WTB: Black E46 M3 Front Seats w/ Heating and Power (Lumbar and Bolster)

i agree with BP and daniel, looks very well-kept. i'd perhaps try to negotiate if you don't want the door panels and trim bits, otherwise that's not a bad price considering it is a FULL interior. it's hard finding one so complete and so clean. you'd want to verify all seat functions work before shelling out that kind of dough, though. easy enough to swap in and test.

you could always swap your cube trim into it and then sell the aluminum to recoup some costs - and, of course, selling your stock seats to recoup costs too if you want to (i did - they live on in charlie's ZHP!).

peter

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Originally Posted by NoVAphotog

The only thing I don't like is the brushed aluminum trim compared to the cube trim from the ZHP, otherwise go for it.

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You can swap the trim out on the arm rests, though, can't you? My plan would be to revert it all to my Black Cube.

EDIT: How much does a good condition non-M interior go for?

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Originally Posted by BMWCurves

You can swap the trim out on the arm rests, though, can't you? My plan would be to revert it all to my Black Cube.

EDIT: How much does a good condition non-M interior go for?

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do you have power lumbar and heat? if so, i would say probably $850 for the full set (including rear seat, door cards, etc)..

The front seats are heated but no lumbar. Otherwise the interior is in excellent shape. The back seats were literally never sat in by the previous owners (childless older couple) and very rarely sat in since my ownership. Door cards are also in great shape minus one small scuff on the driver's door card.

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Originally Posted by BMWCurves

The front seats are heated but no lumbar. Otherwise the interior is in excellent shape. The back seats were literally never sat in by the previous owners (childless older couple) and very rarely sat in since my ownership. Door cards are also in great shape minus one small scuff on the driver's door card.

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i would expect less without lumbar, but you should still be able to get ~$700 if they are clean enough. that offsets the investment significantly!

Hmm...now I have to think! It is awful enticing. What does a brushed aluminum trim set, including the armrests but minus the center dash piece go for? I've found old FS threads but haven't found any sort of useful price range. $100? $200?

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Originally Posted by BMWCurves

Hmm...now I have to think! It is awful enticing. What does a brushed aluminum trim set, including the armrests but minus the center dash piece go for? I've found old FS threads but haven't found any sort of useful price range. $100? $200?

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Coupe trim is more expensive than sedan trim. If it's awesome condition, I'm sure you can get a few hun'ned for 'em...
Look for comparable sets on eBay and see what they're listed at to get an idea.

Your interior can probably be sold for a cool $800-900 or so if they're in excellent shape. Black is a dime-a-dozen so that doesn't help for value, but the condition will definitely be a deciding factor. It sounds about right; this M3 interior is a few hundred more, so it seems reasonable to me to price it around 800-900 assuming you're selling a full set with door cards.

Great, thank you both! I really appreciate it.

I'm texting with the seller now, he/she doesn't want to sell the front seats separately unless they get a good price for them. At that rate, I might as well go for the full interior swap if I can get $800 for my interior plus $100-200 for the aluminum trim, I'm only out of pocket a few hundred for better leather and seats.

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Originally Posted by BMWCurves

Great, thank you both! I really appreciate it.

I'm texting with the seller now, he/she doesn't want to sell the front seats separately unless they get a good price for them. At that rate, I might as well go for the full interior swap if I can get $800 for my interior plus $100-200 for the aluminum trim, I'm only out of pocket a few hundred for better leather and seats.

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The difference is about what you'd pay for just the fronts anyway, and that's without having matching rears. Sounds like a deal to me...

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Originally Posted by BMWCurves

Great, thank you both! I really appreciate it.

I'm texting with the seller now, he/she doesn't want to sell the front seats separately unless they get a good price for them. At that rate, I might as well go for the full interior swap if I can get $800 for my interior plus $100-200 for the aluminum trim, I'm only out of pocket a few hundred for better leather and seats.

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amen, brother! go get 'em! :cheers

UPDATE:

So I spoke with the seller and he sent me a link to higher resolution photos:

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1Q...h1VG5LMmd4eVFn

They look pretty good to me. I asked him some questions:
Has the car that that the interior is coming out of had been in an accident?
Answer: no, he's just selling his interior after he bought an Imola interior (I have a feeling he bought the Imola interior I was eyeing back in December).

Have the seats been treated/detailed during their lifetime?
Answer: They have been detailed at BMW of Seattle and have been treated over their lifetime, but are due for another Leatherique treatment.

One of the metal rods on the rear headrest is bent and I was wondering if that was normal.
Answer: "Is normal, the metal arm moves, is adjustable."

Do the front seats' electronics all function properly i.e. side bolster, lumbar, seat position, and heat all work properly?
Answer: "Everything works. Except that side, but I am working to fix this issue, is a simple fix. Or you can and i can offer a discount."

It seems the right side bolster on the passenger front seat is pushing in on the leather in the middle of the back of the seat. Is that just a weird photo or is there some issue there?
Answer: "New lumbar support pump are $95.25. I can replace them or you can, again I can offer a discount. Very easy to do. Is a common issue."

Are there any other issues such as significant scratches or scuffs in the trim or leather, broken tabs in the door cards or trim, or loose netting on the back of the front seats?
Answer: "I took the pictures with a dslr Nikon camera to get the best detail of is current condition. Took the photos last Sunday. The front dash trim has some clip holder broken off. It's really hard to remove this trim with out damaging them. I tried to show this in the pictures."

His responses seem pretty genuine to me. Can anyone speak to the cost and ease of the side bolster repair he's referring to?

If it is easy and not too expensive, I think I'll pull the trigger on these!

I have no idea about the cost to fix the bolsters but they do look good...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This is what the seller sent me after I asked for some clarification regarding what needed to be repaired:

http://workshop-manuals.com/bmw/3_se..._lumbar_suppo/

He followed up again with "Is the passenger seat. The right side lumbar support" and the following link for more details:

http://www.tmk.com/lumbar/

Not sure about the pump but the leather can be heated and tightened pretty easily. We have a guy who comes and works on some of our cars who does it for like $20 per car - it's that easy.


GoingHAM mobile

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Originally Posted by UdubBadger

Not sure about the pump but the leather can be heated and tightened pretty easily. We have a guy who comes and works on some of our cars who does it for like $20 per car - it's that easy.

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Good to know!

After looking at the repair that the seller said needed to be done, I Googled the part (52107115693 - Lumbar support pump), and everywhere I looked said the part was discontinued. It seems it was superseded by 67807025381, but that part seems to only adjust the lumbar only, not lumbar and side bolster. In the end I decided to take the seller up on his offer of having them repair it before I purchase. He also offered to have the seats treated by BMW of Seattle at no additional expense. Not sure how good BMW's leather treatment is though...

Now I wait to hear when the repair is done

Cool!


GoingHAM mobile

good find... that's what I need

So I picked up the interior today. The seller was very nice. He recently swapped his black interior that I purchased with an Imola interior. I asked if it was the same Imola interior I had seen around in December, but he said it was from someone else. The interior came out of a 2006 Leguna Seca M3 (I still need to get the VIN from him for my own records).

As for the interior, the front seats are in fantastic shape! I am very pleased. The only blemish I really see is the middle panel on the driver's seat bottom. The leather by the stitching has stretched a bit and sort of folded over on itself, but really isn't noticeable. Otherwise fantastic and they feel great to just sit in.

The rear seats are in pretty darn good shape as well for a 10 year old car. There is a small scuff on the seat bottom, but I think a small touch up could be performed. In the fold down arm rest and one of the triangle pieces the leather is stretched in sort of a point, probably from people leaning on the seat belt buckles (male part) while they're not being used. Seth mentioned someone might be able to fix it. The only other issues are the rear cards have small tears on them on the hard leather part, but I believe they're covered by the seat and the felt that goes around the rear windows so you wouldn't see them. Otherwise they're in great condition.

I am very pleased. If I can get those small issues solved for relatively cheap, I'll do a full swap! I plan to take in two of the rear pieces to my local BMW shop and see who they might normally contact to detail these issues.

As for the trim, it's in pretty good shape. There are some scuffs on the arm rest trim from the seat belt buckle hitting it, but not terrible. The trim pieces around the radio has a broken and missing trim pin that I'll purchase and epoxy. Hopefully I can clean them up and get a decent price for the set.

Another issue I have to consider is do I swap out my speakers for the ones included in the cards, or do I keep the ones that came with my car and sell the M3 speakers with my ZHP door cards? Decisions decisions...

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Originally Posted by UdubBadger

Not sure about the pump but the leather can be heated and tightened pretty easily. We have a guy who comes and works on some of our cars who does it for like $20 per car - it's that easy.

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I mentioned this earlier in my post, but who might I contact for that kind of service? Just go to the dealer as I have planned?

Again, thank you all for your help and input!

No you can try an auto upholstery place or actually DIY.


GoingHAM mobile

Congrats and welcome to the club!
The M3 seats are on another level with the added adjustment capability.
Enjoy!

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Originally Posted by Simmsled

Congrats and welcome to the club!
The M3 seats are on another level with the added adjustment capability.
Enjoy!

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Thanks! I plan to swap out the front seats tomorrow even though I'll remove them again if I put in the rear seats/cards. I figure I want to double check everything's in working order, plus I can't wait to have them in AND there will be some delay between having the rear seats inspected/detailed and when they'll be swapped into my car.

So...first, the driver's side seat swap went off without a hitch. It's comfy, and looks great in there.

Bad news is that the side bolster support on the passenger's side isn't working, despite the seller having said he had it specifically repaired. The button is broken on the release side (I didn't notice it was this bad when I first inspected it). By broken I mean when I push the button on the side facing the rear of the car to release air, I don't feel any resistance. After pushing it that way, it will actually stay "pushed" because it's loose. Pushing the button in the other direction to increase the air in the side bolster results in a click and then nothing, but it has resistance like the button should. I removed the button. Notice how it sits leaning to the left because there's no spring or whatever is in there to provide resistance:

http://i.imgur.com/fz39C0D.jpg

Given that the seat position and the lumbar support all work, do you guys agree that the most likely culprit for my problem is the switch? The part number is 52102695396, seems to be about $40 depending where you look.

I'm texting with the seller now.

hey william,

an easy way to test is to swap over the switch from the passenger seat (they don't need the bolster adjustment anyway ;) ) to see if it's working.

they come apart easily and you will be able to see where the issue lies. there's a piece of molded rubber in there to keep the button 'in place' and actually make the switch work. i bought a spare one on ebay for about $15 (my passenger side one wasn't working 100%). if you need that part, let me know, i should have a spare.

Duh, should have thought about that...:facepalm

I'm assuming they're interchangeable? They are different part numbers for right and left.

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Originally Posted by BMWCurves

Duh, should have thought about that...:facepalm

I'm assuming they're interchangeable? They are different part numbers for right and left.

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really? they should be interchangeable.

So after the setback of the passenger seat side bolster not work, I opened up the side bolster switch for the passenger seat. It revealed that the little rubber spring had collapse and then ripped, so it was no longer useful. I went ahead and followed Peter's advice and pulled the side bolster switch from the driver's side which was a real big pain in the ass because one of the clips on the side trim of the seat refused to let go. I swore at that fucker for what had to be 30 minutes but it finally gave up the goods. Thankfully I didn't have to remove the seat in order to remove the trim like I had initially feared.

Unfortunately, swapping the functional driver's side side bolster switch into the passenger side revealed that the switch is not the issue. With the driver's side switch installed, the passenger seat side bolsters will fill the bladders with air, but won't release them. So now I'm not sure if it's a pump issue or a bladder issue. In either case I assume it's a release valve that's broken somewhere. It's really frustrating since I paid for the interior with the understanding that this issue had been repaired. Speaking with the seller I'm not sure how much financial help I'll get from him. Sigh.

That said, side bolsters for the passenger aren't incredibly essential so I'll order a new switch, (or slater, if you're willing to sell me your spare I will gladly take it off your hands), and wait for it to arrive. In the mean time I'll leave the front seats installed because OMG they're comfy as f*ck. I have yet to go out into some twisty roads to feel the new lateral support but I can already tell I'll be pleased. It'll also give me time to locate a good leather upholstery guy to see what it'll cost me to detail the remainder of the M3 interior and to gauge if it's worth installing.

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Originally Posted by slater

really? they should be interchangeable.

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Yup, they're definitely side-specific. You can plug either switch into either side, but they'll be backward: pushing on the left side of the passenger button releases the air, while pushing on the left side of the driver's button increases the bolstering. I was further annoyed because I attempted to swap over the button cover from the passenger side button since the driver's side button is a little smudged (the headrest portion of the seat icon is wiped away), but you can't. I got both switches apart but all the parts are mirror images and you cannot swap out the parts. So very frustrating.

Ordered a new side bolster switch for the passenger seat (52102695396) and two trim pins to sell with the aluminum M3 trim (2x 51458266808).

sorry man, i didn't realize they were different. at least you can get them!

does the lumbar support bladder deflate properly on the passenger side?

It's really surprising, you would think BMW would make it so parts were a little more interchangeable, but then again...it's BMW haha.

I think you might have it backwards, the driver's side seat works perfectly, no issues. The passenger's side is the one with the broken side bolster button and non-deflating side bolsters.

As always, thanks for the help everyone!

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Originally Posted by BMWCurves

I think you might have it backwards, the driver's side seat works perfectly, no issues. The passenger's side is the one with the broken side bolster button and non-deflating side bolsters.

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i did initially; i've got it straight now. ;) glad the driver's seat works - how do you like the bolster adjustment on the driver's seat? :)

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Originally Posted by slater

i did initially; i've got it straight now. ;) glad the driver's seat works - how do you like the bolster adjustment on the driver's seat? :)

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I'm in heaven. It's so comfortable and supportive. I had a quick blast out one of my favorite roads this morning. It feels so good. I'm a pretty skinny guy (6', 160 lbs), so I practically slid around in the normal seats.

Thanks is due to you and everyone else for talking me into this upgrade.

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Originally Posted by BMWCurves

I'm in heaven. It's so comfortable and supportive. I had a quick blast out one of my favorite roads this morning. It feels so good. I'm a pretty skinny guy (6', 160 lbs), so I practically slid around in the normal seats.

Thanks is due to you and everyone else for talking me into this upgrade.

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you're welcome. ;)

glad you're enjoying it! to me, it's possibly the one mod i like best i've done to the car.