

sp3ctre wrote:No WLH, he's right, part #4 is the OEM armrest... it's not so much a large armrest like the leatherz one, but more of a small pad akin to the leatherz door armrest.
I stand corrected... :oops:
...but It does not seem much like an arm rest to me... :)
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Re: Retrofitting OEM leather armrest?

Post by sp3ctre » Sun Sep 30, 2007 3:26 pm

Nah, it's more of a "cushion" than anything else... and a hell of a lot smaller than the leatherz one, which is the size of a small country! ;)
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Re: Retrofitting OEM leather armrest?

Post by albanoodle » Sun Sep 30, 2007 4:04 pm

I think it's called an armrest actually - but true - it's more like a small u-formed cushion as you write.

This is the thing I want:

Image

Right now there's just the alu-frame right around the parking brake, and this is actually where my arm/elbow rests, so the "cushion" would be an improvement for me.

I have thought about the LeatherZ armrest which by the way looks really good, but I don't think it's for me. I have however ordered the small (ZHP) shift knob ;)


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Re: Retrofitting OEM leather armrest?

Post by Wondermike » Sun Sep 30, 2007 5:09 pm

albanoodle, 4 is listed on RealOEM as $311 (USD) which seems crazily expensive. Be interesting to see how you get in with this.

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Re: Retrofitting OEM leather armrest?

Post by albanoodle » Sun Sep 30, 2007 10:07 pm

Good point - ridiculously expensive ;(

I found an Ebay seller who had the whole center console up for sale (alu trim, boots, sidepanels etc. included) at an - in my oppinion - reasonable price. Grabbed that one - time for some serious DIY work I guess.

I have no idea how to change the parts, but I'll hopefully figure it out! I guess it's only the alu trim that needs to come off - hopefully(!).


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Re: Retrofitting OEM leather armrest?

Post by albanoodle » Mon Oct 01, 2007 6:34 am

Perfect - thanks!

- And thanks to plowy for that execellent description - super job. I Had hoped that I wouldn't have to remove the whole centerconsole to change the trim though - argh!


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Re: Retrofitting OEM leather armrest?

Post by Holm » Wed Oct 03, 2007 2:03 pm

I noticed the small compartment contaning 2 buttons just behind the handbrake on the photo that albanoodle posted. Can anyone please tell me what they are for?
Image
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Re: Retrofitting OEM leather armrest?

Post by sp3ctre » Wed Oct 03, 2007 4:30 pm

Holm wrote:I noticed the small compartment contaning 2 buttons just behind the handbrake on the photo that albanoodle posted. Can anyone please tell me what they are for?
They are the bmw assist buttons... think Captain BMW comes flying out of the clouds if you press it :D
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Re: Retrofitting OEM leather armrest?

Post by Holm » Wed Oct 03, 2007 8:23 pm

:rofl: Then I am very sad that I do not have those. Would love to see Captain BMW comes flying out of the clouds with his cape
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