Bestleatherkits.com Seat Covers Installed! (FINALLY!)

[Mike Panichello]

Lots of people have asked for me to post a follow up to this thread:http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=3314208 - lots of pictures, worth a read, but the short version is that I didn't really have the skill (read: patience) to install the seat covers myself, so I had them professionally installed. I redid all of the interior of the car from tan to black and installed euro belts also. Here are the seats installed, still a work in progress though...

Still working on lots of little things, currently recovering the headliner.

[silvr rcr]

not bad looking,
i remember someone else posting about some covers they got, cant remember if they were from the same place or not.
the only thing, and you may not be able to notice this as much in person, but it looks like they are slightly off color from the door cards...

[SLC4EVER]

Much better!

[Mike Panichello]

Quote, originally posted by silvr rcr »

the only thing, and you may not be able to notice this as much in person, but it looks like they are slightly off color from the door cards

Good eye! The flash really exaggerates the difference, but they are just a TOUCH lighter than the doors, you are correct. Very difficult to notice, though, but still true. When they are treated with Lexol or Leatherique, they look exactly the same.

[silvr rcr]

very cool, that makes a big difference then.
im gonna check that site out. thanks

edit:
HOLY SHAT!!
$600 shipped?
thats pretty pricey



Modified by silvr rcr at 8:35 PM 9-26-2007

[corrado-correr]

I do really like the stearing wheel. the covers turned out very well.

[where_2]

I appreciate the photos, Fine Job!!

Quote, originally posted by silvr rcr »

$600 shipped?...thats pretty pricey

In reality, it's a bargain as I see it. In 1997, when I was looking for my Corrado, I ran across several that had cloth interiors. I held out for one with Leather, but in several instances I was reminded that if the rest of the car was what I was looking for, a good auto interior shop could reconstruct the seats with leather inserts for around $1k.

10 years later, I am still quite happy with my decision to hold out for leather, but having 170,000 miles on it, the leather is not in pristine shape anymore. (it wasn't exactly pristine at 70k miles when I bought it).

For $600-$800, you get pristine leather that has not been subject to "whatever" for the last 13-17 years. Many of the leather interior bits I see on the Vortex Classifieds were swapped out because the owner either decided to go for something aftermarket, or found something in better shape than what they had (especially the Tan leather seats). For $600-$800, you get a new hide to park under your hide. If the Corrado is not your daily, then it may very well be worth the $$$ to reskin the seats.

At some point, I would venture to say some entrepeneur will start scarfing up the cloth Corrado seats in the Classifieds and covering them with fresh leathers from these kits. The reskinned seats will start appearing with a markup reasonable for someone having spent the time and trouble to reskin the seats. Reskinning seats is an art, as the OP found out when he ventured into doing them himself. Like anything, the more you repeat the process, the better you become at it.

[Mike Panichello]

Thanks for all the kind words, gang! I'm quite pleased with how they turned out, and hey, even *I* agree - they aren't the cheapest way to put seats in a Corrado. Like I originally said, it seems as though most aftermarket seats sit higher than stock and you end up paying the same cost for two aftermarket leather front seats (and not even high-end ones!) as I did for the kit and labor to install all four of mine. Recovering my stock seats was the only way to achieve my goals for the car, so I bit the bullet and did it. Plus, six months or so ago, no one seemed to have bought this kit and had it installed, so I figured I'd jump in see. They turned out better than I hoped and I'm glad I bought them!

Still lots of work to do, but it is great to finally have new leather to sit on and drive around town!

[ZEBLOR]

Those look great Mike.

[Mike Panichello]

Thanks, Zeb! Without your help, my car wouldn't be running and I'd have never made it to the track. Everyone, FYI - Zeb and 1stvwparts.com rule!

Heh - I should make a VW Vendor Appreciation Thread. My car was built through my blood, sweat, and tears...and tons of parts from many, meny vendors.

[ZEBLOR]

Quote, originally posted by Mike Panichello »

Thanks, Zeb! Without your help, my car wouldn't be running and I'd have never made it to the track. Everyone, FYI - Zeb and 1stvwparts.com rule! Heh - I should make a VW Vendor Appreciation Thread. My car was built through my blood, sweat, and tears...and tons of parts from many, meny vendors.

Thanks buddy, glad to help! Corrado guys need to take care of one another!

[dbl_yelo_rado3]

Quote, originally posted by silvr rcr »

edit: HOLY SHAT!! $600 shipped? thats pretty pricey

never consider custom then you would crap your pants

they look great considering our options


Modified by dbl_yelo_rado3 at 9:30 PM 9-26-2007

[Toffeerado]

Quote, originally posted by silvr rcr »

HOLY SHAT!! $600 shipped? thats pretty pricey

What that is cheap as hell man. Also a very good idea if you were gonna sell your car to install one of these in your car probably pay for it self and some everyone loves mint interiors.

[silvr rcr]

yea, i guess i've never priced interior stuff,

[iv38]

to the OP: originally, your kit came with doorcard covers as well (i found the original post).

did you ever try to fit them? how did that look?

[sdezego]

Looks real nice and price is worth it!

Someone should tell them, tough, to charge $50 more and do the backs of the ft seats in leather instead of vinyl.

Shawn

[MikkiJayne]

Quote, originally posted by iv38 »

to the OP: originally, your kit came with doorcard covers as well (i found the original post). did you ever try to fit them? how did that look?

$600 including door cards? That is soooo cheap! A while ago a secondhand full lether interior sold on ebay UK for nearly $1500!

Looks great but x2 on the vinyl backs - thats rather poor.

[incurve]

$840 for kit delivered, $600 for the install.

[MikkiJayne]

Ah ok. I should have known that since I followed the original thread

Even so $840 for brand new leather is still a bargain, and fitted its still only the price of a secondhand set over here.

[evildorito]

looks really good!! i'm thinking going from the regular cloth to full on leather.. but still debating.. i'll def check this guys out...