Is this leathter fixable?

[XRL]

Hey guys, I'm looking at new cars, and one of the cars I'm looking at appears to have some wear issues on the driver's seat. Sorry for the bad picture, it's from the dealership.



Do you guys think this can be repaired? The car only has like 22k miles on it, and they've got a pretty decent price on it, but I don't want my new (used) car to have a big glaring problem like that. There's plenty of other cars like it without those issues, but I like this one.

So do you guys think it can be fixed relatively inexpensively, or would I be better off just skipping this car and looking for another one without the seat wear?

Thanks for your advice.

[89gt-stanger]

It depends on what kind of "leather" it is. Is it a synthetic leather? Is it "coated" leather? How bad are the cracks?; all the way through? Answers to these questions should help your case.

Bottom line, whatever it is, it can more than likely be fixed.

[XRL]

It's factory Dodge/Chrysler leather in a Magnum SRT-8, not sure about much more than that, as I haven't seen the car in person yet, I sent my family to look at it while I'm away at school.

If I had to guess I'd say it's a synthetic leather, they don't appear to be too bad of cracks, sorta looks like the previous owner couldn't land his butt in the suede seat and sat on the bolster to get in. It sorta looks bunched up too.

Good to know it can be fixed though, any idea how much that sorta stuff costs on average?

[AEsco48]

Need to pics of my small leather problem...

[PrestigeDetails]

Seems like the leather is just cheap leather of Grade B and maybe more C rather then B. Wich means that the leather may not be Synthetic but it may be too much stretched just like every other car of this category. Leather is skin, if you stretch it too much, cracks will appear faster then an almost none-stretched leather on Mercedes, Porsches, BMW, Audi, Lexus ...etc . Wich means, the only way to help and prevent these cracks is on a regulary basis Clean and apply a good conditionner to prevent the leather drying and get fragile. Apply a protection on your leather is like wax your car, Help to prevents damage, give a good shine, and it smells good (haha). If the vehicule is your daily drive then every 3-4 weeks repeat the Cleaning and Conditionning steps.

Sorry my english is not that good, hope y'all understand !

[PrestigeDetails]

BTW, I know a guy down here in Quebec fillings big cracks on leather with a special kind of paste and leather look brand new when he's done.

I bought an 05 Magnum RT with 15 miles on it, and allready have cracked leather seats. The previous owner must have never apply anything to this Cheap leather so .. That's the problem, some people think Leather seats can shine and can last forever.

Also i have somes tips, to prevent black leather and also any other color of leather seats from drying to fast, cover your windshield with a protection/reflection panel so the sun does not go directly into your seats. You can also tint your windows legaly so the sun doesnt reflect straight into the interior of your car and discolour your leather seats and vinyls pannels. I think it can help ALOT !

[BlueLibby04]

Heck, if they have a really good deal on a SRT-8 take it and buy a new skin for the seat. Put it on yourself and be done with it.

Dont forget to lay it to the floor for us!

[jayjacque]

It is standard automotive leather (where the problem is anyway). Shouldn't be any big thing to repair for an experienced tech. Call them up and say you don't want to spend over $100. And unless there is some damage on the side we can't see from the pic, that should cover it and should turn out just fine.

[Quality Leather]

I don't see that big of a problem on there except maybe a little damage on the bolsters. Looking at this, the biggest problem is the red thread in the seams. I haven't found a good way to keep from coloring over them. Maybe Jay has a good idea on that.