# Converted to Leather Interior



## ValBoo (May 19, 2003)

Well it is done.

Last Friday I had my X-trail converted to Leather interior.

I had it done at "AutoSkin" here in Montreal. (They have contracts with Nissan Canada for leather interiors) And they did a very VERY professional job; exceeded my expectations by far. They use Italian leather (and vinyl in areas subject to high wear). They make the coverings in advance from patterns and then do the installation. Although they do the installation they can also ship out the coverings and you can decide to have it installed elswhere (by a professional, highly recommeded; it is a BIG job since I saw them guys working all day on my car interior. It took two guys 6 to 7 hours)
They have some examples of their work shown on their website AutoSkin.com, but not X-trail.


I had my seats done in 2 tone (light grey perforated middle and dark grey/charcoal surround).
The two front seats have "X-TRAIL" logo embroid on them. 
The door panels, arm rest and head rests were also done.
Will have pics soon, But I will need our in house expert photographer: Stephen's (SCHESBH) help to post them I think...

Now, I know that there were a few posts written about cloth seats maintenance... If someone out there has the same X-trail version perhaps we can arrange something since I have spare cloth seat coverings. Interested?

ValBoo.


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## thumbtoe (Feb 4, 2005)

ValBoo said:


> Well it is done.
> 
> Last Friday I had my X-trail converted to Leather interior.
> 
> ...


sounds awesome, will be interested to see pics, i have a dog so maby i'll be interested at some point in buying your old skins.


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## mfreedman (Jun 13, 2004)

ValBoo said:


> Well it is done.
> 
> Last Friday I had my X-trail converted to Leather interior.
> 
> ...


This is an amazing thing. I didn't even know that was possible. Duh. If it's not too personal a question - how much $ ? I'd love to see a photo or two as well !


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## aussietrail (Sep 24, 2004)

*me 3*

I'm also registering my interest in seeing some pics, as I'm on the look-out for leather seats to replace mine at the wreckers, but this could be a much cheaper and nicer option


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## manuelga (Dec 14, 2003)

Just 1 question... how they handle side airbags?

Mex version of X-Trail SLX (the one I got) is with or without leather seats (no other differences) we got the cloth one, because heat here is a mayor issue.


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## aussietrail (Sep 24, 2004)

manuelga said:


> Just 1 question... how they handle side airbags?
> 
> Mex version of X-Trail SLX (the one I got) is with or without leather seats (no other differences) we got the cloth one, because heat here is a mayor issue.


Hi Manuel,

In Australia we were lucky to get the front air-bags only and even that was sold/marketted as a luxury item 

Safety regulations in Australia are more targetted at seat belts, rather than air-bags for some strange reason.


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## ValBoo (May 19, 2003)

*follow up*

Hi all,

(1)
I will definately post pics, when developped, But I will need Stephen's help.

(2)
Pricing is approximately $ 2000 CAD for everything including install.
As mentioned, they have the patterns already made and can ship, in that case just the leather skins without install is about $ 1200 CAD. BUT highly recommended that the install be done by professionals.
(AutoSkin.com, (514) 328-3682 or 1-800-328-3682 ask for Nicole she was very helpfull with me)

(3)
I do not have side air bags: but they can handle anything. If I am not mistaken the leather seat covers (with side air bags) have the backing panel with "velcro" not sure but we could ask Stephen since his has factory leather.

Later,
ValBoo.


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## manuelga (Dec 14, 2003)

It's funny to hear about Extys without side airbags, I assumed all came with them.

It's so funny, because here it's possible to get a semi-cheap compact car with airbags (front ones) but ABS aren't even a choice.

In fact, the ABS "foot massage" is a strange thing for many people, for me, if a car doesn't have ABS, it's out of my view (well, except for a classic SE-R, that I'm planning to get some day).
___________________________________________________________________

$2000 CAD, That's a very decent price, it will be more or less the same for a job like that.


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## Avery Slickride (Jan 6, 2005)

Just curious, Valboo. But if you wanted leather, wouldn't it have been cheaper to buy an LE in the first place? I like the look and smell of leather, but not the bum sweat and freeze that goes with it.


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## ValBoo (May 19, 2003)

*options... options*



Avery Slickride said:


> Just curious, Valboo. But if you wanted leather, wouldn't it have been cheaper to buy an LE in the first place? I like the look and smell of leather, but not the bum sweat and freeze that goes with it.



I understand what youre saying... but here is my view:

It would have come out to more spending (MSRP LE AWD is $ 33100, MSRP SE AWD is $ 29700, a difference of $ 3400 CAD) 

Mind you the LE package is also for:
automatic climate control
power adjustable seats
side impact air bags

But I personally did not want that.

Also:
1) you cannot get manual transmission with LE model (for me, manual tranny is a must)
2) the stock leather seat package is limited to the seats only (I also got door pannels and arm rest)
3) the stock leather seats come in one tone color only. (I got a two tone dark/light grey combination which I think is 10 times better looking than the stock ..... i know, i know I have to get pics)

... just my view.
Later,
ValBoo.


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## Avery Slickride (Jan 6, 2005)

ValBoo said:


> I understand what youre saying... but here is my view:
> 
> It would have come out to more spending (MSRP LE AWD is $ 33100, MSRP SE AWD is $ 29700, a difference of $ 3400 CAD)
> 
> ...


Ok, now I understand. Sounds like an awesome look.


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## ValBoo (May 19, 2003)

*Finally some Pics!*

Hi guys,

Sorry it took so long.
I just hope this comes out ok... (Please forgive me if it does not)








[/url]

ValBoo.


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## ViperZ (Feb 9, 2005)

Looks very nice! I like the embossed X-Trail :thumbup:


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## manuelga (Dec 14, 2003)

Hay Caramba..... It looks great, now I understand why you choose these guys :thumbup: 

How's the smell?


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## aussietrail (Sep 24, 2004)

ValBoo said:


> Hi guys,
> 
> Sorry it took so long.
> I just hope this comes out ok... (Please forgive me if it does not)
> ...


Is it just me or is there something wrong with the pic url that you have posted? as I can't access it or see the pic.


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## manuelga (Dec 14, 2003)

aussietrail said:


> Is it just me or is there something wrong with the pic url that you have posted? as I can't access it or see the pic.


Sorry link has dissapeared, I've seing but no longer BUAAAAAAAA


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## Terranismo (Aug 31, 2004)

Sill works for me. Just right click on it, choose properties and copy paste the link directly to your Explorer address bar.


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## aussietrail (Sep 24, 2004)

Terranismo said:


> Sill works for me. Just right click on it, choose properties and copy paste the link directly to your Explorer address bar.


Thanks Terranismo. That has worked for me now.

Valboo: The seats look just GREAT! have they done the door trim in leather as well? (I couldn't make it out from the pic you posted) I think they worth spending that kind on money on. I can smell the fine leather even here in Australia  Looks awesome, well done!


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## ValBoo (May 19, 2003)

aussietrail said:


> Thanks Terranismo. That has worked for me now.
> 
> Valboo: The seats look just GREAT! have they done the door trim in leather as well? (I couldn't make it out from the pic you posted) I think they worth spending that kind on money on. I can smell the fine leather even here in Australia  Looks awesome, well done!



Side door panels and center arm rest were also done.

ValBoo.


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## ValBoo (May 19, 2003)

*New link for Pics*

I have noticed that the url to ImageStation does not seem to work very well, so here is another url to CarDomain; hopefully this will work better for you all.



















ValBoo.


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## aussietrail (Sep 24, 2004)

*Contact Made*

Hi ValBoo,

Thanks for your referral to AutoSkin, I've contacted Niki and she was overwhelmed that I was inquiring about the leather covers from Australia 

I sent her pics of your seats and asked them to give me a price on exactly the same the colour scheme, they did and the price was great! (However they haven't yet calculated shipping charges, which could be the killer)

Anyway, before I make my final decision on placing an order with them, I just wanted to get a closer look at the door panels and the centre armrest. I'm just wondering how did they do it.

I will then take your pics to a local professional upholstery shop and ask them if they can fit it for me should I order it.

Aah, one more thing, is the colour of your interior plastic grey like mine?

Thanks for your help mate.



ValBoo said:


> I have noticed that the url to ImageStation does not seem to work very well, so here is another url to CarDomain; hopefully this will work better for you all.
> ValBoo.


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## ValBoo (May 19, 2003)

*pics*

Hi Jalal,

I have to come out of the closet and say this: Believe it or not I do not have a digital camera... All my pics are from my 35mm film camera and pics put on CD by the photo processing lab.

I do have some other hi-res pictures (about 800 KB each) but PM me with your e-mail address and I will send a few to you so that you can zoom in to have a closer look.

The door panel was taken apart and the leather material was actually glued onto the cloth already there. The material was then cut leaving about 10mm extra which was then very very carefully "tucked" under the plastic using a thin blunt blade tool. (Oh yes, to do this they also had removed the top weather seal which was riveted to the door panel and reapplied after with new rivets)

For the center arm rest: they already had a pocked sewed together. They took apart the arm rest, removed the material that was there, applied, stretched and stapled the leather material onto it and reassembled the center armrest.

I had a look at your pictures of your door panel: I am 95% sure that you have the same light grey panels that we have (with dark grey interior door handle bar)

PLEASE Do get a professional shop to do this for you since the seat leather is not only slipped onto the seat and closed up like a "pillow case", many of the seams have plastic pull bars which are tightly held in place with "hog" rings.

Further more the seat surfaces are leather but they do use a vinyl material on some of edges and arm rest where leather would simply crack and wear too fast.

Lastly, my two tone seat used the center light grey leather which was perforated to give it some character. I don't know if you can see it in the pic.
Also another small detail: my doughnut type front head rest used the dark leather but I had them use light grey inside the doughnut hole just to make it a little different...





aussietrail said:


> Hi ValBoo,
> 
> Thanks for your referral to AutoSkin, I've contacted Niki and she was overwhelmed that I was inquiring about the leather covers from Australia
> 
> ...


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## aussietrail (Sep 24, 2004)

*Thanks*

Thank you ValBoo, this little extra information will sure help better visualise the covers.

No problems about not having a digital camera, I didn't have one until I bought the Exy  LOL this is when I started using it the most.

I have PMed you my email address, please send me all of the pics that you have with these covers on, so I can print them in colour and show them to the fitting shop here in Sydney and see what they say.


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## aussietrail (Sep 24, 2004)

*Australian Company*

Hi Marc,

A company just surfaced in Australia that does leather look-like covers for the X-Trail and other cars and they confirmed they can also do the exact colour scheme as yours, but they can't do the X-Trail logo or the hole in the headreat (they will cover the headrest in full)

Price is $600 AUS for a two-tone full set which includes door pannels, centre arm-rest and headreast.

Details are HERE

It is certainly not 100% leather like yours, but the price difference makes this something worth considering.

They also gurantee against any crack of their material.


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## ValBoo (May 19, 2003)

Looks pretty good !!!

You should nonetheless get a couple of independent references about their work.

Also I guess the shipping costs will be a LOT better than getting them from Canada.

Later.


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## ViperZ (Feb 9, 2005)

I actually like Valboo's tighter aftermarket leather skins over the factory XTy leather interiour that has the gathers and wrinkles in it  

Plus that Embossed X-Trail is classy and something else Nissan should have done for the LE package. My old 300ZX Turbo had "300ZX Turbo" embossed in to the leather seats, it would have been nice if Nissan continued the tradition.


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## aussietrail (Sep 24, 2004)

Thanks Marc, that's exactly what I was planning to do. I will ask the company for references from real customers that have had their seats done by this company.

Shipping is free from one state to the other in Australia (that's their deal)

I wanted to get the X-Trail logo, but they can't do it 

Will keep you updated.

P.S. Your pics have helped a lot when I was trying to explain to them what exactly I was after. Much appreciated for that :thumbup: 



ValBoo said:


> Looks pretty good !!!
> 
> You should nonetheless get a couple of independent references about their work.
> 
> ...


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## stx (Mar 14, 2005)

:thumbup: Wow! That's a nice setup you go there Valboo. Much nicer than the stock leather seats in the LE model. Quick question, does your seat heater still work the same with the leather covers?


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## ValBoo (May 19, 2003)

STX,

Seats warmers work as before, no change there. This company can even add the seat warmer if your car happens not to have it already.


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## SCHESBH (May 25, 2004)

*Wow!*

Well I had lunch with Marc (Valboo) brought him is half package of more Second Skin Audio Damplifier.... saw the seats... which look much better in person!!! and got a look at his Mods!!! ... and it sounds great.

Stephen


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## sanj101ca (Aug 4, 2006)

How about in Toronto? I would love to get these seats doen my Xtrail SE!!


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## Canada's Far East (Jun 15, 2005)

*Timely*



sanj101ca said:


> How about in Toronto? I would love to get these seats doen my Xtrail SE!!


Boy, what a coincidence - just last night I sent Valboo a PM looking for info on this upgrade and here's another X-T owner looking at the same thing.

The AutoSkin guys can supply just the product and you could have a professional installer do the job for you in Toronto - I'm sure there's lots of them in your area - mine may be tad more difficult.....

I just sent those guys an email looking for pricing.

Here's a link to their site:

AUTOSKIN, car seat upholstery

Good luck with it.


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## flynn (Jun 23, 2006)

They look great.

I specified leather on mine just because we've got dogs. Getting rid of Labrador hairs embedded in cloth seats is a nightmare (even though the dogs never get to sit on the seats). Having leather trim on the doors like yours would have been even better.


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## jeff323 (Jul 26, 2006)

I am not a fan of leather, that is why we did not get the LE . But i have to Admit looking at yours that is a just a great looking set of seats. Very nice choice of colors. Almost makes me want to get a set done.


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## REAM1 (May 25, 2006)

By any chance, could you have gotten an extended centre arm rest?


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## cycles (May 6, 2007)

I hope this is the right thread to post this request. 

............................

Also - has anyone had after market leather upholstery installed in Canada? If so, pictures and details would be most appreciated. I really like the two-tone interior of Valboo's XT so that is the look I would be after if it is possible.

So many great rides shown in this thread, I feel like a kid in a candy store.


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## ValBoo (May 19, 2003)

Cycles,

Take a look at this thread from the beginning.


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## cycles (May 6, 2007)

Thanks for bringing this thread to the front Valboo. I didn't realize that your leather was after market. It looks very professional and the X-Trail logo is a nice touch. All in all one of the nicest vehicle interiors I have ever seen. 

There is a two toned leather seating shown at Nissan Canada but I find the darker accents in your color scheme to be more distinctive.


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## ValBoo (May 19, 2003)

Thanks Cycles,
The picture in the Nissan Canada link you posted was most probably done by AutoSkin.
In fact my Nissan dealer referred me to them to do the job. AutoSkin is (was) under contract by Nissan Canada to do the their leather package (unless it came from factory with leather).


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## cycles (May 6, 2007)

Hi Valboo, 

I have emailed AutoSkin asking if they have a preferred partner here in Calgary that will install their product. I took the liberty of forwarding one of your pictures to illustrate the colour scheme I would prefer because I think is a bit nicer than the colour scheme illustrated at Nissan. Fingers crossed for a reply from them. 

Paul


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