Thought I'd pass this along. Z3 / M leather trivia...

The Roadster came with a wood handle. Just sold that, and I wanted to replace it with a black leather handle (like I have in the Coupe). The handle in the Coupe.. I really love the stitching and the shape, but I'm underwhelmed with the leather quality. It's completely "shined over". Probably mis treated (literally) by the previous owner. Even with that tho, I can tell it's not very good leather. I thought.. maybe a new one for the Roadster, and it'll look a little better.

The new handle came in today. Its waaaay cool. Super high quality leather. It looks night and day better than the Coupe's handle. Checked the ticket.. it's Nappa. Very nice. I'm going to immediately order another one.. to replace the Coupe's.

When I was shopping for the Coupe, I'd heard from several people that some of the leather used in the car was of poor quality. .. the e-brake being specifically pointed out on that particular list. All of the Z3s and Ms I've seen since then kind of confirmed this for me. I suppose all of these folks could have "shined over" their leather with the wrong conditioners. But it seems more likely that this leather quality and finish is "stock" for these cars. (Somebody else may know for sure.. Jon??).

Anyways, if you've ever wanted to "upgrade" your leather e-brake handle, you can order one now.. and get high quality Nappa. Perfect minimal "pebbling", matte flat finish, and buttery soft feel. My theory: The original handles are all gone. BMW had to start making more, and now they're using higher quality leather like you'd find in an X5, 330I, or Z4.

The odd part is that unlike the wood or aluminum accessory catalog handles that you can buy separately, a replacement black leather handle can only be ordered as the full entire e-brake lever itself (handle mounted to it). But, pleasantly, this lever is only $65.

Also keep in mind that getting the new handle off of the new lever is a bear. It took two of us, with gloves on to keep from mauling our hands, to pull the thing off of there. Had to suuper heat the metal shaft (without torching the leather) to soften the handle enough. THere wasn't much glue at all. It was the derned plastic handle itself gripping so hard.

For those of you with a leather fettish like me... this handle is a nice little upgrade, if you have $65 burning a hole in your pocket.

Cheers


- Bill