Car owners should remember: Do not choose bonded leather when replacing seats. After buying a new car, many people like to add some "furnishings" to their beloved cars, such as applying sun film, laying floor gel, and replacing leather seats, which are the most common choices but also the focus of complaints. The reporter saw at the Xi'an automobile market that whether it's a 4S store or an automobile products store, they can provide these services for car owners. However, the quality and whether they can achieve the expected effect are something car owners need to be cautious about.
The biggest problem with applying sun film lies in the construction quality. A good sun film can provide heat insulation. Many car owners, upon receiving their new cars, first think of applying a sun film to cover their cars. However, most people care about the price of the film, while the quality of applying the film is often neglected.
Ms. Wang, a car owner, bought a Sagitar last year and went to an automobile products store recommended by a friend to apply the film. Unexpectedly, the workers scratched several marks on the front windshield while applying the film. Although it was not obvious unless you looked closely, thinking about it being a new car, especially the more expensive front windshield being scratched, Ms. Wang naturally felt uncomfortable. Since it did not affect usage, the automobile products store was unwilling to bear any compensation, so Ms. Wang had no choice but to let it go.
Expert advice: Choose authorized construction stores to apply the sun film. According to Li Peng, the regional manager of Belcart in Xi'an, the most common full-car sun film price in the Xi'an market now is between 1500-2500 yuan. Sun films of this price range mostly ensure quality. Currently, in the sun film market, the biggest quality issue is not the film itself, but rather in the operation process.
It is introduced that some automobile products stores may have problems such as baking the car glass until it cracks, scratches, passing off inferior goods as good ones during the application of the sun film. It is suggested that everyone buy branded sun films, choose authorized construction stores to apply the film, and request a formal warranty card. With a warranty card, if issues such as dizziness or eye strain occur after applying the film, regular manufacturers usually handle them positively and replace the sun film for the car owner.
When replacing seats, beware of merchants passing off bonded leather as genuine leather. Currently, modifying leather seats is one of the simplest and most effective ways to upgrade a car. Many original cloth-seated sedans can achieve interior decoration effects comparable to the luxury versions of the same brand cars through modification. However, from the current situation, there is a large price difference in modifying leather seats. Small car decoration shops scattered along the roadside usually offer prices between 800-2000 yuan for a set of leather seat modifications, while in regular 4S stores or with original factory leather seats sold by automobile manufacturers, the price is between 3000-8000 yuan. Of course, different prices mean significant differences in leather quality.
Nowadays, some merchants seek profit by passing off bonded leather seats as genuine leather seats. Car owners must be clear when choosing and not be tempted by cheap options, causing unnecessary trouble.
Expert advice: Distinguish bonded leather by touch. Shi Xueliang, the manager of the beauty maintenance center of Isewei Chery Company, told reporters that under normal circumstances, the material used for car seats is cowhide, which is divided into water buffalo hide, yellow cowhide, and bonded leather. Among them, yellow cowhide is the best. Cowhide can generally be sliced into several layers, with the outermost layer called top-grain leather, which has the best texture, tensile strength, and breathability; the second layer is of poorer elasticity and prone to chipping, so car seats usually use top-grain leather. Currently, perforated leather is quite popular in the market. This type of seat is overall stretchable, breathable, easy to maintain, and has a longer service life.
Bonded leather is made by processing scraps, crushing them, covering them with plastic film, pressing them, and attaching a layer of adhesive film. Although it looks delicate and similar in color to top-grain leather, it can be clearly distinguished by touch. Moreover, it has a strong smell and contains harmful substances, posing great harm to human health. Therefore, car owners need to carefully distinguish when choosing.
For applying floor gel, it is best to choose molded types. Applying floor gel to a new car is the first choice for many car owners. After all, a layer of floor gel can prevent dirt and stains from staying on the surface, so after purchasing a new car, most people will lay a protective waterproof and easy-to-clean floor gel under the seats. Nowadays, floor gels on the market are divided into hand-sewn and molded types. Good-quality floor gel can effectively prevent dust and make dirt less likely to seep into the carpet. Molded floor gel is pressed once, seamless in the middle, with good anti-leakage properties, but when encountering uneven ground inside the car, its aesthetics suffer.
Expert advice: Those without a pungent smell are safer. According to Wu Shiwei from Bofa Automobile Products Store, applying floor gel is the first step many car owners take in decorating their cars, but if done poorly, the floor gel becomes the source of air pollution inside the car. Nowadays, many floor gels on the market are low-priced items, costing 100-300 yuan for full-car decoration. But these low-priced floor gels use glue to bond, and many ordinary glues contain harmful substances like formaldehyde, releasing a pungent smell. They slowly release within the confined space of the car, posing great harm to the car owner's health. Especially when driving in summer and winter, the windows are usually tightly closed, making the harm even greater. Therefore, it is suggested that car owners choose molded floor gels when selecting, which are slightly more expensive but lack a pungent smell and are safer.
Related thematic articles:
- Six methods of car repair to avoid being deceived.
- Tai Chi and human body structure: Opening and closing force theory, seizing force theory.