Why do cars have leather 'luxury' seats.... Grrrr

[zirpkatze]

There is that perception, yes. There other factors also though ..

One of those being that if you buy the type of vehicle that will have value for 20 odd years, or more, cloth upholstery will be knackered in less than 10. The cost of re-upholstering a vehicle, just the once, far exceeding the cost of having leather upholstery in the first place.

Unfortunately that makes leather a sound financial investment for anyone buying new vehicles in certain quality bands.

My dad's car (Volvo) has leather seats and they are not in good condition. My car (Honda), on the other hand, is 8 years old and the cloth seats are in excellent condition.

 

[Clueless Git]

My dad's car (Volvo) has leather seats and they are not in good condition. My car (Honda), on the other hand, is 8 years old and the cloth seats are in excellent condition.

That's the second 'thumbs down' for Volvo leather upholstery!

 

[rock_climber86]

So went to look at a new car yesterday, it comes with cow skin covered seats and steering wheel !

Asked salesman if I could do a special order with cloth and same options, but he says they come as they come ... He gave me a very strange look until I said the V word.

Would have expected better from Ford, but expect that the salesman was trying to sell me what they have coming in to stock as opposed to what I want.

Im of to VW to ask the same question next week.

I had the same problem yesterday at ford too! They wanted to sell me any car they could! They couldn't comprehend why I wanted a non leather steering wheel. When I asked about the cost of changing the steering wheel they told me to choose a car and then they'd find out whether it was possible. It's kind of left a sour taste in my mouth. Awful customer service. I called another ford dealership and got a quote for changing the leather steering wheel to a plastic one and it's around £500! Very annoyed. Volkwagons have leather i'm pretty sure on all their cars, so do the Yaris'. Just frustrating that every blimmin car seems to have leather here for there inside the car.

I think Hyundai and the basic kia rio don't have leather so i might look to see if I can find these. Ford edge/fiesta edge don't have leather, unless it's 2nd hand and some numpty has decided to upgrade to a leather steering wheel!

 

[ledboots]

I had the same problem yesterday at ford too! They wanted to sell me any car they could! They couldn't comprehend why I wanted a non leather steering wheel. When I asked about the cost of changing the steering wheel they told me to choose a car and then they'd find out whether it was possible. It's kind of left a sour taste in my mouth. Awful customer service. I called another ford dealership and got a quote for changing the leather steering wheel to a plastic one and it's around £500! Very annoyed. Volkwagons have leather i'm pretty sure on all their cars, so do the Yaris'. Just frustrating that every blimmin car seems to have leather here for there inside the car.

I think Hyundai and the basic kia rio don't have leather so i might look to see if I can find these. Ford edge/fiesta edge don't have leather, unless it's 2nd hand and some numpty has decided to upgrade to a leather steering wheel!

I bought a used 2010 Hyundai Accent (basic model) recently and it doesn't have leather. It doesn't have electric windows either (wind ups lol!) which I like because of the fear of going off a bridge and not being able to open the car window and swim out. The previous owner put an awesome radio in it, which is the only special thing I care about. I figure the fewer options, the less there is to have to fix later on. I like the car, it gets good mileage and my 6'2 husband fits in it okay.

 

[Annie Gaz]

I just got a 2013 Subaru Impreza that has heated cloth seats. It really annoyed me that I couldn't get options like a moonroof, navigation and a back up camera because they were only available in vehicles that had leather.

I just got a 2013 Subaru Impreza that has heated cloth seats. It really annoyed me that I couldn't get options like a moonroof, navigation and a back up camera because they were only available in vehicles that had leather.

Thank you for giving a steer towards Subaru.

 

[beancounter]

Hi Annie,

Welcome to VV!

Thank you for giving a steer towards Subaru.