Small experience

Not sure what happend, but within 8 days, three separate tears appeared in my seat bottom.

I suspect a combination of heat, age and the phone in my back pocket conspired....

So best course?

Do I order a new seat cover? From whom?

Do I have a new cover made? Appx $1200 per estimate.

Do I take the opportunity to get better more comfortable seats?

Just something else to deal with.....

If you take it to a good leather repair place they should be able to it so that you can't even tell there was ever a problem. And it should be cheaper than any of the other options other than ignoring it.

I have been looking to get repaired. None of the shops has quoted anything normal. But now with three tears, repair will almost certainly be close to or exceed a whole new cover.

I was quoted $750 for driver and passenger covers in OEM 1/2 leather - 1/2 vinyl. Or $895 for full leather.

Installation was like $400 for both seats. (If I left my car in Mass. for the work.) They will ship here, but I suspect the cost will be comparable.

There is a shop in town, but I will have to get it there for an estimate.

At this point, I am thinking before I replace like with like, perhaps I upgrade to another seat.???

I've seen some "full leather" replacement covers that are downright yucky quality. In pictures they might look ok but the details aren't right and they don't feel very good.

I mean sheesh: [www.ebay.com]

What year is your car?

"A mile of highway will take you one mile. A mile of runway will take you anywhere."

I had my 986 Boxster bottom seat repaired (replaced) at a local seat repair place in San Diego for around $350. It looked good as new. Ask for references from your local independent Porsche repair shops.

cu,
Gary

I had my seats fully reupholstered in full leather with perforated inserts, including replacing broken webbing under seats with a higher strength canvas material - and having them fully repadded with new foam. All in was about $1650. Only thing I lost was the embossed crests in the headrests. They look, feel and smell amazing. I'm in MA, so let me know if you want the shop info.

Gary

2003 Boxster Base - Midnight Blue Metallic, Savanna Beige, Metropol Blue

but probably not as much for someone with multiple tears if you know what I mean

I am thinking about using the shop near Springfield, but it would help to have a reference.

Dynasty Auto Tops, Stoneham, MA - about 10 miles north of Boston. The owner is named Arthur. He also replaced my top a few years ago.



Gary

2003 Boxster Base - Midnight Blue Metallic, Savanna Beige, Metropol Blue

I have the same issue. I've been considering these (no affiliation), but, am hesitant because they seem a little too cheap to be real.

[www.lseat.com]

Anyone have any experience with these?

but the internet types have said mixed stuff. Some say the color does not match - others say the cover is not a tight as OEM.
Most say it is good for the money. One guy raved about them. Check the various boards..

Others have used this company: [autocustomleathers.com] But I worry when they say "Boxster" but the picture is 911. Just sayin'

The price is appx $1500 per pair installed (if you are in Mass.) Appx $900 w/o install. I am looking at them as a reasonable alternative.
Here, my local upolstery guy quoted $2K just to install. $1700 to make.
I think he uses GAHH stuff - or that is what it looked like when he was going through the pricing.

I have Savanna Beige leather and I asked LSeat to send me a sample. The color was not like what is shown on their web page and was definitely not a match. The quality seemed meh.

I had them send me samples, too, and the Beige they offer is way off of Savannah Beige for us P-Car peeps. Their Tan is much, much closer to Savannah Beige. My car is a Copart rescue, so, by no means is it a perfect example. I'm planning upon going ahead with the L-Seat covers and will post the results - and maybe something to YouTube if it all works out. I have quite a few priorities ahead of this, so, it'll be a couple of months before I get to it. Meanwhile, keep us posted about your project.

[rennlist.com]

Thanks!! That's really interesting. They sure looked good initially, but, clearly fell apart. Thanks for the warning, then.

My wife suggested the wooden -beaded thing cabbies use.

The color would be close.

It won't look perfect but it will likely look much better.

getting a seat out of a wreck. Over the years, there must be dozens just lying around. Some links...

https://sites.google.com/site/mikefocke2/listsofsources

Plus Savannah is not the most common color and susceptible to dirt and wear.

I do not know for sure what I will do. The tears are bad and getting worse. Close inspection of the passenger seat shows "micro" tears beginning to form around the perforations.

If I repair, I will likely be chasing the problem - so I will replace. Only question is with what.

It's tough decision, and one that I wrangled over for a few years. At first, I tried Rocky Mtn. Sheepskins that a friend gave me. Super comfy, cool in summer and warm in winter - but can be a bit smelly and I wasn't a fan of the looks. Then I went down the DIY route with a high quality repair kit from Color Plus. It included cleaner, filler and dye. I followed the instructions to a T, and it was a multi-day process counting drying time. Those results looked pretty darn good - for a while. They didn't hold up, though. In some ways, the cracking became even worse over the repaired areas. I did consider buying a used pair from a boneyard, but I felt they're just going to have the same issues and are also not cheap (you'll likely have to consider shipping cost).

I've seen the L-Seat covers in person. As covers go, they are pretty good. But don't think you're getting new seats - they're just covers, and you can tell due to the fitting. Plus, they 'aint cheap, either.

That brought me to the decision to get the seats professionally reupholstered. Not a decision for everybody, for sure, especially in an old, lower $$ value car. But, for me, I love the car, it was in otherwise great shape, and I plan on keeping it for the foreseeable future. Plus - and this is not to be under estimated - my wife had reached the point that she didn't want to go on trips because the old seats were so uncomfortable for her. Again, my reupholstery guy did not not just replace the skins and call it a day. He repaired the failing support webbing under the seats, and completely re-foamed them. They're like brand new, and I got full leather, too (on the bottom sides and the upper seat backs).

I can't seem to upload any pics here anymore, but you can see some in my "garage" on the PCA Boxster Register, or on FB or IG.

Good luck with your decision.

Gary

2003 Boxster Base - Midnight Blue Metallic, Savanna Beige, Metropol Blue



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/11/2020 01:09PM by grc0456. (view changes)