I've been driving cloth interior cars since and will be getting a used 04 TL soon. I"ll be keeping the car for at most 3 years and was wondering if the previous owner and myself were to clean the leather often, will it still be in good condition at the end of my ownership. My friends who have owned leather cars and my parent's old VOlvo had terrible leather, but those cars were at least 8 years old. I don't wear jeans too much, mostly khakis and hospital scrubs.

What kind of process does it take to repair/replace the leather? How much does it cost usually?

 

I can tell you that the leather on my 01 CL-S is still looking amazing. The driver's seat is slightly worn in two areas but that is from the previous owner. Keep in mind I am a teenager and I have a lot of people in and out of my car. I clean the leather about once every two weeks and it still looks great.

Short hand: take care of the leather consistantly and you should be fine.

Some pictures:
Partial passenger seat view.

a little too much shine I put on that day.


ignore the little red circles on the picture it was for a question in the forum. you can't really see the damage on the driver's seat in that picture

 

wow, that is REAL nice leather

I've read that some TL owners have had their leather fade, especially in the 04 models... hopefully i won't have one

Do all leather care products give the leather a shine? I'm not too fond of having that look, I'd prefer a flat matte black instead.

 

303, enough said..........

 

There's a ton of stuff for leather, a lot of it doesn't give the leather the shine that the stuff I use does. I gotta look in my garage because we have a couple of leather cleaners/conditions that leave a minimal shine. Me and my half bro share our auto detailing cabinet. Sometimes I go without shine, depends on my mood.

I'd just go with what Excel Detail said.

 

The reason the "leather" in older model Volvo's didn't have durability is that it wasn't real leather (Mahogahide – spelling?)

Since the late ‘80s early ‘90s 80% of vehicle manufacturers have used covered leather for their interior upholstery. It’s made from natural hides, but uniquely treated with a light pigmented urethane resin coating or a vinyl covering to make it more viable for automotive seating. It retains the softness of natural top-grain leather but resists fading in direct sunlight, leathers worst enemy

The House of Commons (England) has leather (Connolly hides) upholstered seats that have been around for many years and still look good (luckily most of the hot air comes from the politician’s mouth ...