Normal wear for 39,000 miles?

Looking at a 328 and noticed drivers seat and heal pad on drivers carpet are quite worn. Car has done 39,000 with fully stamped service book. Just wondered if that was normal kind of wear?
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Probably.........I bought a 308 with 15K documented and the drivers side seat bolster was worn. Probably a slightly overweight driver.

 

Ok makes sense thanks. I also saw a 308 with 43,000 miles that was having the interior redone because of wear.

 

Lightly repair the seat leather as required..with new material.

I don't think that's an OEM heel pad, should be ribbed black rubber.....

 

Cool thanks! I did wonder about the red heel pad. I’ve sourced an original set of carpets so can replace if I buy the car.

 

Wear of the leather depends a lot on how the car has been stored and how (if?) the leather has been cleaned and protected:
- was the car immediately garaged, roof top on, under its car cover after a drive or let with the top off exposed under the sun?
- was the leather regularly and gently cleaned and treated?

My '89 GTB has 61.000 kms, which is 38.000 miles, so close to 40.000 miles; its leather has been, and still is, regularly cleaned with soapy water, then treated with "Leatherique" (I've no horse in this race)
See the leather for yourself in the enclosed pic, and make up your mind.
Admitted, "Beige" is darker than "Crema", so probably easier to keep clean, and it's a "Berlinetta", not a "Spyder"
(Remember that the Driver's outside bolster is the most important part that should be checked closely)

The foot pad on your pic is a non-standard addition, probably to protected the original rubber pad under it.

Rgds

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The driver's seat bolster might have a light blackish mark at the bottom, due to the rubbing of the safety belt, and some very light leather wear where the upper part of the safety belt is rubbing, but not much more than that.
The leather on seat bottom should not be broken in any place, but must remain thick and supple if properly treated.

(The carrier on the passenger seat is for the big Tomcat that stays in my house from time to time; he is not fully domesticated and rather wild, so fights the others a lot, has to goto the vet from time to time and the GTB is his favorite ambulance; he even knows the engine's sound now)

Rgds
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great thanks for the info. Really helpful.
I’ll check seat bolster and general look of interior. Original service book only had stamps from two well known service centres so appears to verify mileage so most likely wear is lack of care.
And hopefully original mats are under the red ones!

 

And just to be comprehensive:

That's the driver's seat bolster of my '89 GTS, but at 15.000 miles. Color is the rather rare factory "Grey" ("grigio").

Rgds
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Wow very cool colour! And lovely condition.

 

A few words about the leather:

I have owned the GTB for a bit more than thirteen years now, the GTS for slightly more than eleven.
The leather on the GTB was in fairly good shape when I got the car, on the GTS it was dry, parched and bordering on getting brittle, even if the mileage on that car was less.
Keep in mind that these old “Conolly” hides had a very different treatment originally than the more modern automotive leathers used today; people nowadays want the leather in their car to have the same “feel” than the one on their sofa, so the hides are not “sealed” anymore.
Hides on the 328 seats were “sealed” by a top sealant which gave the leather protection against wear and tear, sweat, etc…but makes the leather look glassy and stiff under the hand.

I have been treating the leather with “Leatherique”, twice a year for the GTB, three times a year for the GTS, in the normal standard way, that is: I have never stripped the top sealant from the leather. Only the traditional application of “rejuvinator” then “Prestine Clean” rubbed gently by hand or with a soft brush, then a light wash with a damp cloth.
It is more a pain to do in the GTB with the fixed top, than in the GTS with the top off, but the GTS has the “extended leather” option (“Parcel shelf” around the rear window and roof liner in leather) so more work in the end.

Looking back on these twelve years of treating the leather, it took more time than I was led to believe to achieve the finish that I was hoping for, but I am satisfied with it today: the leather has stayed the same (no alteration whatsoever, no new wear and tear) and has become less glossy and notably more supple to the touch, so I’m a happy camper.

My point is this: I do believe that the original leather on these cars is of good quality and can be maintained for a very long time, IF cleaned and maintained regularly and properly. I have been happy with “Leatherique”, but many other owner use different products and are happy with the results.

(But avoid any clothes with metallic buttons…or pants/jackets with zippers all around…)

Rgds

 

Speedo sensor at the engine is so easy to disconnect.
Without a modern ECU and similar ( dealer only ) device to interrogate like say a 360 you will never know .

There’s a lot of threads on forums , FB asking for some sort of verification of wear .Peddle , carpet , seats , steering wheel etc etc .

There’s hardly any 308 series cars with over 100K miles around .Plenty of Porsches , BMW M s etc .

Go figure !

Guess the only advice is never buy , or pay a premium for a low miler 308 as its highly likely NOT .

 

The driver seat bolster of my 328 had some noticeable wear when I bought the car. The previous owner was 6'4" and around 250 lbs! Yep, he fit in the car due to very long legs/short trunk. But his size/weight was hard on the seat, even though the car only had 24k miles when I bought it. I removed the seat and swapped their position, putting the virtually new passenger seat in the driver position. After a good bit of leather conditioning/etc, the old driver seat looks fine and is happy in its passenger position.

I'm probably one of the few (maybe the 'only') that does not like leather seats at all - whether in the home or in a car. They are hot/sweaty when it is hot and cold/uncomfortable when it is cold and wear/crack without regular care. But, that's what the car came with...

 

Really depends on who owns the car and how they get in an out of it. 37 years, 32k miles.

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Has a little wear on the driver's side piping that I touched up back in 2015.

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