Alcantara Seat Repair Options

[Whammy]

All,

It is finally time for me to start considering repairing the front seats in my car. One of the seats has the suede starting to tear (see pictures below). What options do I have at getting these seats repaired?

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j226/duraznostj/E46/seat1_zps60528568.jpg
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j226/duraznostj/E46/seat2_zpsbcd7f9ca.jpg

[ELCID86]

I had a quote from a local shop when I was looking at a car with similar seat bolster (whole). I think it was in the $250 range. Not sure about matching color, etc. can you clean and use a sweater shaver on the lower portion?


Thumbs, iPhone, Tapatalk.

[Vas]

Bottom cushion is not that bad and a fabric shaved should be able to clean it up. Upper portion will require having the hole patched or buying a complete new section which is expensive iirc. Some members here had similar holes just repaired. Not sire how close of a match it was in color and material.

[derbo]

I have the same hole.. I think I got quoted $250 to reupholster that section only. The cost of the OEM upper skin is about under $600 not including labor to install.

I put my recaro seat in while I ponder what to do..

[Silber92]

I think repair may be about the only option available at this point. When I was checking on replacement upholstery for my vert, even though the parts show up in online catalogs (Tischer, TheBMWStore, ECS) most pieces are NLA. May be a different story for coupes and sedans though. Plus even if they are available, the pricing is insane.

Most decent upholstery shops should be able to handle the repair with no problem, and the price quotes above seem right in line. I was told $300-400 for the driver's upper and lower bolsters, inner and outer, one section of rear seat bottom and driver's armrest. I think I got that quote before my upholsterer had a price list for the Alcantara.

There are a lot of aftermarket ultrasuede materials out there, so far I've only been able to find one place that retails the genuine Alcantara, Gulf Fabrics out of FL. The aftermarket stuff may be an exact match, but I'd prefer to spend a little more and have it look factory fresh. Haven't checked with Coby or Kevin Chinn at Creative Options though to see if they can source it. My local gal said it was pricey at $175 a yard, but that should be enough to do front seat, the door armrests and possibly the rear seat section.

Good luck and let us know what you end up doing.

[Torxuvin]

It cost me about 500 to replace both at a local fabric shop. A good match is key though. They had to order stuff from Cali. Mike at Coby is great, but when I spoke with him he didn't have any suggestions/help for seats.

[MrMaico]

If you're in need of some bulk fabric there is this place mentioned earlier......

http://www.gulffabrics.com/alcanta.htm

Just remember, the OEM stuff is 9002 Grey Alcantara.

[derbo]

Good to know about the fabric! I'll try talk to local fabric shop and see if they are willing to do it with the oem fabric. :)

[Hermes]

I wish Gulf had M8 Alcantara :(

[derbo]

I wish Gulf had M8 Alcantara :(

Don't we all. It would be nice to have the M-Tech Cloth too..


Anyone know a good local upholstery in the bay area?

[Wag42]

I just had this done on my sons car. They replaced 5 areas on the drivers seat for $350, not including the Alcantara ($115/yard). They came out on a Wednesday to remove the upper/lower covers, sewed them up on Thursday, then returned Friday and re-installed. They turned out pretty good.

[gmurphy]

I just had this done on my sons car. They replaced 5 areas on the drivers seat for $350, not including the Alcantara ($115/yard). They came out on a Wednesday to remove the upper/lower covers, sewed them up on Thursday, then returned Friday and re-installed. They turned out pretty good.

Pics?


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[ryankokesh]

I gotta figure this out too. My patch job is ok for now, but I'd love it to be factory fresh again.


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[328ioc]

I gotta figure this out too. My patch job is ok for now, but I'd love it to be factory fresh again.


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This is my goal too. Eventually I would love to have the seats back to factory.

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[ELCID86]

Someone has to be offering this service at a reasonable price, don't they? Maybe Mike needs to expand to CobySeats ;-)


Tapatalk on iPad

[derbo]

Convince him. I'll pull my seat cover to ship to him. LOL


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[ryankokesh]

Convince him. I'll pull my seat cover to ship to him. LOL


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I don't think he'd have a shortage of business with all the bolster rips around here.

Folks need to be more careful getting into their cars....

[derbo]

I don't think he'd have a shortage of business with all the bolster rips around here.

Folks need to be more careful getting into their cars....

I'm just fat Ryan. :rofl

[ryankokesh]

I'm just fat Ryan. :rofl

Haha, me too, but I get in very gingerly!


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[derbo]

Haha, me too, but I get in very gingerly!


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honestly I don't think there is much that can be done. I think my bolster wear comes from movement during driving.

[coby1]

most fabric is rated with what they call "double rub rating" i do not know if the Alcantara has a rated "Rub" but movement -getting in out -weight-driving to some extent will cause a certain amount of friction to the fabric so really just a matter of time
as far as replacing i can tell you it is just a pita to do ( very time consuming) you have to take out seat, take apart, clip all the hidden hog rings cut apart, sew and then reverse the process (it took me several days to do my front seats)and i am still driving around with a grey rear seat (need to get to that one of these days lol) but when a upholstery shop wants to charge 300+ to do repairs they really are kind of earning their pay

[ryankokesh]

most fabric is rated with what they call "double rub rating" i do not know if the Alcantara has a rated "Rub" but movement -getting in out -weight-driving to some extent will cause a certain amount of friction to the fabric so really just a matter of time
as far as replacing i can tell you it is just a pita to do ( very time consuming) you have to take out seat, take apart, clip all the hidden hog rings cut apart, sew and then reverse the process (it took me several days to do my front seats)and i am still driving around with a grey rear seat (need to get to that one of these days lol) but when a upholstery shop wants to charge 300+ to do repairs they really are kind of earning their pay

Well shit... I knew you must have a secret wicked awesome custom interior you were hiding from us! :hawaiian

[danewilson77]

most fabric is rated with what they call "double rub rating" i do not know if the Alcantara has a rated "Rub" but movement -getting in out -weight-driving to some extent will cause a certain amount of friction to the fabric so really just a matter of time
as far as replacing i can tell you it is just a pita to do ( very time consuming) you have to take out seat, take apart, clip all the hidden hog rings cut apart, sew and then reverse the process (it took me several days to do my front seats)and i am still driving around with a grey rear seat (need to get to that one of these days lol) but when a upholstery shop wants to charge 300+ to do repairs they really are kind of earning their pay


Well shit... I knew you must have a secret wicked awesome custom interior you were hiding from us! :hawaiian

This.

http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?10187-BMW-E46-Front-seat-cover-hog-clip-count-gt-Seat-cover-replacement-doityourself&highlight=seat

[derbo]

most fabric is rated with what they call "double rub rating" i do not know if the Alcantara has a rated "Rub" but movement -getting in out -weight-driving to some extent will cause a certain amount of friction to the fabric so really just a matter of time
as far as replacing i can tell you it is just a pita to do ( very time consuming) you have to take out seat, take apart, clip all the hidden hog rings cut apart, sew and then reverse the process (it took me several days to do my front seats)and i am still driving around with a grey rear seat (need to get to that one of these days lol) but when a upholstery shop wants to charge 300+ to do repairs they really are kind of earning their pay

Well shit, You totally need to supply us with alcantara repair pieces ;)

[Wag42]

Pics?


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Sorry, don't get on this site as much as I would like to. I get some pic's in the next few days and post them...

[derbo]

Sorry, don't get on this site as much as I would like to. I get some pic's in the next few days and post them...

Any updates?


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