[arijitkanrar]

Originally Posted by McLaren Rulez

I had a question regarding the material that is used by seat cover manufacturers - is it the same as OEMs give you in the top end models? I assume no car under 10l gets real leather anyway so I wasn't sure if the quality and type of material as well as the workmanship are comparable.

I'd like to know if the seat covers by Imperial and similar places are as good after prolonged use as OEM options.

We got the seat covers done for our Figo at Imperial.
They had many options to choose from (Art/PU/Nappa/Italian etc) and Mr. Shiv there clearly tells you how long each is expected to last.
We didn't want real leather so went for the PU leather and customized the design. It goes very well with the red colour of the car and the black interiors
After two and half years (with the last one year seeing the car being used every day), I'm happy to say that the covers have held up really well.
I don't know if its the same stuff used by OEMs but I can say that they are of good quality.

Few pics below.


Two months after they were fitted.


In Oct this year (almost two and half years later). The colour appears different from the first image. But its just the lighting. The colour hasn't faded a bit.




Design customized for us. Really like the way Mr. Shiv went through various designs and amalgamated them into this.

Overall I'm a happy customer and I recommend this place.

[rakirank]

I am in the process of breathing new life into my 8 year old SX4. Have been getting some mechanical issues addressed and decided it was time to do something about the seat covers too.

I had bought the same from Imperial (Shivakumar), exactly 4 years back and decided it may be a good idea to pay him a visit again.

Went there last Saturday and met Shiva. He immediately recognised his work and we both discussed the next steps.

This is where I was floored by his honestly.

My car typically has only me driving to work on a daily basis and the family during the odd trips. This meant there was hardly any wear and tear on the rear seat and minimal on the front seats. Shiva, was quick to recommend that we change only the front seat covers.

This was impressive. Here he had a customer who was willing to pay and change all seat covers (I expected him to say, don't chance it, go for an overall change, get a new look, etc). He asked me how long I intended to keep the car and then said let's change the front covers only.
Cost was half the full set. Will post the pics post the fitting this weekend.

Hope to have more such people who suggest what is possibly the best in a given situation rather than focus only on profit maximisation.

[McLaren Rulez]

Originally Posted by rakirank

This meant there was hardly any wear and tear on the rear seat and minimal on the front seats.

Any reason to change the front seat covers if the wear and tear was minimal? Would love to see pictures of how they held up after 4 years, if you have any.

[rakirank]

Originally Posted by McLaren Rulez

Any reason to change the front seat covers if the wear and tear was minimal? Would love to see pictures of how they held up after 4 years, if you have any.

Hi, I think the pictures will tell the story better.

The old seat covers (the first three pics below)
The rear seat that was not changed (third pic)

The new ones were almost the same colour (fortunately) (last pic).

As usual, Shivakumar gave me a time slot and his team was able to complete the change in one hour flat.

Happy to see the new seat covers along-with the other repairs. It definitely puts a smile back on my face, when I drive.

[arindambasu13]

Question to customers of Imperial Leathers:

Will they be able to customise seat covers with harder/firmer material, which provides better support for drivers with back pain/ back issues? While most people look for softer material/leather, I prefer the seat back to be firm providing good support for upper and lower back.

Will they be able to customise seat covers to meet this requirement? Has anyone successfully had these sort of firmer covers made?

[arindambasu13]

Paid a visit to Imperial Leathers over this weekend to get the seat covers done for my new Honda City. I had already chosen the material and design the earlier weekend, and was given an appointment this weekend. The whole process took an hour and fifteen minutes, much shorter than the two hour estimate given to me earlier .

The process was very smooth and the method of work, communication and end result was very clean and professionally done. Behavior and politeness of Mr.Shivakumar, the owner was also very good, something which is extremely important for me.

Extremely happy with the final results , and will highly recommended the place to people looking out for well done upholstery work, which does not cost an arm and a leg. Given the quality of work and attention to detail, the costs were very reasonable.

I did not want anything fancy, and was looking for a simple, elegant and understated look which will age well. A few pics are attached.

[aniyo]

Got my seat cover done yesterday.
From: Imperial Leather Bannergattha road Bangalore
Cost: 16K (Original leather was 42K)
Material: Montana art leather
Steering: Original leather
Colour : Black (I wanted Tan, wife wanted black)

We went to Imperial leather on Saturday and placed the order. Mr. Siva is nice humble person. Spent time on answering our questions. Finally we decided on Montana art leather perforated version.
He was kind enough to provide genuine leather steering cover (maybe cos we did not negotiate on the cost)

Asked us to come on Tuesday and get the fitting done. They removed the original seat cover and installed the new ones. Fit and finish is quite good.
After driving sometime realised how breathable the fabric seats are, I could not spend 5 min without AC.
The support is way better in new seat cover compared to old fabric. I hope this stays on for long. I wanted Tan, but was concerned it may either look tacky or great, black was the safer option (wife's option) so went ahead with it.
We thought about genuine leather but felt as I am the only one in car for 80% of the time, it's too expensive so went ahead with Art leather.
Pics of the work done.

[busydrive]

Nice it is. Did they remove the steering while installing the cover? Many vendors remove the steering. Few can do without removing.

[condor]

Originally Posted by busydrive

Nice it is. Did they remove the steering while installing the cover? Many vendors remove the steering. Few can do without removing.

I believe the general approach is - remove steering wheel if car does not have air-bags. If air-bags present, then do it in place.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by busydrive

Nice it is. Did they remove the steering while installing the cover? Many vendors remove the steering. Few can do without removing.

Originally Posted by condor

I believe the general approach is - remove steering wheel if car does not have air-bags. If air-bags present, then do it in place.

It depends on the design of the steering and how you want the cover to look like.

If you want OEM finish in such a way that it covers all spokes then you need to remove steering. Here's the pics from Imperial flickr account.

Ertiga without removing steering wheel:


Ertiga with steering wheel removed:


Honda City with steering wheel not removed:


Honda with steering wheel removed:


https://www.flickr.com/photos/131859219@N02/

[busydrive]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

It depends on the design of the steering and how you want the cover to look like.

If you want OEM finish in such a way that it covers all spokes then you need to remove steering.

This was very helpful. I will pay him a visit sometime next week. Would like to get it done without removing the wheel.

[Vid6639]

My Altis steering wheel was getting worse for wear and with lockdown and car being parked for a month the steering and gearknob were covered in fungus and mould. Was a sight for sore eyes.

Called up Shivakumar (Imperial owner) and he said he can do it like OE finish. Pictures speak louder than words.

Before:




After:




Was 2.5K for steering and 400 for gear lever.

The steering wheel was removed but the Corolla steering is easy to open using an Allen key on the side.

Perfect quality and even the colour matches well. Impossible to make out this is not OE.

[WhiteKnight]

I've been waiting to get the work done on my Laura TSI seats and door pads. The pads covering has become loose, a common issue with Lauras.

So, I've caught up with Shivakumar, to discuss the plan of action. As Laura almost always came with leather seats, they did not have a reference in place. This meant they would invest a full day or more to make the work happen, to full satisfaction. We agreed on the date, and the game was on.

Let the pics do the talking.


The colour choice was based on the Laura TDI automatic, which came with black seats. I loved them.

Btw, now, they do have a reference, for other Laura works!







As usual, the engagement by the owner is superior. He gives and appointment, reminds you about the same, keeps you posted on the work and follows up for feedback. Great going!! I sincerely wish some of our car dealers and service centres do the same

[DRIVE_ADDICT]

Originally Posted by WhiteKnight

I've been waiting to get the work done on my Laura TSI seats and door pads. The pads covering has become loose, a common issue with Lauras.

I too want to fix the door pads and thinking of adding seat covers. May i know howmuch you paid for this whole work?

[WhiteKnight]

Originally Posted by DRIVE_ADDICT

May i know howmuch you paid for this whole work?

Is it for Laura? I assume it is, looking at your garage. Beautiful colour!!!.

Price will vary per car and material used. Mine was 20k with premium art leather called montano. It is a bit risky with art leather, as it is difficult to get the fit on the door pad.