Lexus approved used - leather seat heavy wear

corpjones · July 29, 2020

Hi All

I test drove a 63 plate IS300H Premier model and was very happy with the car, I noticed the front passenger and driver seat bolsters were in quite bad condition, it hadnt been prepped however and I was told it would be sorted to a Lexus standard and I'm seeing the car in its worst possible state so I went ahead and paid the deposit, I am picking up the car this weekend and will pay the remaining balance.

My question is has anyone been in a similar scenario and if so, what have the quality of the upholstery repairs have been? I've heard lots of good things about Lexus dealers and am slightly concerned I've got a bit carried away relying on their word and the seats will not be in great condition when I go in, it sounds like they are just getting a mobile repairer to come in and touch up :(

Andrew888 · July 30, 2020

I have a feeling that they will have a "specialist" come repair it at a lowish cost for them. They would not replace the covers with new. My IS was under warranty for unusual wear given the mileage and they honoured it, but under extended warranty conditions its not covered. I would inspect it throughly and try to get them in writing does the repair have any guarantees at all. At least within that time frame you'll at least have some piece of mind. There are good aftermarket leather services that specialise in leather repair but from what I've seen they are workshop based and very few and far between. I very seriously doubt if Lexus would ship the car out to have repaired for a sale car. Anyway thats my assumption. I could be wrong, but having best friends in dealerships it seems the norm to use people like 'Chips Away" etc

Jayw13702 · July 30, 2020

I have read other comments about the seat bolster is on the I S 300 wearing quickly, that said mine is in good condition still despite my high mileage.
If a Lexus dealer is going to get a professional in to repair it there is a very good likelihood that it will be done to an incredibly high standard, Smart repairers can work a multitude of miracles.

Worst case scenario if you are not happy with the repair on the seat you can walk away from the deal, I appreciate that’s a massive letdown after building yourself up and looking forward to the new experience of Lexus ownership but, ultimately if you’re not happy with the vehicle then You may need to walk away from it.

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olliesgrandad · July 30, 2020

My experience with sale repairs suggests that it will be a mobile repair. My last RX450h had a tear in a door trim and after repair it was difficult to tell it had been done.

corpjones · July 30, 2020

Thank you all for the replies, it is a mobile repairer coming in from what i've heard, I've asked salesperson to send me before/after photos, hes taken some before ones, will get after ones today/tomorrow once repair done:

I feel like it looked worse in person, what do you guys think?

Inazone · July 30, 2020

That looks similar to my car when I purchased mine. Mines a 64 plate and had just under 21k on the clock. What mileage has yours done as I don't see it mentioned...

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corpjones · July 30, 2020

62k miles, my concern is in the middle photo it almost looks like the thread is damaged / coming out, hopefully I'm wrong.

Edit - Salesperson advised the trim repairer has had a look and they need to take the seats away to do a more thorough job, I'm happy with this approach and feel a bit better that its not just a quick touch up, should be repaired next Tues and i've asked for photos of the repair, I feel like the repair will be to a good standard so fingers crossed 🙂

Inazone · July 30, 2020

That's good news. I must confess it's difficult to really see the issues from the pics. However once you get your car treat yourself to some Gliptone leather conditioner. I use it on all my car's leather seat's. Easy to use and gives the car a lovely leather car smell.
https://www.liquidleather.co.uk/leather-care-c57/conditioners-c85/gt11-leather-conditioner-250ml-p157

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corpjones · July 30, 2020

Yep the passenger side was the worse, if the photo was taken from the passenger side I think it would show the full extent, however i'm pretty confident in Lexus that they will sort out to a good standard 🙂

royoftherovers · July 30, 2020

8 minutes ago, Inazone said:

That's good news. I must confess it's difficult to really see the issues from the pics. However once you get your car treat yourself to some Gliptone leather conditioner. I use it on all my car's leather seat's. Easy to use and gives the car a lovely leather car smell.
https://www.liquidleather.co.uk/leather-care-c57/conditioners-c85/gt11-leather-conditioner-250ml-p157

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I find it strange that many people buy leather treatment products to treat a plasticised material. "Leather" certainly is not what it used to be !

Inazone · July 30, 2020

I find it strange that many people buy leather treatment products to treat a plasticised material. "Leather" certainly is not what it used to be !

I agree with you to a certain extent, however the main component is real leather regardless if it has been colour treated etc. The leather still needs essential oils to keep it supple. I wouldn't recommend something if I didn't feel it was worth it.

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royoftherovers · July 30, 2020

11 minutes ago, Inazone said:

I agree with you to a certain extent, however the main component is real leather regardless if it has been colour treated etc. The leather still needs essential oils to keep it supple. I wouldn't recommend something if I didn't feel it was worth it.

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Thanks Alex.

I would be surprised indeed if there was even a miniscule amount of real leather in the product.

Google "what is in artificial leather " and see what comes up.

sheamus · July 30, 2020

The seats cannot be repaired. The cover and internals are glued together - I had the same problem after buying from lexus used (110K). It cost me 800 euros for a new back. Mind you, mine are NOT leather.

royoftherovers · July 30, 2020

15 minutes ago, sheamus said:

The seats cannot be repaired. The cover and internals are glued together - I had the same problem after buying from lexus used (110K). It cost me 800 euros for a new back. Mind you, mine are NOT leather.

Artificial Leather--a disgraceful, distasteful and wholly misleading term in my view.. Used by many of the World`s leading Motor manufacturers--even on rather expensive vehicles. Mercedes call it "Artico Leather "

The word Leather is wholly misleading and is often preceded by the word "Faux" which means imitation.

Jayw13702 · July 30, 2020

That's good news. I must confess it's difficult to really see the issues from the pics. However once you get your car treat yourself to some Gliptone leather conditioner. I use it on all my car's leather seat's. Easy to use and gives the car a lovely leather car smell.
https://www.liquidleather.co.uk/leather-care-c57/conditioners-c85/gt11-leather-conditioner-250ml-p157

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I’ve used that stuff for years on all my leather products in the car.

I don’t use their leather cleaner though, I use Saddlesoap as I find it’s better at lifting the dirt and preparing the leather for conditioning.

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corpjones · July 30, 2020

3 hours ago, sheamus said:

The seats cannot be repaired. The cover and internals are glued together - I had the same problem after buying from lexus used (110K). It cost me 800 euros for a new back. Mind you, mine are NOT leather.

Thats not good, hopefully my repairs fair a bit better!

Thackeray · July 30, 2020

3 hours ago, royoftherovers said:

Artificial Leather--a disgraceful, distasteful and wholly misleading term in my view.. Used by many of the World`s leading Motor manufacturers--even on rather expensive vehicles. Mercedes call it "Artico Leather "

Apparently a lot of people in California are opposed to using leather products and want artificial alternatives. I've also read that the Japanese don't like it because of the smell. And apparently German taxi drivers choose Artico in their Mercedes taxis because it's very hard wearing.

Having said that, the Lexus equivalent to Artico in the UK seems to be Tahara; this may be the same as Nu-Luxe in the American market. These seem to be sold as alternatives to leather.

In the 2013 Lexus IS, the models that had a fabric seat with Tahara bolsters were the SE, Luxury and Sport. The other models, Executive, Advance, F-Sport and Premier, are listed as having leather seats. The leather seats have three rows of stitching on the seat base, while I think the Tahara/fabric seats have five rows.

As to whether the leather really is leather, here's a website that claims it comes from cows! It would be interesting to read any evidence that this is untrue.

On this website, Lexus seat leather is used to make a dress.

royoftherovers · July 30, 2020

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_leather

Mercedes had a product called MB Tex which was an alternative covering to Leather and lasted very well. It was used in Taxi`s.

It was not however used in the context of being part-leather.

200h · July 30, 2020

on my first is300h i had the same issues with the leather colouring

and i have used flexible leather spray paint with really good results

here is a link for the paint i have used :-

https://www.frost.co.uk/biscuit-vinyl-and-leather-paint-400ml/

i sent them a swatch from the underside of the seat and they made the paint to match the swatch

ganzoom · July 31, 2020

17 hours ago, royoftherovers said:

Artificial Leather--a disgraceful, distasteful and wholly misleading term in my view.. Used by many of the World`s leading Motor manufacturers--even on rather expensive vehicles. Mercedes call it "Artico Leather "

The word Leather is wholly misleading and is often preceded by the word "Faux" which means imitation.

These seats have had 36k of use, man made leather, one has had an ISOFIX kid seat on it the whole time, also been exposed to wee and poo (not the drivers seat ;)).

I see no issues with artificial leather unless you really hate cows and want to sit on their dead skins.

rayaans · July 31, 2020

On 7/30/2020 at 11:18 AM, Inazone said:

I agree with you to a certain extent, however the main component is real leather regardless if it has been colour treated etc. The leather still needs essential oils to keep it supple. I wouldn't recommend something if I didn't feel it was worth it.

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Oils are a waste of time on modern leather. They simply sit on the surface of the coating and attract dirt.

All you need is a cleaner and a sealant. No conditioner is even going to penetrate the coating on top anyway

Dealkent · August 5, 2020

On 7/30/2020 at 10:51 PM, 200h said:

on my first is300h i had the same issues with the leather colouring

and i have used flexible leather spray paint with really good results

here is a link for the paint i have used :-

https://www.frost.co.uk/biscuit-vinyl-and-leather-paint-400ml/

i sent them a swatch from the underside of the seat and they made the paint to match the swatch

I think they use something like this when you have it repaired by Lexus . Not happy with my cream leather seats , wearing badly despite being very careful not to scuff .