Hey mbluvers!

I've been enjoying my 2012 E350 for about 6 months now. Love it. I went to the mbusa.com website just to look at the interior options and I really like the natural beige color compared to my black mb-tex. Just wondering if it's possible to switch the interior colors? And what would be the cost? Thanks.

 

Dunno how much it would actually cost, but it is probably cheaper to change the seat covers than to buy complete seat in the color you want.

 

You can figure about $8000 for the parts plus labor.

An aftermarket shop can fit you with custom made leather seating for less than half that including labor.

 

It would be around 3-4k

 

Be very careful if you make custom leather seat covers as you need to set it up to work with the side airbags. You don't want the airbag inflating INSIDE your custom leather cover god forbid you have an accident....

 

Leather is the way to go. I dislike the slippery, plasticky feel of Artico/MB-tex. Not sure what a change over would cost...not cheap I am sure. Try to find a donor car, but be mindful of the airbag issue as earlier mentioned.

 

That's a lot of dough for something that might be questionable whether you'd get it back if you ever trade in. I'd rather just take a loss and trade in for something you really want and is OEM.

 

if you're going to do it.....DO IT.....
with crocodile skin or something

 

The big aftermarket folks like Katzkin will do the proper seams for airbags. It isn't like a few years where side airbags were the exception.

It is important to note that there are hardware differences between the MB-Tex and the leather seats so a swap for an OE seat cover will be quite expensive. You're not going to find a natural beige in a junkyard.

 

I figured it would cost a lot. I talked to my salesperson who sold me the car and told me it's not worth it unless I would be willing to spend the money. The black MB-Tex is ok, but I would like a change. Maybe in the near future if I decide to purchase a new Benz.

 

Good decision. Any changes like this actually negatively affect the future value of the car. An interior swap from MB-Tex to leather will decrease the resale value.