Seat options?

[jpdeuce]

Thinking through seat options or seat cover options. The leather on my wagon is pretty bad and the seat seams are starting to rip. There are a ton of different covers available on the market, not sure how good they are or how they fit. It seems to be a pain in the a$$ to try to make newer VW seats fit and all of the mk4 ones I see for sale look in about the same shape as mine.

Are there aftermarket seat options that people like? What would you suggest?

Thanks in advance
JP

 

[RexNICO]

My advice would be to hold out for good condition used MKIV seats.

Sedan, wagon and both 2 or 4 door Golf seats will fit, just be aware of the changes (across the years) to the airbag connector.

Really the only difference across the MKIV variations listed above is the folding forward 2 door golf seats & the wagon rear bench bottom mount.

 

[UhOh]

As Rex mentions.

I had to go buy an entire parts car in order to get a decent set of seats: of all the common seats I'd have to say that heated, cloth, beige seats that are in good condition are the hardest to find; I found some beige leathers (for the daughters wagon) well before I found the cloth ones (for my car).

 

[3L3M3NT]

Figuring out what seats you want to replace your old ones with would be very helpful when searching for your new seats.
Are you looking for stock replacements? Upgraded factory seats? Aftermarket seats? What is your price range?

There are some seats out there that are in good shape, but like mentioned above you have be willing to wait for the right set of seats to come along.

I do have a set of black leather seats that got removed a few years ago when I had a set of Euro Recaros imported from the UK that I'd be willing to sell. They're in great shape, but aren't heated. Send me a pm if interested.

 

[UhOh]

Also keep in mind that the seats were physically changed between/over the years. They were narrowed down in order to allow for the cup holders in the lower console. I realized this after replacing seats in one of my cars (to get heated seats into it). I don't like the narrower seats (and I'm not a big guy). I'm thankful that I got heated seats for my 2000 Golf out of a 2000 Jetta: same pattern, AND, same size!

 

[BobnOH]

You could just have them re-upholstered, it's not too bad with the seats out. Depends a lot on watcha want and how long you might keep the car. Exact match from a junk yard is easy.

 

[wonneber]

Back in the mid 70's I recovered the leather seats in the Fiat Spyder I had.
I didn't think it was a hard job.
Don't remember when I ordered them but they weren't that much back then.
My father had the tool for the funny clip thingies.

 

[volmaniac]

My father had the tool for the funny clip thingies.

Hog ring pliers is what I think you are referring to.

 

[jpdeuce]

Figuring out what seats you want to replace your old ones with would be very helpful when searching for your new seats. Are you looking for stock replacements? Upgraded factory seats? Aftermarket seats? What is your price range?

Mine are heated leather. Would like to retain the heated part but don't necessarily need to have leather. Since I don't know what it available and at what price ranges, it's hard to make any decisions. All I've really found are used ones coming out of wrecked cars and the leather doesn't look like it's in much better condition than mine. I don't know if there are repro options out there, overseas options, brand new options. And no clue what all of those cost.

Also keep in mind that the seats were physically changed between/over the years. They were narrowed down in order to allow for the cup holders in the lower console. I realized this after replacing seats in one of my cars (to get heated seats into it). I don't like the narrower seats (and I'm not a big guy). I'm thankful that I got heated seats for my 2000 Golf out of a 2000 Jetta: same pattern, AND, same size!

This is good to know, since I have a later year MK4 with cup holders. Any idea when this changed? I wouldn't want to get seats and then have them be too fat. This may limit my search even more and make it even harder to find replacements. Seat covers are sounding better and better.

You could just have them re-upholstered, it's not too bad with the seats out. Depends a lot on watcha want and how long you might keep the car. Exact match from a junk yard is easy.

This was my first thought. I spoke to three separate shops about this and they were all crazy expensive. Didn't make sense to me and figured I could get brand new seats for what they wanted.

 

[BobnOH]

..................... was my first thought. I spoke to three separate shops about this and they were all crazy expensive. Didn't make sense to me and figured I could get brand new seats for what they wanted.

Even with the seats out of the car? Is hard to find good honest crafts people.

 

[jpdeuce]

Even with the seats out of the car? Is hard to find good honest crafts people.

Didn't think to ask at the time. Kind of figured they would have asked, if that made a huge difference.

 

[wonneber]

Hog ring pliers is what I think you are referring to.

Yea Yea that's the ticket.

 

[volmaniac]

Yea Yea that's the ticket.

 

[where2]

Its hard to find good honest crafts people.

Unlike days of old, part of the modern expense may also partly be related to a potential liability issue. We're talking about a seat with an air bag device in it, not the sport seats in my '80 Scirocco.

I own a set of hog ring pliers, and I've been through my MkIV front seats swapping covers, cushions and air bags to keep everything plug-n-play compatible. It's not an overly difficult endeavor, but the MkIV seats I went through were also the third set of VW seats I've torn down. Installing the Passat lumbar setup took some extra time, while I had things apart.

I haven't put any miles on my Bestleatherkits.com seats I recovered for my Corrado. Installing them, they were not quite the same quality leather as the OEM leather, but they also were not OEM priced. I don't know whether they have a solution for vehicles with integrated air bags. In the world of aftermarket and overseas shippers, its seriously: Caveat Emptor.

As for labor to install seat covers, "good honest crafts people" are looking to pay the same bills the rest of us have. On my third set of seats, it still took me a good long afternoon to go through them swapping parts, washing foam and covers. That's not counting the added fun of installing the lumbar mechanics.

Tricks: when rebuilding seats, get yourself a twin or full sized package of "high loft" quilt batting, and use it to create filler pieces to bulk up where you get wrinkles in the fabric, whether it's leather, OEM fabric, or the black sunbrella we used on the Scirocco sport seats.

 

[3L3M3NT]

When I upgraded seats in my Jetta, I looked across the pond to see what I could find on Ebay UK, since they got all the nice Recaro interiors. It's amazing how well the new seats conformed to my body and held me in place.

I was able to work with Ryan at Darkside Developments and Aaron(BleachedBora) on getting the seats shipped state side. I'll admit it wasn't the cheapest option, but it was better than paying the prices people wanted at the time for their Recaro seats here in the US. Plus finding heated leather Recaros in the US wasn't going anywhere, so I was easily able to find them on Ebay UK like so.

VW Golf Recaro Seats
VW Golf mk4 Recaro Seats
VW Golf Heated Leather Recaros
Some other options
Audi S3 Seats
Bora Leather Recaro Seats
Audi S3 Leather Recaros
Golf/Bora/A3 Leather Seats
Bora Sport Seats
Sport Recaro Seats
Audi S3 Heated Leather Recaros
Audi A3 Leather Seats
Recaro Front + Rear Seats

As you can see there are quite a few good options over in the UK.

Otherwise you might get lucky and find a decent set of seats on VWVortex...

 

[RexNICO]

^Great informative post^

 

[mathanz]

I found my black leather seats in a sedan in a junk yard. Swapping the frames on the rear lowers wasn't too hard and was a good enough fit although not perfect. Installing a child seat anchor was a real PITA. I also did black leather-like head rests from a beetle for the rears. They look great but aren't great support.

 

[jpdeuce]

I've got a line on some nice ones from a 2002. Does anyone know off hand if these will or will not fit? I've got an '05 with the cup holders in the middle. There was some talk in this thread of my seats perhaps being skinnier to accommodate the cup holders. Could these be fatter and not fit?

 

[volmaniac]

2002 what? If they are from a golf, gti, gli, or jetta the fronts seats should fit.

 

[jpdeuce]

2002 what?

Jetta...sorry.

So, should be no width issues? They are a two hour drive from me, so would like to not waste the time.

 

[RexNICO]

Jetta...sorry.

So, should be no width issues? They are a two hour drive from me, so would like to not waste the time.

While I believe there may be some slight width differences to accommodate the newer style cup holder center console, I do not believe it is so much that it prohibits the use.

For example, I have both a 2002 & 2003 MK4 wagon with the newer style cup holder style center console AND 2001/2002 leather MK4 seats.

Hope that helps.

 

[volmaniac]

I have an '02 golf with the newer style cup holder and GLI seats without any fitment issues. Some of the earlier Mk4's had a different airbag electrical connector but you should be ok with 2002 into a 2005.

When you swap the seats you should disable the airbags using VCDS prior to the swap and enable when you have it buttoned up. You might have to clear a code, I think I got the seatbelt tensioner error and had to clear it when I installed my seats and when I helped install my old seats into another tdiclub member's car a few weeks ago.

 

[jpdeuce]

Awesome, thanks for the responses...think I will jump on these seats while they are available.

 

[Genesis]

One inexpensive "fix" for this sort of problem is Wet Okole covers.

They're neoprene, tough as nails, look damn near like factory seats, go on easily and can be removed to be cleaned if you need to.

I've got a set on my '15 Mazda "6" and my kid liked them enough that she asked for a set to go on the '03 Jetta TDI, which had its leather showing its age.

They're not inexpensive as seat covers go but they ARE much cheaper than having the original seats re-done, they look nearly indistinguishable from factory, and having abused mine now for about three years, running a couple of times a week and getting in the car dripping with sweat (plus living near the beach!) they still look brand new. If some day I DO destroy them they'll be much cheaper to replace than the seats would be....

Of course this doesn't help if the cushioning and such is trashed, but if it's appearance/covers that are the problem they definitely do the job and are airbag compatible.

 

[jpdeuce]

My buddy had a Jeep way back in the day that had these covers on them. I remember liking them and probably would have gone that route if I didn't find these seats. How do the covers deal with the bottom of the seat where that whole plastic/frame/surround goes around the front of the seat? They worked good on the Jeep cause they could "hug" the bottom of the seat good, but I could see that causing on issue on these seats.

Anyway, I picked up these seats from an 02 or 03. they are a little wider than mine, but not by much. I got them swapped out and I'm very happy with them. I have a little less room in between the seats and the console, but not too bad. Also a little less room where the parking brake handle is. That is a little adjustment, but it still functions and the seat doesn't interfere.

Thought about listing my old ones on here, but not sure if there's a market? They are heated leather, but the leather is cracking and the seam between the base and the side bolster in coming apart. Do people get these and fix them up and resell them? Is it worth listing?

 

[Genesis]

The Wet Okoles' work fine on the ALH seats; they're cut "right" and look nice.

The kid loves them.

I love 'em on my Mazda; I've had 'em on the car now for about 3 years and they look very close to brand new. The only visible wear is on the center armrest piece (which came with mine.)

 

[Votblindub]

jpdeuce, what sort of budget are you working with? I've seen factory seats that would fit a jetta/golf from $100 upwards of $2500 without excessive travel or looking at sources outside the usa.

 

[jpdeuce]

I've listed my original seats, if anyone is interested.

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=480529

 

[Sky King]

What about seats for an 06 Beetle. I am thinking of upgrading the stock seats they are just uncomfortable for longer rides. I have the light gray interior.

 

[Sky King]

I don't want racing seats but comfortable ones that are going to bolt right up. I'd rather buy new seats and am currently looking at seats at this address https://www.carid.com/universal-sport-tuner-seats/?vehicle=4086

Most are too radical for me and my biggest problem is that I can't visualize how they will look and feel in the car. I am looking for comfort and lumbar support etc... Advice would be appreciated. I'd like to keep the cost under $600 but.... I want to keep it real... if it costs more sobeit.