WORST & CHEAPEST thing you can do...

Well just got some rubber mats from weathertech for my 4-runner for x-mas gift (from me to me :laugh: ) the fit is not perfect but not bad since they use "universal" for my year ('98). But for my car, I'll just use the oem carpet, plus if they get too crapped up I'll just replace them, about the same price for oem carpet mat and all weather mats. I just think they look better. Plus it took me close to 10 years to really wear out my mats for my runner(northern CA weather I guess) plus everytime I went to the snow I just flipped the mats over but I am glad that I have the rubber protection now tho. Just my two pence worth.
 
I have rubber mats front, rear, and back cargo area in my suv that are specifically designed for it.....makes cleanups and spills easy. Sure carpet is nice, not fun cleaning it all the time and if you step in something w/o knowing it.
 
I think the rubber mats look cheap, especially on a nicer car. I'd rather just keep my carpet mats clean and if and when they get to bad just buy a new set. I am considering buying the rear cargo rubber mat for my car so when I go fishing I can just throw my tackle box and boots in there without having to bag them and put them in plastic containers. Last year a container of my worms somehow opened and there was dirt and a couple worms in my hatch :shocked :o Luckily there was no permanent damage :)
 
The OEM rubber mats that VW makes are very nice and I had thought about getting a set myself. Although, my car is 7 years old and I have never had even cheap rubber mats in both WI and MN winters. Except for a hole worn through from my heel, my tan cloth mats look almost brand new.



I guess that comes from vacuuming it every time I wash it, a shampoo once per year, and kicking my feet off before even stepping in my car. There's something to be said about just taking good care of your vehicle. :ignore



BTW, Jake, this is going in my signature!

"Autotopians- We are the few, the proud, the clean." :grinno:
 
We use WeatherTechs/etc. in the dog-haulers, but in the other vehicles we just use the OE carpet ones. In nice vehicles, I don't want rubber mats.



The ones in Accumulatorette's A8 aren't exactly like-new any more, but they're still OK after seven years of daily use (including Ohio winters). I just vacuum/steam/extract them as necessary and never let 'em get too bad between cleanings. I keep thinking "next spring I'll get her some new ones..." but she never thinks it's necessary.



One thing about the rubber/etc. ones- NO WAY would I want them in a vehicle where people are wearing nice dress shoes, especially *ladies'* dress shoes. The back of the driver's shoe would get messed up in no time.
 
spielnicht said:
...when buying a new car is not buying the original all-weather rubber floor mats!



People are willing to spend thousands of dollars on a new car, yet when you ask them why they didn't get the all-weather floor mats to keep the car clean, they answer "I don't have that kind of money" :angry :angry :angry



Just stupid! Such little $$ (compared to everything else you spend $$ on) goes such a long way in keeping the car clean and smelling better.
Click to expand...





While that's fine and all, some of us *hate* the feeling of clutching with rubber mats. I'll just keep my fabric ones vacuumed and shampooed till they crap out on me, then I'll buy new ones off ebay for like 50 bucks. Never understood all the ruckus over rubber, hideous looking mats. They make a nice car's interior look like crap. imo of course. :think2
 
BlueLibby04 said:
I dont let my mats get dirty, period.
Click to expand...



Heh heh, wish I could just do that :D



I tried laying towels/etc. on them and othewise keeping them protected, but when there's a lot of salty slush around the car (good cars going to nice places in bad weather), or deep, wet mud (at the dogparks) things never worked out all that well. And nice cars look pretty low-class with towels on the floor!



It's sorta like the footwear...in some conditions I just can't always keep things clean so all I can do is clean up afterwards. Last week it was a graveside service where the ground was *really* soft and muddy under the melting snow...we had to park in it, I had to push a wheelchair through it; no way to keep stuff clean under the circumstances I had to deal with :(
 
For winter in the land of ice and snow I like rubber mats, the bigger the better.:bolt

The super ugly ones I'm using now have such deep ridges that after the snow melts off my shoes the water is trapped in the bottom of the mat. :soscared:



Winter is for boots and rubber mats.

Summer sneakers and carpets :tumblewee
 
I agree. I can't stand "factory" floor mats. I've bought WeatherTech's for my last 3 vehicles and won't go back. Excellent protection and clean up nicely with a tile-cleaning brush.
 
In Wisconsin I really needed some type of winter mat and decided to try the WeatherTech based on all the favorable reviews. Well, as previous poster commented, these aren't custom fit and I was really disappointed in the poor covering (left a good 1 to 2 inches on each side of the mat). I had salt on my carpet, on both sides of the mate, after the first or second outing. The WeatherTechs are now hanging in the garage and I'm using a cheap OTC set, that I needed to trim to fit, but at least it's covering the entire floor.
 
wiscTom said:
In Wisconsin I really needed some type of winter mat and decided to try the WeatherTech based on all the favorable reviews. Well, as previous poster commented, these aren't custom fit and I was really disappointed in the poor covering (left a good 1 to 2 inches on each side of the mat). I had salt on my carpet, on both sides of the mate, after the first or second outing. The WeatherTechs are now hanging in the garage and I'm using a cheap OTC set, that I needed to trim to fit, but at least it's covering the entire floor.
Click to expand...
What make/mode of vehicle? They fit excellent in my Tundra, with the exception of no protection behind the gas pedal. My Tacoma was a perfect fit. My wifes Malibu was equally awesome, including the trunk liner. I will admit that the Tundra's mats I had to "mold" a little bit more to get them to fit the way they do, but they do work and have great coverage.
 
my C6 has the cashmere carpet mats in the trunk still wraped plastic, cocomats. the CTS also has the cashmere carpet mats in the trunk, using the factory caddy accessory rubber mats. the avalanche came with great heavy rubber mats right from the factory. look cheap? not as cheap as filthy, stained carpet mats. :thx
 
Matt,



I have a 2004 Cadillac Seville, so my floor size would be the same for any Seville (SLS or STS) 1998 -2004. In retrospect, based on the high cost of these WeatherTech mats, I should have called WeatherTech and asked them the actual dimensions of the mat before ordering, but … I think maybe (?) if I would have ordered the Deville mats instead of the Seville mats, I may have ended up with a usable product with a little trimming.
 
wiscTom said:
Matt,



I have a 2004 Cadillac Seville, so my floor size would be the same for any Seville (SLS or STS) 1998 -2004. In retrospect, based on the high cost of these WeatherTech mats, I should have called WeatherTech and asked them the actual dimensions of the mat before ordering, but … I think maybe (?) if I would have ordered the Deville mats instead of the Seville mats, I may have ended up with a usable product with a little trimming.
Click to expand...
Quite possibly, but you still shouldn't have to trim them. Maybe WT did a horrible job on that particular car model's mats? Either way, I would still give them another shot with another vehicle that you may have.:xyxthumbs
 
Rubber matts aren't just for winter driving. Rain, sand, etc is also kept at bay. I think many of them look fine.



WeatherTech is a hit or miss place. Sometimes they are form fit sometimes they aren't. I use them knowing this and have had reasonable luck.
 
Weathertech has some great rubber mats that are vehicle specific. Only

use them in the winter and come spring swap them out for carpet mats.

As far as the comment of "I don't have that kind of money", Have you

ever heard the comment "Penny wise, dollar foolish"? That's what

those folks are. Case in point. My brother doesn't want to spend

$1000.00 on a Weber grill that has a great 25 year warranty because

"that's alot of money to pay for a grill". Yet he buys a $200 cheap grill

every year or every other year. Grill sleeps outside year round.

Do the math. $2400 if every other year or $5000 if every year for the

25 year period. So did he really save money?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top