What would you do about this?

[Scuba]

Per the attached photo, we recently noticed a small half-moon shaped tear in my car’s upholstery, specifically on the driver’s side seat. I have a 2007 Lexus with 160K miles, and am only putting 3-5K miles/year on it since our ER. No plans to sell this car in the foreseeable future.

I got quotes on repairing this. I was told that the only way to not have a noticeable repair would be to replace the whole piece of the perforated leather in the seat back for $450. However, it is unlikely to match perfectly since it would be new and mine is 12 years old. If it didn’t, a different person could color-match it to the existing upholstery and clean up both front seats and center console for $250. This person could also patch the cut area for $250, but he does not use perforated leather for patches so it would be quite visable/noticeable.

So - worst case $700 to replace leather panel and color match it so everything looks beautiful, $450 to just replace the panel and hope the new leather matches, $250 to patch it and hope I don’t notice the patch too often, or do nothing since the car is so old already. Or maybe someone out there has another suggestion?

 

[REWahoo]

...a 2007 Lexus with 160K miles...

A small piece of duct tape. You can probably find a color that's a close match.

 

[Sunset]

Get nice car seat covers.

The car is 12 yrs old, and you know after spending $450 to fix it with a mis-match leather, that some jerk will smash into your car, meaning you will get a new one, and nobody is going to give you extra cash value for a mis-match leather seat.

 

[brewer12345]

Do nothing. In my household the gap would quickly fill in with dog hair or ground cheetos.

 

[Mr. Tightwad]

Duct tape then one of those little seat cushions i see from time to time.

 

[skipro33]

Any decent upholsterer can fix that for about an hour's labor. Materials free. They have a sort of hot iron, several synthetic adhesives and colorings. The iron has the hole pattern incorporated into it. I used to have a neighbor that repaired upholstery at restaurants and it was amazing how he could restore some really damaged stuff. A tiny mark like that would be nothing.
Otherwise, a high quality seat cover, sheepskin perhaps, would do the trick for about the same price.

 

[robnplunder]

One more vote for do nothing. Spend that dough on something more practical.

 

[brucethebroker]

I had excessive wear & a hole on the leather driver seat (9 years old), not so much on passenger. Local body shop referred me to their seat guy. Whole new seat bottom, installed, cost around $250. Perfect color match (buckskin).

Personally, my satisfaction for a "new" seat was worth it. Plus, one less thing for buyer to "ding" me about at future sale time.

 

[ckelly78z]

I third the duct tape decision...I wouldn't put that much money into a cosmetic fix on a 12 year old car. 95% of people will never see that !

 

[street]

It would bother me having that blemish but I sure wouldn't spend that kind of money to fix it. You will never get that cost back when you sell or trade. Get a seat cover that you can take out and use in another car when you get rid of that car.

 

[Choices]

First world problem....
I would probably use super glue

 

[Jerry1]

Any decent upholsterer can fix that for about an hour's labor. Materials free. They have a sort of hot iron, several synthetic adhesives and colorings. The iron has the hole pattern incorporated into it. I used to have a neighbor that repaired upholstery at restaurants and it was amazing how he could restore some really damaged stuff. A tiny mark like that would be nothing.

I would try this ^^

Either way, I would fix it. No duct tape. Something on the low end, but fixed. I wouldn’t worry too much about not being able to see the repair, but of course, the less conspicuous the better. You’re going to keep driving it so you’ll enjoy it more if it’s fixed.

 

[folivier]

Search on the internet for leather seat repairs. There are many products than you can DIY and get a nice looking repair. Or like mentioned above go to an upholstery shop and have them repair it. I would not use duct tape, IME the glue will not hold up long time and make a sticky mess especially if this is where you are sitting and sliding in and out.

 

[pjm-7]

Is there a trade/vocational school nearby? Maybe their vehicle repair class could trade on this little project for a class.

 

[EarlyBirdly]

I would just ignore something that small on a car of that vintage. I have a 2004 Mazda Six with a slightly larger tear in the perforated leather. It's been there 10 years and no one has ever noticed it.


That said..I have used this in the past and it works great if you feel you must fix it. It's $10.00 at Walmart and gets good reviews:

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

When the driver's leather seat upholstery gave out in my bimmer, I bought a used passenger seat for $50 and swapped the entire seat cushion with the one on my driver's seat. Since the shotgun seats generally get a lot less wear than the driver's side, the replacement cushion looked nearly new but had a patina similar to the cushion it was replacing.
A cursory google search suggests that some Lexus front seat cushions are interchangeable and some aren't, so do your homework before going this route.

 

[brett]

Get another quote.

Try sourcing a seat from a wrecker

Just leave it, put some tape on it.

 

[CRLLS]

Do you do your own car repairs? A bucket seat at my local LKQ recycler shows a price of 30.99. It might not be too hard to find one in the same color. That's not too much to spend on your car.

 

[steelyman]

It sounds as if you really care about your car and its appearance (not everyone feels alike). I have a few cosmetic-type things lingering that I’ll have done in the spring and will make me happier knowing they’re done properly. So for me, “blow that dough” is the way to go.

 

[Silver]

Clean it best as possible and a dot of super glue and pat it back into place. Done and done.

 

[Dtail]

Do nothing.

 

[LOL!]

What was in your back pocket to create this? Don't do that anymore.

 

[38Chevy454]

I agree, go to an upholstery repair person and they can make it nearly new. For a lot less than $450 or more. Or live with it for $0. Tape will not work. Upholstery repair can either replace the seat bottom for more expensive, or can do a glue type fix for less expensive. On an older car like yours, the glue type fix seems the best solution.


You could also look for a used seat, or the option of a used passenger seat and swap the copver as suggested, if you can do some of the work yourself.

 

[mystang52]

I would just ignore something that small on a car of that vintage. I have a 2004 Mazda Six with a slightly larger tear in the perforated leather. It's been there 10 years and no one has ever noticed it.


That said..I have used this in the past and it works great if you feel you must fix it. It's $10.00 at Walmart and gets good reviews:

I'd try this, first. If no success, I would then pay to get it fixed a la some of the previous suggestions. It would bother me to leave it unrepaired, for fear of it getting worse.

 

[H2ODude]

Making me feel guilty. Wife shut the passenger door (slammed?) on her 2015 BMW 435 convertible w 26k miles and the seat belt buckle somehow was in a position to actually puncture the door panel, impaled in fact. have not even considered repairing.