COST TO UPHOLSTER 1988 BMW M5

[Curtispsf]

Hi,

From a previous post in Mye28.com, it appears that there are 2 shops recommended to upholster a 1988 M5 in Northern California in the San Francisco Bay Area: Concord Automotive Upholstery and Alameda Upholstery. Can those with actual experience give me a quote for how much it cost to upholster an M5 (with an approximate date of the upholstery job). I'm looking for estimates before deciding whether to go through with the project.

Two questions: 1] Will new upholstery significantly boost the resale value of the car 2] Should I try to replicate the original tan interior OR should I go for a "black on black" job?

Thanks in advance. Curtis

[V33]

Hi Curtis,

Great question!

I have also been contemplating a new leather interior, and am curious about the cost. For me, I would rather spend more money at a good shop (and possibly having to wait so I can save up the $$$), in order to get a quality job I will be proud of.

IMHO regarding the color...If one was planning to sell in the next few years, then maybe a new original color leather interior may help resale price (for a buyer looking for an original configuration).

If not, follow your heart.

For me, I really dig cars that are Black on Black (especially the E28 M5)...looks awesome, easier to clean up. And if you plan to sell later, there will always be a buyer who prefers a black interior.

I am new here, and would love to hear the opinions of others with more E28 Experience.

Cheers,

Ricardo

[Etip]

Curtis, if you're doing it for investment recoup or to impact the value of the car, the original color will always be worth more.

As to if it will boost the resale value of the car, it might make it more sellable and might increase your ask, but it's hard to say a $10k interior refresh will increase the value more than $10k.

[Blue Shadow]

Hi Curtis,

Great question!

I (and possibly having to wait so I can save up the $$$),

Ricardo

Figure you are missing a $ on that guesstimate.

[Blue Shadow]

Years ago the SoCal group had some connection that got a new interior for about 1.5 large IIRC using some cross border efficiencies that they knew and had good results. Guess it is a good bit more now and done in NorCal without that help maybe spendy.

For the best answer to the question of cost, pick up the phone and see what those two shops say it will cost, whether they can match the color and the time it takes. Then add the governor's share.

[canezino]

I just got a quote to do the ENTIRE interior and I mean EVERYTHING rewrapped in leather, for 10K

Now here is the question, should I keep it stock OR I REALLY WANT Cardinal Red Interior

[Blue Shadow]

Go Cardinal but you need to do the steering wheel, too as it was available in Cardinal at the time.

[tn535i]

My choice for a nearly black on black but subtle difference would be that Buffalo leather. I find the beige a bit boring even though it looks good against a black exterior but, some of the newer darker tones of leather BMW uses look fantastic with black exterior. My opinion.

If it's not going to be factory original (I mean the actual product not the color) then let it be original to you, perhaps save the old components.

[Ordnator]

I just got a quote to do the ENTIRE interior and I mean EVERYTHING rewrapped in leather, for 10K

Now here is the question, should I keep it stock OR I REALLY WANT Cardinal Red Interior

UK M5 with extended Cardinal Red interior:

https://www.carscoops.com/2019/07/rare- ... yours-now/

Best regards,

Mick

[Etip]

A full M5 interior for $10k seems really good.
That includes the center console and stack, door cards, seats, piller trim, steering wheel? Everything?

Have you seen their work?

That sounds good enough to go down to from Seattle!!

[V33]

Congrats!...

That sounds like a good price for an entire interior...

Am curious... there were other bids? (i.e. what type of price range did you see in your area)

Thanks!

[milarsky]

Great thread. One thing that looks subpar, in my opinion only(!), is the leather dashboard. No matter how expert the job is, I don't like it as it is not original at all. The sun will beat down on it and warp the leather regardless of how expertly it was done.

Following,
Jeff

[milarsky]

In fact, maybe the price would be much less, as the dashboard is a bear to remove.

[kojo96]

Great thread. One thing that looks subpar, in my opinion only(!), is the leather dashboard. No matter how expert the job is, I don't like it as it is not original at all. The sun will beat down on it and warp the leather regardless of how expertly it was done.

Following,
Jeff

You must've not seen one done correctly in person. They look very good and tie the rest of the leather covered parts together really well. There are lots of products to maintain the leather and maintained correctly it'll last a very long time.

[milarsky]

Agree to disagree. Don't like the look. I love my pristine original dashboard though.

[vinceg101]

No direct experience with either of those shops or an extended leather M5 interior, but going by my experience with having redone my interior in 2021, $10K sounds about right, if not slightly low.
For my interior for an M535i (standard M-Tech Leather Interior), I spent in the neighborhood of $8,500 (Mat/Lab) which included:
Leather:
-Front Manual Sport Seats (Repairs, re-foam, new trim)
-Driver's Armrest (Bavarian Autosport Sport Seat)
-Rear Seats & Headrests
-M-Tech Steering Wheel Re-Wrap
-Parking Brake Handle Wrap
Vinyl:
-Anthracite Headliner
(You can see this work here, final pictures on page 6: https://www.mye28.com/viewtopic.php?f= ... &start=125)

In my case I switched from the original Pearl Beige to Taurusrot (Oxblood) which was a standard optional BMW color available for my car. I had to have this custom dyed and embossed to match the original, so there was a small bit of upcharge on the materials. I had acquired all the Taurus vinyl parts (door cards, handles, armrests) and corresponding Anthracite dash and console pieces (all of which are not included in that above cost). All of the above list with the exception of the steering wheel and parking brake, were done by the same shop down here in SoCal.

I can imagine that the additional trim pieces (door cards, center console, dash, lower dash trim, pillar trim) will make up the difference if not go higher (especially the dash).

That leads to the other part of this equation: all the ancillary work and costs that would have to be done and spent in order to achieve this. You may already have factored this, but your budget needs to include it for complete project. For instance, in order to do both the dash and headliner, both the front and rear glass needs to come out. This includes a full dismantle of the entire dash and attached HVAC system. If you're not going to replace the heater core and A/C condenser (provided they are original) at the same time you would be a fool; so there are those costs and times.

On the front & rear windshield removal, again, if they need it, replacing them is warranted also (that is a whole other discussion on glass & trim availability).

What about carpet? Again with the entire interior removed, now would be the time address this (especially if you want to change colors).

Again, you may already be factoring the ancillary work, but it is often overlooked since it is all interconnected which is why I mention it.

As for the valuation, in my case I think it ultimately raised the value of mine but only because of 1)the quality of the work, and 2)I switched to a rarer color combination for the M535i. This last one may not be a factor for you, unless you entertain the EU options for the M5 (for the NA M5, your OEM options are Black or Natur).