[Sciros]

I was getting into my Vette late last night as I was leaving work, and I was climbing in rather awkwardly as I was carrying my laptop bag. I ended up sliding my arse across the side bolster of the seat as I got in and felt something catch and tear.

It wasn't a very nice sound to hear either.

Turns out my new-ish jeans (subsequently thrown out with contempt) had studs that were hexagonal rather than round, and worse yet one of the studs -- on the left back pocket, was poking out a bit and with an extremely sharp angled point. It was that sharpened point that caught on the seat and gave it a nice long scratch.

About 8 centimeters long, 2mm wide and maybe 0.5mm deep. Not cool, not cool at all. These are nice competition seats, too.

The car is leased. :-/

I am going to call my insurance company tomorrow to see if this is an incident they might cover with comprehensive. I am not sure such damage can be repaired -- in fact I am almost sure that to make it "good as new" it would indeed need to be new, i.e. replaced, and that does not sound like something cheap. I might have a leather/upholstery repair specialist take a look at it next week as well, but I'm not very optimistic about the options.

What a bummer, ha! Seriously, of all the stupid things that can happen, this one just seems so random. Super minor in terms of big picture but still, the first one always stings. Kinda wish the jeans cut me instead cause that would probably hurt a little less

 

[glen e]

Youll be surprised what a good leather guy can do, looks fixable....

 

[Milliwatt Rob]

I rarely wear jeans just for that reason. Casual pants worn around cars are mostly Dickies work pants.

 

[NightRaceRick]

Hopefully you can get it fixed as glen stated. I gouged mine in the C6 beyond repair and thought I could have a new panel sewn in, but no one would touch it as the side of the seatback had specific type seams that conceal the side air bag that is located in the seatback. Can't blame them for not wanting to take on the liability. Had to have the whole seatback cover replaced.

 

[glen e]

I post this about every month. It is not imporatnt to me thst when im running around town and such that i sit on the leather.. I use AIRES SEAT DEFENDER that go on and off in 10 secs for weekdays. When i want to show the car or have guests, they rollup and store. My seats look brand new after 8000 miles. Brand new. Google them....

 

[Sciros]

Hey Glen, yeah seat covers are nice. I have custom nice ones (Wet Okole) on my Forester XT because the dog rides in that car and she's got sharp claws. But the Vette... I usually take pretty good care of all my things and considering I paid extra for totally bitchin' seats \m/ I really don't want to cover them up while enjoying my time in the car :-D

Hopefully this won't be a recurring thing. I'll see in the next few days (by mid-day Tuesday) what my options are, I think

Still, as easy as those are to put on and take off... maybe worth considering at the very least. Thanks for the tip on the brand.

 

[Geo Vette]

I will never cover my beautiful Kalahari tan
leather seats. I want to enjoy them every
second I am driving. Had a buddy sit in drivers
seat he had something that left a mark.
Luckily Mother's Leather cleaner took off the
mark and seats still look new after 4000 miles.
Oh I don't cover my sofa in plastic either.
Just my way of doing things.
Geo Vette

 

[glen e]

I will never cover my beautiful Kalahari tan
leather seats. I want to enjoy them every
second I am driving. Had a buddy sit in drivers
seat he had something that left a mark.
Luckily Mother's Leather cleaner took off the
mark and seats still look new after 4000 miles.
Oh I don't cover my sofa in plastic either.
Just my way of doing things.
Geo Vette

A rather snarky comment, im surprised....these covers come off in 5 - 10 secs, hardly a living room plastic cover, but i knew id get this crap when i put them up...

Oh well....a few have written me in the past it helped them.....

 

[Ret9580]

I post this about every month. It is not imporatnt to me thst when im running around town and such that i sit on the leather.. I use AIRES SEAT DEFENDER that go on and off in 10 secs for weekdays. When i want to show the car or have guests, they rollup and store. My seats look brand new after 8000 miles. Brand new. Google them....

I could have sworn your car was Cyber Gray Metallic with a red interior, not a Lime Rock Green with Brownstone....LOL! I'll give you a kudos, those would work PERFECT for my 3-4 trips to the gym a week! I've used a towel in the past, but that cover looks easier to keep the perspiration off the seats. As usual Glen, you ALWAYS have the answer!

 

[glen e]

LOL....just a pic i had from somebody else that sent it to me..... they work great for my 80 lb golden who really does not need to "bathe himself in my leather"

 

[Ret9580]

they work great for my 80 lb golden who really does not need to "bathe himself in my leather"

That's cool! My copilot passed away in July, it will take my wife quite a bit longer before we get another.

 

[Sciros]

Ordered those covers, Glen. Thanks for the tip on those. Don't know if I'll always use them... probably the day I don't something will happen to the seats again and I'll be super frustrated with my misfortune hahah.

I tried to put covers on my fancy white leather couch to protect from the dog but it got to be too much of a pain because she'd launch off there at high acceleration (italian greyhound) and pull the covers partially off within moments. Or she'd sprint and then leap onto the couch at 20mph. So a corner of the couch has some great scratches, as if a cat went to town on it. I figure screw it, the couch is just a couch. But the Vette's a bit different, heh.

Anyway, seems the "comprehensive" will not cover wardrobe malfunction related mishaps. So hopefully the leather/upholstery repair guy I see on Tuesday will look at it and give me some better news.

 

[LT1xL82]

I'd be interested in what the leather/upholstery shop says. I'd think some dye might make the damage way less noticeable.

 

[Kathoga]

I banned the wife from her fancy jeans (miss Me's) from riding in the car for this reason. If she does, she has to sit on a towel.

 

[muzzyc7]

Hey glen e I thought I was the only guy out there covering seats with a temporary on and off cover. Actually have had the same type of abrasion in my wife's car from a ----en screwdriver in my back pocket. By the way I also have temporary floor mats to protect my Lloyds mats and stainless sill protectors to prevent scuffing when getting in and out of car. I try not to mention this in public to avoid being carted away if you get my drift.

 

[glen e]

Hey glen e I thought I was the only guy out there covering seats with a temporary on and off cover. Actually have had the same type of abrasion in my wife's car from a ----en screwdriver in my back pocket. By the way I also have temporary floor mats to protect my Lloyds mats and stainless sill protectors to prevent scuffing when getting in and out of car. I try not to mention this in public to avoid being carted away if you get my drift.

Screw em, nothing wrong with protecting your stuff....LOL

 

[docjb]

That's my LRG/Brownstone StingRay with the Aries brown seat cover. I've had it on there for 8 months and find not only does it protect the driver's seat (which takes 90% of the abuse), but it also makes it easier to "slide" in and out of the seat. As glen e says, "on and off" in less than 15 seconds. I don't think that anybody will be "carted off" for caring for a multi-thousand dollar purchase. I've had Xpel installed too. Plus I use a small clear plastic mat over my StingRay mats. Makes me happy and that's reason enough for me. Just my opinion...

 

[Buckeye4]

I have used Dr. Martens Wonder Balsam to repair scratches on my CR-V's leather steering wheel. I was surprised how well it worked.

 

[Mike [email protected]]

I was getting into my Vette late last night as I was leaving work, and I was climbing in rather awkwardly as I was carrying my laptop bag. I ended up sliding my arse across the side bolster of the seat as I got in and felt something catch and tear.

It wasn't a very nice sound to hear either.

Turns out my new-ish jeans (subsequently thrown out with contempt) had studs that were hexagonal rather than round, and worse yet one of the studs -- on the left back pocket, was poking out a bit and with an extremely sharp angled point. It was that sharpened point that caught on the seat and gave it a nice long scratch.

About 8 centimeters long, 2mm wide and maybe 0.5mm deep. Not cool, not cool at all. These are nice competition seats, too.

The car is leased. :-/

I am going to call my insurance company tomorrow to see if this is an incident they might cover with comprehensive. I am not sure such damage can be repaired -- in fact I am almost sure that to make it "good as new" it would indeed need to be new, i.e. replaced, and that does not sound like something cheap. I might have a leather/upholstery repair specialist take a look at it next week as well, but I'm not very optimistic about the options.

What a bummer, ha! Seriously, of all the stupid things that can happen, this one just seems so random. Super minor in terms of big picture but still, the first one always stings. Kinda wish the jeans cut me instead cause that would probably hurt a little less

View attachment 14365

I agree... I believe a real good leather repair man can fix that seat less expensive then going thru the insurance company. Please let me know how you do, We all have done similar stuff myself included several times over.

 

[thedofuss]

A rather snarky comment, im surprised....these covers come off in 5 - 10 secs, hardly a living room plastic cover, but i knew id get this crap when i put them up...

Oh well....a few have written me in the past it helped them.....

perhaps geo should be entitled to his opinion without censure. theres another site for that, as you well know.