Hate my upholstery...

Buying aftermarket leather is like buying a new A/C for your house - most everyone is selling the same thing and the installer makes all the difference.

The pictures previously posted in this thread show IMHO a pretty shoddy install. There were so many wrinkles that at first that I thought the purchaser ordered the "gathered" leather option, but upon closer inspection this does not seem to be the case.

I had my interior done by a shop that does mostly Porsche 911 restorations and paid an arm and a leg for the install, but it is free of the wrinkles that seem to plague most installations. I'd rather pay a few hundred bucks more and not regret my decision every time I get in the car. For an install that looks good and doesn't cost an arm and a leg, see this thread: http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=1...mp;#entry253974

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Sep 25 2006, 01:51 PM) [snapback]324889[/snapback]</div>

Are you familiar at all with all of the options available in Katzkin leather?

Katzkin seat covers for the Prius are available in both smooth and pleated (what Katzkin calls "flat" and "gathered"). As I wrote in my post, I thought it was gathered, but on closer inspection it appeared not to be gathered. It looks more like unintentional wrinkles than intentional pleats. I've seen pictures of the Katzkin gathered option and the pleats are regularly spaced and are very obviously intentional, just like the factory leather in many vehicles. They don't look like the random wrinkles I see in the pictures in this thread. Also, in the other thread I referenced - the pics that were in the member's gallery did not show any wrinkles on the seat back or bottom, and that was non-perforated Katzkin leather.

Katzkin Gathered option:

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Sep 25 2006, 02:19 PM) [snapback]324919[/snapback]</div>

I don't believe the other car has perforated leather.

Non-perforated leather can be ordered either flat or gathered from Katzkin. Perforated is only available flat (I think).

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(prius2go @ Sep 24 2006, 05:16 PM) [snapback]324391[/snapback]</div>

Katkin includes the 4 armrests and the center console covers.

I have non-perforated plain grey leather Katkin covers installed by a company called Top Notch in Patterson, NJ, and I don't have any 'wrinkles' in them at this point - 3-4 months after the install. I paid $995 through my Toyota dealer who used Top Notch as a 3rd party installer, but someone told me they raised their price recently.

 

Another vote for the Katzkin leather. I have it on my wife's 05, it looks and feels great, and did include the console and armrests. On my 06 the dealer had leather put on at port, it's nice and perforated, unlike the Katzkin, but it is not as thick or comfortable. It came without the armrests and console done. The dealer added it on my insistence ( no extra charge).

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(priusenvy @ Sep 25 2006, 05:25 PM) [snapback]324923[/snapback]</div>

You're right it does not have perorated leather as perforated leather lends itself to premature creasing and cracking. The job was anything but shoddy as you put it in fact EVERYONE who's seen (except you) LOVES IT!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(BobZ @ Sep 28 2006, 09:27 AM) [snapback]325089[/snapback]</div>

Quality leather shouldn't show any signs of wear if properly maintained. I just sold a 1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee with 190k miles whose leather interior (perforated centers, just like my Prius) still looked and felt as if it just came off the showroom floor.

Well, as long as you're happy I guess that's all that matters. Personally, I would have had the installer redo the job until they got it right and got rid of all those unsightly wrinkles. Those wrinkles are the difference between your interior looking like it was factory installed, or an aftermarket hack job.

I was very leery of getting aftermarket leather as almost everyone else who has it done posted crappy looking results like yours. However, when I saw pictures of Cairo94507's install by Coach Automotive Restyling, I realized that it was possible to get good results if you took your car to a good installer.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(priusenvy @ Sep 28 2006, 08:51 PM) [snapback]325337[/snapback]</div>

Freedom of speech doesn't give you a pass to unsult, offend or hurt someones feelings. People like you are never happy with anything so your opinion pretty much meens nothing. Everyone except you have commented positively so I guess you need to do your bashing somewhere else

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(BobZ @ Sep 28 2006, 05:59 PM) [snapback]325341[/snapback]</div>

People who live in glass houses should not cast stones. priusenvy is not alone in his opinion, but most posters do not care to get into a pissing match over this issue.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(IsrAmeriPrius @ Sep 28 2006, 09:13 PM) [snapback]325351[/snapback]</div>

You never have anything good to say and his garbage isn't even the right color

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(BobZ @ Sep 28 2006, 06:23 PM) [snapback]325357[/snapback]</div>

Thanks for proving my point.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(IsrAmeriPrius @ Sep 28 2006, 09:29 PM) [snapback]325362[/snapback]</div>

Are you gonna deny that color is way off? The other pictures posted are completely a different color. The door panel is tan and the seats are purple. Oh, I know you'll blame it on the camera

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(priusenvy @ Sep 28 2006, 08:51 PM) [snapback]325337[/snapback]</div>

There is really no need to be a dick. You could just post pics of your leather retro and let people make their own decisions rather then singling out another poster....

I think leather is a waste, but I don't think that yours looks any better then his. Not to mention we can't judge the front seats anyways.

 

Quote
Not to mention we can't judge the front seats anyways.




True but I hope they look better than the back

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(BobZ @ Sep 28 2006, 06:35 PM) [snapback]325365[/snapback]</div>

In my 2005 Prius with factory cloth interior, the door panels were not the same color as the seats, and the seats were actually two different colors. I know this because I found the closest match for the seat centers, and then laid that sample on the seat bolsters and door panels. It didn't match. The upholstery on the seat bolsters and centers are two different colors, and the door panels are a third color. So at least with my car, there is no one single color that can match all three. The differences are slight but there are three different colors.

I chose the leather color which was the closest match for the cloth that made up the center section of the seats, which for the record was "Shale". By doing so, I knew I was also choosing a color that did not match the door panels. This was intentional. I knew what the car looked like with the existing colors but I did not know what it would look like with a different color that was a closer match for the doors. I thought it was less risky to go with a combination whose appearance I was familiar with rather than change it to get a closer match to the door panels. I don't regret my decision to go with Shale, but I do regret not getting a two-tone like Cairo94507 (charcoal centers). Had I done that, I would have chosen the other color to match the seat bolsters. I'm not sure whether that would have been Shale or not.

 

Comparing my Prius with fabric seats to a friend's with after-market leather - his seats are much more comfortable, IMHO. I like the fit and support the leather provides.