Leather seat torn and worn

[ltpowers]

Can anyone tell me the options available to fix this seat? The back is torn and the seat has a deep crack as seen in the attached pictures.
This 1994 E500 has 200,000 miles and is a daily driver that has not seen winter salt so there is no rust and I have been doing mechanical repairs so The car will be good for the next decade.
I expect to have to dye the interior to have everything match nicely after this problem is taken care of.

 

[vatc5637]

One option if you're into DIY:

Leather Repair and Restoration

 

[gsxr]

You can get new leather for BOTH front seats from G.A.T. for $800, and then get a new backrest pad/cushion to replace your damaged one (required, as the hole shown also means the bolster heating element is bad). The new backrest pad is $125-$150, IIRC... you could get all four of them (both seats, bottom & backrest) for ~$600 via the discounters. $1400 plus labor would get you complete, brand-new front seats on both sides. I would avoid dying if possible, or if you do, have it done professionally where they color match the original exactly.

If you don't want to spend that much, shell out $75 for a quality seat cover.

 

[8899]

Here is the link:

http://www.gahh.com/index.php

 

[gerryvz]

You should also check out GAHH in North Hollywood, CA. They make excellent product. I have one of their mushroom seats on the driver's side of my 560SEC for the past 12 years and have been very happy with it.

Cheers,
Gerry

 

[gsxr]

GAHH also does excellent work. They are literally twice the price of GAT and I don't know if you get twice the quality. Vookster visited GAT and talked to them, GAT said they use the same source for leather hides as GAHH... doesn't sound like much difference to me.

 

[Glen]

Here's the G.A.T. url: https://www.germanautotops.com/mercedes-benz

 

[KarlC]

One option if you're into DIY:

Leather Repair and Restoration

His seat back is really bad, you would have to be a REAL PRO to make that look good.

 

[ltpowers]

Thanks. Here is what G A T shows on their site as a kit:
"Availability: In stock$795.00
Product Description
-2 Cushion covers, 2 Backrest covers, 2 Headrests
-First quality Imported European Leather or Vinyl
-Precision cut and assembled by hand
-100% Assembled and ready to be installed
-Factory style perforated center inserts
-100% GUARANTEED TO FIT perfectly right out of the box"

That's the leather price.

GAHH is $1733 for the 2 front seats without the head rests.

 

[rol607]

I am very happy with my GAT leathers for the front seats. Had them done late last year.

 

[ltpowers]

What discount company is preferred for the seat pads?
And BTW who has a good seat cover?

 

[maw1124]

Another low-dollar option. You might spend a few weeks poking around on www.car-part.com for '92-'94 seats for a 500E. I've seen them come and go. Like, today there are only two black front seats available, and they're only $60. For those numbers, it might be worth a call when you find the right color, have the seller send pics, etc.

If you're doing this as a high quality restoration, then I defer to Gerry and gsxr, who seem to have that angle covered.

Good luck,

maw

 

[gsxr]

What discount company is preferred for the seat pads?
And BTW who has a good seat cover?

Try Lionel at MB Gainesville (search the forum for details). You only NEED the one backrest pad, but if you are installing new leather, and it's in the budget... I'd highly recommend replacing all four pads. This also gets you new bolster heating elements on all seats as a bonus.

Not sure about covers, maybe other folks can help out there.

If you check into buying used seats, quadruple check to confirm they are actually from a 500E. Then check a fifth time. Preferably with photos from the seller of the exact seat you will receive. 99.44% of the time from salvage yards listing on car-part.com they have simply screwed up their listing, and the seats are either not from a 500E, or are from a 500SL/500SEL, which is even worse.

 

[ltpowers]

Called Gainsville... Bottom pad $84, upper with heat = $142.
And I asked for a price on the leather for the upper (back) = $765, lists for $1020.

 

[ltpowers]

I'm going out to buy some scratch tickets and then decide which option to go with.

 

[Maui]

If you're on the West Coast contact the Mercedes Classic Center for cushions. If you're on the East Coast by all means go with Lionel.

 

[sheward]

I believe member whitehawk has a complete interior for sale in cream beige. Look back about 2-3 months ago in the For Sale thread or pm him.

drew

 

[maw1124]

If you check into buying used seats, quadruple check to confirm they are actually from a 500E. Then check a fifth time. Preferably with photos from the seller of the exact seat you will receive. 99.44% of the time from salvage yards listing on car-part.com they have simply screwed up their listing, and the seats are either not from a 500E, or are from a 500SL/500SEL, which is even worse.

Dave is right here, due diligence is definitely required. Look under "Mercedes E Class" for tighter results. If you look under "Mercedes 500" that just means you'll have to weed out more car models, errors, etc. But for $120 vs $1200, I can take a little risk and do a little work. Not on mechanical bits, but for seats anyway. That way you're not sitting here with new front seats in an old interior.

maw

 

[Klink]

I believe member whitehawk has a complete interior for sale in cream beige. Look back about 2-3 months ago in the For Sale thread or pm him.

drew

Do you know if it's cream beige, parchment, or ?
Should we send a sample to Kent for correct identification?

 

[ltpowers]

I think it is cream beige.
Here is the VIN if someone can look it up. WDBEA36E9RC102267 1994 E500

 

[ltpowers]

I pm Whitehawk to see if he still has at least the driver's upper (back).

 

[ltpowers]

MB in Gainsville says the code is 275, but because it is 1994 something is different then earlier years.

 

[sheward]

Do you know if it's cream beige, parchment, or ?
Should we send a sample to Kent for correct identification?

I don't know which actually but i'm thinking cream since it's an early car. I have a few pictures but I will not be the one to open that can of mushrooms.

drew

 

[gerryvz]

I think the Great Mushroom Controversy is pretty much over. The term "mushroom" has become an everyday part of GSXR's lexicon.

We Mushroomers won !!!

 

[nocfn]

your mailbox is full

 

[gsxr]

I think it is cream beige.
Here is the VIN if someone can look it up. WDBEA36E9RC102267 1994 E500

The VIN above does have interior code 275, aka "mushroom". However:

1994 has Parchment, not Cream-Beige. The two are similar, but NOT the same. Depends if it's close enough where you don't care, or if you'd prefer to keep the original colors.

 

[gsxr]

Dave is right here, due diligence is definitely required. Look under "Mercedes E Class" for tighter results. If you look under "Mercedes 500" that just means you'll have to weed out more car models, errors, etc.

Get the VIN of the alleged donor and decode it in the EPC. Trust me. DO NOT believe what you see on that website, EVER, for models/years/options.

 

[ltpowers]

I located the manufacturer's information label for the car (see attached). Parchment is the color for code 275 in 1994. Is this a color for 1994 only? I will contact GAT to see if they have a matching color.

 

[rol607]

Before I purchased my two fronts from GAT, I called and asked them to send me samples which they did. Happy with match.

 

[ltpowers]

Sample would be great. I will call them. Thanks

 

[gsxr]

I located the manufacturer's information label for the car (see attached). Parchment is the color for code 275 in 1994. Is this a color for 1994 only? I will contact GAT to see if they have a matching color.

Parchment was used on all W124's for USA model years 1994-1995, with interior color code xx5 (including 265, 275, 175, yadda yadda).

There is much debate over the color names, but call it whatever you want, the 86-93 (USA model year, pre-facelift) interior code xx5 was NOT identical to the 94-95 (USA model year, post-facelift) color. A similar difference exists with code xx4... 86-93 is Palomino, 94-95 is Saddle (and MUCH darker!), both are referred to as "Date" in the EPC. If you were to buy any colored parts (seat leather, plastic trim, etc) there would be a 4-digit part number extension (xxx-xxx-xx-xx-YYYY) which will be different for the early vs late color, only on codes xx4 and xx5. Why Mercedes changed the colors slightly, I think it was a practical joke intended to drive people crazy on the internet 20 years later... nevermind that the internet hadn't been invented at that time. Search this forum for "mushroom parchment cream" and you'll find some entertaining discussions.

 

[gsxr]

BTW - nice color combo you have there! Same as one of mine...

 

[peets500]

What are the part numbers of the bottom and backrest pads? Thanks.

 

[Stevester 500E]

Can you tell the difference from a GAT re-upholstered seat and an original ?