How to Choose the right seat covers for your car, truck or SUV

Before you buy seat covers, or plan on buying seat covers for your car – go over these tips:

Why buy seat covers in the first place?

This is the most important question for the consumer (YOU) to ask. The answer can narrow your search and reduce uncertainty!

The most common reasons we use seat covers are 1) Simple protection of our interior. 2) Cover damages and stains. 3) Improve the look (FASHION!).

Going forward, it's now much easier to decide these 3 crucial factors:

• Budget
• Custom or Universal
• Necessary Accommodations (See next section below)

What to Check For?

Go over this list to consider what accommodations you may require:

• Does your vehicle feature detachable headrests?
• Do your seats have armrests?
• Do your seats feature side airbags?
• Are your seats attached to the center console?
• Do your seats feature and integrated seatbelt? (Attached to the seat itself)
• Is your Bench seat a split bench? - Although solid bench covers will simply disable the split option.
• Does your bench seat feature cupholders or a nonadjustable center console?
• What size is your steering wheel?
• How many headrests do you have?

So you've decided on universal seat covers

This is (usually) the best decision going forward if your budget is under $100 dollars.

It must be noted that all over the internet it may seem to uninformed consumers that these universal sets are custom, due to the fact that the methodology of marketing toward buyers often includes fitment compatibility charts

-- Let’s be clear – you will NOT find custom fit seat covers for $30 or under. Or even $50. --

There are semi-custom fit covers, geared toward specific seat moulds (such as our TS-series) or 60/40 split highback truck seat covers.

Due to supply demand, manufacturers and retailers cannot offer custom fits at the prices they carry universal sets for – simple volume.

So even if car seat covers are marketed to your vehicle – you still need to research and carefully select the right product.

Know this ahead of time – and I cannot stress this enough – if you want your fitment to look good you will need to spend some time and customize the seat covers yourself. (watch these videos below showing simple customization including headrest holes and seatbelt slits)

Sometimes “throw on” covers are fine for many consumers – they don’t look bad, but can be a bit saggy. Often they won’t cover every part of the seat. Side electronics may be covered, cup holders can be disabled.

Some important tips about universal covers!

1. Be ready to slice and dice! Tools? Usually no more than a pair of ordinary scissors will do the job. Extra ties and roping can help as well (Though most manufacturers include enough hooks and other installation pieces).

2. Be creative! For example, Manufacturers frequently include hooks and buyers are responsible to figure out just what to latch onto to connect the elastic loops to each-other? Or parts of their car? If you have access to the rear of your bench, I highly recommend a method such as this rope loop.

3. Do you really need the functionality of your split bench? Many sets comply with this, and yet a solid bench is easier to install and in many cases will look much better than having zippers or Velcro, etc

4. Remember that slice and dice tip... well, it's not always necessary. In fact, most consumers happy with their universal sets like the easy installation process and are satisfied without self-customization. For some vehicles, particularly older sedans, absolutely no cutting or customization is needed. Just slip on, tuck in and align!

Remember - *There are many reasons we want to cover our car seats: To protect our investment, to conceal stains and other embarrassments, or often simply for style. Knowing why you want seat covers is the important step in determining which tier you should shop for – and of course, by tier, I mean price! If you're a perfectionist or just want to invest in your... investment, then move along to our custom fit section below.

Tips for choosing CUSTOM-FIT Seat Covers

Know what you want! Do you need the full set or just the front seats?

First make the decision (of course, budget-based) whether you will be buying dealer ($$$$) or aftermarket ($$) covers.

Second, decide whether you feel comfortable installing these on your own or will you be paying an expert to do the job? Usually you can find reasonable pricing (dependent on your vehicle) from very easy jobs at $50. Except to pay more like $100 up to $200+ for installation.

So you've chosen aftermarket custom fits

Nice! You'll save money, and frankly may even get higher quality while still receiving and exact OEM fit

It is possible to get reasonably "custom" seat covers (True semi-custom) for under $100. These will often accommodate factors such as armrests and seatbelts with velcro or zippered openings. This way, cutting is usually not at all necessary.

FAQ

This section will be updated frequently with questions from our social media channels and the live chat option on the bottom of the page.