opinions on leather install

[theliman]

Thinking I'm going to buy some leather from Pecca and replace my cloth seat covers. If I can manage to do it myself (I know it's a ton of work), it'll be pretty affordable. If I screw up and have to pay a shop, not as affordable, but I'd be ok with it.

Pecca sent me their "dark graphite," which they said is their OEM color-match for the 2008 4Runner. I also had them send me a few others. Black is the darkest, the OEM dark graphite is one shade lighter (2nd from right), and the next three are some lighter shades.

Being pretty risk-averse, I'm leaning towards dark graphite since that's what they recommend. But I was also considering going one shade lighter, since black leather can be so hot and I didn't think grey looked so bad. What do you guys think of the middle shade? To those who have had leather, any thoughts on if this would make a noticeable difference in seat temperature under the summer sun?

I know photos are a bit misleading and as I look at this set in particular, each shade definitely looks brighter than it does in person - but I can't deny the match, in that the OEM one seems closest the smooth plastic trim on the door.

Thanks!

 

[Range]

Whats your $$ for affordable? I ask because I have Clazzio seat covers in mine and the black leather matches the black in the 4Runner interior perfectly. I spent $400 which includes both front and rear.

 

[theliman]

Whats your $$ for affordable? I ask because I have Clazzio seat covers in mine and the black leather matches the black in the 4Runner interior perfectly. I spent $400 which includes both front and rear.

It's $432 incl. shipping for the materials. Install is at least another $400, so trying to avoid that, but I want to replace, not go over, the cloth.

 

[truckhigh]

It's $432 incl. shipping for the materials. Install is at least another $400, so trying to avoid that, but I want to replace, not go over, the cloth.

where are you ordering your covers from? deciding if i want to order custom clazzio covers.

And i would say dark graphite it will wear over time and stains wont show. It will also match your door inserts better too.

 

[theliman]

where are you ordering your covers from? deciding if i want to order custom clazzio covers.

And i would say dark graphite it will wear over time and stains wont show. It will also match your door inserts better too.

good thought on stains.

ordering through Coverking, but not through their website, i called them. whatever they offer on website is in the mid 600 range IIRC

 

[riceandpho]

pop the armrest off and hold the sample to a bright light source for a good match. i would do the darkest one since itll fade to the lighter side during age.

 

[RPS13]

I have leather in my '07 Sport (no idea if it's OEM or not), but it matches the 2nd to darkest one that you said is OEM for that year.

I say go with that, it matches the door leather/material/vinyl whatever it is.

 

[theliman]

Roadwire installed

Well I'm pretty disappointed with myself for spending the kind of money that I just spent on something so unnecessary, but I just had a local upholstery shop put in a set from Roadwire plus seat heaters. I got a discount for paying cash, which almost made it worse! Handing over stacks.. Oh well, I have 89k on the 4Runner and just tell myself I'm going to drive it til it dies.

I chose the dark graphite color (actually I think Roadwire calls it dark charcoal) which they indicate is the OEM match and, based on the *samples* is closest to the second from the darkest on my original post. It definitely turned out a bit lighter, but I'm ok with that (don't really have a choice, might as well like it!). It really depends on the light, but for the most part from my angle as the driver it looks lighter than the vinyl, but then kind of matches the shiney grey plastic that is throughout the interior. So it doesn't feel out of place or anything to me.

Fit and look is great. Feels very nice, maybe a tad on the "firm" side (I would say softer than OEM but not as soft as Katzkin?) but we'll see how it ages. Hopefully it smells nice once the glue scent goes away!

 

[mizak82]

what did that cost you?

 

[theliman]

what did that cost you?

$1750 otd cash.

rough breakdown is $1299 for leather installed (i think about $700 kit + $600 labor). seat heaters installed $450 ($250 for kit, $200 install). Don't think the heater labor is very difficult but it's not like I can interrupt their install and throw the seat heaters down myself then ask them to continue.

looking back through old threads i think prices used to be more reasonable, but those were mostly from the mid 2000s. mine is not excessive, but i know it can definitely be done cheaper. i called all over denver and no one would come down.

 

[mizak82]

I think it came out great...

so you took the old cloth covers off and replaced that with the leather?

600 in labor is expensive it seems.. no way to do it yourself?

 

[bigjebus]

2 grand is pretty steep regardless man. I'm not going to pile on, but you can get factory grade leather installed for 700-800 otd pretty much anywhere in the country. Seat heaters are 150 bucks for top of the line, and if you can install a radio you can wire heaters. Sorry man, if i was you I'd ask for an invoice and see if you can recoup something. No way leather and seat heaters are 2 grand. Not seeing where the extra grand went???

 

[jbtvt]

Nice to see pricing info, some people are so cagey about that. I don't think $600 for the seat install is bad although $450 for the heaters is a bit much, esp since they were taking the covers off anyway. If that's the going rate in your city that's how it is though, rent and taxes aren't cheap for a business in a desirable area, you get the quality of life you pay for. Looks very nice.

 

[Frontline]

2 grand is pretty steep regardless man. I'm not going to pile on, but you can get factory grade leather installed for 700-800 otd pretty much anywhere in the country. Seat heaters are 150 bucks for top of the line, and if you can install a radio you can wire heaters. Sorry man, if i was you I'd ask for an invoice and see if you can recoup something. No way leather and seat heaters are 2 grand. Not seeing where the extra grand went???

That price is in line with what upholstery shops cost. I am having Katskin seat covers, new foam and heaters put in and it is a little of $2K for the work. By time they do rest of the work it will be more that double that though.

 

[theliman]

No way you're getting that from the dealer for $700-800. $1500 min, I've looked through years of threads here multiple times, as well as other car forums.

I looked into this a lot in my market. I could have a guy who used to work at a shop do it for $400 labor with no recourse if he screwed it up. That's plus $400 min for set. Cheapest a shop would do it was $1,000 with Pecca so I made the choice to do nicer leather IMO for $1299. Both were $450 for seat heaters.

I called everyone in town, multiple times over 6 months. I was not anxious to make a deal and get it done fast. This is the best deal I could get.

Yes, could have done myself but chose to have installed because it is a bear of a job and I've seen some DIYs that don't have quite the tight fit/quality.

I appreciate the feedback that it looks good! And I admit it's expensive. But it wasnt happening for cheaper in my market except by $300 if I went with Pecca. They probably made a killing but so does everyone in town and they weren't budging, I tried.

 

[xxaarraa]

The cheapest, best quality, least head ache road to leather seats is to find a junk yard that has it and buy leather seats from another 4Runner. No amount of hard work can match OEM quality, and its a 45 minute job to unbolt / bolt.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-g...g-4th-gen-sr5-cloth-seats-leather-thread.html

 

[theliman]

The cheapest, best quality, least head ache road to leather seats is to find a junk yard that has it and buy leather seats from another 4Runner. No amount of hard work can match OEM quality, and its a 45 minute job to unbolt / bolt.

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-g...g-4th-gen-sr5-cloth-seats-leather-thread.html

Yup saw that and was checking yards for well over a year. At this point seats from 4th Gen are going to have some miles on them. The dude in that thread got a deal relative to the prices I saw, and I looked a lot. Add to that that you're starting with seats that were usually already well-worn in the left side of the drivers cushion from enter/exit. Also, as the leather ages it gets firmer and "shiney," at least from what I've seen with 4Runners.

I disagree that the straight from the factory OEM is the leather to beat, maybe with bmw but not Toyota. I have found through research that most found the roadwire to be a better quality. However it's also an OEM fit as many distributors use Roadwire/CST for new car delivery.

As for the cost of labor, it's a lot, but it's also a ton of work. Some people claim to do it in 4 hours. Most say it took them a weekend or more. When work is short staffed there are bonuses and I can come in, work 12 hrs, and make $700. Would rather do that and hand the money to an installer than break my hands, worry about airbags etc, not to mention my execution may not be up to par and I might have to pay someone anyway to get it dialed. I love working on my car and try to most things to learn - did my suspension, replaced brakes, welding in a new muffler this weekend. That's fun for me and worth the hours. Stretching tight leather over a seat gives me no satisfaction.

 

[xxaarraa]

Yup saw that and was checking yards for well over a year. At this point seats from 4th Gen are going to have some miles on them. The dude in that thread got a deal relative to the prices I saw, and I looked a lot. Add to that that you're starting with seats that were usually already well-worn in the left side of the drivers cushion from enter/exit. Also, as the leather ages it gets firmer and "shiney," at least from what I've seen with 4Runners.

Fair point. The 4th gens are getting on in age and miles.

I disagree that the straight from the factory OEM is the leather to beat, maybe with bmw but not Toyota.

I don't mean to dampen your enthusiasm or talk down your truck, but just looking at the photos you posted, I'd have to say most people would agree OEM is better than what you ended up with, German car leather or Japanese. Your back seats in particular are fairly easy to discern as generic "aftermarket" quality. I would rate any Toyota oem leather seats higher than your final product.

I have found through research that most found the roadwire to be a better quality. However it's also an OEM fit as many distributors use Roadwire/CST for new car delivery.

As for the cost of labor, it's a lot, but it's also a ton of work. Some people claim to do it in 4 hours. Most say it took them a weekend or more. When work is short staffed there are bonuses and I can come in, work 12 hrs, and make $700. Would rather do that and hand the money to an installer than break my hands, worry about airbags etc, not to mention my execution may not be up to par and I might have to pay someone anyway to get it dialed. I love working on my car and try to most things to learn - did my suspension, replaced brakes, welding in a new muffler this weekend. That's fun for me and worth the hours. Stretching tight leather over a seat gives me no satisfaction.

Overall, $1750 is a pot load of money. I don't know your truck's worth, but its not unreasonable for $1750 to be a full 10-15% of the market value of a 4th gen. As you said 4th gens are getting on in age. I wouldn't have spent that much on aftermarket quality.

 

[flyfisher4822]

Sounds like you want to have your truck for the long haul. You made a good investment. Enjoy it!

 

[theliman]

I don't mean to dampen your enthusiasm or talk down your truck, but just looking at the photos you posted, I'd have to say most people would agree OEM is better than what you ended up with, German car leather or Japanese. Your back seats in particular are fairly easy to discern as generic "aftermarket" quality. I would rate any Toyota oem leather seats higher than your final product.

This is like when people say "no offense, but [insert offensive comment]."

I posted pictures of the install not to seek validation (though I certainly appreciate the positive feedback!), but rather so that people who are researching as I was have a resource to see what a certain kit might look like in their car. If they don't like it, they won't get it. I saw another guy on here who has Roadwire in his 5th gen and it was enough to give me the confidence that it would look good, and move forward with the purchase.

It's fine if you don't like the way it looks, just don't tell me "I'm not trying to knock your install/product, but it looks like bad." Though you're certainly entitled to your opinion, and I suppose that's the "risk" one takes in posting to a public forum!

For what it's worth, the pictures were taken approximately two hours after they finished and I believe with heat and initial use the leather settles a bit to look more flush. That said, even if it continues to look as it does I think it's great.

Yes it was a lot to spend on a vehicle that's not worth that much, but I will drive it into the ground and with only 89k it has a lot of life left in it for me to enjoy it just a little more each time.