640i - how to tell if Napa from pics?

[Damage Inc]

I'l likely be buying the car remote. Not all dealers have the window sticker.

Been searching looks like main diff between 40 and 50 is napa leather which I want.

Is there a way to tell via pics if the car has nappa leather? I'll likely buy and ship, sight unseen. Thanks.

[hugo_nz]

Won't be easy to tell from pics unless the are close-ups. Best way is to get the last 7 digits of the VIN and run that through a decoder.

[Opie55]

I thought the only 640 seats that are not napa are the standard seats that few cars actually have. Those seats look totally different and don't have the separate extending thigh bolster. I thought all the seats with the perforated leather and thigh supports were napa. If you get pictures that are high enough resolution you can tell pretty easily - especially if you look at a large expanse that is not perforated, like the outside part of the rear seat bottom. Napa is very smooth - it does not have any of that pebble grain look to it that cheaper leather has. But a VIN decoder is probably the best bet. The best one I think is if you google BMW Werk (with an e) VIN decoder.

[Opie55]

And I'm a bit curious about your statement that the main difference between a 640 and 650 is the leather. Do you mean after the engine? They have different tail pipes. But mostly a 640 is more likely, but not necessarily, to have fewer options. Less likely to have ceramic controls, B&O stereo, the weird active seats, night vision and the driver assistance stuff. When I look at cars online, I often look first at that bank of switches below the headlight switch. If the car has all the options it will be full (5 switches) with no blanks. 5 is rare because the 5th is night vision. But I've seen plenty of 640s with none at all.

[Damage Inc]

Originally Posted by Opie55

I thought the only 640 seats that are not napa are the standard seats that few cars actually have. Those seats look totally different and don't have the separate extending thigh bolster. I thought all the seats with the perforated leather and thigh supports were napa. If you get pictures that are high enough resolution you can tell pretty easily - especially if you look at a large expanse that is not perforated, like the outside part of the rear seat bottom. Napa is very smooth - it does not have any of that pebble grain look to it that cheaper leather has. But a VIN decoder is probably the best bet. The best one I think is if you google BMW Werk (with an e) VIN decoder.

So it is as simple as: if there is the thigh bolster extension the seats are napa?

[ezmaass]

Originally Posted by Damage Inc

I'l likely be buying the car remote. Not all dealers have the window sticker.

Been searching looks like main diff between 40 and 50 is napa leather which I want.

Is there a way to tell via pics if the car has nappa leather? I'll likely buy and ship, sight unseen. Thanks.

Yes, the 650 came with Nappa. If you have any close-up shots, you should be able to tell the Nappa apart as it doesn't have that pebbly/bumpy look - it's very smooth. If you look at the center console area where the dash connects with that swoopy piece, it's easiest to spot there given the large, flat surface area of leather - any sign of bumps/pebbles, and it's not Nappa.

As Opie also pointed out, many of the 640's may not be as fully optioned as the 650's. Depending upon what options you're seeking, there are little "tells" for many of them. For example:

- Driver Assist: 4 buttons below the headlight cluster.

- Night Vision + Driver Assist: 5 buttons below the headlight cluster.

- Full/Extended Leather: lower left/right areas near the steering wheel will be stitched with leather, including lower doors. Stitch pattern on upper door cards is different.

- B&O: Silver metal speaker covers.

- Active Cruise Control: Two extra buttons (no blanks) on the inner left steering wheel controls.

- Active Seats: Extra button (lights up green) forward of side seat controls.

Some other features, like Adaptive Drive (active body control / anti-roll stabilization), you won't be able to spot from pictures. The best bet, of course, is running a VIN decoder or best-yet a sticker.

Best of luck!

[hugo_nz]

650s that have sport seats have Dakota leather, and those can have extendable thigh bolsters too.

Just decide the vin...it's that simple.

[Opie55]

Originally Posted by hugo_nz

650s that have sport seats have Dakota leather, and those can have extendable thigh bolsters too.

Just decide the vin...it's that simple.

650s with Dakota? What is a sport seat? It that the seats with no perforations but extending thigh bolsters?

[Qsilver7]

First, the OP lists their location as "earth". So it is not clear WHAT market they are in. Different markets offer different options. Some markets get specific seat options...and some can get all of the seat options.

So the best suggestion I've read so far...which should remove ANY doubt as to how the car is optioned is to use a VIN decoder. Except the VIN decoders require the LAST 7 DIGITS of the VIN (not the last 6).

These are my 3 favorite VIN decoding sites...the mdecoder site is usually the easiest because it normally doesn't require answering a CAPTCHA puzzle or question:

1. https://www.mdecoder.com/
2. https://bimmercat.com/bmw/EN/vin/decoder/online
3. https://decoder.bvzine.com/

For example...I've never seen the actual F06/f12/f13 "sport seats" offered in the US market. They have headrests that look exactly like the rear seats...and they also have the thigh extension feature...but are offered in Dakota as well as Nappa leather (and some markets even have versions that have a combination of Nappa leather and Alcantara):

[dom3.0]

The short answer is... You probably can't.

If the photos are really high-res or close-up, as ezmaas says, then you might get lucky... Nappa leather is completely smooth whereas the Dakota leather is heavily textured.

The following is for the UK market in 2012, the year of my car - in case that is helpful!

All 3 seat types (standard/sports/comfort) were available with the Dakota leather... However the Nappa leather was only available with the comfort seat... And the Merino leather had to be with either comfort or sports seats.

So a car without comfort/sports seats definitely has Dakota leather... If the seats were upgraded then there is a chance that the leather was too - but it's not certain. NB the standard seats do not have the extending thigh support.

And yes, the VIN method is best - but when you are browsing large numbers of vehicles for sale a visual identifier is useful. It's also not that easy to persuade the seller to tell you the last 7 digits of the VIN code :-)

[Damage Inc]

Thanks all.

So I'm assuming this is the code for Nappa?

Upholstery: EXCL.LED.NAP.ERW.VERMILIONROT (NABY)

[hugo_nz]

Originally Posted by Damage Inc

Thanks all.

So I'm assuming this is the code for Nappa?

Upholstery: EXCL.LED.NAP.ERW.VERMILIONROT (NABY)

Yes. Exclusive nappa Vermillion red with black interior. It available with comfort seats.

[Qsilver7]

Originally Posted by Damage Inc

Thanks all.

So I'm assuming this is the code for Nappa?

Upholstery: EXCL.LED.NAP.ERW.VERMILIONROT (NABY)

Uhhh...what you have typed out in your quote above is the description + the leather code and upholstry code.

It's unclear what you think is the code but...

• WXCL.LED.NAP.ERW.VERMILLIONROT = a textual description that you have "vermillion red nappa leather"
• NABY: the "NA" is code for NAPPA leather & "BY" is code for vermillion red

In the pic below...you can see the code for the various leathers (the 1st two digits) and upholstry (the last two digits). Dakota leather's code is LC...Nappa leather's code is NA...and I believe Merino leather's code is ZA:

[city1991]

Originally Posted by Damage Inc

I'l likely be buying the car remote. Not all dealers have the window sticker.

Been searching looks like main diff between 40 and 50 is napa leather which I want.

Is there a way to tell via pics if the car has nappa leather? I'll likely buy and ship, sight unseen. Thanks.

From what I've seen most if not all 640 has Dakota. My 640 has every option but 3, was told Napa wasn't an option. Maybe they were wrong?

[city1991]

Originally Posted by Damage Inc

So it is as simple as: if there is the thigh bolster extension the seats are napa?

Not true. I've got multi contour seats with thigh bolster and its Dakota

[Bigjule1111]

My 2014 640 has nappa NAEX

[city1991]

Originally Posted by Damage Inc

I'l likely be buying the car remote. Not all dealers have the window sticker.

Been searching looks like main diff between 40 and 50 is napa leather which I want.

Is there a way to tell via pics if the car has nappa leather? I'll likely buy and ship, sight unseen. Thanks.

I've got Dakota but since my seats have the ventilation option, people can't tell unless they look at my back seat.