[itsmyalto]

Originally Posted by raj_5004

but why are you getting leather seats from your maruti dealer????

Its only because my cousin works with the Maruti dealer that I went to him. BTW - this deal is not through the Maruti dealer. The deal is directly with the OEM supplier - thus a far less cheaper.

Originally Posted by Latheesh

I agree with Raj, for art leathers we have many options in Bangalore

I have come across the quoted dealers' names and reviews through this and other threads. At 6.5K, the quality of art leather being provided plus the workmanship is the most economical - I am told. Any of the above dealers you have mentioned would quote at least 8k to 9k. My concern is do I forego the multide of designs/quality choices because the cost I am getting is 6.5K or is the risk too much to take? I am not able to decide

[raj_5004]

but for an alto, even g sport costs 5k. i dont know about other brands but i think they are also priced similar, except stanley. and even if they cost extra, i am sure the fitting & the choices of designs & colours will make it worth a look.

[arjunrudra]

Originally Posted by raj_5004

but for an alto, even g sport costs 5k. i dont know about other brands but i think they are also priced similar, except stanley. and even if they cost extra, i am sure the fitting & the choices of designs & colours will make it worth a look.

Yous should probably try Autoform . They are cheaper than Gsport and are equally good. They look real good too.
You should probably check out their website. Just google autoform India.

[Latheesh]

Yes it is worth paying couple of thousand extra. At least visit Marvin and Ceralli and have a look at their raw materials/work/design/price and decide.

[rjstyles69]

Originally Posted by itsmyalto

Yesterday, I had been to the Maruti car dealer where my cousin works. He referred me to their OEM seat cover supplier. In discussion with the person, I was told that dash cover is not advisable/possible. Moreover due to design limitations, only a small patch (the ovals) on the door panels would be able to be covered. Thats really disappointing :-( Any further insight into this?

I was shown two small pieces of Art Leather as samples for color choice - maroon and blank combination to be used for seats. I was given a quote of Rs. 5250 for the same. The "next level quality" is Rs. 6500. Both quotes are inclusive of leather steering cover hand stitched, gear cover, and seats. My cousin who knows the dealer vouches for the price/quality ratio - in short says it is VFM.

This leaves me in a perplexed situation, since I was expecting to be presented with an array of designs, materials, colors, qualities, etc. but that was not to be. I did check out a couple of cars in the garage and the workmanship seemed to be reasonable though colors/design werent exactly my taste. Please advise if going for "known" dealers would help any better in selection. Or is the above price is too good to resist offer.

No brainer here, the dealer sure has his cut in this deal. First off, I would recommend that you hunt around town because there are umpteen seat cover manufacturers who can show you good stuff and also provide you with a cost effective solution.

AFAIK art leather prices start off at 3grand or so from the el-cheapo seat covers available at JC road.

I would put my money on G-sport or Marvin if my pockets aren't deep enuf for seat covers. G-sport has a variety of art leather stuff available with different levels of thickness and quality.

G-sport art leather seat covers cost upwards 5k. Depending on what you decide to get the cover stitched in.

Regarding the dash cover, why do you need one. Aesthetics is it ? Usually only the small portion of the door panels are covered and not the dash. This also includes the steering wheel and also the lower part gear level.In the Alto, the lower part of the gear lever doesnt need a cover coz it already comes with a rubber cover.

[itsmyalto]

Originally Posted by rjstyles69

No brainer here, the dealer sure has his cut in this deal.

I dont suspect that. Two points here, its not the Maruti dealer I am going to - Its directly the seat cover manufacturer/dealer who supplies the same to the Maruti dealer. Point two - My cousin, a long time employee with the Maruti dealer is arranging this - again directly with the seat cover dealer and should know the dealer personally, so no cuts in all probabilities.

Originally Posted by rjstyles69

I would put my money on G-sport or Marvin if my pockets aren't deep enuf for seat covers. G-sport has a variety of art leather stuff available with different levels of thickness and quality.

G-sport art leather seat covers cost upwards 5k. Depending on what you decide to get the cover stitched in.

Will definitely check that out before I decide.

Originally Posted by rjstyles69

Regarding the dash cover, why do you need one. Aesthetics is it ? Usually only the small portion of the door panels are covered and not the dash. This also includes the steering wheel and also the lower part gear level.In the Alto, the lower part of the gear lever doesnt need a cover coz it already comes with a rubber cover.

Thats bad news :-( I was so fascinated by the stunning looks in the high end cars, what with all dash, doors, roofs, seats, etc. covered up so elegantly in same texture/material. Looks like I will have to settle down only for the seats.

[Latheesh]

If you are sure about the quality and price, go ahead and get it from the dealer. Still I suggest you to take a visit to Marvin and Ceralli.

We know what type of seat covers dealers offer. I have seen a pathetic seat cover installed by a dealer in my friend's BEAT last week. I have a seat cover (real leather+ art combo) and real leather m/c stitched steering wheel cover done by Pensee leathers for Rs.9500. You can see the pics in this thread itself. It is a fantastic VFM offer eventhough workmanship is not comparable to Ceralli/Marvin/Stanley.

[thiyags22]

Originally Posted by Latheesh

If you are sure about the quality and price, go ahead and get it from the dealer. Still I suggest you to take a visit to Marvin and Ceralli.

We know what type of seat covers dealers offer. I have seen a pathetic seat cover installed by a dealer in my friend's BEAT last week. I have a seat cover (real leather+ art combo) and real leather m/c stitched steering wheel cover done by Pensee leathers for Rs.9500. You can see the pics in this thread itself. It is a fantastic VFM offer eventhough workmanship is not comparable to Ceralli/Marvin/Stanley.

Hi Latheesh, on workmanship alone, would you recommend Pensee? Do these guys do a 75% good job when compared to Marvin? Are you happy with the quality of the materials used by Pensee?

Thiyags

[Latheesh]

Originally Posted by thiyags22

Hi Latheesh, on workmanship alone, would you recommend Pensee? Do these guys do a 75% good job when compared to Marvin? Are you happy with the quality of the materials used by Pensee?

Thiyags

Yes, they are not bad. You can see the pictures in this thread itself. You need to select the quality materials from the options available. What I did not like is their shop location. They do not have a dedicated place to do their work. They are not aggressive like others, you need to push them. At the end I am happy with the outcome. For 9.5K I got real leather+art leather combo seat covers including m/c stitched steering cover. I do not think anybody in Bangalore offer that, I may be wrong.

My suggestion to all bhpians: whenever you do the seat cover installation, spent the whole time with them during the process and point them and whatever issues/problem then and there and get it corrected.

[thiyags22]

Originally Posted by Latheesh

Yes, they are not bad. You can see the pictures in this thread itself. You need to select the quality materials from the options available. What I did not like is their shop location. They do not have a dedicated place to do their work. They are not aggressive like others, you need to push them. At the end I am happy with the outcome. For 9.5K I got real leather+art leather combo seat covers including m/c stitched steering cover. I do not think anybody in Bangalore offer that, I may be wrong.

Thanks for your inputs. I will visit them sometime this week.

[rjstyles69]

With regards to this post, lionx you have gotten yourself a wonderful deal from Marvin. I was there scouting for seat covers and I honestly think they aren't the best in terms of options.

You know they weren't even willing to throw in a bottle holder with the seat and after a lot of persuasion on it was agreed upon. Also I was quoted close to 18k change for the following in the same design as lionx has gotten(synthetic material as they call it).

Seat covers + door trims + gear knobs + hand brake = 18k odd. So much for art leather. Apparently in art leather they never had the silver trim and hence if they were to use leather another 3k extra for a few small pieces.

Without being biased , I don't think they are VFM and are customer oriented. Apparently the dude there was trying to push the leather stuff and when he dint have something that I was looking for(available with other dealers) the product wasn't great. WOW !!

I have been using G-sport seat covers since 2005 and never had any quality issues as such. So maybe I am going back there to work a deal with Hemant.

Originally Posted by raj_5004

i got g sport (lustre) in my scorpio for 11k which includes seat covers & door trims.

And Raj are you sure you got it for that price and that too Lustre ? Listen you might want to check if you weren't fleeced by the installer. Lustre isn't available for that price here in the factory itself .

[Latheesh]

I agree spending 18K is expensive, looks like they drastically increased the price. There was one TBHPian's Spark done by them recently for a good price. I have also seen some of their work done in my friends/colleagues cars at a reasonable price (read <10K).

If you are ready to spend more than 12K for artleather its not worth. Spend few thousand more and do it in real leather.

Doing door trims + gear knobs + hand brake + steering wheel in artleather is not a good idea and may not give the desired result. You have to go for real leather in these area.

There is one vendor which is started by ex. Stanley guy, location is somewhere near Garuda mall I believe. Details any bhpians? I have not seen any work done by them but heard quality is close to Stanley at comparatively less price. You may also check at Ceralli and Karsport.

I am in the process of making local data base of all major seat cover vendors in Bangalore. May take some time as I am busy almost all 7 days a week.

[Mustang.101]

If anyone in New Delhi/NCR requires Autoform seat covers at wholesale rates, Then you can contact me as I have the contact details of the distributor in New Delhi.

Can you believe that i got Autoform ucheer done up on my fusion with bucket seat fitting at Rs. 6000/- . Aint that an awesome price? I think it is.

Whats more, These guys also send a boy to fix the seat covers in your home & charge only Rs.100 extra so that you dont need to bring your car in crowded areas.

[shajufx]

Originally Posted by rjstyles69

I have been using G-sport seat covers since 2005 and never had any quality issues as such. So maybe I am going back there to work a deal with Hemant. .

Riju, which gsport dealer you go to ?

I already spoke to the Marvin guy about my fiesta seats. I plan to get it done this month itself. But wavering between Stanley, Marvin and Gsport. Unfortunately there is nothing in Bangalore north which would have made my work timing comfortable. Because I can only leave the car in the morning, again pick it up next morning, there is no chance of stepping out of work between 12pm to 10pm on weekdays, weekends car is mostly on road. Marvin guy was not sure how they can park my car for overnite as the work might take only 6 to 7 hours.

Any outlets that are franchisee or equal quality to others within the 5-10 kms radius of Hebbal flyover ?

[Latheesh]

Parking the car overnight will be a problem with most of the vendors.

Options:
1) Appoint someone (you can trust) to pick it up in the evening or ask vendor to drop it at your home after the installation.
2) Change your weekend plans, one day :-) difficult but still..

No idea about seat cover or accessory vendors in Hebbal area.