Aftermarket Leather and Used Cars

"Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection" (itsalwayssteve)
11/25/2015 at 12:45 • Filed to: None

One of our customers here at the shop is a major used car dealer - 2 stores in town with hundreds of cars in inventory.

They just sent us an order for 42 Nissan Altimas they just bought from a rental car auction. We’re going to be busy just for them until the week of Christmas.

Like this, but also Black, White, and Silver. Times 42.

Happy Thanksgiving y’all. Time for me to inventory 42 VINs and order 42 leather kits.

DISCUSSION (20)

Zyrtec just kicked in, yo > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection
11/25/2015 at 12:52

I had no idea aftermarket leather was a thing. Do you guys actually reupholster the cars in leather? Where do you get the leather from?

Steve in Manhattan > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection
11/25/2015 at 12:55

Just so I understand - the dealer is installing leather (and perhaps other goodies) to make the cars more saleable?

Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection > Zyrtec just kicked in, yo
11/25/2015 at 12:58

I work for Classic Soft Trim - it’s a division of Roadwire. We’re doing these because they’re rental cars and thus have had the interiors abused for the past year.

We’re a division of Roadwire and have been at it for over 45 years. We strip the seats down to the foam/frame and replace the materials with our leather/vinyl covers. We use pre-sewn covers that are patterened after the factory cloth. They tend to be a good alternative for people who don’t want to pay an extra $4500 to jump up a trim level if they just want leather and heated seats. Ours tend to cost between $900-1500 depending on the car, color, and materials.

It’s definitely a thing and we do about 50 cars a week in this shop for various dealers.

Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection > Steve in Manhattan
11/25/2015 at 13:00

Yeah. After their markup for the leather we add, they get to squeeze another couple hundred bucks of profit out of the cars. Plus they’re rentals so the interiors are mostly trashed. The black interior cars have unusual wear on the upholstery and the tan ones are stained to hell.

Stapleface-Now Hyphenated! > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection
11/25/2015 at 13:11

Here's a silly question. When you put in a new kit, do the seats get a bit of the new leather smell? I can totally see why that dealer is doing that. It will smell fresh, so people will buy them, even though they've been (potentially) beat to shit as a rental.

Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection > Stapleface-Now Hyphenated!
11/25/2015 at 13:13

Oh yes. We use all-new materials and the cars have a nice strong leather smell unless it’s one of the kits that’s been sitting on the shelf for a long while. But since we sell so many Altima kits, they’re constantly making new ones.

In the summer the whole shop smells like leather. It’s wonderful.

TheHondaBro > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection
11/25/2015 at 13:24

How much does it usually cost to reupholster a leather seat?

I ask because my car’s leather seats are starting to wear down and I was curious what a reupholstery job would cost.

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection
11/25/2015 at 13:29

At some point, I need to get the Silverado reupholstered. The driver’s seat was done, poorly, and I need to take care of some fabric trim that is showing GM-ness (headliner rot).

Maybe one day...

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection
11/25/2015 at 13:32

Do you guys redo seats in other materials... like Velour?

Steve in Manhattan > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection
11/25/2015 at 13:38

Thought I knew most things automotive, but I did not know that went on. Why anyone would have a black interior I’ll never know. Probably still bitter that my father ordered (ordered!) an Impala with black vinyl and no A/C. Try and get a date driving that.

Frank Grimes > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection
11/25/2015 at 13:42

When can I send my order for m edition miata re upholstery kit?

BrainForest > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection
11/25/2015 at 13:45

$900-1500 is a good price. Does your company operate in NYC? I just picked up a 2013 Mazda5 (three rows of seats), and all I can find online or in person is $2500 or more. That includes the Roadwire and Katzkin corporate websites.

Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection > BrainForest
11/25/2015 at 14:06

We used to have a branch in New Brunswick, NJ. I’m down in Charlotte, so things are a bit cheaper. For a 3-row vehicle we’d normally charge $1200 plus tax so a hair over 13. That’s just for the high-volume, single color matching set.

Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection > Frank Grimes
11/25/2015 at 14:17

Where are you located? We have the M badges for embroidery, too. Just like the front fender badges. For a single color leather in that Miata, I’d go $850 plus tax installed with lifetime warranty. It’s a two seater but we also have to pay for the logo.

shop-teacher > Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection
11/25/2015 at 14:19

My dad’s done this on a couple vehicles for precisely that reason. He want’s leather and heated seats, and doesn’t want to pay for all the other crap that comes with that from the factory.

Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection > TheHondaBro
11/25/2015 at 14:20

Here at the Charlotte shop, we do a bunch of Accords. For the whole car in a single color we’d do $900 plus tax. That includes everything that’d be covered in cloth in a regular EX.

For a single seat, we usually do $400 for the whole seat - cushion, backrest, and headrest. At that point it’s cheaper to do the whole car anyway because the back seats will have UV damage on the headrests and tops of the backrest.

This is, of course, with a new kit sewn up like factory cloth.

Steve is equipped with Electronic Fool Injection > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
11/25/2015 at 14:23

We only do leather and vinyl. 95% of what we do is for new car dealers with customers who don’t want to jump a trim level or two just to get leather and heat.

Zyrtec just kicked in, yo > Steve in Manhattan
11/25/2015 at 18:10

Stripper Impala actually sounds really cool... but I can see no AC AND vinyl would be irritating in a daily!

Steve in Manhattan > Zyrtec just kicked in, yo
11/25/2015 at 19:40

Funny thing - he paid extra for the body style (pillarless 4 door, so-called Sport Sedan) and specified a few extras. But no A/C.

Zyrtec just kicked in, yo > Steve in Manhattan
11/25/2015 at 20:24

What year is it?

EDIT: Oh, is this past tense? Something that happened 40 years ago? I was like, “I didn’t know you could order a new Impala without AC!” Then when you mentioned the pillarless, I was like, hmm...