They are painted. There were a few mods made to this E, including the paint job. I believe it was lowered as well. The person who had it before me must have put some crazy audio/video system in a some point. I am sure they were careful puting everything in, however, taking it all out must have been a different story. There are several "cosmetic" issues with the interior. Mostly broken dash or garnish parts, or holes drilled in them. I have lloked at some of the sponsors on this site for replacement parts (which are reasonably priced), and will deal with it when the weather gets warmer. I figured I will have a lot of questions about what things are supposed to look like.