Changing Interior Trim - anyone done this?

J

jamiez

Senior member
 SW London
Hi

The interior of my 2.5si is beige sports leather and most of the Interior Trim is beige, similar to this
_wsb_500x376_Z42.2-3.jpg


Keeping some of the trim clean is a nightmare, esp the plastic trim as you get in the car on the sill and near the footwell speaker and even the door trim

I was thinking of replacing some of the trim to black.

a) Has anybody done this? If so any pics?
b) am i risking/affecting resale by doing it?
c) should i be able to get the bits reasonably priced?
d) is the door trim one piece? I was thinking of keeping the leather piece and changing the trim below and above in black

thoughts??

Thanks
Jamie
 
I've not seen any post of anyone changing the interior trim wholesale. Mostly people focus on secondary trim such and replacing the alloy or wood on the dash or seats and door cards, keeping the majority 'as is'

If you could get access to a complete interior then that would be the way to go, but otherwise you'd want to watch what you change to make sure the overall effect works and it would be a huge job to do it all.

The doors as Mike says are indeed a single piece. It took a tremendous effort to split the leather off my door cards. I'd say there was 2 to 3 metres of plastic welding holding the leather faced trim the the backing. It then need plastic welding back together.
 
cj10jeeper said:
I've not seen any post of anyone changing the interior trim wholesale. Mostly people focus on secondary trim such and replacing the alloy or wood on the dash or seats and door cards, keeping the majority 'as is'

If you could get access to a complete interior then that would be the way to go, but otherwise you'd want to watch what you change to make sure the overall effect works and it would be a huge job to do it all.

The doors as Mike says are indeed a single piece. It took a tremendous effort to split the leather off my door cards. I'd say there was 2 to 3 metres of plastic welding holding the leather faced trim the the backing. It then need plastic welding back together.
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Yea, you have a good point. I want to do it from a function point of view mainly, but actually think it would look better overall.....i might see what I can get salvage perhaps

All the interior trim is the same pre/post facelift right?
 
Beige seats and door cards but everything else black including carpets would look great, don't know why they don't do it as an option, maybe too similar to the Individual Champagne interior, who knows.
 
I painted my aluminum pieces flat black because I was tired of looking at the aluminum, plus I had a spare set. It looks very clean and simple. I would advise that any mod you do can be reversible in case you want to sell your car. Nobody wants a car that has been customized to your taste even if it looks better IMO.
 
JetBlackZ said:
I painted my aluminum pieces flat black because I was tired of looking at the aluminum, plus I had a spare set. It looks very clean and simple. I would advise that any mod you do can be reversible in case you want to sell your car. Nobody wants a car that has been customized to your taste even if it looks better IMO.
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Any pic beforeand after will be great thanks allot mate
 
z200 said:
JetBlackZ said:
I painted my aluminum pieces flat black because I was tired of looking at the aluminum, plus I had a spare set. It looks very clean and simple. I would advise that any mod you do can be reversible in case you want to sell your car. Nobody wants a car that has been customized to your taste even if it looks better IMO.
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Any pic beforeand after will be great thanks allot mate
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Car is in storage, but I will be taking her out for a spin this weekend since we should hit temps in the 50's :)

I will post some pix up then.
 
JetBlackZ said:
z200 said:
JetBlackZ said:
I painted my aluminum pieces flat black because I was tired of looking at the aluminum, plus I had a spare set. It looks very clean and simple. I would advise that any mod you do can be reversible in case you want to sell your car. Nobody wants a car that has been customized to your taste even if it looks better IMO.
Click to expand...


Any pic beforeand after will be great thanks allot mate
Click to expand...

Car is in storage, but I will be taking her out for a spin this weekend since we should hit temps in the 50's :)

I will post some pix up then.
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i will wait thanks allot mate
 
Grrr, I want sport seats :D

I looked at a 2.5Si with the cream (more white actually, see pic below) leather and black almost everywhere else and it was really nice... I guess what you need is a z4 with black that is being broken, and get the interior bar the seats... then sell your bits on.

Personally I'd never buy a car with a cream interior, and I can't imagine it'll hurt resale if you do it well and in an OEM fashion... just finding the parts and actually getting it done that will be tough. I don't think you would pay that much from a breakers to get a good carpet and interior trims where needed... just make sure it's removed nicely without breaking clips left right and centre... :)

media


Dave
 
Mr Whippy, that's Pearl Grey - I love it, but not practical enough for me, I think I wear jeans too much for that.
 
I really want some of those seats now, but in red with my silver...

Time to go look for some later Si models in the breakers with leccy seats :) (I know I will be a long while waiting for some!)

Dave
 
Mr Whippy said:
I really want some of those seats now, but in red with my silver...

Time to go look for some later Si models in the breakers with leccy seats :) (I know I will be a long while waiting for some!)

Dave
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Then you'd best not look at my seats...lol

Actually it's not difficult if you already have electric seat bases to unbolt and retrofit ///M seats onto those bases. That way you could find a manual pair and reuse your existing bases. There is a ready market for the remaining set of manual bases and standard seats to mitigate the project costs. I sold mine on to a VW camper van customiser and ended up with whole project costing only around £125
 
cj10jeeper said:
Mr Whippy said:
I really want some of those seats now, but in red with my silver...

Time to go look for some later Si models in the breakers with leccy seats :) (I know I will be a long while waiting for some!)

Dave
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Then you'd best not look at my seats...lol

Actually it's not difficult if you already have electric seat bases to unbolt and retrofit ///M seats onto those bases. That way you could find a manual pair and reuse your existing bases. There is a ready market for the remaining set of manual bases and standard seats to mitigate the project costs. I sold mine on to a VW camper van customiser and ended up with whole project costing only around £125
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Red Msports eh :)

That sounds good wrt seat bases. I didn't realise you could do that! That widens the range of donor cars considerably... I'd not be TOO precious about losing heating either, but ideal to keep! It's been on every journey I've done so far...

I was looking at a silver + red Msports z4, but it was a long way off in Edinburgh and another £1500 for similar overall spec, so all in with travel etc it'd have been nearer £2000 extra, seemed silly to spend that much more for a £500 optional extra or two.

Do you know how much the seats will tend to go for?

I will ring around a few bigger breakers and just ask prospectively for interior trim and bits and report back. There is a Z4 at the big Doncaster breakers right now... but always worth double checking with BMW as their prices can be very competitive new (as Herminator has just found out!)

Dave
 
The M seats do seem to come up on ebay.de regularly, but I wouldn't pay the £1200ish they cost :o
I'd definetly look for a Z with them if I had to find a replacement, I just find them remarkably comfy for hard seats, the number of adjustments really help. :thumbsup:
 
Jamiez,

if you decide to change the seats in the near future I'd poss be interested. I'm at the point of getting mine built up by an upholsterer from SE to 'Sports' but haven't yet taken the plunge. Are they manual or electric, and does anyone know if they'll fit a pre-facelift car.

have you tried AG Fastglass on the trim though? Gets rid of scuffs pretty well. As for the carpets, why not keep an old set for winter and have a good set. I was going to change mine until I had it valeted, and for an 04 it came out ok I thought (£70 inside and out) Z4valet2108088.jpg

Btw, am in Kent.
 
Sticks said:
Jamiez,

if you decide to change the seats in the near future I'd poss be interested. I'm at the point of getting mine built up by an upholsterer from SE to 'Sports' but haven't yet taken the plunge. Are they manual or electric, and does anyone know if they'll fit a pre-facelift car.

have you tried AG Fastglass on the trim though? Gets rid of scuffs pretty well. As for the carpets, why not keep an old set for winter and have a good set. I was going to change mine until I had it valeted, and for an 04 it came out ok I thought (£70 inside and out) Z4valet2108088.jpg

Btw, am in Kent.
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Hey

:) Oh no, my seats wont be going anywhere - its just some of the beige trim im thinking of replaceing for black

Your car is quite interesting actually - did it just come like that? For example, the backing to the door handle is black, the trim around the gear selecter is black etc.

Im thinking of doing these and also the bottom speaker grill trim and the leading sill cover - as these are a n'mare to keep clean - but will try that stuff you recommended
 
Ok, thanks anyway. Yes, the car came like this. Although I bought it new, it was pre built, i.e. not to my spec - I didn't want to wait :) - so I'm not sure what is 'normal' or 'extra'.

The pic doesn't show it well, but the door handles are brushed aluminium, and the gear selecter more dark grey than black.

I've seen other cars where the wood extends to the steering wheel and gear selecter, but this is my preference.

I use a spray carpet cleaner and scrubbing brush on the mats, which might work well on the trim, maybe with a washing up foram pad (rough side) for the trim would work well.

If your car is garaged, why not put a doormat by the driver's door too, oh, and don't take any passengers? :D
 
Sticks said:
I'm at the point of getting mine built up by an upholsterer from SE to 'Sports' but haven't yet taken the plunge.
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That sounds pretty interesting :D

I quite like the standard seats to be honest, if they just sank down a bit more in the middle, with harder side bolsters, they would be tons better...

I also thought about alcantara centres, but the downside is that I think the heating elements are woven into the backs of the leather centres, so not sure how you'd transfer that over... would be loads more holdy/grippy than slippy leather anyway.

OR, just find some Msports ;)

Dave
 
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