I need your advice on BMW Leather care?

[Presley348]

Dear Bimmer 5 Series Forum family:

The new Dakota BMW Leather interior is new to me, What maintenance product (s) will I need to keep my leather looking at its best? I am told by some sales people that leather conditioner is all I should need to keep it soft and keep it from cracking, etc.

The BMW sales people are nice and everything, maybe too nice, but I believe sometime they do not always have our best interest in mind, are mainly interested in making their sales quota $$ for the week, month, especially when they see us Bimmer owners coming in, to buy their products for our Bimmers (LOL).

Believing this way, I thought I would ask the experts, YOU, the actually BMW owners who are well familiar leather problems for advice on the subject of BMW leather care.

I have two questions for the BMW five series forum:

1) What is the best leather conditioner protector that can be purchased for the BMW Leather?

2) What is the cheapest $$$ and best place to purchase it from on the web?

Sincerely, Another 530i owner,

Presley348

[csieminski]

Hey Presley348! Lexol is definitely the best leather care product I've found--it is highly recommended in all kinds of circles (I'm sure you've heard of it).

They have a leather cleaner (orange bottle) that can be mixed with water and massaged into a lather. Then there's the leather conditioner (brown bottle) which is sprayed onto the leather and wiped off, and a Vinylex vinyl and plastic cleaner which "penetrates beneath the surface layer to remove contaminants" (blue bottle).

This stuff works really well. I've also used Meguires, Blue Magic and other products, and they ranged from merely fair to quite bad (makes the leather all plasticky, exactly what you don't want). Again, I'm deeply satisfied with Lexol.

Lexol doesn't sell their stuff in just any store (no Wal Mart), and, while BMW dealers have it, they sell it for a lot more than it can be had for elsewhere (I made this mistake once). Visit Lexol's website for more information.

There is a great site I've found, www.properautocare.com, which belongs to Classic Motoring Accessories. This is a COMPREHENSIVE family-owned business in Florida that does mail-order everything, plus they have excellent detailing tips on the site. Explore it and you'll see what I mean. They sell the 16.9 oz. Lexol cleaner and 16.9 oz. conditioner for only $8.95 ea. 16.9 oz. Vinylex is $9.95.

Bavarian Autosport (www.bavauto.com) has the same stuff for $9.95.

There are other super-expensive conditioners recommended by Rolls-Royce, etc., but for a reasonable price and excellent quality (and reputation), I believe there's nothing better than Lexol.

Regarding your Dakota leather, unless your dealer can tell you otherwise, I doubt its care is much different than any other. In fact your dealer will probably try to sell you THEIR Lexol products!

[Presley348]

Originally Posted by csieminski

Hey Presley348! Lexol is definitely the best leather care product I've found--it is highly recommended in all kinds of circles (I'm sure you've heard of it).

They have a leather cleaner (orange bottle) that can be mixed with water and massaged into a lather. Then there's the leather conditioner (brown bottle) which is sprayed onto the leather and wiped off, and a Vinylex vinyl and plastic cleaner which "penetrates beneath the surface layer to remove contaminants" (blue bottle).

This stuff works really well. I've also used Meguires, Blue Magic and other products, and they ranged from merely fair to quite bad (makes the leather all plasticky, exactly what you don't want). Again, I'm deeply satisfied with Lexol.

Lexol doesn't sell their stuff in just any store (no Wal Mart), and, while BMW dealers have it, they sell it for a lot more than it can be had for elsewhere (I made this mistake once). Visit Lexol's website for more information.

There is a great site I've found, www.properautocare.com, which belongs to Classic Motoring Accessories. This is a COMPREHENSIVE family-owned business in Florida that does mail-order everything, plus they have excellent detailing tips on the site. Explore it and you'll see what I mean. They sell the 16.9 oz. Lexol cleaner and 16.9 oz. conditioner for only $8.95 ea. 16.9 oz. Vinylex is $9.95.

Bavarian Autosport (www.bavauto.com) has the same stuff for $9.95.

There are other super-expensive conditioners recommended by Rolls-Royce, etc., but for a reasonable price and excellent quality (and reputation), I believe there's nothing better than Lexol.

Regarding your Dakota leather, unless your dealer can tell you otherwise, I doubt its care is much different than any other. In fact your dealer will probably try to sell you THEIR Lexol products!

================================================== ===========
Hi Csieminski

Thanks for your quick reply to my question, I took your advice and I went Lexol website to do some research, then over to the www.Bavauto.com Website where I ordered the Lexol conditioner to try on my Bimmer.


Presley348

[csieminski]

Geez, that was a quick response! Be sure to check out the other website too--they have a HUGE array of detail-related products, and carry all brands, so they have an unbiased perspective.

I don't quite stand by them like I do Bavarian Autosport (whom I've ordered from for four years), but I've placed one order already and it arrived quickly and was conscientiously packaged.

Best of luck with your leather conditioning!