I'm a HUGE fan of the G35 Coupe. I think it's one of the nicest vehicles out there! In fact, it's one of the few vehicles that I'd consider over the King Ranch (but it's really small for my needs and I'm not much of a 'sedan' type of guy).

I think the 'darkening' of the leather that he was referring to was specifically the dye from that leather jacket. Unfortunately, I think the dye from his buddie's jacket transferred over onto the Castano.

Oh yeah, nice to see a new face Album. Glad to have you aboard. Feel free to follow along and join in at any time! Enjoy that Infiniti!

RP

 

BUMMER, sorry to hear about that damage to a beautiful interior


hey RP-
Im now leaning AWAY from the KR!

When I bought my wifes Expy., they offered me a 'permaguard' protection package that is supposed to prevent cracks, fades and stains in and out of the vehicle. I thought, and still do think, its a big scam, BUT it came with a warranty against any of the above so I bought it for $200.
Now, if something happens, I go to my dealer and have some ammo. to get any mishaps like your fixed.

Do they not offer this on the KR? or is it a dealer thing or what?

 

I wouldn't let this be the cause to lean away from the KR.

The way I see it, and someone please correct me if I'm wrong, is that he had a buddy with a wet, black leather coat sitting on his seat. The coat was probably pigment dyed and, with the moisture, transfered that pigment dye over to the leather. Because it's not clearcoated, it made an instant bond with a good clean seat that had high porosity. Simple as that.

The KR leather **WILL** soak up water as it's not clearcoated and it will cause a 'dark spot' to appear while it's damp. Pending you don't have dirty rain (acid/high particulate matter), you shouldn't have any spotting to worry about on the leather. Plus, I've found that the tiny spots that I've had on my seats as a result of rain were easily remedied with a good conditioning.

As far as the 'permaguard'... I have no idea. My hunch would be that they'll try to sell you ice if you're an eskimo at the dealership and thus, yes, it's probably available. But, I don't think it'd be a great idea as an application on the seats because of the VERY high porosity.

Keep in mind it's that porosity that really makes the leather nice. When you treat leather to make it more durable, the porosity goes away giving it more of a vinyl look/feel (hence, Lariat leather with a clearcoat). The pliability and porosity of the leather is critical to the King Ranch's Castano interior.

It's your hard earned $ though. I wouldn't hesitate to get another King Ranch (and probably will once we see the 05's or 06's) but, until then, I'll take good care of this one. It's really a labor of love and, if you're unsure about your 'love', maybe the KR isn't the vehicle for you. If you take great care of what you have (which it really sounds like you do), I don't think you'll mind the KR one bit.... it's truely an AWESOME machine.

RP

 

Great post RP

I really appreciate the detailed input; this is a tough decision

 

It's definately a lot of $$... get what's best for you. I hope I've helped out just a tad... Well, either helped or further confused the situation... I'm damn good at doing that. LOL!

RP

 

 

I had a girl friend of mine had the same thing happen to her Blazer. She called Wilson's leather (Where she bought the jacket) and they paid to have to seat cover replaced. Fairly common thing to happen from what they said, a combination of the jacket being new and the weatherproofing the put on it. Especially with black jackets for some reason.

If it's a new jacket, or from a name brand company, it's worth a shot. All they can say is no.

 

Thanks a lot Mike! It looks like that stuff could fix it. I just bought the whole package from that site. I also just found king ranch seat covers on ebay moments ago and bid on them. NO ONE ELSE BID ON THEM, PLEAAAAASE!!!

 

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=2446313826

Im gonna go $60
Just Kidding! Good luck! That is a great find for you in this situation!

The guy lives in TX. also, I agree with Mike about contacting them

 

Bikenut- Haha, ya you better be kidding.
I have tried contacting him. He said that he didnt know what they are worth, so he wanted to let the auction run out, unless I made an offer he couldnt refuse.

 

Ahh, in that case, let the auction run out. I doubt many people are gonna compete against you on them... unless they want to make a wanna-be KR, but the price is still really good for you..

Good Luck again!!!