raffo77

The OP has never driven in Italy.

any further info you wish to share?

Central sell Meguiars stuff but I expect you'll pay top dollar.

Also True Value does, bought leather conditioner there. price is discounted from Meguiar's ones

gave them a call and could not order what i wanted. seems products on the website are 2 years old and the leather products i want are not available anymore.

will visit their stand at the expo to get an idea of the new products (free entry tickets ). not that urgent to maintain my leather seats as they are brand new

Just buy from ThaiWasherCarClub.. in stock, and cheaper prices.

looked at their website but must register. where do they sell?

gave them a call and could not order what i wanted. seems products on the website are 2 years old and the leather products i want are not available anymore.

will visit their stand at the expo to get an idea of the new products (free entry tickets ). not that urgent to maintain my leather seats as they are brand new

I have asked a shop near me and they work with Australian leather. 2000 to cover up my steering wheel (they have a color to match mine)

Showed them my interior and they were amazed at the workmanship

Probably can't post anything about their business so if needed please PM

I believe you can post about the business, please post and share!

ok, here goes:

http://www.captiva-club.com/cctforum/index.php?topic=30900.0

I have asked a shop near me and they work with Australian leather. 2000 to cover up my steering wheel (they have a color to match mine)

Showed them my interior and they were amazed at the workmanship

Probably can't post anything about their business so if needed please PM

I use this, its Free. Only Prob the Handbags that come with it start fro 6500 Bht.Its realy good though.100_4004.JPG

mine's also free, Jaguar leather cleaner. unfortunately it is now about 8000 km from here, so must find a paid alternative

Can hardly compare vinyl to leather. Had both. Leather is something else.

I had all the all the seats on my SUV re-done by a local trimmer, and he told me the Thai leather is crap and will crack very quickly. I ended up using a mixture of leather and vinyl, some of the decent thicker vinyl is not that bad, all the people that use him have changed to vinyl after the short life of the leather on Thai made vehicles.

I also have a BMW 3 series and the leather on this one is the real deal.

I expect the leather you obtained from Europe is a quality grade compared to what is available here.

I think it's not all that bad, if one looks after it. The leather in my honda still looks pretty good after nearly 11 years. I do use conditioner on it though. The only part that is worn is the arm rest - from wear and tear and my sweaty elbow:)

I've seen newer cars with leather in much worse condition. I assume, like the rest of the car, folks just forget about it until something goes wrong.

yes, care is everything. Can i ask what conditioner you use? and what cleaning agent?

Can hardly compare vinyl to leather. Had both. Leather is something else.

I had all the all the seats on my SUV re-done by a local trimmer, and he told me the Thai leather is crap and will crack very quickly. I ended up using a mixture of leather and vinyl, some of the decent thicker vinyl is not that bad, all the people that use him have changed to vinyl after the short life of the leather on Thai made vehicles.

I also have a BMW 3 series and the leather on this one is the real deal.

I expect the leather you obtained from Europe is a quality grade compared to what is available here.

Only time will tell

PS: how do they get a "leather smell" from vinyl? spray on?

Can hardly compare vinyl to leather. Had both. Leather is something else.

mine's a Chevy Captiva. originals are vinyl

more pics here http://fotoalbum.virgilio.it/raffo77/chevroletcaptiva/montaggiosediliinpelle

full price for these was 40,000 (private) or 80,000 (sold to Chevrolet Europe for limited edition model)

got them for 4,000 as a factory write off

I got me these from Italy

Sure they are real leather. installed them myself

would like to add some horses and do some software surgery on the EGR and DPF.

if i search for "remap" on TV, i get ecu th. anyone know of others who do the same?

thanks!

Personal choice is for the Captiva diesel.

Have the CRV as company car, here's my previous post on the subject

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/631467-the-captiva/page-4#entry7410401

Additionally adding Italian leather to it:

yes, for trouble free motoring, GOOD service centers are a must.

fortunately or unfortunately, IMHO, these are Toyota and Honda.

others, not to name any (Chevrolet...) suck big time!

up to a few months ago I would have never said this but the Captiva is a decent car. prices here reflect the prices in europe. the top spec diesel is priced exactly the same. now lemons can be found in any brand, but agree that Chev personnel are not prepared also mechanically-wise. choose to take to a private garage, warranty expired anyway or do some jobs myself (oil change).

Try this guy. he specializes in mazdas, and can find used parts for it.

We get our Tribute v6 serviced there.

Unfortunately, speaks only Thai. on the outer leg of Srinakarin, the part after BangNa.

oops, forgot to insert number:

K.Eee, 085 904 0723

Try this guy. he specializes in mazdas, and can find used parts for it.

We get our Tribute v6 serviced there.

Unfortunately, speaks only Thai. on the outer leg of Srinakarin, the part after BangNa.

Sure,

compared to the CRV, the trim of the Captiva, both inside and outside, are of better quality, especially the dashboard. Ride on the Captiva is firmer due to the nearly 2 tons of weight, and everything from shocks to bushings to brakes are bigger. It is also a longer car, with 7 seats. mind you, i'm comparing my 2007 model with the 2013 CRV, the 2007 model might have been better. seems Honda has been putting in less effort in the newest model, IMHO.

compared to the Fortuner, the same reasoning for the ride applies, with rear drums, smaller shock absorbers and even heavier weight, the Fortuner braking systems seems to be on the weaker side. Third row of seats still has to hang on the sides, leaving the luggage area smaller than it could be, same reasoning for the trim, inferior and with less accessories than the Captiva. The engine of the newest Fortuner is more ready than the one on my 2007 Captiva diesel, but that will be taken care of soon with a complete remap, NOT an extra box to fool the common rail pressure sensor!

Again, IMHO.

PS: Chevrolet resale values are pretty bad, which is an advantage to second hand buyers, like me.

No, engine is not the same as the one in the taxis, but has a single overhead camshaft driving 4 valves per cylinder. not the best setup, but done to conserve costs. yes, my intention is to change oil more often and from the web boards (Italian, English and Thai), no mention of water pipes bursting.

Before buying the car I have driven both the newest models of CRV and Fortuner for months (company cars). The Captiva beats them both, not in the same areas of course, but on average, NOT considering the cost and resale value (mine's second hand and intend to keep it for a while),

Of course, buying second hand is always a risk, but as I said before, for what I paid for it, it's value is unbeatable.

PS: prices in Europe are in line with the prices here, at least for the top spec 2.2 diesel AWD LTZ

96000 km. Previous owner skipped an oil change and that might have resulted in this failure

Just took the dive and bought me a second hand 2007 LT diesel AWD directly from Chev with full book service history.

car was sold as is without any warranty so it was a bit of a risk, but having the car's history helped some.

chose diesel as had them before and used to their clacking, but this engine is on the noisy side (engine is an Italian VM built by GM under license).

engine has a good amount of torque and once on the way, engine noise subsides.

interior trim is unexpectedly good, for what I paid for (630000 baht. new price was 1600000) as is the sound system.

just some interior creaking and a slightly harsh ride at slow speeds.

car is quite big, at par with the fortuner on the inside. handling is good for a 2 tonne suv and has 4 vented disc brakes for good stopping power.

as for the problems, I have to probably replace a wheel bearing, possibly the starter and a suspension bush.

for what I have paid for it, a very good deal.

Leo

as for the book service, this car's last service cost the previous owner about 40000 in parts and labor!

diesels up to 2011 had a lubrification problem to the camshaft, lifters, etc. if the oil was not of good quality and changed more often than the service intervals recommend.

well, engine had camshaft, lifters, followers and turbo replaced, hence the 40000 baht service charge, which does not include the cost of the new turbo that the previous owner bought himself.

for precaution, I will do oil changes every 5000 km with the best stuff that Chev suggests.

performance wise I would like to remap (not chip), but the only people I know of are in Italy!

will try to find local info on this

Just took the dive and bought me a second hand 2007 LT diesel AWD directly from Chev with full book service history.

car was sold as is without any warranty so it was a bit of a risk, but having the car's history helped some.

chose diesel as had them before and used to their clacking, but this engine is on the noisy side (engine is an Italian VM built by GM under license).

engine has a good amount of torque and once on the way, engine noise subsides.

interior trim is unexpectedly good, for what I paid for (630000 baht. new price was 1600000) as is the sound system.

just some interior creaking and a slightly harsh ride at slow speeds.

car is quite big, at par with the fortuner on the inside. handling is good for a 2 tonne suv and has 4 vented disc brakes for good stopping power.

as for the problems, I have to probably replace a wheel bearing, possibly the starter and a suspension bush.

for what I have paid for it, a very good deal.

Leo

yes, the LPG conversion is 80,000-90,000 baht.

Thought this guy had a preview of the Thai CX5 but it turns out that he imported it from Japan to test the LPG system.

Was interested in the options installed on the car, but since it's an import, what we will get for the Thai market is unsure.

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