Professional reupholster vs. Lseat for my 97 (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Joined
May 14, 2015
Threads
4
Messages
19
Location
Little Rock
I've got a ballpark quote for $2,500 from an auto upholstery shop in town...he's checking the prices to give me a final number, thinks it will be in that range for the front seats and 2nd row, genuine leather. In fact the pricing he's checking on is for the entire hide.

In comparison, it looks like the price for the Lseat covers front and second row will come to about $700.

Does anyone have any experience with installing the Lseat covers that they'd be willing to share? I'd be happy to do the install vs. paying $2,500, but I want to know that they'll be a good fit and quality before sinking my time and money into it.

Also, if anyone has an opinion on the quote I got from the shop, I'm all ears.
 
It's personal choice... I don't have a dog in this fight as my '93 is cloth and in really great condition. I've seen lots of Lseat covers and they are nice, definitely worth their price in my opinion. However, I would much rather have it professionally done, the results should be that much better. I would think $2500 is a bit high, but if he has good reviews and does good work then I suppose it would be worth it.
 
I've got a ballpark quote for $2,500 from an auto upholstery shop in town...he's checking the prices to give me a final number, thinks it will be in that range for the front seats and 2nd row, genuine leather. In fact the pricing he's checking on is for the entire hide.

In comparison, it looks like the price for the Lseat covers front and second row will come to about $700.

Does anyone have any experience with installing the Lseat covers that they'd be willing to share? I'd be happy to do the install vs. paying $2,500, but I want to know that they'll be a good fit and quality before sinking my time and money into it.

Also, if anyone has an opinion on the quote I got from the shop, I'm all ears.
I'm very interested in what you end up deciding because I am looking at the Lseat covers as well vs professional. I have 3 rows to deal with. I have seen pictures on Lseat installs on their site and it looks loose to me. Could be that the person didn't buy new padding?
 
I don't know... $2500 for both rows for materials and labor doesn't sound that bad to me. For a single row, I would say it's expensive though.
 
I put the Lseat leather on and it’s nice enough, but it looks and feels cheap. I wish I would have gone with better leather. The PO did the driver bottom with Lseat leather a few years before I bought it and it’s already wearing thin. I won’t waste my money just to “save” a couple hundred bucks again
 
@TamLC80 how are your hands? Installing upholstery is hard on the hands, especially if not warm. There’s a lot that goes into it. The extra $1,800 for the tools, hog rings, and labor seems like a pretty good deal.

I’d wager their leather is better quality as well.
 
Thanks for the thoughts and feedback. I am leaning towards the professional work, but would love to get some more feedback on the Lseats. @wizmariefa I appreciate that. My other concern as mentioned in this thread is that they will be loose when I'm done. @tacocat I think I could manage, but I hear you and would def agree the difference is probably worth it.

I'll make sure to update this thread with the decision and results when it happens. Any more feedback in the mean time will be greatly appreciated!
 
I have LSeat and have installed it on an 80 and a 100. hard work like mentioned above, and i would have paid more if i could have gotten cloth to replace leather. but i am biased and hate leather seats. of course if we had good after market cloth that is way easier to install than leather. cloth takes me half the time to put on. Even with my seats being in good shape, i would trade them for good cloth seats. I would have to install heaters in them like i did under the leather ones, but worth work to not have leather anymore.
 
Great question as I am currently working on a similar project. I am planning to do a hybrid approach. Buying the seat from Cam at Mosley Motors (check their website at MOSLEY MOTORS - https://www.mosleymotors.com/) and will then find a local installer. If you decide on the DIY approach, here is a great thread ( Installation of replacement leather - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/installation-of-replacement-leather.217863/) . Looking at all the steps I think a professional installer would do a better job but I don't trust their sourcing, hence using Mosley for he cover.
 
@rdcnj, I agree. That's why I wanted to use a professional installer as I would think they can also access high quality seat foam. Also want to add a heater and see a great thread on that bit. Hopefully the installer can do that part as well.
 
@MPS Great recommendation. I'm going to look into this. Depending on how much they'll charge for labor, this looks like a very good option, assuming the kit fits well? Have you seen any of these kits installed, in person?
 
@rdcnj, I agree. That's why I wanted to use a professional installer as I would think they can also access high quality seat foam. Also want to add a heater and see a great thread on that bit. Hopefully the installer can do that part as well.

I bought the Land Cruiser Heaven seats with foam, wish I had held out. The Mosley's looks like so much of a closer match. Oh well.

But I will likely still get the Mosley heating and cooling seat package to use with the LCH leather. Now that I got a parts truck, I can work on the seats while still being able to drive the truck. When I start I'll put in updates, but OP might be done before I get started.
 
I have the Lseat option and i have had to resort to seat covers to hide how crap they look after 3 years. The quality is sketchy to say the least. One of mine is already torn and you can see that not many (or none) cows died to make these.
Definitely wouldn't go the lseat route again.
 
@TamLC80 - I haven't seen the full covers but did receive some samples. They were a good match and the leather seemed like high quality. Will post when I receive the covers and also on the price for installation.
 
I have LSeat and have installed it on an 80 and a 100. hard work like mentioned above, and i would have paid more if i could have gotten cloth to replace leather. but i am biased and hate leather seats. of course if we had good after market cloth that is way easier to install than leather. cloth takes me half the time to put on. Even with my seats being in good shape, i would trade them for good cloth seats. I would have to install heaters in them like i did under the leather ones, but worth work to not have leather anymore.
Funny, I can't stand cloth due to how easy they stain and how hard to clean.
 
I have the Lseat option and i have had to resort to seat covers to hide how crap they look after 3 years. The quality is sketchy to say the least. One of mine is already torn and you can see that not many (or none) cows died to make these.
Definitely wouldn't go the lseat route again.
Good feeback. Definitely will avoid em. Sometimes my cheapness gets the best of me.
 
Funny, I can't stand cloth due to how easy they stain and how hard to clean.
I get pretty filthy from grease to dirt from hiking, camping, mountain biking, so I just made some terry cloth seat covers that i put on when needed and wash with towels. But there are some really good coatings that you can get for cloth that makes stuff just not stick to it or even penetrate. I've always been able to keep cloth looking nicer for longer and it be more comfortable. the GF... well she is nasty so she has to have leather.
 
I ended up cheaping out. Went with Wet Okole covers in my 80 and now both 100s. No doubt that the original leather is magnificent but the cost of replacement to OEM standards is too great IMO. The wet okole covers are spectacular with the exception of basically losing the heated seats. Just my $0.02.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom