I'm a total noob here. I'm shopping for my first volvo. It looks like I'll end up with a 95-96 850 turbo.

The problem is, I'm seeing decent cars, but all of them have TERRIBLE leather (I'm picky and want it to look like new)

I've searched all over the forums and also online for sites that sell replacement leather covers or seats and just am not having any luck.

Have any of you ever done this? Where did you find the leather or the seats? (I would try and junk yard, but I'm a bit busy right now... but guess I should in the future)

Thanks!

I;ve seen quite a few on ebay in the past. I believe a friend of mine in PA happens to have some tan leather 850 seats for sale as well (he sells on ebay). I have seen them also on variou otehr online places (cant recall them right off though).

Depending on what you are willing to spend, you can alo look into a local Upholterand see what they will charge, but Leather is not a cheap option.

From what I have seen, you basically get the 2 options, black or tan. From my less than vast experience in this, the tan leatehr tends to look better with time over the black which can begin to show stress fractures more readily than the tan (as the fractures tend to blend in with tan, but not black). However, my preference is black and black is what I got. Noting else on my car was pristine, so neither are my seats, but they are whole and without tears, so I am pleased enough.

Leather seats take constant upkeep to maintain them well, which is something most people tend to slack off on with time, so older cars with leather tend to begin cracking. You may pay a premium for an older car with pristine leather inside, as it tends to speak of an owner who goes beyond normal routine maintenance and take good car of their car and most likely also know well what it is worth.

Good luck finding one.On a side note, I have yet to find any real leather repairs that work real well or last a long time (maybe some good professionals at this can do it, but I havent seen any yet).

you will be luckier finding the holy grail, and you can't have it since us masons have it hidden. :grin: blakbyrd brings up a good point, the tan leather does hide the stress cracks better. even though there isn't a magic lotion, there are plenty of leather care products that will lessen the damage. a good leather jacket polish or boot creme does wonders. stay away from armor all or any of those products since it just attracts dust and dries out the leather. any lexol product works, but is pricey. talk to a tanner or a good leather shop. either recover them yourself, it's not a hard job just be patient. or get seat covers. to have them reupholstered, ahhhhhhhhhhhh, unless it's a T5R in the green color, i would pass. being that it will be expensive and for a street car.....of course that is your choice, just my .02 cents worth. good luck.

Hmm, not that anyone would have known it but I too am a Mason (in name as well....hehe).

For me I just have a thing against seat covers...never liked them. NO matter what they always looklike seat covers to me, which always makes me wonder what someone is trying to hide with them. I havent ever looked very hard, but cant recall ever seeing any Volvo's with seat covers (except maybe for some that people make it very obvious that they do not do anything at all to take care of them and they look like the were dragged out of a junk yard and someone just slapped some license plates on them).

If mine were to the point of having to fix/replace them, my only personal choices would be to either buy new seats (well used ones in decent shape) or having the ones I had reupholstered. I guess I am lucky in having a local upholsterer who does great work and reupolstered everything in my Saab a long time ago for $600 (the job was a birthday gift then so I didnt have to pay for it...I still have the seats though, even though the car has long since been sent to the shredder). Glad I choose to have the seats done, as the other option was a new paint job, and I ended up totalling 4 other cars with the Saab before it was finally destroyed...haha.

okay, memo to self, don't drive with balkbyrd in his saab, he hits other cars with it. :grin: 600 is not a bad price, considering the labor involved in these seats, not to mention saab seats. well met bro. :57:

haha, well I havent had that Saab for a long time. It was my very first car. I loved that car though and have been hooked on Swedish engineering ever since.

I think the judge at the time started to get to know me (not really a good thing), as I totalled 4 other cars with that Saab in about 8 months, and had the same judge each time. The last accident (that finally did the car in), I got nailed cross ways in the driver's side front quater panel by a guy who was speeding through an intersection (however I had the red light). My brakes gave out completely, and I went right into the intersection in front of him, although he was doing 60 in a 35, he sent my car almost through a full 720,off the road with my nose about 10" from going through the wall of a local lawyers office. Luckily I only had wiplash, a pounding headache and a few cuts from flying glass.

The funny part was in court. I couldnt afford a lawyer and due to the natureofit I wasnt given one, as no one was hurt and the total damages all around didnt warrant one. Everyone told me that the "loss of brakes" excuse just wouldnt fly, but it is what happened so I used it. Luckily, to my surprise, the judge started to become a bit sympathetic when it came up. As it happens he had just bought the same older model Saab for his son, which had the brakes go out on it as well. After court, he came up to me and tried to sell it to me for parts...haha. In any event, he dismissed the case with just the rise in my insurance as punishment.

At that point the only part of that car that wasnt smashed was the rear passenger quarte panel and the top of the car. The old 99's are built like tanks :) I even sent an old 70's full size Cadalac off the road and off an embankment with it once (that was my first accident, when I hydroplaned into the side of it).

damn, memo to self, do not drive any old cadillacs next to the balkbyrd. :grin: at least you are okay. great story. hey, i should start a post about our funniest worst accidents. hmmmmm.... watch for the post.

Yeah, love the read, man...
:)

Well I got some good four wheeling stories too, although most of em involve me doing something stupid :P However, I havent taken any Volvos off road yet, but whenever I can get my hands on a C304 I will be.

Try the 240 on sandy ex-mining fields. Like wooohoooooooo!

... or so, i was told.
:P

:banana:

I did a pair of 720's down the interstate once in my old 240. That's the roughest I have ever been with a Volvo...haha. Well, the 720's were pretty smooth but bouncing off the guard rails a few times was a bit rough :P

note to self, don't get in with him in the 240, either. :grin:

Well that was all when I was younger, I drive like someone's grandmother now :P I baby my cars. Although when I get another 4x4 or 6x6 I wont be babying it any.

note to self, if blakbyrd gets a bigfoot truck, get off of the road. or better yet, get off the back roads, sidewalks, dunes, hills, mountains, etc. :grin:

Haha, you'd be safer with me than any of my four-wheeling friends. I has been more than once I was about the only one to make it out of a trip. My Nissan at the time has towed several full-sized trucks out of the moutains and mud holes.

I was only ever stuck once, and that was just shear stupidity on my part, mixed in with our typicall midnight four wheeling. I think I drove into a perk test hole out in the middle of a flat field, which of course just swallowed my front tires whole :P. Granted at midnight no one would have seen the hole, but driving past the backhole that was sitting beside the hole should have been a good clue (the pile of dirt beside it just didnt register with me I guess...haha.

:haha:

...you guys!

Hey Tim erievovo.com might have them. I bought stuff from them before and they are good to deal with.
Xpiece.