Seat Covers: Imperial INC (Bangalore)

[Ragul]

Originally Posted by Latheesh

Seat cover looks nice, its VFM deal for sure. But somehow I did not like the fit of steering wheel cover.

Same here. Apologies, but something does not look right - not sure if its the color mismatch between leather and horn exposed area or what, but its a misfit.

Hope its just the armchair critic in me and you are comfortable with it in real life.

--Ragul

[TSEA]

Originally Posted by Latheesh

Seat cover looks nice, its VFM deal for sure. But somehow I did not like the fit of steering wheel cover.

Originally Posted by Ragul

Same here. Apologies, but something does not look right - not sure if its the color mismatch between leather and horn exposed area or what, but its a misfit.

Hope its just the armchair critic in me and you are comfortable with it in real life.--Ragul

Originally Posted by goandude

Matches the car dash BUT with such a light color wont it get dirty. The place where the grip goes over the spokes is neatly tucked into the gap between the horn button and steering wheel.

You are right, it does get dirty. I saw the pics posted by you and the steering cover sure has better fitting. Maybe I will get it done again. So far the cover is intact and nothing has given away.

[narayanang76]

TSEA: Thanks for sharing details here.

I went to Imperial and done up my Honda City ZX Seat covers in Luster (PU Leather). Sorry if you dont like the color - but it was my choice and I liked it (I was a bit apprehensive before deciding though)

Reason for going for Art Leather seat cover in my car which is more than 4 year old:

After reading reviews and feedbacks about seat covers in Team BHP Directory, I was always tempted to gift my beloved Honda City ZX brand new seat covers. It had Honda showroom fitted fabric seat covers with matching door pads BTW. It was good enough but always we want better isn’t it? Moreover I was finding it tough to clean the fabric seat covers and my 2 year old son keeps giving me cleaning work after every trip (as usual wifey calls me paranoid). Thinking about post-cleaning work during every trip was annoying as well.

Flashback: I had an excellent experience with Art Leather/PU before on my Maruti Zen 2001 model. I spent less than 2500 Rs at JC Road (some good reference was used) to install the black art leather seats on my Zen and it was real VFM. Even after many years the seat covers were intact, did not have any material/stitching issues or damage. Regular cleaning was easy and effortless. I haven’t experienced/noticed the regular heating issue with leather at least in Bangalore. So overall it was favoring towards art leather seat covers.

So basically I wanted:
- Art Leather / PU Seats only. Must work on door pads as well
- Single color. Somehow I liked simple / plain designs on leather seat covers than with design
- Good reference and I shouldn’t be the first one experimenting with someone
- Commercials – around 5 K – 7 K and not more than that. I was not willing to spend more as these spending do not give any value when we sell our cars. They just go like they never existed. Leading to no pure leather seats for my car.
- I also wanted to possibly club my long pending 7 seater home sofa repair (courtesy again my 2 year old son). BTW this was not the main criteria but nice to have thing, also commercials for the sofa was different

Deal was quoted at 8500 INR (7 K for City seat cover and 1.5 K for Door pads) in Luster, TAN color. Luster is mentioned as a level above art leather, it is also same as PU. I re-stated my requirements that I came here because of stitching quality and material quality and hence I expect that, he said he does 3 way stitching with nylon everywhere, 1 from inside, 2 from outside either sides. He also quoted 2 years warranty on material and stitching. Finalised the deal at 7.7 K INR

Ultimately the benefits:
- Seat covers and door pads done – as expected (Fitting-Finishing quality, pricing, time of delivery)
- Nice to interact Shivakumar (speaks English, Hindi, Kannada)
- It was custom stitched for my car (most of them in front of me – and it was quick)
- Got my sofa done through the contact (extra benefits)
- Offered a steering wheel cover for free

Few observations:
- While starting I was doubtful if they have know-how of removing the seat and door pads, but that was done with perfection and attention to detail and caring. I was impressed
- I see a small rattling from the driver seat (I must check myself – probably some small lose thingy somewhere)

Some pics for viewing. Apologies for an unclean car, pictures taken after sunset, and if you dont like the color . I understand the pics is not doing justice to be precise.

regards
narayanang76

[deehunk]

Very neat work, color choice good

[thedreamcatcher]

Work looks good. Am surprised to know this shop is near to where I stay, but never noticed it. Also like the minute work like matching neck rests in the same colour material

@narayanang76, by the way, the mats in your car. Did they come with the Honda or did you get it aftermarket. Seen it as Standard in some other manufacturers cars actually

[theexperthand]

Cross posting from my ownership thread: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...to-active.html

I was planning to give a set of cloths to the most yummy part of my GP - the steering wheel. After some looking around, I decided on a place near Vijayabank Lay out - Imperial leather INC. I have seen some of their works in Team-Bhp and have referred one of my friend there some time back, and all the feedback were good.

Went there last weekend and he quoted 700 for leather steering grip. Yesterday evening, I called him up and went there. I opted for black leather (Bovine leather, 0.9~1.1 mm thick) with read stitching and they promptly started working on the steering grip. After taking the measurements, they stitched the pieces together and then started hand stitching the cover on my steering wheel. The counters on the steering wheel did give them a hard time - this was the first time they are doing the Punto steering wheel grip in leather, all the work they have done before was in Luster.

I was very satisfied to note that they were not satisfied with just stitching it up - they took time and tried different ways (using sponge like stuff, using cotton wool like stuff), and after each attempt, he was telling to himself 'I am not satisfied'. At last with the help of SR, he was able to get the counters done perfectly. After almost 2 hours of work, Jai now wears a perfectly tailored steering grip.

Contact info:

Shivakumar
Mob: 9448685679
landline:08042287635 (you can give my reference -Anoop, Wine color Punto)

Imperial Inc.,#387, 11th Cross,Vijaya Bank Layout, Bilekahalli, off Bannerghetta road.

(He was telling me that he is getting lot of business through Team Bhp and was eager to know from where I purchased the LTD sticker)

Few snaps:

[TSEA]

@theexperthand: Nice Steering Grip , Good fitting. Good to see that Imperial tried hard to get the fitting correct. That is what I like about these guys.

In fact whenever I meet Shivakumar (the shop is close to my house), he checks about the condition of the covers on my car.

Originally Posted by narayanang76

Some pics for viewing. Apologies for an unclean car, pictures taken after sunset, and if you dont like the color . I understand the pics is not doing justice to be precise.

regards
narayanang76

The color is great. Do post some more pics taken during the day.

[vinaydas]

I recently got my innova "skinned" with artificial leather from imperial.
Must say that the quality of work is excellent and at very competitive prices.
Let the pics do the talking.

[sachinayak]

NICE !!! How much did it cost?

Originally Posted by vinaydas

I recently got my innova "skinned" with artificial leather from imperial.
Must say that the quality of work is excellent and at very competitive prices.
Let the pics do the talking.

[vinaydas]

Originally Posted by sachinayak

NICE !!! How much did it cost?

For innova i went for the luster grade art leather,It cost around 12k. Regular grade would cost around 8 for the same setup.

[dhanushs]

Going by the feedback in the Forum, I decided to check them out. And was pretty impressed.

The guys were pretty simple and straightforward. Mentioned Facts. Also, when I mentioned I was coming from kerala, they agreed to complete the work in just one day. They gave me a good discount too.

Total Damage: 6,500.

Positives:

Pretty straight forward guys.
Good Finish.
Good Quality material.
Price

Negatives:

Not many, except that they don't have proper parking. But considering the volume, this is more than enough.

Now, some pics.




















Comments on the choice of design/shade welcome!!..

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by dhanushs

Comments on the choice of design/shade welcome!!..

Looking pretty neat. You could have done the gear lever cover too. Now thats looking out of place ! Will they do some additional foam if one wants to, for the extra thigh support ? I know Ikon may not need it, but some other cars may.

Edit:: You didn't mention whats the material used. And how much was the discount offered?

[Latheesh]

Yes, that is a neat work and it has taken your car interior to next level. Everything else looks out of place.
Few suggestions:
1) Nice steering wheel cover
2) Gear lever - boot cover
3) Cleaning and polishing of interior

What say? :-), it'll look great!

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Will they do some additional foam if one wants to, for the extra thigh support ?

Yes, they should be able to do that easily. Infact, these guys are highly customizable. Meaning, they are good listeners and, are patient enough to hear you out, and act accordingly.

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Edit:: You didn't mention whats the material used. And how much was the discount offered?

I opted for PU leather, not art leather. Really comfy, and my back breaths nicely, not better (I had fabric seats). About discount. Actually, I was in a real hurry, so didnt bargain as I used to. . They mentioned 7.5k and offered me 1k discount and, I went for it. I planned to bargain after fitting, but seeing the finish, I didnt feel like.

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

You could have done the gear lever cover too. Now thats looking out of place !

Originally Posted by Latheesh

Yes, that is a neat work and it has taken your car interior to next level. Everything else looks out of place.

How true!. Brand new, good finish seats, do look great on a '07 ikon that has covered more than a lac kms.

Originally Posted by Latheesh

1) Nice steering wheel cover

Actually, they offered me free steering wheel covers, but, I opted against it. I love my chunky OE steering. I think, anything around it will spoil the feel.

Originally Posted by Latheesh

Gear lever - boot cover

hmm.. now that Ratish and you mention, I guess I should've gone for it.

Originally Posted by Latheesh

3) Cleaning and polishing of interior

Oh.. that's definitely on cards. Its been a year (~30k kms, i guess) since I've done that. I have a friend in Calicut who has offered to steam clean my interiors, for a nominal charge. .

[MadTiger]

Got my seats done today. Very satisfied with the work. Sharing a few pictures. Very courteous people.