Author Topic: Leather seats for cars (Read 3746 times)

agivant · « **on:** August 19, 2005, 10:30:15 am »

We're planning to buy car with leather seats. I did some digging and here what I found:

http://deal4car.blogspot.com/2005/08/leather-seats.html
http://deal4car.blogspot.com/2005/08/price-of-leather-seats-for-camry.html

If you know any other reliable company for leather seats in GTA, please share info. Thanks.

Wetson · « **Reply #1 on:** August 19, 2005, 10:38:43 am »

I'm not quite sure I understand your question from the links you've included. Are you planning on purchasing a vehicle with leather seats included? Or are you planning on putting aftermarket leather seats in your vehicle?

agivant · « **Reply #2 on:** August 19, 2005, 11:38:15 am »

I'm planning to buy car with leather installed by 3rd party (so it's no diff between buying it with leather and aftermarket installation).

Question to people with leather seats in car: do you like them? What are pros and cons of having leather seats? Did you buy a car with leather installed or put it after?

I just try to get as much info as I can before making decision.

Thank in advance.

wing · « **Reply #3 on:** August 19, 2005, 11:51:49 am »

I have leather in my S2000.

Goods:
It's easy to clean

Bad:
slippery
burns you in the summer
cold in the winter (fall for me)

I would only get leather if they included heated seats. And some of the new ones are cooled as well :-)

Wetson · « **Reply #4 on:** August 19, 2005, 12:06:04 pm »

I have leather in both cars.

Pros:
Easy to clean
Smells great
Comfy
Heated seats in winter

Cons:
Can easily scratch or perforate especially if you have animals.

Mdxtasy · « **Reply #5 on:** August 19, 2005, 12:08:30 pm »

I've got leather on both cars. The MDX is great...I have a child. Enough said.

Giant Dwarf · « **Reply #6 on:** August 19, 2005, 12:31:24 pm »

I had leather on the Bimmer and have them now in the Audi.

I would NOT have paid extra for them in the Audi, but it came with them, so that was that.

On some of the higher-end cars the leather is fairly soft and has nice gathers in it that tend to wear well over time. Others -- absolutely the opposite. They become shiny and worn looking -- sometimes even cracking (just try to find a mid-80s Porsche 911 with the sport seats that haven't needed to be completely re-done in the side bolsters).

They're in fashion right now, so any high end car has to have them. But James is right, they're hot in the summer and cold in the winter and really slippery.

Even on moderately-warm days, or hot days with the A/C on, I will still sweat through my shirt since the leather doesn't breathe at all. James is lucky in that the S2k's seats are perforated -- mine are not. And as he said, heated seats are a must.

For me, I would never pay extra for leather -- unless I had a dog that sheds a lot of fur or a kid that I couldn't wrap in cellophane. :-)

ovr50 · « **Reply #7 on:** August 19, 2005, 12:31:34 pm »

Leather in all three, and I find it no problem. The HL seats are heated also, but the Solara's are not. It never gets so cold here that sitting on the cold leather is a concern, and all are garage kept overnight.

I'd take Wetson's list of pros/cons and add one more pro - "look better than cloth".

bmorton · « **Reply #8 on:** August 19, 2005, 12:34:59 pm »

The posts above pretty much sum up the pros and cons of leather. Just depends on you as to which of those pros and cons matter more.

Personally I find it depends on the vehicle how I feel about leather. My Jetta had cheap VW leather in it that was slippery, scratched and punctured easily, froze my butt in winter and was sizzling and sticky in summer, and just generally much more of an inconvenience than a good cloth interior would have been. I swore off leather forever after having it in the Jetta.

On the other hand, there's something about the thick, expensive-feeling leather in Volvos that I don't mind nearly as much. Although it still has the summer/winter issues, it doesn't seem nearly as slippery and feels much more durable. So you may want to consider the actual leather being used if you've having aftermarket work done.

safristi · « **Reply #9 on:** August 19, 2005, 01:30:28 pm »

Indeedy the cooled and heated leather seats are migrating down the food chain..be onna Echo soon...!!!
I have faux suede heated bun warmers in my Millenia nice looking compromise....grippy,no burney inna heat...IF you are paying for the seats to be made from scratch,consider suede or faux(fake) suede OR top of the line Connolly leathers ...perforated,heated and cooled if yer BILL GATES....... bright RED in a Black Convertible Oooohh MAMMA!!!!

agivant · « **Reply #10 on:** August 19, 2005, 01:35:30 pm »

We have 2-years old boy and I was thinking to use cloth for 2-3 years (until he will get bigger and start to understand) and then change it to leather. What do you, guys, think about this?
Does it make sense to have a leather seats right away?

Giant Dwarf · « **Reply #11 on:** August 19, 2005, 01:43:49 pm »

The cooled / ventilated leather seats in the Mercedes SL seem to be more of a gimmick than functional as I learned during my drive.

ovr50 · « **Reply #12 on:** August 19, 2005, 01:44:49 pm »

I think a 2 or 3 year old is more likely to dump his ice cream cone on the seat than a 5 or 6 year is. Get the leather now IMO.

barrie1 · « **Reply #13 on:** August 19, 2005, 02:15:54 pm »

My 1984 Seville has the Dark Brown leather option which I really like. It has held extremely well since new and is still in very good shape. I agree with the comments on how it feels in the cold and the heat but this car is garaged full time and is not really a problem. I would prefer to have the leather in all of my vehicles. I agree with Ovr regarding small children as the bigger they are generally the more responsible they are as well.

Wetson · « **Reply #14 on:** August 19, 2005, 02:21:22 pm »

Ovr regarding small children as the bigger they are generally the more responsible they are as well

Except for nieces applying mascara! :-)

nefcanuck · « **Reply #15 on:** August 19, 2005, 04:17:27 pm »

The Focus is the first car I've owned with leather seats and yeah it has all the pros & cons.

Including causing some interesting yelps of pain after sitting out in the sun for a while

Oh and the heated seats? Great for causing your test driver to yelp in pain when you activate them! (and this was after warning them that you were about to do so)

NefCanuck

barrie1 · « **Reply #16 on:** August 19, 2005, 11:29:44 pm »

Thankfully I haven't seen any Boys wearing Mascara yet so that shouldn't be a problem I would think. Nefcanuck I have heard of a Hot Seat but that sounds a little more like sitting in Hell if the seat gets that Hot.

nefcanuck · « **Reply #17 on:** August 20, 2005, 01:38:45 am »

My father is not always the most observant of folks but getting his buns warmed apparently was enough to open even his eyes

NefCanuck

barrie1 · « **Reply #18 on:** August 20, 2005, 02:52:04 pm »

kelefe · « **Reply #19 on:** August 22, 2005, 11:11:42 am »

With little kids spilling stuff, leather will be a godsend when cleaning. My experiences with leather are pretty much the same. I don't mind it when cold as much as the other posters here. Sure the seats are kind of cold, but so is the rest of the car... just warm it up like you're supposed to and it'll be fine. Having said that though, seat heaters are nice.

I'm more afraid of hot leather seats in the summer, but I try and park with the sun behind me whenever I can. Leather is pretty slippery too, so if you toss the car around corners a lot, it might not be as fun. But they are sooooo comfy, so it makes daily commuting a little more enjoyable.

Author Topic: Leather seats for cars (Read 3746 times)

Mdxtasy