How hard wearing are leather car seats?

[Adrian Caspersz]

May be a silly question, but a friend has been offered a 3-year old Ford
Focus that has done 42,000 miles, and I can see on his photos scuff
marks on the drivers and passenger seat.

He is wondering when would they migrate to tears and look unsightly?
5 years, 10 years?

[Fredxx]

Post by Adrian Caspersz
May be a silly question, but a friend has been offered a 3-year old Ford
 Focus that has done 42,000 miles, and I can see on his photos scuff
marks on the drivers and passenger seat.
He is wondering when would they migrate to tears and look unsightly?
5 years, 10 years?

That very much depends on what the driver is wearing. It's unusual for
passenger seats to look worn.

[Adrian Caspersz]

Post by Fredxx

Post by Adrian Caspersz
May be a silly question, but a friend has been offered a 3-year old
Ford   Focus that has done 42,000 miles, and I can see on his photos
scuff marks on the drivers and passenger seat.
He is wondering when would they migrate to tears and look unsightly?
5 years, 10 years?

That very much depends on what the driver is wearing. It's unusual for
passenger seats to look worn.

Yup, that was what I was thinking when I saw the photos. Wondering on
the other hand if the mileage is genuine. eBay purchase. One previous
owner, a doctor.

But in my case, I've had "normal" cloth seats in a roughly used Octavia
that hadn't been torn as such, but then again I don't wear a hacking jacket.

In comparison, are leather seats a worry that need undue attention?

Friend is elderly, wears a hacking jacket, wants this car to outlast him.

(In other news, I'm considering a car with leather seats myself)

[Fredxx]

Post by Adrian Caspersz

Post by Fredxx

Post by Adrian Caspersz
May be a silly question, but a friend has been offered a 3-year old
Ford   Focus that has done 42,000 miles, and I can see on his photos
scuff marks on the drivers and passenger seat.
He is wondering when would they migrate to tears and look unsightly?
5 years, 10 years?

That very much depends on what the driver is wearing. It's unusual for
passenger seats to look worn.

Yup, that was what I was thinking when I saw the photos. Wondering on
the other hand if the mileage is genuine. eBay purchase. One previous
owner, a doctor.

Check MOT history as mileage should be noted. It's now far more
difficult to fudge odometer readings./

Post by Adrian Caspersz
But in my case, I've had "normal" cloth seats in a roughly used Octavia
that hadn't been torn as such, but then again I don't wear a hacking jacket.
In comparison, are leather seats a worry that need undue attention?

I would say leather seats are hard wearing. Someone else may be along to
dispel my belief.

Post by Adrian Caspersz
Friend is elderly, wears a hacking jacket, wants this car to outlast him.
(In other news, I'm considering a car with leather seats myself)

[alan_m]

Post by Fredxx
Check MOT history as mileage should be noted. It's now far more
difficult to fudge odometer readings./

Except in times of lockdown :)

I normally do 8K+ miles a year but I've just had a MOT on the car and
note just over 2K miles in the past year, and 1.2K of that was visiting
friends in a 3 weeks period between lockdown.

No-one would necessarily question low mileage as a result the clocking
of the mileage covered in the past 12 months or the future 3 to 6 months.

Post by Fredxx

Post by Adrian Caspersz
In comparison, are leather seats a worry that need undue attention?

Possibly they just need some regular attention as you would do with a
saddle or even leather shoes. Leather probably just needs "feeding"
especially after a period of hot oven conditions which can occur in a
car parked in the sun.

[Theo]

Post by Fredxx
Check MOT history as mileage should be noted. It's now far more
difficult to fudge odometer readings./

If it's under 3 years old there won't be any MOT history. If just over
there will be only a single reading. That's not much to go on. If there
are more frequent MOTs it suggests the vehicle has been a taxi and to steer
clear (not sure if any local authorities ask for taxi testing under 3 years
old).

Service history may help though - I don't know if Ford have an online portal
where you can pull up dealer service records if you know the VIN.

Theo

[Fredxx]

Post by Theo

Post by Fredxx
Check MOT history as mileage should be noted. It's now far more
difficult to fudge odometer readings./

If it's under 3 years old there won't be any MOT history.

Good point, I've tended to buy cars at their 3rd birthday and forgot.

[Adrian Caspersz]

Post by Theo

Post by Fredxx
Check MOT history as mileage should be noted. It's now far more
difficult to fudge odometer readings./

If it's under 3 years old there won't be any MOT history.
Service history may help though - I don't know if Ford have an online portal
where you can pull up dealer service records if you know the VIN.

Yup, no history there, however the paperwork and service records do show
a gradually increasing mileage. But they are more than 6 months ago, and
we could perhaps make the assumption that the car has seen a lot more
recent use.

I'll see if I can post up a photo of the seats. They showed me it over a
remote desktop session.

[Adrian Caspersz]

Post by Adrian Caspersz
I'll see if I can post up a photo of the seats. They showed me it over a
remote desktop session.

The scuffs turned out to be glare in a badly composed camera shot. They
are happy with the seats.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Post by Adrian Caspersz

Post by Adrian Caspersz
I'll see if I can post up a photo of the seats. They showed me it over a
remote desktop session.

The scuffs turned out to be glare in a badly composed camera shot. They
are happy with the seats.

The camera never lies. Apart from in car ads. ;-)

[newshound]

Post by Fredxx

Post by Adrian Caspersz

Post by Fredxx

Post by Adrian Caspersz
May be a silly question, but a friend has been offered a 3-year old
Ford   Focus that has done 42,000 miles, and I can see on his photos
scuff marks on the drivers and passenger seat.
He is wondering when would they migrate to tears and look unsightly?
5 years, 10 years?

That very much depends on what the driver is wearing. It's unusual
for passenger seats to look worn.

Yup, that was what I was thinking when I saw the photos. Wondering on
the other hand if the mileage is genuine. eBay purchase. One previous
owner, a doctor.

Check MOT history as mileage should be noted. It's now far more
difficult to fudge odometer readings./

Post by Adrian Caspersz
But in my case, I've had "normal" cloth seats in a roughly used
Octavia that hadn't been torn as such, but then again I don't wear a
hacking jacket.
In comparison, are leather seats a worry that need undue attention?

I would say leather seats are hard wearing. Someone else may be along to
dispel my belief.

+1. Although whether modern cars will have the thickness and quality of
the hide in Rovers, Jags, and Rollers in the old days I am not sure.

I had full leather seats in a Fourtrak that were still fine when I sold
it at about 10 years. My 61 plate Jazz has so-called leather seats
(actually it is only the seat panel and back panel, the surrounds etc
are synthetic) and that still looks fine at 60k miles.

Leather of course ages much more gracefully than the fabric seats of a
few decades ago, which went "stringy" in 10 years or so.

Post by Fredxx

Post by Adrian Caspersz
Friend is elderly, wears a hacking jacket, wants this car to outlast him.
(In other news, I'm considering a car with leather seats myself)

[RJH]

Post by Adrian Caspersz

Post by Fredxx

Post by Adrian Caspersz
May be a silly question, but a friend has been offered a 3-year old
Ford   Focus that has done 42,000 miles, and I can see on his photos
scuff marks on the drivers and passenger seat.
He is wondering when would they migrate to tears and look unsightly?
5 years, 10 years?

That very much depends on what the driver is wearing. It's unusual for
passenger seats to look worn.

Yup, that was what I was thinking when I saw the photos. Wondering on
the other hand if the mileage is genuine. eBay purchase. One previous
owner, a doctor.

Depends - my Audi's 14 year old leather seats look fine I suppose, scuffs on
the driver's bolster. But then they're the thick 'orrible elephant hide type,
rather than supple leather. I have treated them a couple of times but I think
they were like this from new.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Post by Adrian Caspersz
May be a silly question, but a friend has been offered a 3-year old Ford
Focus that has done 42,000 miles, and I can see on his photos scuff
marks on the drivers and passenger seat.
He is wondering when would they migrate to tears and look unsightly?
5 years, 10 years?

Many variables. Quality of the leather. How it is looked after. Wear
clothes with sharp edges (something in a back pocket, etc?) and it can be
damaged same as anything else. I recently had the leather squabs on the
front seats of my SD1 recovered. Had been looking scruffy for a few years,
Seat back and rear seats still fine. It's 1985.

[Peter Hill]

Post by Adrian Caspersz
May be a silly question, but a friend has been offered a 3-year old Ford
 Focus that has done 42,000 miles, and I can see on his photos scuff
marks on the drivers and passenger seat.
He is wondering when would they migrate to tears and look unsightly?
5 years, 10 years?

You need to look at the exact same make and model. If they have wear
points and poor leather then they all have the same wear points and poor
leather. If they last and develop patina then they all last well.

Leather can be restored by re-colouring. Some splits can be patched.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Post by Peter Hill
Leather can be restored by re-colouring. Some splits can be patched.

They can, but when the leather has got to that age, more are likely to
develop quite soon after. Got fed up fixing mine after about half a dozen.