No New Car/Leather Smell

BMW now treats leather so that it doesn't have that new car smell. Not sure what year they started doing this, but that could explain your differing experiences.

Neither does mine. That distinct BMW new car smell is gone. I too often wondered if it was just mine. It does smell a bit of leather though. I was at the dealer a while back and sat in an M3 competition edition, just taking in the BMW new car smell. It is distinct from any other car I've ever smelled.

Funny you should bring this up, I was just thinking about it today. I own both a 1999 528i and a 2000 M5. Starting with the 528, I wouldn't say it has a "new car" smell, but it definatly has a distinctive, leather smell that is as strong as the day I bought it, and that car had 2 years worth of smoking, I know.....:nono:

To the Beast; I can smell leather, but it seems less "musty" than the 528, not sure if thats the right word. The M5's leather smells much cleaner and not as strong.

I think there is a new car smell that goes away after about 6-8 months, but the leather takes over.

Just my 2 cents......later. :flag:

If you want that new car smell, try Zaino's Leather in a Bottle. http://www.zainostore.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=Z-10

the funny thing is ... I used to have a 1992 520 , no leather - it had the distinct BMW smell when it was 8 years old. My 2000 540 smells the same.
All the M5's I drove had a smell of an old car - a bit disappointing.
I thought it was me ....

I've noticed that the M cars smell distinctly different than the regular BMW lineup.