BWL

I took delivery of a 2003 E320 with sports package this week and am a bit puzzled with the fact that the storage pockets on the back of the front seats are not made of leather. When I previously looked at other E320 vehicles in the dealer showroom that were equipped with full leather the storage pockets were always made of leather.

My understanding is that when you order the E320 sports package there is no other option but to get full leather, hence the expectation that I would see leather in all the same places as if you ordered full leather as a stand alone option.

There is no question that my vehicle has the storage pockets made of MB-tex (vinyl).

I am curious to know if MB simply made a mistake with my vehicle or if other folks that have an E320 with the sports package also have vinyl storage pockets.

bmms8

hmm, thats wierd, because i thought my car always had the cloth type liner for the storage...ill check it out though. i have never seen any leather pockets though

codex57

Our 320 Sport has the felt liner too. I think it's vinyl. Feels a bit smoother than the leather on the seat. Never noticed before.

jim256

On my NON-Sport 320, with full leather, the pockets on the rear of the front seats appear to be leather; the inside of of the pouch is unfinished hide. Mine is 9/02 production. It could very well be a running change.

The sales brochure references the full leather as including the "front seatbacks", but elsewhere simply refers to "magazine pockets" on the front seat backs.

BWL

Okay, at least that confirms that I was not hallucinating. The appearance you descibe (no liner and rawhide type appearance on the inside) is what I take to be leather. In talking to the customer service center in New Jersey I was told that the seat pockets do not come in leather - supposedly this was confirmed with the E class product manager.

It could very well be that a change from leather to vinyl was a midyear production change, although I definitely saw the leather seat pockets on at least two vehicles when I visited a dealership in June of this year.

Hopefully someone elese can shed some light on this topic.

sf49ers79

hmmm i never notice mine, too. i will check my car and tell you guys

bmms8

i just checked mine, its basically the liner, and off to the side, there is a piece of vinyl i would say, looks like leather, but it didnt feel like it

Tezta

BWL, did you buy from MB of portland or wilsonville? how was your deal?

BWL

I did not buy from either Portland area dealership (they are both owned by the same company) mainly because they were unwilling to negotiate anything lower than the "Costco" discount. Given that both Washington and California dealerships beat this discount by a wide margin I went out of state.

Tezta

Is your car white?

aplato

That wasn't my experience. I purchased from Rasmussen downtown. They sold me an E320 Sport for about $1000 over invoice. A few people here have done a bit better at big California dealerships, but $1000 over invoice isn't bad for any car - let alone a Benz.

I've been very pleased with Rasmussen. They've been very friendly, helpful, and fair with me. My sales guy even was 100% honest with me about some issues I can expect with the new Es. He told me to be prepared for radio problems and the pull-to-the-right issue. Both issues happened, both were quickly and easily repaired.

Lakerholic

I checked mine -- 03 E320 Sport (so full leather), build date on door frame says 5/03, and my seat back pockets feel/look like leather. Granted they don't look like the leather on the seats, but I don't think they are vinyl .

BWL

I believe the way to tell if the "storage pocket" (which is what MB calls it) is made of leather is by the inside appearance. If it has no cloth liner and a "rough hide" appearance, its leather.

Lakerholic

That's how mine is.

bmms8

o, i think i am confused, i thought this thread was talking about the rear pockets in the door, not on the rear seats.....behind the rear seats i have full leather, in the door, it is liner

etenn

Mine are leather.