Are seat bases interchangeable left to right?

[RichHawk]

Please excuse the noob question. I’ searched for the last couple hours every thread on seat disassembly and repair, and can’t find the answer.

Are the seat base on comfort seat left side ( passenger in USA) interchangeable with the driver side seat base?

Its all original 1989 4 door 325iX. As typical, all the seats are perfect, except for the vinyl is split on my left side seat (driver side). It’s black vinyl comfort seats, and I’m looking to just fix the driver seat base.
some used seats I’ve seen advertised as left/right. Can I use a nice passenger side base on my driver seat?

thanks,
Richard

[efficient]

No. the knobs will be on the wrong side.
but you can use the skins and interchange them.

[RichHawk]

Thanks!
Is there a place to get just a single skin for a single seat in the correct vinyl ? My only thought so far is to buy a good used passenger seat, just for the skin and putnit on my drivers seat.

[venerated]

I imagine the material pattern is the same. When I disassembled my seats, I didn't notice any different between the two, but mine are sport seats, so not sure if that makes a difference. You should be able to find just the skin on eBay.

[ghrays]

When you mention seat base, I assume you mean the seat bottom. There are several components to the comfort seat bottom. The frame itself is identical from driver's side to passenger side. The bottom seat hinges and rails are unique to inner and outer as well as driver's and passenger (4 unique part numbers for the hinges and 4 for the rails). The seat pads are the same for driver's and passenger's sides. Finally, the seat covers are identical from side to side. The ONLY comfort seat bottom cover still available new from BMW is in Natur (Natural) vinyl, part number 52108103528 which can be had from ecstuning for $240. For now. I would not expect this part to be available for much longer.

So in the final analysis, the comfort seat bottoms as a whole are not interchangeable from driver's side to passengers side as the hinges and seat rails are different for each. The pads, covers and seat frames are interchangeable. So if you bought a passemger side comfort seat bottom in good condition, you could transfer over your hinges, hinge covers and seat rails from your old driver's seat and it should work. Alternatively, you could transfer the seat covering (and pads if needed) from the new passenger seat to the old driver's seat, but this is a lot of work.

You could also buy a complete new set of seat covers in vinyl for $500 on eBay and recover both front seats.

Easiest would be to buy a driver's side comfort seat in better condition than your current one. I have noticed the value of comfort seats is increasing, likely related to the recent increase in sport seat values. Not too long ago you could buy a set of nice comfort seats for $200.