Would you trade a black interior for white?

[Stelios619]

Both cars have approximately the same mileage, but my black interior has been better cared for than my friends white interior. I’d have to have a detailing friend clean it so I can see the true condition before going any further, but if it can be cleaned to a reasonable condition, what would you do?

My exterior is Sapphire Black.

Or, hold out for a complete Sakhir Orange interior?

OR…. Keep it black? My current black is truly in 10/10 condition.

Thoughts?

[TrueNorthM5]

Keep black. White (or grey/silverstone) just makes me paranoid for stains and die transfer. I have owned both and even though lighter leather looks great with the contrast, its not worth it in your situation imho. Money better spent elsewhere!

[Stelios619]

Originally Posted by M5Rick

No way. Why would you want to swap anyway, just to have a different interior?

Just for something different. I love my black interior, but I’ll admit that it can be a bit boring.

[C-dub]

I agree. My top choice when searching for my car was Sakhir full leather. I ended up with full Black leather, which does feel a little cave-ish sometimes, but is much easier to maintain. I love the look of Silverstone, but I didn't want to deal with the maintenance.
My wife had a Cadillac with the light grey interior, which I loved, but after around 30k miles there was dye transfer all over the front bolsters from jeans, and the entire back seat was about 3 shades darker thanks to my toddler. It took some elbow grease with Colourlock Leather products, but I was able to get it looking almost like-new again. If you're willing to put in the effort to keep it clean, go for the Silverstone, it looks great if properly maintained. I would guess Sakhir would be somewhere in the middle as far as maintenance goes. I did see a few Sakhir cars when shopping that clearly had dye transfer on the bolsters.

[Stelios619]

Originally Posted by C-dub

I agree. My top choice when searching for my car was Sakhir full leather. I ended up with full Black leather, which does feel a little cave-ish sometimes, but is much easier to maintain. I love the look of Silverstone, but I didn't want to deal with the maintenance.
My wife had a Cadillac with the light grey interior, which I loved, but after around 30k miles there was dye transfer all over the front bolsters from jeans, and the entire back seat was about 3 shades darker thanks to my toddler. It took some elbow grease with Colourlock Leather products, but I was able to get it looking almost like-new again. If you're willing to put in the effort to keep it clean, go for the Silverstone, it looks great if properly maintained. I would guess Sakhir would be somewhere in the middle as far as maintenance goes. I did see a few Sakhir cars when shopping that clearly had dye transfer on the bolsters.

I’m not even entirely sure That my buddy would say yes to a swap, but otherwise I’ve been keeping an eye out for different interior colors.

I don’t mind the maintenance. My car goes to a detailer every few weeks, and he has all of the proper tools/chemicals to keep leather of any color looking sharp.

Black on black definitely has its own appeal. But a little bit of color might bring the interior to life a bit.

[PB-32]

I have white recaro leather in my s4 and it aged horribly. I took meticulous care of it for years, don't have kids and it still looks off white/ dirty in certain areas. Don't get all white. My friend has white and black in his c63 and it looks much better than all white.

[M5_Raz]

I'd never do that, would rather sell the car. I've had cream interiors and it requires probably 10x the maintenance over black.

You could try getting some bucket seats and seeing if you like that. It'll change up the interior a lot and you can go back if you don't like it.

[M_Bimmer]

8 years old and still going strong......yes, 1st picture is an F10 ///M5 Silverstone interior (in a non-M5)....and 2nd picture, Silverstone in my F85.....

[SCD-1983]

Yea, I would trade it in a heartbeat I'm on my second silverstone interior and it still looks clean. And the subtle elegance of a light interior is worth the regular maintenance to me!

[lenabos]

Wait for Sakhir Orange, 100%. White interiors look great from an outside POV however when you own it and it's your baby, you'll notice every shade of dye transfer or stain. Sakhir Orange will have almost the same maintenance as black but with the "uniqueness" of having a non-generic-black interior.

[M5Rick]

As Cutter says in Passenger 57 ''You better bet on black''

[M_Bimmer]

A complete Sakhir interior for an F10 does not come up often....but here is one.

Several things make this unappealing:

1. Price
2. Gloss treatment on the leather (when it should be matte)

[Edit: I cannot stand "gloss" leather treatment..and had to sell my E93 ///M3 earlier than expected because the dealership treated the leather with some silicon based sh!t, after I asked them to NOT wash my car - still pissed about that after 8 yeas]

[Stelios619]

From what I’m gathering, the guys who say “no” are coming from a maintenance perspective. With a handful of “dye transfers” thrown in.

The interior definitely has a bunch of dye transfer already on it. I’m really curious to see how much can come out with steam/chemicals from an professional detailer.

The “yes” guys see the aesthetic value. But I’m still not entirely convinced.

I wish there was more of a terracotta color. Then, it would be a non argument. I’d get that color in a heartbeat.

I have other things to buy rather than an interior. The possibility of a straight swap for white may be there, but for now I think I’m going to stick with black.