Living in southern california, I am concerned about the wear and tear on the front seats. In order to preserve the value of the vehicle and the quality of the leather, I am considering getting quality sheepskin covers. I would appreciate any tips or suggestions.

 

ManojCpa,

To be honest I think sheepskin covers on your SC430 will look pretty tacky.. Just use good quality leather cleaner/conditioner like Lexol or Zaino's Z10 Leather in a Bottle and you should have no issues with keeping the leather flexible and looking its best.. Also a good tip is when its really hot outside when your car is parked is to put the roof up but i'm sure you do that anyways.. Hope that helps!

 

I was recently helping a coworker order seat covers for his '02 Beetle when it hit me that we couldn't because the car has side-impact airbags mounted in the front-seat upper cushions. Same case with the SC.

I would recommend just keeping your seats conditioned. I'm currently using Griot's leather care. It provides some light cleaning of the leather while conditioning, and adding leather scent too! As they say, a little goes a long way and you can condition them quite quickly. I try to condition the leather seats in my 2000 DeVille every 6 months and they still look new, except for the marks my black leather belts leave on the seat back of my interior which is only a little darker than the SC's "ecru" leather. Being a stickler for keeping the leather looking as clean and new as possible, I fold a large beach towel in two and lay it over the seat cushion if I'm wearing shorts.

I like the sheepskin seat covers, had some in a '79 Mercedes and a '93 Camry. Nice and comfy. Too bad we can't use them! But I think I prefer leather seats for durability.

Robert

 

They do make custom seat covers for seats with side airbags

Sideless Seatcovers

 

NONONONO, dont do it...Id rather drive around on a crate then put sheepskin covers in the SC. Just take care of the leather, thats all.

 

I can hook you up with that can do it for under a grand. Just pm me if your ever intrested

 

These don't really look too bad and there tailor made to the SC, this picture is just off their websiteSideless Seat Cover

 

As an alternative, I just purchased cotton seat covers from Jeans Seat International (see autoseats.com). They came in 3 pieces: base, seat back and headrest. They are custom made for the car and are made with a heavy denim/cotton.

The cost was $139. The quality and fit are good. They come in any color. However, there was no slit in the seatback for the airbag.

This is the second time I've dealt with this company, and I haven't had a problem. The guy has a very strong accent, so I recommend that you confirm any order with a fax.

 

some sheepskin covers don't look too bad, imho. just the ones where they're slightly yellow/cream color - sort of the stereotypical color.

mercedes has some great charcoal/black colored merino wool covers (short hair) that help keep you cool during the summer (b/c it allows air to sort of circulate) and warm during the winter. not saying i would buy them, but it's not too bad.

a nice cloth cover would probably look decent too if you color complemented it correctly.

my other suggestion is also to just try to maintain the leather and if it wears, think about getting it reupholstered in the future.