1- I read recently on the forum that Mintex pads won't impact BMW Warranty. Is this correct?...I have been holding off on replacing my very HIGH dust OEM pads since I thought that it would void the warranty. Can someone please confirm.

Yes brake pads and rotors are not covered by warranty therefore you do replace them to any brand as you want. For safety purpose, I'd buy only big good names such as Brembo, Mintex, Bendix etc.

2- I talked to BMW customer service about the V8 problems some of the 94-95 models have. I asked them if my car was impacted by this. The representative gave me a range of VINs that are impacted.

cc89001 - cc90206 ....my car does not fall in this range.
the VIN and engine serial number are connected, they know which VIN has which engine number... the first production date of the "good" engine is around 95 summer. All the 93-94 was the nikasil and a few in 1995

In the past I heard that there is a range of engine serial numbers that is a dead giveaway. Should I believe what the customer service rep told me?

3- Someone on the forum had their seats refinished. I think it was Lez. How much did it cost? I need to get my E34 seats done...they are blue. Is there a place near the Carolinas that would do it? - Yes I had it done for 175/both front seats and they came out great. a company Leathertech did a job, recommended by the dealer ! Ask you dealer who do they recommend ?

Thanks.