Seat Defects (Creasing/Rippling): Seeking advice on repair/warranty claims

[PlaidMan448]

Hi Everyone,

I recently purchased a '21 Model S Plaid with under 4K miles [have yet to take delivery]. The car was registered in March '22, so it is < 1 year old with 37 months of warranty remaining (given how much it was driven, it is practically brand-new). The original listing, if it is still up, can be found here.

After making the purchase, I noticed a few defects in the photographs of the seats and wanted to get the opinion/help of this community.

1) My primary concern is the passenger seat-back. There appears to be excessive wrinkling in the material in a place I've only ever seen as smooth and taut. I am hoping once I receive the car I will be able to make a warranty claim for excessive wear given the low-mileage and fact that this is the passenger seat.

2 & 3) I have a few minor nits about creases in both seat bolsters. However, I am totally willing to accept these typical wear and tear and probably my just being overly-anxious for having spent $100k on a car for the first time.


So my questions are:

• Do you think I have a leg to stand on re: warranty claim for the passenger seat back? Any guidance/advice for filing the claim?
• Would you agree my nits on the seat bolster are just that, nits I should ignore?
• Should the warranty claim fall through, advice on how to proceed? I am willing to spend $2k-ish to reupholster if necessary, I know it will just make me feel better at the end of the day.
• Any other concerns you can spot in the listing/photos?

Thanks in advance for all your help and guidance!

 

[PlaidMan448]

Gentle bump. Thanks again all.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

If you go to my Service Center in Houston, you will have zero chance of getting that fixed under warranty. They just denied almost every build quality issue on my 2023 MS LR. Maybe your Service Center will be more accommodating.

If you can't get it fixed under warranty, you might be able to find a good used one from a wrecked car. Since black interior is free, there's more of them, and the seats usually survive a collision as long as the seat airbag didn't go off, and not many people need a seat, so it could be a low cost plug and play solution compared to getting custom upholstery work done.

And then you could probably sell your seat for something to offset the cost since someone might be in need the mechanisms and not the seat back.

 

[PlaidMan448]

If you go to my Service Center in Houston, you will have zero chance of getting that fixed under warranty. They just denied almost every build quality issue on my 2023 MS LR. Maybe your Service Center will be more accommodating.

If you can't get it fixed under warranty, you might be able to find a good used one from a wrecked car. Since black interior is free, there's more of them, and the seats usually survive a collision as long as the seat airbag didn't go off, and not many people need a seat, so it could be a low cost plug and play solution compared to getting custom upholstery work done.

And then you could probably sell your seat for something to offset the cost since someone might be in need the mechanisms and not the seat back.

Thank you, I appreciate the advice. One thing I've been considering is whether I can just have the seat reupholstered, or have that piece fixed at an upholstery shop. I wonder if that might be less hassle than trying to replace the entire seat. Though, I've never had something like that done so I'm not sure what the outcome would look like.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

Thank you, I appreciate the advice. One thing I've been considering is whether I can just have the seat reupholstered, or have that piece fixed at an upholstery shop. I wonder if that might be less hassle than trying to replace the entire seat. Though, I've never had something like that done so I'm not sure what the outcome would look like.

If you take it to an upholstery shop, they might do a good job and it will look great, or they might not. It will depend on their skill level. If they need to source new material, it will also depend whether they can get the exact same material to do the work or improvise with something else that doesn't look quite right.

It's a roll of the dice. Do you feel lucky?

Even with an upholstery option, you still need to make the effort to take the seat out, and you will have downtime without the seat. Those guys aren't cheap either.

If you find another seat in perfect condition, you can just swap it out to remove the dice roll and downtime, and if you sell your other seat, maybe even spend less money.

Let us know what you do either way!