Anyone using seatcovers?

[Astra08]

The leather on my passenger seat cracked and wound up ripping and the local upholstery guy wants $450 to redo it.

Unfortunately, the closest seat I've found is hours away so shipping it on the top of the cost would probably run about the same, unless I drive up to Tennessee to get it. I would prefer not to buy one sight unseen anyway.

Thanks.

[AstraFasta]

PAO is the RPO code for leather on your 3-door XR model and below are the replacement passenger leather pieces (I think).

The back is not expensive but the bottom is. At least they are available in the US.

How difficult could it be to install?

13114226 ~$150
72 60 936 (ALTERNATE)
COVER, FRONT SEAT BACK(ANTHRACITE)(LEATHER)
Location:
Passenger Side
Fitting Vehicle Options:
AT08(AE4,AJ7,AY0,PAO,80X,80I)

13193037 ~$650
72 56 876 (ALTERNATE)
COVER, FRONT SEAT CUSHION(ANTHRACITE)
Location:
Passenger Side
Fitting Vehicle Options:
AT08(AE4,PAO,80X,80I)

https://www.gmpartsgiant.com/parts-l...(t=M25;m=ZAT08)

https://www.gmpartsgiant.com/parts-l...(t=M25;m=ZAT08)

https://nemigaparts.com/cat_spares/epc/opel/a04/d10/2/
https://nemigaparts.com/cat_spares/epc/opel/a04/d10/1/

They were not available in Europe in 2018

https://www.astraownersnetwork.co.uk...umbers.365188/

[PaulR]

That is about right for replacing just a seat cover. I inquired at my local upholstery shop and found that they wanted $450 just to install the front seat cover on my XE. I bought the top and bottom from Vintage Parts for about $150 and I guess that I am now going to do the job myself. They cant be too tough to install, besides You Tube does have tutorials on it. You may want to try a search on eBay and Vintage Parts may come up. Many times they are open to offers, so maybe give them an unreasonable one, because they may just take it. On a brighter note, I just bought a valve cover and gasket from my local Chevy dealer. Since parts prices are not getting any cheaper on our cars, I am stocking up on some of the most commonly needed ones. With my employee discount, I now work at the Subaru dealer of the same owner, it came to $121.52. It did come with an oil cap which was not expected.

[JFS]

These guys: https://katzkin.com/

Hello Gang,

It has been a while since I checked in.

I haven't posted here for quite a while, been busy relocating and opening a business. I have only put about 3500 miles on the Astra since moving to Tennessee in February. Car only has 108,000 miles on it, looks and performs like it's three or four years old. Nobody believes it is 15 years old.
In light of what's happening in the economy and the crazy car market, I really don't see why I should not try to drive this car for another three to four years. Actually, I have said the same thing three or four years ago. I have been thinking about how my seats have been wearing and given I am still taking a longer term view on keeping the car, it has occurred to me that with my tax return I might like to improve the interior by reupholstering the car in leather.

At $450 for just the one seat, if you are planning on keeping the car longer term, it might make sense to spend a bit more and just have the entire interior redone. For about $1600 , this would include installation, at least in my market. if you make a purchase online through Katzkin, they will guarantee a price that includes installation in your vehicle. A couple of years ago, I saw the installation of their product in a late model Jeep and it looked better than many original leather interiors. If you search, there are very well done guides here on how to reupholster 2 and 4 door Astras. Installing yourself looks more like a cost of $850, including tools. I would try that, but don’t have the time.

Whatever route you go let us know.

[JFS]

Alright, I'm taking one for the team.

I just completed my order from Katzkin with their rep named Rhett. Like me, he has recently abandoned California for Tennessee and is working remotely.

The base cost has gone up since I last checked and with taxes, the installation will be $1840.

I have a same day installation appt on 27 January and will post then.

[AstraFasta]

Those will be nice JFS!

If you like sheepskin or acrylic fleece, there is a US company that offers both custom and generic options:

https://www.covercraft.com/us/en/sho...a/seat-covers/

For generic seatcovers, I didn't see many suggestions in the Euro forums but you might have better luck looking.

AutoDoc shows 445 (!) options for the Astra H sporthatch so that provides a "universe". Many are not available and it is tough to parse (maybe easier on their app). Some of these are neat like the Momo covers (which get mixed reviews on Amazon).

https://www.autodoc.co.uk/spares-sea...ord=Seat+cover

I suppose ebay and amazon, particularly in the UK might have a variety of options.

Note that fake leather, which has many tricky names (PU leather, peleather, faux leather, vegan leather, leatherette, naugahyde...). Sometimes these fit well, look good, and last a long time. But most do not breath well so are uncomfortable IMHO. So I might look towards cloth, cotton, leather, etc.

[AstraFasta]

I found a custom seat-cover shop in Ireland on ebay. The pictures show actual Astra H seats in photos and fit looks good. About $500 shipped to US.

Below is the direct web site (same name on ebay):

https://www.carseatcoversdirect.com/...esult/?q=astra

They make custom in-house leatherette for the "Astra H". I don't see a cloth option but they are available for the "Astra J", so may be a possibility for the H.

The company has a lot of ebay reviews. This year, there was one ebay review for the Astra H seatcover:
"A+++ Lovely seat covers,well made and accurate fit and definitely enhance my car.Expensive but worth it,really quick dispatch time too.
VAUXHALL OPEL ASTRA H SEAT COVERS (#192318270335)"

https://www.carseatcoversdirect.com/...esult/?q=astra

[Astra08]

Thanks for all the feedback. Getting the correct part number so I can search for someone willing to let one go cheap was half the battle.

Looks like it won't be cheap unless I get lucky, but no rush.

[JFS]

If it is a help, on 27 January, I will have all of my cloth upholstery removed. If you want pictures, please IM me and we can exchange email addresses.

[AstraFasta]

Post a few pictures here if you like JFS!

We are noodling on some long-term service items on our Astra too, as it still runs and drives like new. Our seats look fine but could use a bit of steam cleaning.

[Astra08]

JFS,

Thanks for the offer, but I've got leather so I'll try and stick with that.

[JFS]

Yes, who the hell spends $1800 (including tax) to put leather seats in a 15 year old car?

I am that kind of guy. I had a certain someone let loose with her bottle of fingernail polish remover and it really did a job on melting some stitching on both front seats. Somehow, the cushions did not dissolve and the headliner and hard surfaces did not suffer. So the least she could do is look the other way when I made this purchase.

I have been eying cars to replace the Astra, but the market has gone up again. I am in Tennessee now and I note that used cars here suffer a bit of rust creep like the Great Lakes and North Eastern regions, say 65% of that. If I consider a used car, it has me thinking of returning to California when the time comes to get one from an arid or semi-arid part of the country. My wife has a 2018 Mazda3 2.5 with an auto transmission. Hers has 48K on it and if she bought one today, it would only be about $4-4.5K less than what she paid new. Crazy stuff.

So I'm more than pleased to put on new rubber and put in these seats to consider driving this car another 2-4 years. I am running a new business and do not want a $450-600 monthly payment.

So here is my girl in new leather. Except for a battery shroud or some other thing to keep the car engine warm in winter, I have gotten around to install every accessory item possible on this car.....Where do I get my cookie and gold star?

Oh yeah, the seats are great. They feel new in support and hold better when turning vs. cloth. I went minimalist on the leather portions being the backside and bolsters. I struggle to see the color difference in person,, but the 7 Pro makes it stand out. My local installer went the extra mile by tucking in a couple other surfaces during the work, really nice.

Google Links:

Driver Front
Driver Back
Passenger Front
Passenger Back

[AstraFasta]

Look first class m8!

If you didn't already upgrade the leather boots for the shifter & emergency brake, there are some nice inexpensive options available online.

Once the nits are sorted in these cars, they run great for quite a long time.

I see a lot of people applying fluid film up north. Maybe we will do some basic under carriage treatment and start using fluid film yearly. The galvanized bodies are quite rust resistant.

[tackepj]

Wow, looks tremendous! Nicely done.

I've been impressed with how well the cloth seats in my cheapo XE have held up. The back seat has some wear (which is weird) but the fronts still look pretty solid, but nothing like this.

I joined the line of not-at-all-dirty cars at the carwash today (seriously, why are people washing clean cars?) and the paint still looks fresh, other than the unfortunate eczema on the bumper covers.