I have an R53 and thought a leather dash kit would be a nice upgrade to the interior. The JCW kit is now well out of production, so aftermarket is the only available option.

I noticed on eBay a company in Britain offering leather dash kits for the R53, as well as a number of other models. The seller had a high feedback score and no negative feedback that was particularly troubling.

I bought a kit and, some time later, took my car to my trim shop to have it installed. The trim shop technician called me later to tell me he could not install the kit because it was not cut properly: it was too small and would not fit over the dash pieces.

By this time, I was outside the dispute window, so on my own I contacted the seller via e-mail. The seller replied saying, send pictures and a replacement kit will be shipped. I sent pictures. Neither a replacement kit nor replies to my follow-up e-mail messages was ever received.

If you are considering an interior trim item from j-f-customs, J F Boots, Topgaiters or Macie Dekert at [email protected], I encourage you to reconsider given its product workmanship and customer service practices.