Replacing Cloth Interior with Leather Interior B7 Cab (2007)

Hi All,

Last summer i bought a 2007 A4 Cab 1.8T sport with about 45k on the clock for a good price. Didnt use it much until very recently as had an A5 on lease and was using up the mileage. The car has not been loved before me, which is why i think it was fairly cheap, but i think the spec had something to do with it.

Its a Sport model but i think completely standard (aside from perhaps metallic paint and a wheel upgrade) , so it has a cloth interior as apposed to leather. I really didnt think it would be an issue but having gotten used to the leather in the A5, i realise that it really does add that prestigious feel. The dealer told me at the time that if the car had had leather (the majority in the UK do apparently) and thats what made the price low!

Having leased new cars for the past ten years, it has been a while since i last tinkered with cars and i would not consider myself to be any sort of mechanic, amateur or otherwise! However, i've watched countless hours of wheeler dealers so it cant be that hard righ? LOL

Seriosuly though, from the research i have done it looks a feasible thing for me to do in a weekend with the right prep. I have acquired the ElsaWin disc and that shows diagrams for seat removal (albeit not that clear).

I wondered who has advice for me:

Buying - any dos and donts? Current seats have electric lumbar support and manual movement. Best colour for Dolphin Grey? Will B6 seats work? Will Full electric work (i know the heating element requires additional parts/work). Target price?

Fitting - advice? Particular tools needed? Anyone been through this and got a walkthrough or similar? How long does the whole thing take including door cards?

Any other advice you can give me? I have seen a number of interiors on ebay but dont feel confident in making a purchase at the moment.

Thanks in advance.

Gav

Thanks chaps you both offer good advice. I hear what you say about the ebay risks, some have good pictures and some not. Some are complete with all door cards etc and some not (suspect this is due to the fate of the donor car!). I've seen some half leather/half suede combos that i like but the colour look almost brown (the suede that is) which i am not sure will look good with the dolphin grey.

Have you got advice on where else to look aside from the bay? Is it a case of ringing around the breakers? I found a website that allows you to specifiy what you need and it sends it our to a number of breakers who all respond separately. Most sets seem to be priced in the £500-600 bracket. Does this sound right to you?

Also, how long would you anticipate it takes to complete the switchover?

Cheers

Gav

Nice one. Thanks Fooby.