Below are some frequently asked questions about car seats. We hope some of the information might be of use to you. We will also aim to review and add information that we think might be useful when it comes to interiors. If you have any questions that we might be able to help with, feel free to email us here.
Where is your shop / where do you ship from?
Is there any affordable ways to send seat trim kits / foam kits / door cards?
Why Are My Seats Uncomfortable?
Questions about where to get certain fabrics from…
Costs
Depending on what material you require for your project, prices will vary. If you would like to see an approximate pricing guide, please click here.
Where is your shop / where do you ship from?
We served both Australian and NZ customers initially from Melbourne. Now we have relocated back to NZ, and we base our operations out of Kaikohe, Far North. We continue to ship all over Australia and NZ.
Is there any affordable ways to send seat trim kits / foam kits / door cards?
We strive to help customers save on freight costs. This includes packing as efficiently as possible (i.e. not leaving much void inside a package), vacuum packing foam etc.
Once you receive foam, we recommend you carefully open the vacuum packed foam and let it air in a dry, shaded room; so the foam can come back to its shape. Vinyl / leather seat skins crease when packed into boxes or when stored for a while. Once seat skins have been fitted onto seats, gentle sun warmth will naturally get rid of the creases / wrinkles.
Trimmed door cards are quite large and require even more delicate packaging, which does increase the size and weight of the whole parcel. If you have any questions about freight, feel free to get in touch with us.
Turnaround/Availability
Most seat trim and foam kits etc are made to order. We occassionally have ready to ship seat skins sets for the more popular models/colours.
Foam kits are only made to order, because ideally you would want to protect the foam from sunlight (Foam discolours easy from being exposed to sunlight, and over time foam breaks down. That’s why a lot of people replace their seat foam when they restore their car/car seats). Foam kits will work perfectly fine after the seat skins have been fitted over them, so sunlight wouldn’t be a problem.
If you require interior work that includes fabrics such as vinyl, cloth or leather made in and improted from America, this may affect your project timeline. Get in touch early if you’re not sure or would like to get a rough idea on whether the fabrics you need for your car are available and/or how long it might take for the fabrics to be remanufactured and imported from the USA.
Why Are My Seats Uncomfortable?
If your car is more than 20 to 30 years old, your car seat foam would have been compressed or is currently breaking down from wear and tear. For cars around 40 to 50 years old, we have seen car seat springs crushed and snapped to the point of irreparable.
Without repairing the foundation, fitting new covers to these aging car seats only sweeps the problems under the rug and will likely prove to be a waste of time and money. See our page here about seat frame reconditioning for more information.
For old car seats to be comfortable, not just usable again, restoration work is just as if not more important than the trim or the looks. This is the reason why we always recommend that seats be completely stripped down so the foundation can be thoroughly inspected and repaired before fitting new foam and skins.
Payment methods
PayPal (Credit Card, Bank Transfer), bank transfer, cash on pick up / delivery (NZ customers only).
For interior work that is straight forward, we may require full payment upfront. For interior work that may take longer than expected, such as when fabrics need to be remade / imported, normally a deposit is required to secure the fabrics.
Do you have a fitment guarantee?
Yes. We can confidently offer fitment guarantee because we make and fit our own seat foam and skins. If you or your trimmer has questions or would like some advice on fitting we can certainly help.
If you are not satisfied with your seat skins and foam kits due to them not fitting as good or better than factory (when installed by a professional trimmer) within 90 days of purchase, return them to us for a full refund.
Please bear in mind that this guarantee is for when you use our seat foam and skins together, as we have tested our own work ourselves by fitting onto factory seats. If you only use our foam or skins and attempt to make them fit with seat foam or skins that are compressed, shrunk, or inadequately repaired, you may not get the result that you desire. If you have any questions at all, we’re happy to assist.
Other than this money back 90 day fitment guarantee, is there a warranty on your products?
Yes. All our hand-made interior products have a 12 month return to base warranty covering workmanship. This means that we will fix any manufacturing defect.
Questions about where to get certain fabrics from…
There are a couple of very reliable local auto trim suppliers that we buy our materials from, and there is an American supplier that we use who can re-manufacture very decent factory fabrics.
Local Supplies
Both Novatex and Daley’s are local auto and marine suppliers that have helpful staff who know their stuff well. You can request samples to be sent to you from these suppliers, go to their shop / warehouse or go to your local auto trimmer to see the samples yourself.
Importing Fabrics
If you have a car that needs to have the original trims, or as close as possible, then you might want to consider importing from America. SMS Auto Fabrics has been our go-to supplier for factory cloth and vinyl materials because even if they don’t have matching fabrics, they can still re-manufacture what you need, so long as you can provide factory samples.
Some of our top tips about buying from America:
- Importing will be expensive. Specific to ordering auto fabrics, you should order a bit of extra material in one order (about 1 – 2 yards) to avoid running into potential issues when your trimmer is in the process of making your seat / door trims. Leftover fabric is quite useful for recovering arm rests etc., or can be saved for future repairs.
- Importing might incur additional costs. When the parcel arrives at the border, it may attract GST, customs fees etc. You will be notified and be sent instructions on how to pay these costs before goods can be released by customs to you. So be prepared for this.
- Have or develop patience. When sourcing from overseas, especially when the fabrics need to be remade as per factory spec, it will need to take as long as it takes to get the end result right.