Leather "skins"

[Beachboy]

Does anybody have any experience with the aftermarket leather seating surface (aka skins) offered by Ford dealers? I made the mistake of buying my Milan with cloth upholstery and now I deeply regret it. Has anybody tried an aftermarket conversion to leather upholstery, and if so, how much did it cost, and were you satisfied? One dealer suggested they could send the car to a professional upholstery stop and have the cloth taken out and leather substituted. I didn't ask the cost, since it sounded prohibitive.

[FFHdriver]

Does anybody have any experience with the aftermarket leather seating surface (aka skins) offered by Ford dealers? I made the mistake of buying my Milan with cloth upholstery and now I deeply regret it. Has anybody tried an aftermarket conversion to leather upholstery, and if so, how much did it cost, and were you satisfied? One dealer suggested they could send the car to a professional upholstery stop and have the cloth taken out and leather substituted. I didn't ask the cost, since it sounded prohibitive.

Doing a Google search shows prices for a Fusion are about $600-$700. Should fit a Milan. Edited October 4, 2010 by FFHdriver

[akirby]

I've seen dealers do this and the ones I've seen look as good as factory. Upholstery is easy to change so if the price is ok and that's what you want go for it. It's pretty common.

[Beachboy]

Thanks for the replies. I just looked on the Katzkin website, who is the official aftermarket supplier for Ford, and they indicate a cost around $2,000 to $2,500, which is a bit steeper than I was hoping for. I was a little unclear if the original cloth upholstery remained in place and the aftermarket leather could be removed later if desired, or if the leather installation was permanent. I'll give my dealer a call and see if they've had any experience with the aftermarket leather installations.

 

Unfortunately, when I bought my Milan a few weeks ago, it was the end of the line for production and not only was there not much product selection to choose from, the option of ordering one built to spec was gone. Otherwise, I would have a Premier model (with leather) instead of the base.

[FFHdriver]

Thanks for the replies. I just looked on the Katzkin website, who is the official aftermarket supplier for Ford, and they indicate a cost around $2,000 to $2,500, which is a bit steeper than I was hoping for. I was a little unclear if the original cloth upholstery remained in place and the aftermarket leather could be removed later if desired, or if the leather installation was permanent. I'll give my dealer a call and see if they've had any experience with the aftermarket leather installations.

 

Unfortunately, when I bought my Milan a few weeks ago, it was the end of the line for production and not only was there not much product selection to choose from, the option of ordering one built to spec was gone. Otherwise, I would have a Premier model (with leather) instead of the base.

On all installations I had done on my three Miatas, the cloth came off and the leather went on. You then do what you want with the cloth. I had a local shop order the replacement covers and install them.

[drolds1]

Thanks for the replies. I just looked on the Katzkin website, who is the official aftermarket supplier for Ford, and they indicate a cost around $2,000 to $2,500, which is a bit steeper than I was hoping for. I was a little unclear if the original cloth upholstery remained in place and the aftermarket leather could be removed later if desired, or if the leather installation was permanent. I'll give my dealer a call and see if they've had any experience with the aftermarket leather installations.

 

Unfortunately, when I bought my Milan a few weeks ago, it was the end of the line for production and not only was there not much product selection to choose from, the option of ordering one built to spec was gone. Otherwise, I would have a Premier model (with leather) instead of the base.

 

In this post you said you were looking to get rid of the car. Why, then, would you be looking to reupholster it in leather?

[11FusionSEL]

Thanks for the replies. I just looked on the Katzkin website, who is the official aftermarket supplier for Ford, and they indicate a cost around $2,000 to $2,500, which is a bit steeper than I was hoping for. I was a little unclear if the original cloth upholstery remained in place and the aftermarket leather could be removed later if desired, or if the leather installation was permanent. I'll give my dealer a call and see if they've had any experience with the aftermarket leather installations.

 

Unfortunately, when I bought my Milan a few weeks ago, it was the end of the line for production and not only was there not much product selection to choose from, the option of ordering one built to spec was gone. Otherwise, I would have a Premier model (with leather) instead of the base.

 

I just installed some aftermarket Recaro seats in my wife's 2011 Fusion. Haven't really thought about what to do with the left over front charcoal leather covers, but if you are interested maybe we can work something out.

[Hawkeye1975]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2010-FORD-FUSION-Katzkin-Leather-Interior-Kit-Black-/110531176367?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item19bc2be7af

 

$645.00 shipped

[Beachboy]

In this post you said you were looking to get rid of the car. Why, then, would you be looking to reupholster it in leather?

 

 

Well, I made the mistake of being in the new car market at the end of the model year. My new car requirements had three stipulations: it had to be red in color, it had to have a sunroof, and it had to have leather upholstery. The Milan I bought hit two out of three requirements. There was nothing available in the area that fit all three criteria, even in a Fusion. The candy apple red color must be rather unpopular, as my car had sat on the dealer's lot for seven months, but I loved it and it was the main reason I bought this particular Milan.

 

Right now, I'm trying to determine if I'd be happy enough with the car if I got the seats reupholstered in leather to make it worthwhile to keep. I'm very hard on seats and I'm afraid this light colored cloth upholstery will be easily soiled or stained. I've never owned a car with cloth upholstery before, but I remember my dad always throwing those clear plastic seat covers on every new car he bought with cloth upholstery. I do tend to eat and drink on my 100 mile commutes to work, and also I have had nosebleeds on occasion where blood got on the seats. That's why I've always leaned towards leather or vinyl on all my previous cars. People have told me modern cloth upholstery is much better than what I remember from the 1950's, so maybe I'm worrying too much.

[bbf2530]

Well, I made the mistake of being in the new car market at the end of the model year. My new car requirements had three stipulations: it had to be red in color, it had to have a sunroof, and it had to have leather upholstery. The Milan I bought hit two out of three requirements. There was nothing available in the area that fit all three criteria, even in a Fusion. The candy apple red color must be rather unpopular, as my car had sat on the dealer's lot for seven months, but I loved it and it was the main reason I bought this particular Milan.

 

Right now, I'm trying to determine if I'd be happy enough with the car if I got the seats reupholstered in leather to make it worthwhile to keep. I'm very hard on seats and I'm afraid this light colored cloth upholstery will be easily soiled or stained. I've never owned a car with cloth upholstery before, but I remember my dad always throwing those clear plastic seat covers on every new car he bought with cloth upholstery. I do tend to eat and drink on my 100 mile commutes to work, and also I have had nosebleeds on occasion where blood got on the seats. That's why I've always leaned towards leather or vinyl on all my previous cars. People have told me modern cloth upholstery is much better than what I remember from the 1950's, so maybe I'm worrying too much.

 

Hi Beachboy. :D Have you considered having the cloth interior "Scotchguarded" (or treated with some other fabric protectant) first and seeing how it holds up? You can either purchase and apply the protectant yourself, or have it professionally applied by any Ford/Lincoln-Mercury Dealer or reputable automotive upholstery shop. Of course, applying it yourself will save you a large chunk of change.

 

If you are not satisfied with the cloth interior a year or so down the road, you can always have the leather upholstery installed later.

 

Just another option to keep in mind.

 

Good luck. :beerchug:

Edited October 8, 2010 by bbf2530

[Beachboy]

Hi Beachboy. :D Have you considered having the cloth interior "Scotchguarded" (or treated with some other fabric protectant) first and seeing how it holds up? You can either purchase and apply the protectant yourself, or have it professionally applied by any Ford/Lincoln-Mercury Dealer or reputable automotive upholstery shop. Of course, applying it yourself will save you a large chunk of change.

 

If you are not satisfied with the cloth interior a year or so down the road, you can always have the leather upholstery installed later.

 

Just another option to keep in mind.

 

Good luck. :beerchug:

 

Thanks for a great idea.....I didn't know if the upholstery was treated at the factory or not, but I'll invest in a can of scotch guard this weekend and see how it works. It's the driver's seat I'm mostly worried about, as the other seats will likely rarely be used. And yeah, living with the cloth until such time as its in uncleanable shape, then going to leather skins is probably what I need to do. The cloth might surprise me and last better than I expect.