Ambitious pricing

[topnotchrally 141]

1 hour ago, KwS said:

lol, i love the sport alcantara interior on the E39. If i got another it would have to either have it already, or i'd swap it in. So much nicer than leather.

I was going to keep quiet, but I can't.  I love alcantara too, much better than leather.  Also love green and caramel (my M5 🙂 ) but I like the tan too. Though, it is a bit on the light side on this car.

[balancerider 809]

Alcantara is nasty, too many poverty spec JDM Bimmers with it to want a car like that, let alone swapping it out. Cognac leather with green paint is the dream spec for me, was playing around on the M3 touring configurator last night

[Harper 595]

1 hour ago, KwS said:

lol, i love the sport alcantara interior on the E39. If i got another it would have to either have it already, or i'd swap it in. So much nicer than leather.

100% agree. That interior would be one of the primary things I'd be looking for purchasing an E39. Same when I was looking for my compact.

28 minutes ago, balancerider said:

Alcantara is nasty, too many poverty spec JDM Bimmers with it to want a car like that, let alone swapping it out. Cognac leather with green paint is the dream spec for me, was playing around on the M3 touring configurator last night

It's actually quite rare in the E39. Almost all of them came with some variation of leather.

Edited Thursday at 06:43 AM by Harper

[Eagle 1725]

The half leather\half M-texture is what id take given a choice, i think M5 only or custom in E39 but in my E36 compact its great, best of both worlds.

[Harper 595]

12 minutes ago, Eagle said:

The half leather\half M-texture is what id take given a choice, i think M5 only or custom in E39 but in my E36 compact its great, best of both worlds.

Yep M5 only and hens teeth. I don't even think there are any M5s in NZ with mtex.

[balancerider 809]

1 hour ago, Harper said:

It's actually quite rare in the E39

All the JDM M-sports have it (which is probably 50% of the remaining E39's in NZ) - that along with the lack of cruise control and PDC puts me off.

[Harper 595]

11 minutes ago, balancerider said:

All the JDM M-sports have it (which is probably 50% of the remaining E39's in NZ) - that along with the lack of cruise control and PDC puts me off.

I don't have any production numbers so I really have no idea.

Anecdotally though I've been watching E39s on FB marketplace and trademe for years. Maybe 15-20% of them have that interior, and only half of those have a surviving driver side bolster. 

Edited Thursday at 08:44 AM by Harper

[turboray82 5]

13 hours ago, balancerider said:

Alcantara is nasty, too many poverty spec JDM Bimmers with it to want a car like that, let alone swapping it out. Cognac leather with green paint is the dream spec for me, was playing around on the M3 touring configurator last night

I would add that Alcantara's suitability is absolutely based on its age and condition. New is great, old is terrible and soaked in every oil nasty that touches it.

[Olaf 3365]

On 3/20/2025 at 9:33 PM, balancerider said:

All the JDM M-sports have it (which is probably 50% of the remaining E39's in NZ) - that along with the lack of cruise control and PDC puts me off.

question:  as the e39 shares so much with e46, is cruise in the e39 simply adding the multifuction wheel, retrofit wiring and 'bingo' like it is in the e46?

[Olaf 3365]

On 3/21/2025 at 8:32 AM, turboray82 said:

I would add that Alcantara's suitability is absolutely based on its age and condition. New is great, old is terrible and soaked in every oil nasty that touches it.

Bissell carpet cleaner, job done.

[Neil McCauley 424]

34 RHD M5's worldwide with the M-tex interior...

[Vass 968]

1 hour ago, Olaf said:

Bissell carpet cleaner, job done.

No no nooo don't do that on alcantara, do not get it wet, it'll dry to a crispy finish and will never be the same. You need to be real gentle with it, heaps of detailing videos on the topic on YouTube. Basically just spray conservative amounts of APC on a brush, agitate and wipe off with a microfible cloth. Pretty much as with suede. Real easy to ruin. 

[Olaf 3365]

I've not been fancy enough to have Alcantara, thanks for the pointers👍.  Leather's hard to beat for durability!

When your kids are young, leather's the best for cleaning out dropped sweets, ice cream, vomit, nappies.  When they're older, pie crust (grrrr!)... so much harder to clean out of fabric.

[Harper 595]

4 hours ago, Vass said:

No no nooo don't do that on alcantara, do not get it wet, it'll dry to a crispy finish and will never be the same. You need to be real gentle with it, heaps of detailing videos on the topic on YouTube. Basically just spray conservative amounts of APC on a brush, agitate and wipe off with a microfible cloth. Pretty much as with suede. Real easy to ruin. 

Honestly my experience is that it's more durable than people make it out to be. I basically give my alcantara wheel in my M3 a scrub with a damp microfibre cloth and some soap every so often and it still looks like new.

[balancerider 809]

23 hours ago, Olaf said:

question:  as the e39 shares so much with e46, is cruise in the e39 simply adding the multifuction wheel, retrofit wiring and 'bingo' like it is in the e46?

you might be right about that - vaguely remember @hunter doing this to his 530i?