Creases on brand new racing seats?

From the pictures, the creases look like the natural look of leather. I doubt they were created by some mishandling during prep transportation or shipping.

You are right about the fact that the creases are visible. The question is should the seat be replaced because of this cosmetic issue.

Someone at Ferrari, inspects the hides and identifies flaws so they are avoided when the panels are cut. Should these creases have been identified as a defect? Obviously the Ferrari technician thought they were ok.

Obviously from your viewpoint Ferrari should have cut around these creases.

One thing you may want to consider is that all leather hides come from a 3D animal. So the hides never lies perfectly flat.
When pieces are cut and then stitched together there may still be some areas that bend and curve accentuating the creases you have noticed. This is part of the inherent imperfection and beauty of a natural hide.

I've had a few crocodile wallets made custom order. I noticed that the wallets were never perfectly square. I even got to the point of picking the skin and the region where the parts were cut in order to try to get everything to my liking.

Also, if sit on the seat and sweat, this will create more creases dues to stretching and deformation. So comparing a drivers seat to a passenger seat is never a fair comparison in Ferraris.

 

Sorry about the damper on your new Ferrari experience. Leather seats never stay crease free, unfortunately. That said, your seat does look a bit too creased for a brand new car, especially along the center stripe. I would be disappointed, as well. I think it's worth mentioning your dissatisfaction, but I wouldn't let it get you down if Ferrari won't repair or replace the seat. A few months down the road and a perfect seat would look sat-in, anyway.

I would be surprised if Ferrari did nothing about it, though. Seems like a legitimate complaint and I doubt they would consider that seat in acceptable condition/finish for a brand new car. Those are some finely constructed, very expensive seats, they should be in perfect condition at time of delivery. That seat should not have passed quality control. If the seat turned out that way and Ferrari didn't want to waste time/resources redoing it, then it should have been installed in a company car used for driver's-ed, testing, etc.

 

Just a thought my bolsters creased on the drivers seat right side. I treated it with a good leather treatment and they disappeared . Might be worth ago and save you a long trip

 

I'm thinking it may be a dealer prep problem and not a manufacturing defect. But, it's hard to say. Natural leather is going to do what it's going to do no matter what idea man has.

But, it's really hard to tell from the photos. I think black exaggerates the problem.

It doesn't matter though because the OP needs to be satisfied and clearly, he isn't. So, it's time to contact the dealer -- even 400 miles away -- and ask them what gives.

 

The glove soft leather seats on my Mercedes CL 63 are free of creases. After some 60,000 miles.

If Mercedes can do it, so can Ferrari.

 

I'm not making excuses here but Mercedes leather and Ferrari leather are like apples and oranges. When you want really soft leather, it wears faster and shows creases faster.

Personally, I think Ferrari leather is too soft but that's what consumers want.

 

I repeat: the leather on my AMG CL is glove soft, and nothing like normal Mercedes leather. (The Alcantara headliner is unlike most Mercedes headliners too.) And the leather has no creases.

In 2012, blaming the creases on the nature of leather is unacceptable. It was either a poorly tanned hide or a bad cut from the hide.

 

My seats came ike something from batman forever and I ultimately agree go and tell the dealer you are not happy. I had some creasesand just thought it was worth a try but these were after 700 miles not on delivery. The conditioner has got rid of them permanently.

 

I'm glad everything turned out well. I honestly never expected anything less from your Ferrari dealer. The quality in the 458 is very good, IMO and I'm sure they want to keep it that way.

 

Wow that's great. Now, go wear the heck out if the old ones!

 

+2012

Great minds think alike.

 

Glad to hear you are getting replacements!

Since you still have the old ones- why not try some small experiments ?

You can try some warm water on a towel to moisten the leather and then a hair dryer to dry them. This might be interesting to see if this will tighten up the hides. It certainly won't affect anything regarding the already approved replacement .

I saw a program about how leather is treated - moistening and warming and drying is done repeatedly to leather hides to flatten and improve the smoothness.