What Is The Cost For A Professional Interior Seat Recover Job On And S

[dlefever]

Considering purchasing an SC400. Every car I've seen needs to have the leather replaced on the front seats, brake boot, center armrest and the rear seats. What is the cost for a professional to replace the entire leather interior? Any things that nee to be taken into consideratiion? i.e. replacing the leather with a perforated leather surface?

Thanks for your help!

[D Lex]

Hi dlefever (Doug). The driver's seat usually wear out over time on most cars...because it's the most used. I have good leather in my '95 SC300 but the driver's seat is showing wear. Recently I made inquiries at the local auto upholstery shops and on ebay. On eBay, I find the full replacement leather for around $500-$700 for front and rear seats, shift boot, and armrest. The local shops quoted me $1000-$1500 to replace the same components. By the way, I am in Northern VA so the prices may vary at your local shops.

I have never tried to remove and replace leather, so I think I will leave it in the hands of a professional.

Good luck. If you decide to purchase an SC400, you will definitely enjoy it as these are great cars to drive and very reliable.

D-Lex

[1JZPWRD]

Post pictures of the interior please. We could access the damage a bit better if we see what we are looking at. Here is mine, redid with SEM Black Landau paint.

[dlefever]

Thanks for the feedback! In this case, I don't have pictures because this was a car that I was considering purchasing, but did not purchase. I did get the answer to my question by talking to local interior shops. In this case, the interior seats were ripped or cracked on all four seats since this was a Florida car exposed to plenty of great Florida sun. I discovered that leather seat materials can cost as little as $700 from leatherseats.com or you can spend thousands. Installation fees, from a professional shop, will range between $100-$150 per HALF seat. This is not an inexpensive job. Yes you can install the new leather seat covers yourself and save a ton of money, but I know with 100% confidence that my skills and (limited) patience would not give me professional appearing results.

[Junk4um]

Hi dlefever,

I bought a kit from "leatherseats.com" and was very satisfied with the quality and fit of the kit. I did it myself, after getting installation quotes of $700-1000 from local reupholstery shops. Here's a review of my experience:

1. DON'T be intimidated by the job! While it is tedious, it is NOT difficult!

2. There are some great "How To" Youtube videos on the installation process. Recommend you crack open a beer (or two) and take the time to watch these before making your decision on doing it yourself. Leatherseats.com has their own videos and they are very helpful.

3. Tim (the guy in the video) was the person that actually answered the phone when I called and he was very helpful...excellent customer service.

4. Insider tip from Tim: Heat the leather before installation...either by laying it out in the hot sun for an hour or using a hair dryer. This stretches and softens the leather greatly facilitating the install.

5. You'll need to buy Hog Ring Pliers and rings (at your local hardware store or leatherseats.comn sells them too)

6. Plan on spending about a day and a half to do it right. You'll have to remove the seats (they're HEAVY!) by removing 4 screws, then disconnecting and removing the seat adjustment motors.

7. Do one seat at a time, so you can use the other as a guyide to reassemble the finished one.

8. Go to Home Depot and get some wood paint stir sticks (they're free). You can use these to "push" the foam seat into the fitted cover.

9. Start with the backseat as it is the easiest and will build your confidence and improve your skills for the front.

10. Buy a box of nylon wire tie straps (the kind that are self locking) to hold the plastic "frame" strips in place until you can place a hog ring...after which you can simply cut them away with a utility knife.

This was the first time I've ever reupholstered and the end result was great! In fact, I plan on doing my truck next. It's a fun project and will save you hundreds of $$$. Good luck!!