Leather seats

[Scouser]

Anyone got any wisdom on the idea of getting my present seats re-upholstered in full leather? Hindsight is always 20/20 - should have got them when I got the car - however - since I've been THINKING about having them redone in full leather, I need feedback on whether it's a bad idea. When I talked w/the dealership they said to be wary of recovering the seats, or installing new ones as the wiring may not get done right that operates the airbags etc., since they'd be aftermarket. They strongly advised against it saying there's a lot of components that need to be hooked up just right etc. etc. I looked on Ebay for actual seats that I was interested in - and they're cheaper than getting them redone through the dealership - but again, the advice from the dealership was it's tricky business because of different wiring set ups from another country (the Ebay ones were from UK).

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[mbiedzinski]

I entertained the thought of getting the matching Soda seats for mine and Sterling advised against it because of the wiring, etc. and it being a generally a bad idea. Unsure on the reupholstering though, but doesn't seem like a good idea for the same reasons.

[RichSperry]

There are usually a lot of seats for sale in the US. I wouldn't have any problem installing another seat as long as it's from the same year or later.

 

But, I've got no idea why you would want leather?, unless you have pleather now. The cloth seats are great, cool in summer warm in winter, grippy all year..

 

Unless you find a set of MINI Recaros...I'd deal with the leather part...lol

[Scouser]

To answer Rich's comment : you mention there's lots of seats available in the U.S. Can you give me some ideas where? When I checked Ebay - only EbayUK had seats - and haven't seen any otherwise in my search. As regards wiring - if I did find some nice leather seats, I would probably have MINI do the putting in since they'd be obviously familiar with the wiring aspects.

On the reupholstering - I think I would have to know they'd done Minis before quite regularly otherwise I wouldn't do it. Finding the right place is a job in itself.

Seems like I've heard people say they reupholstered their Mini seats, but it's been a while.

I would just like something more classy looking and I like the leather.

Yeah - the Recaros are great, but way high in cost as we know.

[RichSperry]

Try car-part.com

[TGGRRR (Ali)]

if you decide to go with re-upholstered seats I know a guy in Fairfax that's really good. I can dig up his contact info

[Scouser]

Oh thanks to both - yes I'd be interested in the company from Fairfax and I'll also look into the car parts online company. Thanks both :-)

[TGGRRR (Ali)]

Oh thanks to both - yes I'd be interested in the company from Fairfax and I'll also look into the car parts online company. Thanks both :-)

 

I just have his cell, it's Doug at 703-278-9436

 

I had him fix the stitching in one of my seats and he's really good. He works with Randy our dentless repair guy. I really like him, he's fair and will do good work.

 

The location is near the Harley Dealer in Fairfax, off of route 50

[Scouser]

Thanks very much for that - I'll get in touch with him. :-)

[OhBe1]

http://www.adlerandmandel.com

They're in Rockville. Never had them do upholstery, but the two sunroofs were done perfectly.

[Scouser]

Hi - thanks for that - I actually went by Adler's a couple of weeks ago. Don't know what to think - they have a good reputation, but the two people I got to talk with weren't impressive at all. I'd read a couple of bad reviews previously about the "woman on the desk" (who is actually the owner's ex wife as I learned) and she was a bit dismissive with me and disappeared never to return after about 5 minutes, and the other guy - who looked about 20 - didn't think I'd be happy with their work. Maybe because I'm obviously going to be REAL particular that the works is done correctly on my Mini and he thought I was too fussy or something. Hmmm.....not exactly a good sell. But yet, I know they have been around a long time etc. So, am a bit perplexed about them now and not sure which direction to go.

[JAB 67]

Try Don Elkins Auto Upholstery, 703-273-1144, at Fairfax Circle.

[Edge]

I am looking to get some custom leather upholstery work done on seats for my MINI soon too, and I asked at my well-respected body shop who they use, they gave me these two names:

 

Lim’s Custom Top & Upholstery (Tyson's Corner & Chantilly) – (703)893-7373

 

Chong's Upholstery (Woodbridge) - (703)490-6900

 

I haven't contacted either shop about the job yet... I'm waiting to see how my MINI's repair turns out first - but I plan on giving them both a shot at my business. My criteria won't just be price, either... this will be a "1-shot" job, so it will be entirely based upon how I "feel" they are up to doing a top quality job, the first time.

[TATTRAT]

Lim’s Custom Top & Upholstery (Tyson's Corner & Chantilly) – (703)893-7373

 

 

 

While I haven't used them for my MINI, a lot of NoVA folks on another auto forum I am on have had GREAT results with lims. Just judging off the work I have seen from them on other vehicles, and a wide array at that, I can only assume that they take each car as a source of pride. We've had guys with old classics, to brand new, off the lot into the shop conversions done, and their work seems to be pretty top notch.

 

Like I said, I have no personal experience with them, but my folks who have, I trust their input and know that if they say it's golden, than it must be.