OMG, I Just Bought a New Car - Page 4

Nightowlz · ‎03-11-2010

@Tigriss wrote:
@DoxieMomma wrote:
Congrats on the new ride!

For long term care of your leather seats, Armor All is cr*p.......sorry, but it is. A lot of people use it because it's easily accessible and heavily advertised. Long term, Armor All will leave a film and buildup on your seats. Most true car guys (and gals😃) will tell you it's better to do nothing than use Armor All.

Some good brands, that are still relatively inexpensive, are Lexol (pretty sure you can get it at Wal-Mart). Also, if you go to an auto supply store (O'Rielly's/Auto Zone), you can get brands like Meguiar's or Griot's Garage.

If the seats are clean, they'll just need to be conditioned as needed. Most of these products are just wipe on/wipe off. This will help keep the leather nice and supple, help prevent cracking.

Personally, I only condition mine occasionally. I live in the Deep South and almost always park outside (our garages are full of cars, hence the above knowledge). My SUV is black (draws a lot of heat) and I haven't had any issues with the seats being damaged/cracking. If I could just figure out how to fully protect them from doggie nails, I'd be set!

Thanks! I'm going to Auto Zone to pick up all weather mats since I park outside and will look and Meguiar's. I've heard of them from several detail people about that brand.

We bought ours with the carpet mats. That was stupid since they are not the greatest thing when it's rainy, muddy, snowing etc. I bought the Avalon all weather mats from the service center at Toyota for around $100. I also bought the trunk mat.

magicmoodz · ‎03-16-2010

I would never buy a car that did NOT have leather seats--they are almost number one on my list of must haves. They are so much more comfortable and easier to maintain.

Ashamedly, I don't do anything to mine, but in full disclosure my husband cleans my car both inside and out.

Tigriss · ‎03-12-2010

@magicmoodz wrote:
I would never buy a car that did NOT have leather seats--they are almost number one on my list of must haves. They are so much more comfortable and easier to maintain.

Ashamedly, I don't do anything to mine, but in full disclosure my husband cleans my car both inside and out.

MagicMoodz, can I borrow your husband? I don't want to keep him, just borrow him for some of my honey do things. This fall I have to tackle the grapevines the rabbits have deposited in my front bushes that have grown over everything from my busy summer of negelect. I just need him for a short time, and will feed him well with Southern cooking and plenty of fresh country air!

UMDTerpFan · ‎03-27-2010

@magicmoodz wrote:
I would never buy a car that did NOT have leather seats--they are almost number one on my list of must haves. They are so much more comfortable and easier to maintain.

Ashamedly, I don't do anything to mine, but in full disclosure my husband cleans my car both inside and out.

I agree with you to a point. My car had heated leather seats which I loved. But when we travel with our cats we take our SUV which has cloth seats as our kitties claws would tear up leather seats. So we have to have a travel vehicle with cloth seats.

QVC lost a lot of my posts too!

CatsyCline · ‎07-24-2013

my leather seats are heated, too. passenger and driver.

i my scoobee doo forester + 190k on the odometer and still kickin !!!

UMDTerpFan · ‎03-27-2010

Congrats! My car had black leather seats but I sold it when I got sick in 2011. It was 7 years old and the leather seats were in excellent condition, no rips or fading and I didn't do a darned thing except be careful about sharp things and clean it periodically with a damp cloth. Maybe I just got lucky and some other BB'ers here will give you better advice then I have . My hubby did keep the outside clean though as it was black also and he enjoyed driving the car too. Enjoy your new ride!

QVC lost a lot of my posts too!

SandGirl · ‎03-09-2010

GRIOTS GARAGE - They have the BEST cleaners EVER and if you email them they will help get you what you need. I have 2 classic cars that we show and GRIOTS is all we use on them. They have this product called SPEED SHINE, I use it after I was my cars, everyone always asks how my car stays so shiny and I drive a 2001 BLACK car! Hard to keep it shiny, it's my daily driver no matter what the weather is. Anyways, just had to tell you about them, you would NOT be disappointed!

Lucky Charm · ‎03-09-2010

Congrats on the new wheels!

I didn't read all the responses so please forgive.

If the kids are that young, they must still be in booster seats/car seats. I lay a thick cloth bath mat (no rubber backing!) down underneath the car seats so I won't get dents in my leather. They're the same color as the leather and you'd never know they were there.You could probably use thick towels too.

I don't use ArmorAll or any leather cleaner, don't want to be inhaling all those unneeded chemicals. I wipe them down with damp paper towels with a spec of dish liquid (I use 7th Generation). Sometimes I use organic facial wipes. I wipe out my car almost every day. Have always done this and it doesn't hurt the leather.

We have to have WeatherTec mats on the floor and in the back because we live at the beach it really protects the carpets from the sand. But it's good to have them just for the dirt you can pick up when you're out and about. They're expensive but so worth it.

I let my grandchildren eat in the car. The only thing I steer clear of is anything with tomato sauce. You could lay a beach towel down to protect the seats in between them.

Enjoy your car!

Nightowlz · ‎03-11-2010

@Tigriss wrote:
Night Owlz, I know it is going to take me a while to figure it out. I tried to connect my phone on the way home and couldn't, but when I did it once I got home, it was super easy. When I started the car at the dealer, I didn't have my bluetooth on my phone on, so it didn't see a need to connect anything when I tried, plus I really didn't need to do it while driving! It has those warning screens about it being distracting while driving, but if you read it while driving you are distracted. Like those older warning on the sun visors!

I wish I put only 70K n a 21 year old car. I just love to travel and see places and so does the family, plus we are very rural and have to drive 70 miles to the nearest mall/Sam's Club/Target and 190+ to Costco and many more malls in Florida from Georgia. But the good news is, I really get to know my car, which keeps you safer as you travel. Out here, we don't tend to worry so much about crazy drivers as we do critters, so that is better as well.

What color is your new car? Mine is magnetic gray metallic. We have to drive 1 1/2 hrs to the nearest Sam's or Target. No Costco around here. Our Mall is a joke. I would not call it a Mall. I go to the Mall when I visit my sisters in Fl. The only thing I don't like about the car is the GPS will not let you use it while driving. That's a good safety thing. When I'm in the passenger seat I should be able to input info in the GPS. When I got my new phone I had the same problem. My bluetooth was turned off. DH tried to set his & it would not work. He probably needs to turn on his bluetooth. When we first bought the car after they serviced it they turned off the auto wiper. I had to pull off the road when it started raining so I could figure out where & how to use the wipers. LOL!!! I wanted to see if the wipers would really come on when it started raining. My sister has the same exact car, same color, same year. She bought hers a month or so before mine. She has been driving an Avalon for years.

Tigriss · ‎03-12-2010

Thanks Sand Girl. I'll look them up. Speed shine sound like I don't need a buffer or bring out a shine, so that is totally up my speed! I would love to have a classic car or a dozen! I could use some tips on the washing thing, as I usually do it myself because I find the car washes too dirty, but we have a new touchless, but they use a brush to wash your grill before you go into the wash, but that brush seems DIRTY! I wouldn't want them grinding dirt and scratchy stuff into my new paint! I will certain need to email them to know what is what. I usually use dish detergent for all the oil you get on your car from traveling, typically Method or Meyers.