My 300SD has leather seats but I keep reading about MB Tex seats. What is MB Tex?

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Byron
1985 300SD

Vinyl! Good old plastic/vinyl that wears like iron, lasts forever.

Hide of the nauga, that is.

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Kent Christensen
Albuquerque
'07 GL320CDI, '10 CL550. '01 Porsche Boxster
Two BMW motorcycles

Hard to tell the Old Tex from leather , but a good test is to shoot it .. if the bullit goes through , it is leather.......

Like leather, vinyl is manufactured in many grades or qualities, and MB-Tex is as good as vinyl gets and is probably the most durable automotive seat material ever devised.

Most who ride in my car think it's leather and remark at its excellent condition. In the past I tried to explain MB-Tex, but now I just let them believe it's leather.

Duke

Definate Space Age tech material of that era..
It is very common to go to a junk yard and see old Benzs piled up, rotted to the door sills , no windows ,open to the elements , etc . and yet the seats still look new. !!!!!

Amazing stuff.......................

wasn't it designed for mb taxi's and often called taxi leather?

it is amazing how well the stuff holds up. looks brand new in my sons 17 year old 300e

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1989 300ce 129k
( facelifted front,updated tail lights, lowered suspension,bilstein sports, lorinser front spoiler, MOMO steering wheel, remus exhaust,stainless steel brake lines). (Gone)

1997 s320 154k (what a ride). Sold with 179k miles. Replaced with Hyundai Equus

1994 e320 Cabriolet 108k



1972 280se 4.5 153k Owned for 12 yrs, sorry I sold it


[/SIGPIC]

Seems to me that I remember seeing a reprint of a 1960s 113 body ad that referred to it as MB Textile. Whatever the real name there has apparently been at least 3 distinct generations of it, if not 4 by this point. What do you want to bet that the latest generation is not as good as the ones that came before. I doubt it's all still in production but it is still widely available from Hirsch Automotive in New Jersey. I think their customers are pretty much limited to those who have sat down with a screwdriver in their back pocket.

<<>

Correct.........

The original can be told b/c the backside has a screen texture pattern to it.. reinforcemnt in case you hit a tank or land mine.

The new stuff is no where near as durable, but still good looking

Hi there,
I read that it was indeed developed for taxi use, and when I got the new leather seats for my 450SL the Upholstery shop warned me that MB-Tex would last significantly longer than the leather I ordered. The wife wanted leather, so that's what we went with.

Richard Wooldridge
'82 300D/4.3L V6/T700R4 conversion
'79 450SL
'75 280C

I have the mbtex in my 94 c class. best interior I have ever had and still looks new! also had it in my 1974 220d, springs were worn when I got it but tex was in excellent shape. Leather would have been worn out!

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1994 C280
2009 VW Tiguan
1993 Toyota X-tra Cab SE-5


1973 220D ... Gone, but not forgotten
1991 Alfa Romeo 164L Gone, wife MADE me forget it

2006 Hyundai Tucson... just straight out FORGOTTEN!

A good interior shop can order the stuff and I swear regardless of the make of vehicle I have, if it needs seat cover repair/replacement work its getting MB-Tex installed!!
Chris

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94 E320 with:
18" ///AMG Monoblock II's,AMG Gen II front bumper, H&R spings,500E sway bar, Bilstein sports, Eisemann Exhst, K&N,E500 Headlamps, Crystal Clear Corners, Avantgard Grill ...and more stuff to come! oh yeah 241k miles!!


My Car WOO HOO...... Now SOLD
New car.... 2001 Jaguar XJR!!!!

have an MB tex driver's seat and a leather passenger's seat and never even knew it till my upholstery guy pointed it out while going into my driver's seat to replace a regulator. I Never even noticed the difference. If you look real close the leather is a very smooth finish while the tex has a bit of a ripple finish. The tex seems much softer and more pliable. Now that I know they are two different seats it is driving me crazy. Prefer the tex.

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65 190d sold
85 380SE sold
87 560 SL 180K
84 380SE 96K (mint)

Not sure what it is made of, other than Vinyl, but it's tougher than woodpecker lips...

bnc

So when you see the new Benzs described as having "leather inserts" I assume that the rest of the seat is made of leatherette aka MB Tex?

It's funny to see car ads where the MB has MB Tex but the ad states that it has leather interior. At least on the C Class the way I can tell is by looking at the door panel. Other than that it is virtually indistinguishable!

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-Paul-
'01 E430, Sport 72,000 mi
'98 C280, 126,500 mi