In Nigeria, it has become common for car owners to go straight from the dealer or shipping yard to an upholsterer, hoping to “upgrade” their car interior. The logic sounds simple: replace the old fabric or leather with new material. But what many people don’t realise is that reupholstery often does more harm than good.
Before you allow anyone to touch your car seats, there’s something you need to understand — especially if you want your interior to last and keep your car’s value intact.
Here’s What Really Happens When You Reupholster
Let’s say your car came with fabric seats or factory leather. The moment you hand it over to an upholsterer, the first thing they’ll do is strip off your original material — the one that was installed at the factory under pressure with precision machines.
That factory seat wasn’t just sewn randomly. It was:
- Designed specifically for your car model
- Made to withstand heat, pressure, and daily wear
- Tested for safety and comfort
Now, once it’s removed, they replace it with what? A local leather or synthetic material that wasn’t built for your car. The stitches will never be as clean. The fit will never be as tight. And the quality? It’s usually just commercial vinyl passed off as “leather”.
What You Get After Reupholstery
It may look nice for a few days, even weeks. But over time, this is what starts to happen:
- The seat begins to sag or wrinkle
- Stitch lines come loose
- The material starts to crack under sunlight
- The feel of the seat becomes uneven
- Your comfort while driving slowly reduces
And remember — once that original seat fabric is gone, it’s gone for good.
The Better Alternative: Seat Covers
If your goal is to make your car interior look neater, cleaner, or even more luxurious, you don’t need to remove your factory seats. The smarter option is a custom-fitted seat cover.
Unlike full upholstery, a seat cover:
- Protects your original seats — no damage, no removal
- Fits the exact shape of your car seats
- Can be removed, cleaned, or replaced anytime
- Preserves your resale value
- Costs less in the long run
Most importantly, you don’t lose what your car came with from the factory.
Why Factory Seats Matter
Let’s be real — any serious buyer who wants to inspect your car before purchase will look inside and check the seats. If the seats look like they’ve been tampered with or re-stitched, it immediately raises questions:
- Was the car damaged?
- Was it abused or repainted?
- Why did they change the seats?
Even if your car is perfect mechanically, locally reupholstered seats can reduce your resale value because they suggest the car has been worked on unnecessarily.
Final Advice: Don’t Cut What You Can Cover
At Carfanzy, we’ve seen many good cars lose value simply because the owner wanted “new leather seats” and gave it to the wrong hands. The truth is, you can still upgrade your car’s look without cutting into your original interior.
Our premium seat covers are tailored for different models — Toyota, Lexus, Honda, Mercedes, and more — and we make sure they fit clean, and last long.
So before you think of stripping out your seats, ask yourself:
Why tear out something original… when you can simply protect it?
