Real world experience regarding Leather

Ok, disclaimer first, I'm sure there are tons of post about leather seats/covers for those of us who have cloth. I've tried searching, and there are pages to peel through. My wife recently replaced her daily with a Grand Cherokee Limited, and I can honestly say "I'm jealous".

From what I can come up with is that I have a choice between Clazzio and Katzkins. One being a cover over the cloth and DIY while the other is a cover replacement and requires professional installation. I've watched videos for the DIY, and can say, I can probably do what they are showing, but also don't want to be disappointed.

So, for those of you who have gone one way or the other, or have experience with both, what are your recommendations? Besides the wrecking yard for a Limieted or 1794 wreck, where else can someone find good leather seat covers/replacments?

Thanks in advance for any pointers.

 

I just ordered Katzkins. They are near factory fit so even though it takes a bit of work and time I'm still going to put them on myself. It's not like there is anything you need to alter or do besides remove and replace. You can order Katzkins from Toyota dealers so I feel more assured it's a quality product that even they install.

 

I will be having Katzins installed this coming week in my CrewMax. I can update with my experience if you would like.

I have been really busy so having a shop install them was a must, unfortunately due to their rules I had to purchase the covers from their shop. There is a great vendor on here with great prices that I would have loved to support instead though.

 

I installed leather on my '07. I got the covers on ebay and they were advertised as OEM. Removing the cloth was required. I read about it on line first, the guy complained his hands were sore AF afterwards but the job was straightforward. I work with my hands everyday so I thought, "effin pantywaist, won't make my hands sore." I was wrong. My hands were pretty sore afterwards but it did turn out really nice. I'd recommend doing seat heaters at the same time.

 

When you ordered, they gave you the option to DIY? Was that from Parker by chance? What kind of lead-time for delivery? Look forward to hearing/seeing the install.

 

This is pretty common play for most shops. A lot of times it comes down to warranty issues. I can't imagine there would be that much mark up on the price of the actual product, but it's their labor where they make their money. Show some pics when you get it done please.

 

Do you have pics of your interior or a link to them somewhere here on Tundras.com? I have seat heaters already, so that's a plus.

 

Sorry, no pics. That '07 was a couple Tundras ago, didn't join the forum 'til I got the '16

 

Yeah it’s understandable. This shop has a good reputation for other things, I’m hoping they do just as good with interiors as everything else.

I’ll post some pics once I get it back.

 

No, I bought them from @jhuey8947 on here. 14-17 days out. No shops will let you order unless they install. There is a local shop that said $200 to install I think so I may keep that option open but I’d like to try myself

 

I had black katzkins installed last year and paid a shop to do it along with window tint. I do not think the labor charges were outrageous to pay them to do it...I didn't buy the perforated seats but I am very happy with them so far (had em about 15 months now). Durable, easy to clean, looks great. I keep my truck in immaculate shape and leather condition the seats every few weeks.

 

Where do y’all find these shops at. Everyone I contacted was $750 and up..

 

If you have a shop that is charging $200 to install I would be worried about the quality of their work. OR I would drive there today and have them do my truck.

I have done both - I installed katzkin on my 2014 4 runner and swore I would never do it again. As much as I liked it my hands were sore and cut up for a week. It’s a time consuming process and you learn as you go. The last seat always looks better than the first!
I put clazzio on my 2019 tundra. Couldn’t be happier. MUCH easier install and removable - so if you decide to sell the truck you can easily remove and recoup a few dollars if you want. They’re as comfortable as factory leather and look great - totally custom fit. Take your time and stretch them to fit in the right places and you won’t even know they aren’t factory.

Again, my experience is that katzkin is a great product. But clazzio is very close in quality and fit and finish with a more palatable price point and ease of installation on top of that.

That said, if you can find a shop that will install a full set of katzkin for only $200 dollars you should buy them and schedule that appointment ASAP.

 

Along these lines of discusion, has anyone needed and found new seat cushions for thier Tundra?
The bottom ones are "worn" to the previous owners driving posture and it is litterally a pin in my back!

 

it’s a one man (lady actually) shop here that I found. She is the one that rebuilt the broken frame on my driver seatback, replaced some of the foam, and replaced the outside bolster fabric piece for $160. She does great work. When I picked up the truck I asked if she would do the install if I bought them and she said yes. Said about 200 so not sure if she thought only for 1 seat or not but she does great work and if I can’t install myself I’ll go to her.

 

Heck for $200 for all I’d let someone install lol

 

@danno266,

You just missed the Black Friday Katzkin special from @jhuey8947. From this thread, there are members who have done both professional and DIY installs. You can also get ideas of color combinations/options that you may not have thought about.

 

Oh boy, I guess I did!

Headed over to the thread to look through photos.

 

I had Katzkins installed last year by a pro. I arranged everything thru Katzkin on line and they actually followed up with phone calls. They do 0% interest a lot of times. Was about $1400 for both front and back. Love them would do it again.

 

I would have never thought to do 2-tone, until I saw these:





Black Wrap
Ash Grey FACES to match Headliner and pillars.
Tekstitch WINGS w/Black Stitch

 

I went with Katzkins and LOVE IT. I was pretty skeptical of it but, have had leather in my past few cars and my SR5 was cloth. That pushed me to go ahead and pull the trigger. VERY happy with it and can honestly say the feel/quality is much better then my old ZR2

 

I’m relieved to see all the positive comments about Katzkin while I am waiting for my install date haha

 

Posted this after I did mine. For anyone who wants to give it a try.
https://www.tundras.com/threads/diy-katzkins-with-seat-warmers.31828/

 

I just picked my truck up today after having Katzkin leather installed.

This is the first time ever going with aftermarket leather so I wasn’t sure what to expect.

First impression is that it looks OK. Next vehicle will have leather from the factory.

The place that installed it does a lot more than just interiors, so when I picked it up a service writer gave me the keys and took payment, no explanation of anything.

Not sure if it’s the recent install, cold weather, the Katzskin product, or the install but it looks frumpy to me. Not very tight and the leather doesn’t look as smooth as the factory leather in our other vehicles.

The seat heater switches were installed in a great spot and they heat up very well.

Not sure I would do it again, we’ll have to see how it looks once the temps warm up and it has some time to settle in.

Been busy so I only snagged one pic in the garage with poor lighting, I can get more at a later date.

 

It will even out over time and the creases will level out.

 

Good to hear, I’m hoping so.

 

That has been my experience with aftermarket leather too.
Parked on a warm sunny day with the windows up helps to speed up the process as does a warm hair dryer.

 

Start the truck, close the windows and turn the heat on full Blast for 30 minutes

 

Mine came fairly tight from the install but 100% got much tighter fitting after about a week sitting in the sun. I can’t speak for your installer but, mine was very clear that if I had any issues or needed it adjusted at all to call him and they would get it fixed up. So if you still think it’s loose after a week or two it may be worth calling and seeing what the installer can do.