Anyone get non-dealer AM leather?

I'd like to know if anyone has aftermarket leather installed from someone aside from their dealer. My local dealer wants $1600 for AM leather, and I think that's obscene for 2 rows of seats.

I personally dont have it in mine - yet. I have two friends that have it and it is at least as good if not better than dealer leather. Obviously mcuh of the final product is dependant on the quality of the installation. I got pricing here in Atlanta from 3 reputable places. The cost spread was amazingly close and ranged from $1050 to 1200. Make sure your installer is highly recommended.

try ebay for buying the leather, I want to put leather in, but I am going to wait until I use the cloth seats a little more...

Try Classic Soft Trim, many members here had leather put in by CST. Another company would be Katzkin.

I have had a total of 3 aftermarket leather kits. My first set was from Automotive Leather Inc (you can find them on eBay ID:alileather). The leather is high quality and very thick, very similar to the Katzkin kit I've seen. I got rid of it because I didn't like how it looked. I had a Classic Soft Trim kit that I never installed, their leather is very good, some of the best I've seen. The 3rd kit and the one that is currently installed on my 4Runner is made by Bartlett, the company that supplies the leather to the Southeast Toyota Distributors, which installs them at the port over there. This kit is nearly identical to the leather found on the Limited models. I bought the kits from eBay and installed them myself. They range from $300-400 just for the kit. Installation is a pain though and I do not recommend doing it yourself. But if you feel like you can handle taking your car apart and getting cuts and bruises on your hands, it could save you a lot of money.

My uncle recently priced out installing aftermarket leather in his '05 and they were anywhere from $900-$1400 from independent auto upholstery shops. The dealer usually sends the car out to one of these shops to have the kit installed and then marks you up since they want to make a profit too. Not all dealers do this, but most of them do.

As Uneek suggested, I would recommend the Classic Soft Trim leather. They are a bit more expensive (around $1300 if I remember correctly), but the quality is excellent.

Classic Soft Trim for my 05 Sporty was under $1000 in Orlando FL but I was not that impressed with the leather quality. The staff and install were 1st class as was the price but it just does not feel very rich and suptle. Better than cloth for sure but just not quite up to the level of factory stuff. I recomend you try the Bartlett stuff referenced in tkr128's post and have a pro install it.

GregGimbert said:

Classic Soft Trim for my 05 Sporty was under $1000 in Orlando FL but I was not that impressed with the leather quality. The staff and install were 1st class as was the price but it just does not feel very rich and suptle. Better than cloth for sure but just not quite up to the level of factory stuff. I recomend you try the Bartlett stuff referenced in tkr128's post and have a pro install it.

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I actually found the CST to be better than the Bartlett. While close to factory, the Bartlett kits seem to have the same problems as the factory leather, the seat bottom bolsters wear out very quickly and is overall thinner.

You got a great deal on the CST, the closest installer in my area charges a lot more.

I too have the bartlett, I like it much better than cloth, but it doesnt look as good to me as some of the other leathers in the 4runners. I installed mine myself and that is probably why. It looks a little wrinkly.
The price was right though, 3 rows for only 299 from ebay, plus the guy who sells them lives near me so i picked them up and paid cash so no shipping or tax.

Also I asked for the grey leather but with some black door panel pieces.

tkr128 I would like to see the pics of your leather, did you install it yourself?

I found the CST leather to be of higher quality than the stock Toyota leather found in limiteds. It was soft, comfortable, and think. IMO, it is of very high quality.

The leather I have in my accord now is soft too, feels upgraded from the normal Honda leather. I don't get it, other accords I've been in don't have as soft a leather. I think my car is an exception.

But the CST leather I had in my 4R, imo, is better than the leather that is in my mom's Pilot. The Pilot's leather is really nice, but I think the CST leather I had was softer.

The CST leather feels thicker than most interior leathers I have had but is also feels more plasticky. Anyway, not as luxurious as the stock stuff, likely much more durable though.

tkr128 said:

I have had a total of 3 aftermarket leather kits................
........I bought the kits from eBay and installed them myself. They range from $300-400 just for the kit. Installation is a pain though and I do not recommend doing it yourself. But if you feel like you can handle taking your car apart and getting cuts and bruises on your hands, it could save you a lot of money......

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Can you give a basic overview of the installation process...?

I'm not expecting step by step instructions, just a quick run down of what's involved.... I saw the kits on ebay and they don't look too bad.

Just wondering.

BassMiesterNJ said:

Can you give a basic overview of the installation process...?

I'm not expected step by step instructions, just a quick run down of what's involved.... I saw the kits on ebay and they don't look too bad.

Just wondering.

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First you have to remove the seats from the car, which isn't hard. Each part of the rear seats is held on with 2 bolts, the front seats are held on with 4 underneath the plastic covers on the floor. There are screws holding the plastic trim covers around the seats that you'll need to take off as well.

2nd, you have to take off the old seat covers, which are held on by clips and hog rings. There are about 9-20 hog rings on each part of a seat. There are metal rods in the seat foam and the seat cover that the hog rings hold together. You can usually pry them open by sticking a plier into them and prying them open, or use hog ring cutters. This also isn't very difficult to do.

3rd, you will need to put on the new seat covers. There are metal rods in each of your current cloth seats that you will need to transfer to the new seat covers. The hard part is hooking new hog rings on the seat cover onto the seat itself. A lot of people take the zip-tie route instead of hog rings which is a lot easier to do. This is where you'll end up spending most of your time. The rear seat backs are a pain, especially where the recessed portion of the rear armrest. The front seat backs are also difficult if you get a kit without zippers (which is most of them). For the front seats, you'll need to roll the seat cover inside out and then gradually roll it down the seat as you attach the new hog rings.

That's the basics of installing new seat covers. If you do it yourself, just make sure to take your time and not rush things. Also do them one piece at a time. Just remember that most professionals need most of a day to do one car.

Here's a good site explaining installation: http://www.leatherseats.com/installation.asp

Great info.

Thanks.

Which kit would you say it the most durable?

I have an 85 pound dog who likes to ride in the back seat...cant stand the hair with the cloth seats!

Don't want a supple leather that would tear easily.

Leather kits on ebay

I've looked at those kits on ebay and I have a question. On some of the the kits they say the part that touches your body is leather and the rest is vinyl. Is that really the case?

Are some of the other kits mentioned here all leather or all of them leather / vinyl.

Re: Leather kits on ebay

regeaux said:

I've looked at those kits on ebay and I have a question. On some of the the kits they say the part that touches your body is leather and the rest is vinyl. Is that really the case?

Are some of the other kits mentioned here all leather or all of them leather / vinyl.

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The entire front face of mine is leather and the back half and sides are vinyl. Mine is the Bartlet kit I got it off eBay, you really cant tell its not all leather unless you get real close and also need to touch it. it is almost exactly the same.
I am 99% sure that the factory Toyota Limited leather is vinyl on the back as well.
As for RichP's question, my leather feels soft but also durable, it is showing no signs of tearing or comming apart, but is wrinkling a bit on the left part of the drivers seat where i move my but onto and off of the seat. i dont know how it stands up against other leather kits, but besides the wrinkling, i have nothing but positive things to say, and it doesnt show any signs of tearing yet.