Same with my car. Looked into it some years ago.

It is doable, but the parts involved are crazy expensive, IMHO.

David

 

JT I thought I was the only nutter around here,I've just had it done my advice is if you have it done you want like for like thickness on the material(mine now has foam backed where it shouldn't)I took the trim out myself not hard to do just make sure you do it in a garage My garage at home wasnt suitable so I used my kind mates garage, the job looks v good and I put all the trim back in myself aswell,the price came in at £400 $800 wich if you look at BMWs price of £995 its a good deal,as I say make sure the trim parts DONT all come back with the foam backing on them it makes them a right ba*tard to fit back in again,try to log every part thick or thin and there shouldnt be a problem :byebye:also ask how long the re-trim will take,as you will be driving round with NO back seat and NO interior trim apart from the door panels mine took 3 week's but thats because the trimmer got the wrong fabric and he goes missing for days at a time! at a proper trimmer it shouldnt take more than a couple of days,and would be cheaper if you stripped the old material of your parts ,you just pull of the old fabric and then use a silicone based glue remover,some rough sand paper and a bit of elbow grease to get them cleaned up,I didnt do this the trimmer showed me this is how he dose it

 

JT I thought I was the only nutter around here,I've just had it done my advice is if you have it done you want like for like thickness on the material(mine now has foam backed where it shouldn't)I took the trim out myself not hard to do just make sure you do it in a garage My garage at home wasnt suitable so I used my kind mates garage, the job looks v good and I put all the trim back in myself aswell,the price came in at £400 $800 wich if you look at BMWs price of £995 its a good deal,as I say make sure the trim parts DONT all come back with the foam backing on them it makes them a right ba*tard to fit back in again,try to log every part thick or thin and there shouldnt be a problem :byebye:

Any pics?

 

Ashok I will try my best

 

my 00 doesnt have it, and I like the look....has anyone ever had it done aftermarket?

Can you try finding one though the junk yards? Plenty of E39 M5s have showed up lately...

 

Entire 'pulls' show up on the german ebay from time to time.

 

I wasnt sure is the "pull" idea would be easier then going to an auto fabric installer and haveing them do it..I made a few calls, and one guy suggested using real suede.

its just a thought right now, but if I could get the Alcantara installed for under a grand I might just have to go for it

 

The original is properly cut and supported. Try and do the proper fitment with an aftermarket install..it will not look perfect. I used to do car installs. try as we might the factory look is next to impossible to replicate. especially on this level of automotive quality.

Wait for ebay germany..and pounce, if you wnat it bad enough. it's usually well under $1k.

 

And definitely follow the junk yard action, I think a lot of things can be had there cheaply.

Personally I am looking selectively at a two-tone trim that may come up to replace my all leather option on the door panels + seats... That way I can have the best of both worlds - extended leather all around + sports interior. :2:

 

Well i was really lucky with my head lining, i bought the car last april with just the std head lining and in nov i had a little incident:crying2: , on a t***k

The only damage was to the drivers door but it also set all the side airbags off as well:grrrrr: .

Into the bodyshop (bmw) it goes and while its in there i spoke to the bodyshop manager and said to him "whats the chances of getting the alcantara instead of the std head lining", first of all he said whats alcantaraouich , then he said leave it with me im sure the assesor wont know the difference.

Well lo and behold i got the car back a few weeks ago and i know have a nice alcantara head lining .

So the moral to the story is, crash your car bad enough to warrant a new head lining and get one for free:hihihi: .

 

I'm glad to see there are others who would even consider this job. I replaced my entire interior less the seats and carpet over 2 years ago with all original new BMW parts. Job included headliner, sunroof cover, motion sensor cover, rear deck with electric sunshade, A, B, and C pillars. At the same time, I installed the entire dash upper and lower, footwell panels, and all 4 door cards including the lower b-pillar trim. The job took me 24hours straight, no food or sleep. Parts cost was outrageous but well worth it. The full leather looks wonderful with the Sport seats and Ti trim.

This was also the perfect time to convert the interior and exterior door handles to the E38 750iL's fibre-optic lit versions.

The job is pretty simple and straightforward, just time consuming. The hardest part was removing and reinstalling the sunroof glass properly.

Back when I did this, wrecked M5s were still hard to find. If parts can be found used, buying new is NOT a cost effective option. IMO, you should always stay with OEM parts. In my experience, even very good aftermarket coverings are more susceptible to problems in the long run.

I do have to say though, the result is NICE... Car seems quieter from all the extra insulation. There is not one single piece of vinyl left in the car. Not a problem until you detail the interior with leather conditioner and find that it takes a LOT of work!

 

I forgot to mention that there is actually an Individual option for the E39 M5s for a FULL ALCANTARA-CLAD trunk.... Now THAT's crazy!

 

The job took me 24hours straight, no food or sleep.

Now that's what I call devotion! Glad things worked out well for you, despite the cost and time involved. Thunms up!

 

Alcanatara headliner as a sparepart i around €1500 I beleive.

 

Will do quite soon a DIY with my headliner covered in Alcantara...
Steering wheel worked great,so why not the roof liner:dunno::haha:

 

Can someone post a picture of the Alcantara headliner? I have no idea what mine has, never really known.

 

You will never be able to pull it out of a junkyard car, people know what those pieces are worth and headliners are some of the first things to be pulled. Often times if you frequent other BMW forums you will see Alcantara headliners + pillars for sale for ~$1K.

IMO, I would rather have the OEM headliner than to re-cover your existing one. Buy it for ~$1K, install it yourself...

 

The headliner is pretty easy and also the pillar trim to cover it with Alcantara....
Steering wheel was a tough one!:haha:
I got a good amount of it still left(bought it quite cheap),might be even enough for the trunk:biggrin: