Knightro904
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For those of you with small children, how do the seats in the Touring hold up to stains, scratches, smells, etc when compared to the leather in the Grand Touring?
Kids & Cloth vs. Leather (Touring vs. GT)
- Thread starter Knightro904
- Start date
L
L7D4R
2015 GT w/black leather
I noticed today that my kiddo's sun screened arms left white/ hazed splotches on the black "leather" seat back. A little leather conditioner took them right off. Small crumbs and glitter find their way into the seats' vent holes, but the shop vac takes care of that. All in all, the black "leather" has held up well this summer.
On a side note, if you use strong deet products, make sure your body parts coated with it don't touch any of the plastic trim in the car. A couple of vehicles ago, I melted the fake wood (plastic) door handle trim while my knee (iirc, I had 100% deet on my legs at the time) rested on the plastic on the way home from a camping trip. The surface of the plastic actually turned gooey. That super strong deet is some nasty, nasty stuff.
I noticed today that my kiddo's sun screened arms left white/ hazed splotches on the black "leather" seat back. A little leather conditioner took them right off. Small crumbs and glitter find their way into the seats' vent holes, but the shop vac takes care of that. All in all, the black "leather" has held up well this summer.
On a side note, if you use strong deet products, make sure your body parts coated with it don't touch any of the plastic trim in the car. A couple of vehicles ago, I melted the fake wood (plastic) door handle trim while my knee (iirc, I had 100% deet on my legs at the time) rested on the plastic on the way home from a camping trip. The surface of the plastic actually turned gooey. That super strong deet is some nasty, nasty stuff.
Knightro904
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That's what I was thinking. I have leather in my car, but we have had it pre-kids. I feel that it will be much easier to clean.
I can't speak to the CX-5 leather (which I have) as I am now an empty nester. We had both cloth and leather with child, and in my experience the leather was a much better fit with kids. This is mainly because it wears better against little feet that crawl over everything until you get them secured, and liquids are easier to clean up as they don't as readily leak thru to the underlying foam (think juice and vomit).
Brian
Hmmm... It might be easier to trade the kids in along with the old car.
As another option, do what I did. I bought the Touring trim and had the dealer upgrade the seats using Katzkin leather. My main reason was that I thought the cloth seats were a little soft, and the leather is firmer and provides more support. I am really pleased with the way it turned out; good color match and good-quality leather. They also replaced the door panels as part of the package.
The local Katzkin installer quoted me $1,095 for the job, but for some reason the dealer only charged me $895. I wasn't complaining.
If leather seats are the only reason why you are considering the Grand Touring, this might be a cheaper way to go.
Knightro904
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As another option, do what I did. I bought the Touring trim and had the dealer upgrade the seats using Katzkin leather. My main reason was that I thought the cloth seats were a little soft, and the leather is firmer and provides more support. I am really pleased with the way it turned out; good color match and good-quality leather. They also replaced the door panels as part of the package.
The local Katzkin installer quoted me $1,095 for the job, but for some reason the dealer only charged me $895. I wasn't complaining.
If leather seats are the only reason why you are considering the Grand Touring, this might be a cheaper way to go.
How did that work? Did you ask the dealer to do it prior to buying the car? Did they have the leather readily available? How long did it take? Sorry for all the questions, but I've never done something like this before.
It was actually brought up by the sales guy. I never heard of Katzkin before, but after talking to knowledgable parties, it seems they do a lot of high-end and OEM work. Reviews that I have read online said that their leather was actually better than what you get from the factory.
Katzkin supposedly does work for Mazda, so they must have had it in stock. They have a manufacturing facility/warehouse in California from where everything is shipped to local installers (independent companies, it seems) that have their specified territories. What they do is that they take off the cloth and reuse the existing frame and upholstering (though if you like it firmer, they can add some padding, too, I've been told). Because they are close to the OEMs, they basically have the right colors and the right fit.
So I signed the paperwork on Wednesday and was supposed to pick up the car on Saturday. One day for shipping, one day for installation. Because the shipment came in late on Friday and the local installer does not work on Saturdays I ended up picking the car on Monday evening. No big deal. Since we wrote it up as an option during the purchase process, I could roll the amount into financing (can't beat 0%) and I assume it will also be covered under the Mazda warranty (good insurance, just in case ).
If you go to the Katzkin website, they have different options (two-tone, colored stitching, whatnot) you can choose from. I just went with the default color (sand) and only asked for the perforation in the back since I thought it might keep the seats cooler if you park the car in the sun). And as I said, they replaced the door panels as well. So far I am really happy.
Katzkin supposedly does work for Mazda, so they must have had it in stock. They have a manufacturing facility/warehouse in California from where everything is shipped to local installers (independent companies, it seems) that have their specified territories. What they do is that they take off the cloth and reuse the existing frame and upholstering (though if you like it firmer, they can add some padding, too, I've been told). Because they are close to the OEMs, they basically have the right colors and the right fit.
So I signed the paperwork on Wednesday and was supposed to pick up the car on Saturday. One day for shipping, one day for installation. Because the shipment came in late on Friday and the local installer does not work on Saturdays I ended up picking the car on Monday evening. No big deal. Since we wrote it up as an option during the purchase process, I could roll the amount into financing (can't beat 0%) and I assume it will also be covered under the Mazda warranty (good insurance, just in case
).If you go to the Katzkin website, they have different options (two-tone, colored stitching, whatnot) you can choose from. I just went with the default color (sand) and only asked for the perforation in the back since I thought it might keep the seats cooler if you park the car in the sun). And as I said, they replaced the door panels as well. So far I am really happy.
Knightro904
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Something to think about
The MSRP shows almost $2k for the leather on the Katzkin website
The MSRP shows almost $2k for the leather on the Katzkin website
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Knightro904
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We got the leather installed and picked up the car yesterday. The Katzkin leather looks fantastic. It even came with red stitching so they look sporty.
I have regularly used both of these products on my cars over the years and my leather has stayed in great shape.
Out of curiosity, how much did they charge you for the upgrade? $1095?
Knightro904
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$1k
Seems fair. I assume the $895 they charged me was the "wholesale" price that the installer charged the dealer. So they probably added $100 for their own profit, but it's still $100 less than if you had gone to the local installer yourself...
Glad you like the result. I'd have felt bad if you had followed my recommendation and hated what you got.
Glad you like the result. I'd have felt bad if you had followed my recommendation and hated what you got.
Any pics of this leather with red stitching (popcorn)?
Knightro904
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Here is a zoomed in picture my wife sent me the day she picked it up from the dealership.
Knightro904
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Seems fair. I assume the $895 they charged me was the "wholesale" price that the installer charged the dealer. So they probably added $100 for their own profit, but it's still $100 less than if you had gone to the local installer yourself...
Glad you like the result. I'd have felt bad if you had followed my recommendation and hated what you got.
I think it came out great and my wife loves it
