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Do I want leather seats?


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Dh and I have narrowed our search down to 2 vehicles. They're the same year (2012) and cost the same but have a couple differences.

 

Biggest difference is Vehicle A has 3800 more miles on it but has leather seats. Vehicle B has less miles, good looking rims & the exterior looks much nicer to both dh and I (body style, not condition of vehicle). I also prefer the colors of Vehicle B (light & light interior) to Vehicle A (dark & dark interior).

 

It's basically coming down to either the better looking vehicle (vanity, vanity, I know :rolleyes: but we're spending our hard saved money and going to drive this for the next 8-10 years) or leather seats.

 

I don't really care for how Vehicle A looks but at the end of the day if leather is *that* much better, I'll tolerate it, kwim? Every other feature, the vehicles are completely equal (due to some good haggling on dh's part ;))

 

FWIW, we have lots of kids (many still in car seats) and dogs.

 

Leather seats are NOT heated. :) Oh & we can't keep looking. We've been looking for months and this is the closest we've ever come to the "perfect" vehicle for us. Plus, our current one is in dire need of repairs so we don't to fix it only to replace it in the very near future.

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If you got leather, I would get a darker leather with kids. The thing is, cloth seats can be shampooed and typically "give" more when stretched with car seats, etc. We have leather in one vehicle and cloth in another.

 

My only complaint would be lighter color carpet just doesn't go well with many kids, but we have GA red clay here, so dirt on feet stain the carpet.

 

I would go with the car that looks the best maintained, honestly.

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Eh. I've never understood the draw of leather seats. Cold in the winter, hot and sticky in the summer.

 

Leather seats make for the easiest clean up if you have dogs that routinely ride in the car with you and shed and get dirty. To me, that is the only advantage.

 

I would go with the car that looks the best maintained, honestly.

 

:iagree:We have one with leather and one with cloth. Dog hair on cloth is an annoyance, but not one that would cause me to add 3800 miles to my vehicle. My in-laws have wrinkled their noses over sitting with a few dog hairs (they are not allergic), but I always figure, if they want a ride they can deal with it. The dog hair doesn't bother me much and if you're really concerned you can get a specially designed removable seat cover for dogs.

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Eh. I've never understood the draw of leather seats. Cold in the winter, hot and sticky in the summer.

 

:iagree: We have a vehicle with leather seats and I HATE them. We only bought this car because it's my parents old car and they gave it to us for dirt cheap. It's my DH's commuter car, so I'm happy not to have to drive it much. I would never intentionally buy leather seats in a car.

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I despise leather, so I'd pick whichever one DOESN't have leather seats. I refused an upgrade to the next level when I bought our van, even though it came with stuff I wanted, because it also came with leather seats.

 

Hot in the summer, cold in the winter, and a PITA to install carseats on. Plus I just do not enjoy the feel of it, even in moderate temps. It cleans up easy, but the tradeoffs are not worth it to me. I'd prefer stained cloth to perfectly clean leather.

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Eh. I've never understood the draw of leather seats. Cold in the winter, hot and sticky in the summer.

 

I really wanted them. I thought they would be easy to clean. And they are. However, you have to condition them with leather conditioner OFTEN or eventually they will start cracking and breaking. (Ask me how I know :crying:)

 

They are more upkeep than I bargained for.

 

I would go with the car you like the most regardless of the seats.:)

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All of our cars have leather seats, and they have been fine with car seats, booster seats, dogs, and cat carriers. I prefer heated and ventilated (cooled) seats for comfort.

 

That said, in your case, I would choose the car with the fabric seats, because it's pretty obvious that you like it a lot better than the one with the leather seats. Truthfully, many years ago we had a car with cloth seats, and it was super-comfy, so I don't have any particular prejudice against them -- it's just that fabric seats aren't an option in the cars we buy, so there's no choice to be made. (Well, they offer some "leather-like" vinyl option called MB-Tex, but even with a fancy name, it's still pleather to me, so I'm not going there. :tongue_smilie:)

 

Ultimately, I don't think you should choose a car based on whether or not it has leather seats. The other car you mentioned sounds like it's nicer and prettier all-around, so I think you should buy that one. And realistically, if the leather seats in the other car aren't heated and ventilated, the fabric seats will probably be more comfortable, anyway.

 

Whatever you get, I hope it turns out to be a great, reliable car that you will love for many years to come! :001_smile:

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We have leather seats. I was reluctant at first but have found I love them. Ours are easy to clean and very comfy even in our tropical climate. No problems with car seats, cracking, or 'swamp butt' :001_huh: :lol: that others have mentioned. That said, in your case with your description of your options, it sounds like you are better off with the car with cloth seats and less miles.

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I don't like leather seats, for all the reasons mentioned plus my tuchas slides around. You perceive driving through your feet, hands, and bum, and when your bum is sliding around... Yeah.

 

Our van has leather because I wanted heated seats and the Eco engine, and Honda inextricably links these features with leather. Evidently, something about hide is integral in turning off cylinders when cruising. Who knew?

 

I dislike them every bit as much as I did 6 years ago. I keep jackets in the car when it's 100+ outside so I can drape them over the seats and avoid an embarassing stay in the burn unit. Sigh.

 

Get the car you want, not the car you have to overlook a lot of to have a "feature" you may hate.

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I'm, probably, the only one to vote against leather. Our wonderful, loaded Sienna has them and I haven't liked them at all. My husband pointed out most of the reasons I don't like them would probably happen in cloth but I don't want to pay more for something I don't want to happen that would mostly have happened anyway! You know what I mean?

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Dh and I have narrowed our search down to 2 vehicles. They're the same year (2012) and cost the same but have a couple differences.

 

Biggest difference is Vehicle A has 3800 more miles on it but has leather seats. Vehicle B has less miles, good looking rims & the exterior looks much nicer to both dh and I (body style, not condition of vehicle). I also prefer the colors of Vehicle B (light & light interior) to Vehicle A (dark & dark interior).

 

It's basically coming down to either the better looking vehicle (vanity, vanity, I know :rolleyes: but we're spending our hard saved money and going to drive this for the next 8-10 years) or leather seats.

 

I don't really care for how Vehicle A looks but at the end of the day if leather is *that* much better, I'll tolerate it, kwim? Every other feature, the vehicles are completely equal (due to some good haggling on dh's part ;))

 

FWIW, we have lots of kids (many still in car seats) and dogs.

 

Leather seats are NOT heated. :) Oh & we can't keep looking. We've been looking for months and this is the closest we've ever come to the "perfect" vehicle for us. Plus, our current one is in dire need of repairs so we don't to fix it only to replace it in the very near future.

 

I love my leather seats, but in the situation you outlined, I wouldn't want the vehicle with leather. Pick the one you like better. Add seat covers later if you want to.

 

Lisa

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And they CRACK. Especially if its hot and you don't put anything on them.

 

However, you have to condition them with leather conditioner OFTEN or eventually they will start cracking and breaking. (Ask me how I know :crying:)

 

They are more upkeep than I bargained for.

 

All I can think is that different brands of cars must have different grades of leather seats, because I have always had leather seats in my cars, and have never once had to condition them or treat them in any special way. I never had the slightest problem with cracking, even with cars that were never garaged. In fact, one of my neighbors bought my 1985 Porsche several years ago, and he still has it (he's a car collector,) and the seats still look like new.

 

So it must depend on the car. I would be incredibly angry if the seats in my car started to crack!

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I had leather seats when my kids were young. Our car seats were almost impossible to install; they would just slide on the leather. I think car seats have improved and the belting mechanisms in cars are better for car seats today, but you might consider trying the car seats out on the leather before choosing leather.

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Eh. I've never understood the draw of leather seats. Cold in the winter, hot and sticky in the summer.

 

:iagree:

 

I have medium gray cloth seats in my car. We bought it when my daughter was two. She's a teen now. The seats look great. All I did was keep a big gray towel over the back seat. The same towel has been in there for 13 years. I wash it when I clean the car and put it right back.

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