I'm thinking of swapping out my OEM leather for perforated like to CLK 55's

anyone have experience with custom leather work? price? fitting?

THANKS!

 

You can get "Toyota grade" leather in any car for around $1,200 installed. If you want something nicer, expect to spend around $2,500 and up.

 

RU talking about the stuff that Benz use for ventilated/cooled seats? If so it is expensive.

 

I think seats that are reupholstered always look a little off. Even when somebody buys factory skins they never fit quite the same - like a loose fitting suit. There are probably guys out there who can do it perfect, like ones who do high end restoration work, but they probably aren't cheap. Also note that MB sews the perforated leather differenty than the smooth leather. Not saying you have to, but IMO it looks better the way MB does it. Easiest to see on the center seam of the seats backs. The perforated leather is drum tight. The smooth leather is sewn loosley with pleats or wrinkles all the way down.

 

My BIL has worked in the car sales business for almost 20 years now and he has had many cars reupholstered in leather. He's drive a few of them himself. The ones I have seen, where he had a professional shop do the work, look fantastic. He had a Chevy Trailblazer that he put leather in and it looked better than factory (of course with Chevy, maybe that's not so hard?). I also saw a guy replace the leather in a seat in an SL500 once and it looked perfect, using factory parts. it can be done well, you just need to make sure the shop doing it is a good one.

 

Because vehicles maintain value in SA - The dealer used car sections will frequently replace factory leather on driver's or front seats to aid resale. The factory kits look perfect if properly installed. They come off the same production line as OE fit. Same cut/size/stitching etc.