Leather car seats but no choice

[RBOP]

Back in Canada or America one can order a multitude of different options, colors and accessories when ordering a new car or truck. But in Thailand the car dealers have very little to offer and are fixed in what is offered. One option not offered that bugs me is leather seats or fabric seats. I hate leather seats but most of the high-end vehicles in Thailand don't give you a choice. Your stuck with leather or downgrade to a lower-end model. I want to buy a new Isuzu MU-X or Pajero Sport but both only have leather in the high-end models. All the sales people say its not possible to change to fabric except for one sales person keeps saying he can change to fabric but I cant get him to tell me if its a factory change or some custom shop down the road which I fear would be poor quality. Anyone have any experience with this?

Edited November 17, 2013 by RBOP

[IMHO]

There is no concept of factory options on domestic cars in TH. You can choose the grade, choose the color, and screw on accessories, but outside of that everything will be non-genuine.

[cornishcarlos]

You could always fit some seat covers after you buy it !!

[VocalNeal]

Sadly we live in a world of beige mass production, if most people think leather is higher class that is what the higher end models will have. What you ask the guy is how much for factory replacement fabric seats from the parts dept. and how much will he give you for the old leather ones?

What is on the more "deluxe" version that is not available on the the less "deluxe" version? Maybe it is cheaper to retro fit the "lesser" model with the extra bits you want, than doing it the other way around.

Edited November 18, 2013 by VocalNeal

[IMHO]

Sadly we live in a world of beige mass production, if most people think leather is higher class that is what the higher end models will have. What you ask the guy is how much for factory replacement fabric seats from the parts dept. and how much will he give you for the old leather ones?

What is on the more "deluxe" version that is not available on the the less "deluxe" version? Maybe it is cheaper to retro fit the "lesser" model with the extra bits you want, than doing it the other way around.

Good point

If comparing the Pajero Sport GLS to the GT, most of the differences can be easily/cheaply serviced by the aftermarket - the only GT features that are going to be uneconomical to retrofit are:

* Headlamp washers, headlamp auto-levelling, dusk sensor and rain sensor

* Electric front seats (they will come in wrapped leather anyway)

* Climate control

* Passenger airbag

The rest of the differences are just cosmetic, and easily replaced with aftermarket parts.

[RBOP]

Sadly we live in a world of beige mass production, if most people think leather is higher class that is what the higher end models will have. What you ask the guy is how much for factory replacement fabric seats from the parts dept. and how much will he give you for the old leather ones?

What is on the more "deluxe" version that is not available on the the less "deluxe" version? Maybe it is cheaper to retro fit the "lesser" model with the extra bits you want, than doing it the other way around.

Good point

If comparing the Pajero Sport GLS to the GT, most of the differences can be easily/cheaply serviced by the aftermarket - the only GT features that are going to be uneconomical to retrofit are:

* Headlamp washers, headlamp auto-levelling, dusk sensor and rain sensor

* Electric front seats (they will come in wrapped leather anyway)

* Climate control

* Passenger airbag

The rest of the differences are just cosmetic, and easily replaced with aftermarket parts.

Thanks. Airbag is a must for me however. I cant believe they actually sell vehicles without air bags in Thailand. Just about every car in the western world comes with surround airbags as standard equipment. Even when I spoke to the Isuzu south east Asian regional manager he could not answer my question why Thailand doesn't have selectable options like in America/Canada.

[IMHO]

Sadly we live in a world of beige mass production, if most people think leather is higher class that is what the higher end models will have. What you ask the guy is how much for factory replacement fabric seats from the parts dept. and how much will he give you for the old leather ones?

What is on the more "deluxe" version that is not available on the the less "deluxe" version? Maybe it is cheaper to retro fit the "lesser" model with the extra bits you want, than doing it the other way around.

Good point

If comparing the Pajero Sport GLS to the GT, most of the differences can be easily/cheaply serviced by the aftermarket - the only GT features that are going to be uneconomical to retrofit are:

* Headlamp washers, headlamp auto-levelling, dusk sensor and rain sensor

* Electric front seats (they will come in wrapped leather anyway)

* Climate control

* Passenger airbag

The rest of the differences are just cosmetic, and easily replaced with aftermarket parts.

Thanks. Airbag is a must for me however. I cant believe they actually sell vehicles without air bags in Thailand. Just about every car in the western world comes with surround airbags as standard equipment. Even when I spoke to the Isuzu south east Asian regional manager he could not answer my question why Thailand doesn't have selectable options like in America/Canada.

The GLS has a driver's side airbag, just not a passenger one. Export models get a full set though..

Most western markets have legislation that requires airbags, some even require stability control, and some are even planning on requiring autonomous braking systems.

Thailand doesn't have any such requirements, and is a market where just $1000 price gap is considered big enough to be the difference between being competitive or not, so safety features are often omitted.