Tiguan Beige leather seats

[surubalak]

Hi

Has anyone with beige leather interior seat noticed a discolouration of the leather? It looks like the driver side seats in my Tig has. I have only had it for a month. I didn't think it would soil this early with constant use? Does anyone has any ideas other than cleaning it every week? What about the "life long protection" promoted by the dealers, like "X Factor" etc?

[suparockin]

I had a similar colour leather interior on my SAAB 93 and it went blue in the driver seat, it seems from jeans that I wore?

It was impossible to get out, hence my choice of black leather in my Tiguan.

[Sharkie]

I'm afraid VW leather is not the greatest out there .... half of your expensive seats are also fake ..... all the seat backs & sides are PVC .....

Leather wears quickly and light colours (grey and beige) show dirt very quickly as well. In 4 years a leather interior will look old (regardless of how much you treat it), black less so, whereas a cloth interior if cared for will still look new ....

I've been caught out before and come trade time you will get less for leather than cloth ....

If you have to go for leather go for black as of all the leathers it will be better looking after 4 years ......

Not what you wanted to hear I suspect .....

EDIT: and there is NOTHING you can do long term to make it look as good as new ..... believe me I've tried ....

[surubalak]

Mmm..not encouraing is it? It looks so good in the beige...didn't think the colour of the fabric you wear is absobed by the leather..might try some of the products out there and see if I can get it back to original and keep cleaning , I suppose..

Thanks anyway boys

[team_v]

The denim dye even leached out onto the dark leather seats in this M3 CSL.
I think he managed to get it out:

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=141365

That is one of the reasons i won't go leather though.
It needs constatn care and in QLD heat and sun it is almost guaranteed to go cracked and look terrible.

[clip]

Not personally, but have two friends, one with a beemer another with a Lexus both with cream leather and about the same age. The beemer is wearing much worse than the Lexus, but neither look very good after 4 years of normal wear. Certainly put me off light coloured leather even though it looks fantastic new.

[borbor1313]

I really really wanted the beige/sandstone leather as it looks fantastic but my dealer told me he had to clean the leather after each and every test drive on the demo model!! otherwise color leaches onto the leather from customers clothes. So I ended up with black leather and love it. Thanks to Michael at Solitare motors Adelaide for this useful advice.Small things like this enhance the overall appeal of getting a good deal as he could have just sold me the tig I wanted without questions asked.No biggie i guess but Im thankful. Doesn't help you out but it does mean that you will need to clean at least once per week ,but shouldn't take more than 5 mins anyways.I don't believe there is any other option on the market that works.

[tighappy]

I've got the beige leather and had it treated with VIP leather protection when new. Jeans definately leech onto it so if I'm wearing jeans I put a cloth down but a weekly wipe down with a damp cloth keeps it looking good - my Tig is 17 months old now I've done 43,600ks and so far I'm happy with the way the leather looks.

[surubalak]

I've got the beige leather and had it treated with VIP leather protection when new. Jeans definately leech onto it so if I'm wearing jeans I put a cloth down but a weekly wipe down with a damp cloth keeps it looking good - my Tig is 17 months old now I've done 43,600ks and so far I'm happy with the way the leather looks.

Thanks Tighappy...the most encouraging of all the posts..I have shown it to the dealer and they have offered to clean it up and also do the X factor interior and exterior (it comes as a package) protection for a very reasonable price (After I bought the Tig and shown it off to friends, they have had a few bites)..I might well go for it and follow your advice of using a cloth with jeans and other coloured trousers and clean it more frequently..lets see if their lifetime guarantee on Xfactor works..

Thanks to all other posts too..I definitely understand my folly and in future, however good the beige looks would go for black leather (or even the Tan in US Tigs)..have seen a few white leather interiors around (not Tigs)..wondering how they are coping??

[T&M]

My wife has just come out of a Honda Accord Euro with beige leather seats for the last 4 years. It was surprising how good the seats looked after that period, and we only occasionally cleaned and treated them with leather cleaner. No stains at all.

Of course this time we have gone black leather as in the other 4WD and it looks EXCELLENT!

[clip]

(or even the Tan in US Tigs)..

of course
I forgot that the MX5 has tan (baby poo) leather seats and while it's definitely looking worn, it's pushing 15 years old. It's also rarely been cleaned, spends all it's time with no roof and still actually looks OK, So what's the story luxury car manufacturers? How come 15 year old leather in a crummy old Mazda is still OK, and 4 year old leather in a BMW looks not much better?

[T&M]

So what's the story luxury car manufacturers? How come 15 year old leather in a crummy old Mazda is still OK, and 4 year old leather in a BMW looks not much better?

The latter is probably made by someone who also sells 'Dell Computers' in their spare time (if you know what I mean). Is it the Jetta and the Passat that are also assembled there too? Comes down to $$ spent by the manufacturers of course and they would rather see you getting into a new vehicle every 3 years not 15 years.

[Bayman]

I was also advised by a younger buck at the dealer on Denim jeans staining the cream leather, so really commonsense would have told you unless you wear suits and don't have kids, avoid the lighter colour leathers. Imagine a blue biro mark on a cream leather as against black leather - which is less obvious and easier to get out?

With leather - a question needs to be asked - did the leather have hair growing on it. If not it is like most of the cut down leather, sliced real thin and not the real hide. I just use a Meguires Leather conditioner that keeps the dirt away and helps you slide off the seat rather than wearing it out. As for leather cracking , that is the normal way leather ages so if you can't put up with that then go for cloth. The main thing is keep the hide from drying out and cracking up, like your own skin, moisturise!!!!

[WannaTig]

As for leather cracking , that is the normal way leather ages so if you can't put up with that then go for cloth. The main thing is keep the hide from drying out and cracking up, like your own skin, moisturise!!!!

I lol'd

From what I've read, my guess would be that it is the cheaper hide, dollied up to look gorgeous for a while a la Craptastic furniture. If they're cutting out bag hooks for God's sake, I don't think penny pinching here is too far fetched.

[letig]

Hi,
I had the same problem, especially with a blue tinge from jeans. I use a Meguire's leather foam cleaner (wipe on/wipe off) about every 3 weeks or so; it does the job. It's the price we pay for a head-turning interior.

Letig