Seat Upgrade

[paullunaelsie]

Hello all just wondering if anyone can help.
We are looking to do something with our seats.
We are undecided on which way to go - whether we buys second skin seats covers or have the seats completely re-upholstered in leather.
Second skin seat covers look good buy we are wondering how hard they are to fit? Can they be taken off and washed and re-fitted?
Leather looks even better - is more expensive - but unsure if this would affect re-sale price of our van if we were to ever sell?
Our van is a 2017 plate Ocean.
Thanks

 

[Perfectos]

Is that your post code In your public profile pic ? Maybe an idea to change it.

I have a full leather retrim and love it , I had it done For me to enjoy / use, not in case of resale if the van

you will get several opinion from the forum, in the end its your van you do what you want to do and enjoy it whilst you own it, if leather retrim is appealing to you then it surely will appeal to others ?

I’ll post some previous threads to assist and get you going with your search Use tge search function top right (spyglass) to search the forum.

Leather upgrade by Seat Surgeons York. Perfect..

leather upgrade by Seat Surgeons York, outstanding service and perfect finish! Cannot recommend highly enough, any design or colours you want fitted perfectly ! Best service I have ever received and most professional company I have ever dealt with, honest give them a call and the will sort.

vwcaliforniaclub.com

Search results for query: seats covers

vwcaliforniaclub.com

Search results for query: Leather

vwcaliforniaclub.com

Lets see your leather interiors

Hi, I've decide to get my Cali Ocean re-trimmed in leather and imagine I will go with DK Schweizer based on the positive reviews of them on the forum here. Would love to see images of what you have had done to give me some inspiration as to colour schemes. Ideally I was thinking black leather...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

hope that helps get you started

 

[Jester]

Mine is in to DK Schweizer in 2 weeks, also upgrading the rear of the front seats to be a little more supportive. GTi like which is what they can offer.

 

[Mr T]

Mine is in to DK Schweizer in 2 weeks, also upgrading the rear of the front seats to be a little more supportive. GTi like which is what they can offer.

Look forward to seeing that when done!

 

[California Rob]

Mine is in to DK Schweizer in 2 weeks, also upgrading the rear of the front seats to be a little more supportive. GTi like which is what they can offer.

You will not be disappointed I had my cali done there. Excellent service excellent quality.

 

[Jester]

Look forward to seeing that when done!

Hi Chris, Will post in a couple of weeks.

 

[Jester]

You will not be disappointed I had my cali done there. Excellent service excellent quality.

Hi Rob actually went up and had a look at the place and talked to the guys so know what to expect.

 

[Perfectos]

Hi Rob actually went up and had a look at the place and talked to the guys so know what to expect.

Had mine done at DK, spot on.

looking forward to seeing the photos

 

[paullunaelsie]

Thanks for all of the replies.
Have decided to go with the leather. Currently talking to Matt at DK Schweizer to agree on spec and price.
Would be interested in seeing any photos anyone has of their leather seats.
Thanks

 

[Viktorgeorge]

These are mine done last April by them:

Leather Seat Covers

I should have made it clear in the post above that when I referred to “design” I was only talking about the I have been impressed by this classic leather seat design supplied for a California Grande and asked DKS to price for the same design for my California Ocean in my colour choice. DKS do...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

Overall I am very pleased with the result and costs, though there were two issues at DK Schweizer which I might mention. First is this clip feintly circled in red:

:


which I wrote to Rob at DK Schweitzer about as follows:

"
For the record .... I believe the cause of the airbag fault is that after the retrim, DK Schweitzer put the seats back with the black cable-tied clips (see photo) attached to the frame of the chair, restricting cable movement, when they should have been left loose. I have checked two other almost new T6.1 California Oceans, and in both cases the clips are left hanging. I would be interested to hear if the next California’s (with rotating seats) you retrim have ‘hanging’ clips.

I think those clips were intended only to hold the cables in place in the VW factory, until final assembly. I can understand why a conscientious technician would want to re-attach them, that was my own impulse too when I found them loose. If my conclusion is correct, then the clips would best be removed."


The second point is the trim around the rear headrests, the latter which I like to leave folded down for rear visibility unless I have rear passangers. The trim around the 'U' posts was poor:



but because I had a leather sample from them, I was able to make my own post-trim at home:


DK Schweizer said they were going to correct the issue in future, but you might just check this if you ever like to drop the headrests.

 

[California Rob]

Hi Rob actually went up and had a look at the place and talked to the guys so know what to expect.

These are mine done last April by them:

Leather Seat Covers

I should have made it clear in the post above that when I referred to “design” I was only talking about the I have been impressed by this classic leather seat design supplied for a California Grande and asked DKS to price for the same design for my California Ocean in my colour choice. DKS do...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

Overall I am very pleased with the result and costs, though there were two issues at DK Schweizer which I might mention. First is this clip feintly circled in red:

:

View attachment 118646
which I wrote to Rob at DK Schweitzer about as follows:

"
For the record .... I believe the cause of the airbag fault is that after the retrim, DK Schweitzer put the seats back with the black cable-tied clips (see photo) attached to the frame of the chair, restricting cable movement, when they should have been left loose. I have checked two other almost new T6.1 California Oceans, and in both cases the clips are left hanging. I would be interested to hear if the next California’s (with rotating seats) you retrim have ‘hanging’ clips.

I think those clips were intended only to hold the cables in place in the VW factory, until final assembly. I can understand why a conscientious technician would want to re-attach them, that was my own impulse too when I found them loose. If my conclusion is correct, then the clips would best be removed."


The second point is the trim around the rear headrests, the latter which I like to leave folded down for rear visibility unless I have rear passangers. The trim around the 'U' posts was poor:

View attachment 118648

but because I had a leather sample from them, I was able to make my own post-trim at home:

View attachment 118649
DK Schweizer said they were going to correct the issue in future, but you might just check this if you ever like to drop the headrests.

I thought i would share a few images of my seats ive saved over the months.
I didnt have any problems at all. If i remember correctly DK Schweizer give a warranty so if anyone had a problem im quite sure they would sort it out.

 

[Jester]

I thought i would share a few images of my seats ive saved over the months.
I didnt have any problems at all. If i remember correctly DK Schweizer give a warranty so if anyone had a problem im quite sure they would sort it out.

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Thanks Rob very reassuring to see a great standard of finish and also the warrant, which I didn’t even think about.
Your not an ex boater by any chance?

Will

 

[derek_j_buchanan]

There’s a company on here that will fit seat covers for not very much. If it’s about looks go for high quality, I.e.: pay’s your money makes your choice. Quality = £

 

[California Rob]

Thanks Rob very reassuring to see a great standard of finish and also the warrant, which I didn’t even think about.
Your not an ex boater by any chance?

Will

No. You must be referring to the crockery. They just happen to go with the colour of the van. I like things to flow. Having leather fitted to my van was one of the first things I decided to do before I got the van. The standard seat covers I hated from the start the upgrade velour I just couldn’t part with my money they wasn’t much better than the standard ones. Personally i think the leather in my vans brings it to the level an £80,000 camper should be.

 

[Jester]

No. You must be referring to the crockery. They just happen to go with the colour of the van. I like things to flow. Having leather fitted to my van was one of the first things I decided to do before I got the van. The standard seat covers I hated from the start the upgrade velour I just couldn’t part with my money they wasn’t much better than the standard ones. Personally i think the leather in my vans brings it to the level an £80,000 camper should be.

I was. You should try living with the GC upholstery, it’s really crap, so I went for leather.

 

[paullunaelsie]

Rob,
Your seats are awesome, just what we were looking for.
Do you have the codes of the swatches that your seats are made from?

 

[Perfectos]

Rob,
Your seats are awesome, just what we were looking for.
Do you have the codes of the swatches that your seats are made from?

If you contact DK they will send you a bunch of leather swatches

 

[California Rob]

Rob,
Your seats are awesome, just what we were looking for.
Do you have the codes of the swatches that your seats are made from?

i dont im sorry to say.but DK will know exactly what you will need. Im not really one for bigging up companys or leaving reviews but i had such a great experience with them i feel the need to share my findings with my fellow Transporter owners.

 

[Viktorgeorge]

One of the staff at DK Schweizer explained something interesting. Traditionally leather car seats have layout 'panels' like this:



And this is intended to disguise ‘cheek dents’ (although I think he may have used a slightly more colloquial expression). Over time the alternative ‘modern’ design of larger, in particular side to side (rather than front to back), stitched panels of leather tend to mirror more, and emphasise, the shape of what sits on them. The fine cross stitching (sometimes diagonal) used in some leather seats, including newer Bentleys, does disguise these ‘stretched hollows’ to some extent but the most effective long term design for maintaining appearances could still be as above.

 

[Azteccamper]

I thought i would share a few images of my seats ive saved over the months.
I didnt have any problems at all. If i remember correctly DK Schweizer give a warranty so if anyone had a problem im quite sure they would sort it out.

View attachment 118650

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Some of the nicest I’ve seen fair play. Are you allowed to tell me how much?

 

[California Rob]

Some of the nicest I’ve seen fair play. Are you allowed to tell me how much?

Yes of cause. If I remember correctly I paid about £1,800 off the top of my head. I have the 5th seat and I think that was about £300 extra.

 

[scottk]

Yes of cause. If I remember correctly I paid about £1,800 off the top of my head. I have the 5th seat and I think that was about £300 extra.

That is great value compared to the VW pleather. Looks so much better and more comfortable.

 

[Perfectos]

Full leather is not expensive