[aravindrn]

Hi,

I have a BMW X3 2.0d. The car was bought in June 2016 and currently been driven around 56000 kms. I have some leather wear and tear in the right door handle and a small tear in the leather in the driver seat. The official estimates are nearly 17000 + taxes at Navnit to change the front door handle completely along with the arm rest and the only option for the seat seems to be to change the entire front seat leather. Could someone point to any vendors in Bangalore who can help with these issues?

Cheers,
Aravind

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by aravindrn

Could someone point to any vendors in Bangalore who can help with these issues?

Karlsson is excellent in BLR from my personal experience with my Aveo. Please connect with them

https://www.karlssonleather.in/

[androdev]

Originally Posted by aravindrn

Hi,

I have a BMW X3 2.0d. The car was bought in June 2016 and currently been driven around 56000 kms. I have some leather wear and tear in the right door handle and a small tear in the leather in the driver seat. The official estimates are nearly 17000 + taxes at Navnit to change the front door handle completely along with the arm rest and the only option for the seat seems to be to change the entire front seat leather. Could someone point to any vendors in Bangalore who can help with these issues?

Cheers,
Aravind

Door handle damage is a common issue with that generation of BMWs and I posted my experience along with the contact details here. Highly recommended.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techn...ml#post5032539 (Sticky interior door handles in older BMWs)

No idea about the leather seat. It's a tough one I think?

[aravindrn]

Originally Posted by androdev

Door handle damage is a common issue with that generation of BMWs and I posted my experience along with the contact details here. Highly recommended.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techn...ml#post5032539 (Sticky interior door handles in older BMWs)

No idea about the leather seat. It's a tough one I think?

Thanks Androdev. I will reach out to Keystone tomorrow and check. Should I push for Navnit to get it changed under warranty? I still have 3 months left in my extended warranty.


Cheers
Aravind

[aravindrn]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Karlsson is excellent in BLR from my personal experience with my Aveo. Please connect with them

https://www.karlssonleather.in/

Thanks itwasntme. I will check with Karlsson on this.


Cheers
Aravind

[androdev]

Originally Posted by aravindrn

Thanks Androdev. I will reach out to Keystone tomorrow and check. Should I push for Navnit to get it changed under warranty? I still have 3 months left in my extended warranty.


Cheers
Aravind

Yes, I think they replace them under warranty. Remember that they will use the same problematic plastic which will again degrade after few years. I checked with BMW if the replacement parts are of improved quality and I was told no.

My car was out of warranty and I went with 3rd party (non-OEM) not to save costs but I didn't want to pay for the same problematic OEM plastic handles. I would have probably got it done under warranty FOC if that was an option - I guess it will give you another 4-5 years of service before it degrades again. The non-OEM ones are of very good finish and do not have the problematic soft touch rubber layer.

In either case, it is a simple fix and things will look like new again.

[vishal9999]

Facing similar issue (sticky door handles, faded window and memory seat buttons, worn out leather) with my BMW 730Ld bought in 2015, Could someone point to any vendors in Pune who can help with these issues?

[GTO]

BMW will definitely change the door handles under warranty. I got all 4 replaced under the extended warranty and paid about 30% (because of the age of my car). They covered 70% (check this post for more details).

The leather upholstery might be a challenge, but possible depending on your relationship with the service advisor. Write to BMW directly too. It's appalling to see this on a 6-year old car. Even in my 5-Series, the headrest leather was repaired (at my cost).

[jeeva]

Originally Posted by aravindrn

Could someone point to any vendors in Bangalore who can help with these issues?

You should pay these guys a visit - https://www.colorglo.in.
I've used their services once in the past and it was good. Hopefully, they're still in business. They had their office in Koramangala, Bangalore.

[aravindrn]

Originally Posted by GTO

BMW will definitely change the door handles under warranty. I got all 4 replaced under the extended warranty and paid about 30% (because of the age of my car). They covered 70% (check this post for more details).

The leather upholstery might be a challenge, but possible depending on your relationship with the service advisor. Write to BMW directly too. It's appalling to see this on a 6-year old car. Even in my 5-Series, the headrest leather was repaired (at my cost).

Thanks GTO. This was really helpful. I can see that the prices of the handles were around 5400 + taxes (you have paid approximately 1600 for each). The current price quoted by the dealer is 17000 + taxes. My service adviser at Navnit mentioned that they are waiting for a part number to generate the quote and then only can deal with BMW to discuss handling of warranty/discounts etc. If possible, could you share the mail id of BMW to reach out to them? Thanks

Cheers,
Aravind

[androdev]

Originally Posted by aravindrn

Thanks GTO. This was really helpful. I can see that the prices of the handles were around 5400 + taxes (you have paid approximately 1600 for each). The current price quoted by the dealer is 17000 + taxes. My service adviser at Navnit mentioned that they are waiting for a part number to generate the quote and then only can deal with BMW to discuss handling of warranty/discounts etc. If possible, could you share the mail id of BMW to reach out to them? Thanks

Cheers,
Aravind

Unless you are getting 100% discount, I would recommend getting it done outside using non-OEM parts. That BMW material is a very problematic one, while it may take 5-6 years to reach the current level of degradation, the touch and feel of that material starts degrading within a year or two - faster if you park it in the sun. I put up with several years of complaints and ugly sight of these parts in otherwise a lovely cabin. We almost got into a celebratory mood after replacing them - I got lot of compliments

Don't always assume OEM parts are the best (they usually are), but there are always exceptions. Rubber parts are always a hit or miss with even the best brands in automative sector. At the time of designing the car, nobody can tell how newly developed rubber part age and there is a lot of pressure to use environment friendly rubber/plastic parts which hurts the customer in the long run. There are many such examples in luxury segment across all brands. Rodents love the taste of some environment friendly rubber and caused untold miseries to owners. I am currently dealing with a failed air suspension and root cause (or contributing one) is the torn rubber dust cover that is supposed to protect the suspension internals.

Bottom line is that the door handles used by that generation of BMW are not of good quality. You can go for it if you get the replacement for free, otherwise look for 3rd party option. It will cost less, the job will be done at your home and you will have a permanent solution. I researched a lot before dropping OEM option and I found universal praise for 3rd party option.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techn...ml#post5032539 (Sticky interior door handles in older BMWs)

[aravindrn]

Originally Posted by androdev

Unless you are getting 100% discount, I would recommend getting it done outside using non-OEM parts. That BMW material is a very problematic one, while it may take 5-6 years to reach the current level of degradation, the touch and feel of that material starts degrading within a year or two - faster if you park it in the sun. I put up with several years of complaints and ugly sight of these parts in otherwise a lovely cabin. We almost got into a celebratory mood after replacing them - I got lot of compliments

Don't always assume OEM parts are the best (they usually are), but there are always exceptions. Rubber parts are always a hit or miss with even the best brands in automative sector. At the time of designing the car, nobody can tell how newly developed rubber part age and there is a lot of pressure to use environment friendly rubber/plastic parts which hurts the customer in the long run. There are many such examples in luxury segment across all brands. Rodents love the taste of some environment friendly rubber and caused untold miseries to owners. I am currently dealing with a failed air suspension and root cause (or contributing one) is the torn rubber dust cover that is supposed to protect the suspension internals.

Bottom line is that the door handles used by that generation of BMW are not of good quality. You can go for it if you get the replacement for free, otherwise look for 3rd party option. It will cost less, the job will be done at your home and you will have a permanent solution. I researched a lot before dropping OEM option and I found universal praise for 3rd party option.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techn...ml#post5032539 (Sticky interior door handles in older BMWs)

Makes sense. I have reached out to Keystone as well. Wanted to get quotes from OEM/non OEM and then deciding on it.

[niruvrs9669]

Originally Posted by aravindrn

Makes sense. I have reached out to Keystone as well. Wanted to get quotes from OEM/non OEM and then deciding on it.

@aravindrn, Did you get the seat leather replaced finally ? If yes, please do share the details. I was planning to get our 2016 X5's front seats done up as there is exact same wear and tear by the side of the seat, also the overall ergonomics of the seat with the current cushioning has been leading to lower back pain on long journeys (200+ km).

I was wondering if it makes sense to replace both the front seats directly from BMW if its not overly expensive as I plan to keep the car for next 2-3 years. The service appointment is fixed next week, looking forward to your inputs. Thank you.

[aravindrn]

QUOTE=niruvrs9669;5421960]@aravindrn, Did you get the seat leather replaced finally ? If
yes, please do share the details. I was planning to get our 2016 X5's front seats done up as there is exact same wear and tear by the side of the seat, also the overall ergonomics of the seat with the current cushioning has been leading to lower back pain on long journeys (200+ km).

I was wondering if it makes sense to replace both the front seats directly from BMW if its not overly expensive as I plan to keep the car for next 2-3 years. The service appointment is fixed next week, looking forward to your inputs. Thank you.[/quote]


Hey,

Navnit motors had given a quote of 30k for replacing all the 4 door arm rests (this is after mailing to BMW ) but for the seat they mentioned the entire seat had to be replaced. I didnt even bother asking them a quote for that. Keystone had shared a quote of 13k including the front arm rest and the driver seat repair but I was busy last few months and hence haven't proceeded with either of them.

Cheers
Aravind