racerdave

How is the seat wear for any of you leather owners with high miles?

I am just wondering how they are holding up to this point, and how they will seem to be in the long-term.

I saw a G35 sedan with 25k miles and the seat looked bad... all wrinkly and cracked up. Not impressive.

I will likely order cloth, but I am seriously considering getting a GT -- but from Canada so I can NOT get the moonroof. I also like the seat heaters and the plastic seatback over the cloth.

So thanks for you input in advance.

(And yes, I checked into it... the car is fine as-is to bring in, and there is only a simple form to fill out to get the info needed to bring it in from Mazda... as well, the warranty and road-side is honored anywhere in the US as well)

moRotorMotor

I know what you mean racerdave. My friends' S2000 has about 10'000 kms on his leather buckets and they are too wrinkly and worn. Why can't you get the moonroof in GT trim?

Jag

I can't really answer the question on seat wear, but the seats seem to be very high quality and I would guess that as long as you take care of them they'll look great for a long time.

If you're considering ordering an 8 from Canada you should be aware that there are very few 2004's being imported here, only about 700 I think. So if you plan on getting one you should probably get your order in right away. There are a few sitting in dealers but if you're picky about what color or options you want then you most likely won't find one sitting around, and if you want red or titanium you're gonna be SOL, haven't seen one yet that wasn't sold already.

Kap

I've got close to 9000 Miles on my 8 and the leather seats still look nearly new. However apply Leather conditioner to the leather surfaces several times a month.

FirstSpin

Might be trivial but what brand/type of leather conditioner do you use? I've used stuff in the past that, over time, got "gummy" or sticky. Just curious about what you'd recommend.....

ptiemann

mine is 3 months and I have 6100 miles on it.
I park in the garage most nights, but it stands outside in the sun about every day.

The leather still looks and feels like new.

I was suckered into having the dealer treat the leather with some stuff. Since it has been 3 months since, I wanted to refresh this treatment today, and that's why I clicked on this thread - to get suggestions for a good product. At Kragen's I saw..

Armor All
Maguire
some non-brand

Elara

Mine is at 7500 miles, I've cleaned it with leather cleaner once, and it lives outside all day. Leather seats still look like they did when I bought the car. Got it the beginning of August.

rxeightr

7700 miles & 4 months.

No treatments & no wear.

ST.James

I bought mine in july and my seats still look new. I use mcguires leather conditioner every two weeks. It leaves it looking clean but for a day you get the fake fart noise every time you get in and sit down on them. Although I still laugh when my friend's face turns red when it makes the noise even though I always tell her that I believe her that it was the seat and not her. :D

flyboyindy

They should have a "fake fart" warning on that bottle... =P I agree... McGuires is a great product... I condition every other week... 4 months and still look like new =)

CoastalKT

You might want to consider LEXOL for the leather.

I bought a new Acura last year, my first car with leather seats (got my 8 yesterday) so I did a lot of research about waxes, leathercare, etc. etc. The end result was only positive reviews of Lexol. The leather in my Acura still looks and feels like day one - with no residual or greasy feel.

Just my opinion as I have only owned leather seats for a year - not enough experience with how leather should age in an auto.

Cheers

racerdave

Sounds pretty good. Thanks.

When I saw the G35, I was not impressed. But I saw a Miata today with leather and it looked pretty good, so it should be just fine if treated right.

As for why can't I get the moonroof? Because I don't *want* it. :D Maybe I worded it poorly the first time.

In the US, we cannot get the GT package without the moonroof. Or, to look at it another way, we can't get the Sports package with leather.

Either way, Mazda USA is *SO* inflexible on their options, that if I want leather but NO moonroof, then I'll have to place an order in Canada.

Do I want to do that? No, not really. It'd be far easier to do it near my home in WI.

But Windsor (among others) is not far away, and I wouldn't mind driving it back at all.

Mazda could make it a lot easier by offering a "moonroof delete" option on the GT package... or offer it like they do in Canada, with the moonroof as a completely separate option.

Now it just comes down to "leather or cloth?"

So thanks for the input on the leather wear.

manbar

lol,kind of funny, one G35 forum has a thread that rants on other cars poor leather seats while boasting theirs.

bobclevenger

Yep. I considered buying mine from BC just for this reason, but I wanted the nav system, and even in Canada you can't get the nav without the bloody moonroof.

HEY MAZDA!!! There are a lot of people in North America who are over 5'11" (180 cm.) tall, and the extra headroom is MUCH more important than the ability to open up the roof of the car.

FirstSpin

I like the leather but it wasn't what drove me toward the GT package. If I could have gotten the electric seat and seat heaters in fabric and if fabric were all that were available I'd have done it in a heartbeat. I drove a couple with fabric interiors and they were comfortable and well-appointed. As I said, I'm pleased with the leather (had it in my last car and it was fine after 3 years). It just was not the leather that pushed me in the direction of the GT package.

Thanks for the tips about McGuires and Lexol. Will check em out.....

moRotorMotor

Hey racerdave, thanks for clarifying. I had no idea the differences in options. You can look on the bright side of buying a car here in Canada, and that is the speedo can change to from kph to mph with the push of a button (not many cars can do that and can be a little annoying). Anyways, Happy Holidays and goodluck on the purchase of your new 8

Leo (moRotorMotor)

racerdave

Good point Leo! That push-button distance/speed conversion is nice, and will save a trip to the dealer to do it.

Apart from the forms and logistics of it all, Mazda and the RX-8 actually makes this process pretty do-able.

hondas2k

Don't use Armor All on leather, it is not really made to treat and clean it. In fact, I don't use Armor All at all anymore. I use 303 Aerospace Vinly cleaner for the dash and it might work well on the non-leather parts of the seats.

Lexol is great for leather and it is best to always use a product that comes with two parts; a cleaner and then a treatment.

Kirk