[KevinM]

My car's 9th year birthday is next month (MY 2002, build date 11/01). I have owned it for 6 years; purchased at 20K miles, it now has 69K miles of trouble-free and enjoyable driving. Long-term members may recall previous detail posts. I have done all my cleaning and details myself as 1) I like doing it; and 2) there was no-one locally I could trust. The latter changed when board member AMP, who owns the shop I frequent, started a professional relationship with a high-end detailer from Scottsdale. AMP is a perfectionist, and if he trusts his M5/M3/550/530 to this detailer, that is good enough for me. Although I treat my car well with regular coats of Zaino, I am not as compulsive about the interior and small details. Accordingly, as a birthday present to my car, I had Sharp BodyZ (the name of the detail company) perform the full deal. As with recent details chronicled on the board, this was a seats-out, wheels-off full detail.

When I purchased my car, the only flaw was some wear on the driver's side bolster. I tried a few attempts at redying, but finally decided just to replace the bolster. It turned out great. Honestly, the car looks like it has just rolled off the assembly line. Some added benefits: all of this was done at AMP's shop, so my oil was changed while it was there (and yes, the level on the dipstick is PERFECT, unlike when I was going to the dealer). AMP also arranged for the upholstery shop to do the work on my bolster while it was in his shop. To top it off, AMP arranged for my rear tires to be replaced by his source at the same time, as I was tired of wheel damage by the local tire shops. Talk about one-stop shopping!

Enjoy.

 

[MGZ]

As you say: Like new!

 

[VacMan]

Beautiful! I love that color combo.

 

[M55555]

THIS is how an M5 should look everyday. Great job :thumbsup:

 

[Schuttsr1]

That sure is purdy!

 

[uniesse]

Bravo!

 

[Essixtytwo]

Fantastic, what a joy to look at!

I WAS going to ask about the caramel leather, you must have done something to let it look like this after 6 years!

If I may ask, what did that bolster cost you (labour not included)?

 

[Aamerh90]

Beautiful. I love the color.

 

[CMBeamerM5]

Great color combo.....looks sharp.

 

[KevinM]

Thanks guys!

Essixtytwo, the bolster cost $340 with labor (not sure how much is material vs. labor). The rest of the leather is virgin, no dyes, etc. I've used a bunch of leather stuff over the years, mostly Lexol and most recently Einszett.

 

[blackxs]

Car looks beautiful. I do hate to mention this but want to bring it up as this is such a clean car - the seat as seen here looks a little off, almost like its being "pulled" down. Maybe worth checking to see if the adjustment wires are all as they should be.

 

[///mfizzle]

Love the color :haha2:

 

[m5-forever]

I absolutely love the full leather cream interior it looks so classy, and to keep your M5 in that mint condition, that's what I call true enthusiasm :goldcup:

 

[MikeyMike]

Wow! That sure looks like a brand new car! Great job keeping it in top condition! Thanks for sharing the pics.

Can you tell us more about the bolster job? Did the shop replace that leather panel or they re-dyed it?

 

[AMP]

Can you tell us more about the bolster job? Did the shop replace that leather panel or they re-dyed it?

The bolster material was replaced and then dyed to match the seat.

Basically, the cover was removed from the seat and the worn section of the bolster was removed at the seam. That was used as a template to cut a new bolster, then that new piece was sewn in.

As an aside, there's no readily available replacement leather that matches Caramel. Although new covers are available from BMW they are freakishly expensive. In this case the best solution was to find a leather that had the right grain and was a close color match. Once installed that section was re-dyed to match the rest of the seat.

IIRC the leather used here is actually a Bentley color/grain and it was a couple of tones lighter than BMW's Caramel.

I have some photos of the entire process that I can post up this evening.

 

[mudmojo]

Wow, that looks amazing!! Talk about a refresh!

 

[audemars]

Beautiful car - but the birthday's not complete w/o a new steering wheel. I took advantage of Tischer's E46 M3 wheel special .. and words can't vouch for how nice a fresh wheel feels. Plus, you can recoup cost by selling your original for ~$200. Easy 15 min DIY.

getBMWparts.com powered by Tischer BMW - Your #1 Source for all OEM BMW Parts/Accessories!

 

[D-RodM5]

Wow man, that is STUNNING!! Thanks for sharing and congratulations on an uber-clean M5. if I may ask, what did they or you do to the tailpipes to get them to shine that much? Looks like it was cleaned on the inside maybe half an inch as well? BTW, how do you like your wood trim? It compliments the interior nicely!

 

[BenTong]

Wow. Your leather is in perfect condition. It's as if no one's ever sat in there.
Same goes with your exhaust pipes. I spent an hour on the weekend trying to clean them up but they're nowhere near as shiny as yours.
Well done.

 

[studentdriverm5]

Nice looking car jealous of that color combo I don't think I could keep caramel that clean for 9 years.