leather, or not.

[RickOKC]

I was under the impression that the front seats were leather on the front (where your body touches), and something else (pleather) on the back.

From what I've read, that's very common in the biz. Most manufacturers do exactly what you said. Others wouldn't even use leather on the "black sections" of the bottom of the seat surface, and still others would use vinyl on the parts where your back touches.

The guy that looked at mine is a pro, but I will say that he only gave a 1/2-second glance to the back seat.

[technocoy]

I'm pretty certain the entire front seats are leather. For one you can completely feel the difference. The other big clue is that if you apply leather conditioner it absorbs properly on the front, not on the back seats.

I could be wrong, but the hand on the back of the seats is very much like real leather, and pretty much identical to the front where there is little wear.

[blacksambo]

I think you right. The back seating area on a '99 is leather. Cars.com lists this as so on their '99 features list but not on the 2000 or 2001 models. Intersting? Other thoughts?

[DeepSilentComplete]

Hey, great thread! I will be getting my monster out of the shop on Monday (daughter rear-ended someone while driving. That will be the last time...) and I have been thinking about redoing or replacing the seats. My leather front seats are showing some wear (leather is peeling). Any thoughts on redoing or replacing? Is there a more modern Recaro seat that you know of that fits well as a replacement?

[VX KAT]

I have been thinking about redoing or replacing the seats. My leather front seats are showing some wear (leather is peeling). Any thoughts on redoing or replacing? Is there a more modern Recaro seat that you know of that fits well as a replacement?

"Wintermute" in Santa Monica had his red/black leather seats completely reconditioned and re-dyed about 3 months ago, even had one small cut repaired...I think they were done on site too. The guy custom mixed dye to match both colors. He sent me before/after pics and it was amazing. I believe he said it was like $700 for the 2 fronts. Now you can pretty much buy 2 replacement seats for that, heck even buy all 4 from that one seller on bay, but they looked virtually new, just a top notch job. Don't know the company name, but wintermute would. Or maybe he could tell you what the technique/process was called and you could try to find someone that way.

[VXR]

The back seating area on a '99 is leather

is this true???

[vt_maverick]

I can say with pretty good authority that the front of our back seats are leather, and the back (part facing the tailgate) is vinyl. About two months into my VX ownership my dog decided to climb out of the cargo area and in the process shredded the seat backs. When I had it repaired the upholsterers told me I was lucky that the damage was only to the back of the seats, because repairing vinyl was much cheaper than repairing leather.