Leather Seats In 97 LeSabre - Good Or Bad?

[CarDude225]

Located here in sunny and hot SW Florida, I am considering the purchase of a 1997 LeSabre with leather seats. The car is 95 miles away, and the owner said that the only blemish with the car is that the driver's leather seat has a crease/fold in the leather.

I have never owned a car with leather seats...always cloth.

Are leather seats durable? Do they need any sort of maintenance? What happens if you get a crease/fold in a leather seat?

I am not too concerned with the "burn-to-touch" factor in the summer. I just need to know if I am considering to purchase something that is going to be a headache. I don't need anymore headaches.

Thanks all.

[tdc1948]

I suppose opinions can vary, but I prefer leather to cloth. It's much easier to keep clean, very durable, and it's comfortable. I have a '98 LeSabre with leather seats now, and they're still in great shape.

I don't know what the crease/fold means, though. Judging by mine, the leather is taut enough that there's nothing to crease or fold. I'd ask the seller for more explanation, including where it is and what might have caused it, and a photo.

[jase386]

he could mean more of a wrinkle like my 2000 has from wear. just a blemish across the center of the seat. biggest problem with it, is it catches a little dirt. id ask the guy for a picture. but as long as there are no cracks or tears, the crease is probably just from regular wear.

i use lexol leather conditioner 2 or 3 times a year on mine, and just wipe them down with a damp cloth when i think about it. if my dog would wipe her little feet before she got in, my leather wouldnt need any cleaning...

[polarzak]

I love my heated leather seats, but that will not be a factor for you in Florida.
Everything everyone else said... easy to keep clean, and durable. The leather in my wife's 2000 looks new. Just keep them clean and use a good leather conditioner 2 or 3 times a year. Lexol is great.

[GringoPete]

I also have a 98 with leather seats. The leather does wear and start to look a bit ugly overtime but then again thats natural. The leather is pretty thick so i havent had any problem with splitting or ripping. Approaching 10 years old i'd have to say that the seats are in good shape. The leather does stretch a little from sitting in it after so many years but it molds to my bottom like an old catchers mit

Another plus is that you dont have to vacuum them. Unless you're a real piggy.

[CarDude225]

Well I took the 95 mi drive yesterday and found that the leather driver seat was in pretty bad shape. There was a tear in it and lots of cracks that had turned black with apparent dirt. Very unsightly. For this and other reasons I did not purchase the car.

I'm not so impressed with leather. But I may consider it again as long as it is in good condition to start with. Thanks everyone for your help with this.

The main reason I did not purchase the car was because there was quite a bit of oily sludge in the radiator and coolant recovery tank. That 3800 Series II engine was screaming "change my lower intake manifold gasket and/or my upper intake manifold gasket".

The car really didn't run like it had 45,000 miles either....more like 100,000 miles...

[jase386]

45,000 and all that wear and tear already. sounds like someone was pulling a trick. like they replaced the instrument cluster with a lower mileage one, or drive it for years with the speedo cable, or sensor unplugged. 45000 mile lesabre should almost seem new. as most do still at 100k. sorry it didnt work for you, the 97 is a nice body style car. i like the 92-96 a little better though. and my 2000 emergency purchase is growing on me.

[polarzak]

Originally Posted by jase386

45,000 and all that wear and tear already. sounds like someone was pulling a trick. like they replaced the instrument cluster with a lower mileage one, or drive it for years with the speedo cable, or sensor unplugged. 45000 mile lesabre should almost seem new. as most do still at 100k. sorry it didnt work for you, the 97 is a nice body style car. i like the 92-96 a little better though. and my 2000 emergency purchase is growing on me.

I agree. My wife's 2000 LeSabre has about 150k on it, and it looks new, inside and out.That 97 was either terribly neglected or abused, or the mileage was fiddled with.