jjmancini Posted June 17, 2006 Posted June 17, 2006 Hey Everyone! I have a simple question. My Car 1990 ls400 228,000 miles I am looking to get either new seats or get them recovered. What is the better of the two options? My seats are in really bad shape. Also, what years can I take seats from? Like can I take the nice new leather seats from a totaled lx470 2002? Or am I limited to ls400... Thanks!
dfkd Posted June 17, 2006 Posted June 17, 2006 You can check this out. The make great stuff and you can even get the seats customised if you want.
daffy Posted June 17, 2006 Posted June 17, 2006 Hi jjmancini, I tried, for the first time, to take the covering off, on the back part only(the bottom was OK) and succeeded. I then took the back covering into a upholstery shop, and had them replace the bad areas(they cut and sewed the new leather to the old). This really cut the cost down (as there is a fair amount of labour to take the leather off and on the seat). To reinstall the back wasn't too bad to do, the worst part is those wire clips to hold the covering to the foam. Instead I used that plastic tie wrap, and was able to to tighten it as much as I wanted. This made it very easy. It is still on my car now, for 6 years, and still holding. It does not make any noises when sitting or moving around, which was a concern for me. So I say, give it a try if you have the time and do the passenger side first. Once the covering is off, have a upholstery shop make up a new covering to match the one you have and you will have a very good looking replacement for a lot less money. And will make your car look like new again(on the inside). And I can't see it being any harder to take the bottom covering off. This may be one option for you. :) Daffy
SKperformance Posted June 17, 2006 Posted June 17, 2006 I agree ,tie-straps are much easier to affix the leather to the seat over hog pins/clips. Depending on the damage you could get the affected areas changed on all of your seats if they correspond and do a mild 2 tone so it would match nicely.
jjmancini Posted June 17, 2006 Author Posted June 17, 2006 Well, it seems I have 3 different options then: 1) I can buy the leather from leatherseats (or some other place) and do it myself. 2) I can take it to an uphostry shop 3) Get junkyard seats In your opinion, which is the most cost effective, and if I were to do it myself, how long would it take? Thanks for all the input!
dfkd Posted June 17, 2006 Posted June 17, 2006 Junkyard would only be cheaper if they allow you to take the leather off the seats (which i doubt they will). Otherwise they'll be charging for the seat and considering the elctronics... Upholstery shop should be cheapest depending on how much damage your seats have (amount of replacement) and if you have to do the back seats too etc. I say you find an upholsterer and get a quote then work from there.
jjmancini Posted June 18, 2006 Author Posted June 18, 2006 Great! Thanks for the thoughts! How much should I be expecting to pay, if I get both of the front seats done, completely? How much is too much! Thanks again!
blake918 Posted June 19, 2006 Posted June 19, 2006 For what you'd have to pay an upholstery shop to recover both front seats, you could probably order the front and rear covers online for about the same price. I had some leather work (replaced bottom cushion on driver's seat, plus 2 panels on the pass seat for + he redyed both seats to match for I think about $500, it was a while ago so I'm not 100%.) done on my previous car, and it wasn't cheap.
lev00221 Posted December 8, 2006 Posted December 8, 2006 Great! Thanks for the thoughts! How much should I be expecting to pay, if I get both of the front seats done, completely? How much is too much! Thanks again! Hello, I realize that you probably already replaced your seats since your posting is from June. Nonetheless, I wanted to share my experience with everyone. This forum has been very helpful to me and I would like to contribute. I ordered a custom interior from leatherseats.com and had a wonderful experience. The patterns are computerized and are an exact fit. I have a 1993 LS400 that is grey with a black interior. I changed the seat covers, door inserts and center console cover to a saddle tan color that is presently available from Lexus. The results look great!! If you would like to see pictures then look on the leatherseats.com website under LS400 and you will see my car (Black interior with saddle color seats). I installed everything myself. The task is not difficult but it is time consuming and hard on your fingers. The secret is to have patience and remove the covers carefully. You should pay close attention to how everything is secured so that you can replicate it when you install your new covers. The rear seats are easier than the front seats so I would suggest starting with the rear. You will need the hog clips and hog-clip pliers to install the covers. You can probably get these locally or find them online. They are not expensive. You also may want to purchase something to help you stretch the leather. I used my hands for this and was very sore afterwards. I went a bit further and actually switched the lower seat springs between the passenger and the drivers seats because I figured that the passenger seat had much less wear. I also reinforced the lower springs with 1/8 inch hardboard and secured it with duct tape. This made the seats much firmer and comfortable in my opinion. Oh, and be sure that you have the seat back covers installed before making the holes for the headrests. You cannot rely on the holes lining up with those on the old covers. My seat covers/door inserts cost me $1100. This is because they were constructed entirely of leather. That is, the sides and back are leather as well because they did not have a matching vinyl in the color I selected. If you purchase a factory replacement cover then it should cost you around $700. It is a great deal when you consider the quality of the leatherwork and the exactness of the fit. Contact me at levelezmd@yahoo.com if I can be of assistance to anyone. Good luck and Merry Christmas! Luis E. Velez, M.D.
jimtess Posted January 5, 2007 Posted January 5, 2007 I need my driver seat and maybe the rear replaced and may go with a custom fit with leatherseats.com. How did you remove the rear seats? Were they bolted down?
blake918 Posted January 5, 2007 Posted January 5, 2007 I need my driver seat and maybe the rear replaced and may go with a custom fit with leatherseats.com. How did you remove the rear seats? Were they bolted down? They bolt and snap in place.....http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/body/rearseat.html
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