A more cost effective alternative to buying new seat covers?

We’re all about the numbers.

Best tire? Let’s look at the lap times.

Best aero setup? We’ll see what the data has to say.

Fastest line through a corner? You can see where this is going, right?

But how do you grade something that’s objective? And what if it doesn’t have anything to do with performance?

So, let’s first attach a number to our situation: Replacing the leather seat covers in our E46-chassis BMW M3 would cost a lot of dollars. How many? We have seen upholstery kits ranging from hundreds (aftermarket) to thousands (O.E.). The leather in our nearly 20-year-old BMW looks good but there are some signs of use–cracks in the outer layer, specifically.

We know that nothing will totally turn back the clock, but can we at least prevent further aging?

So we picked up a $28.99 tin of Leather Love from Lithium Auto Care. Inside is a waxy balsam that’s easy to use: apply, allow to soak in, and then wipe away.

What exactly is in that mix? From the Lithium site:

• Natural Lipids and lanolin to rehydrate.
• Vitamin E and other Essential oils moisturize.
• A tiny bit of Bee’s Wax to help protect and repel stains.

The product looks and behaves a lot like the Dr. Martens’ Wonder Balsam Shoe Protector, a product we have used on our Doc for decades. (According to its maker, the shoe treatment contains yellow beeswax, Mineral oils, Petroleum spirit [solvent], Petroleum derived wax.)

We’ve been using the Leather Love for a couple of months, and while it’s difficult to attach a number to the results, the seats do feel a bit softer while the cracks seem a bit less noticeable.

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