How does cars with leather seats hold up in Puna? (rental car, rental)

[LumpiaLvr]

Do cars with leather seats have issues due to the high humidity in Puna? Any recommendations to extend the life of the seats or is it a lost cause?

[Futuremauian]

Originally Posted by LumpiaLvr

Do cars with leather seats have issues due to the high humidity in Puna? Any recommendations to extend the life of the seats or is it a lost cause?

1. Keep your windows up while parked. This has the added benefit of keeping cockroaches (and the homeless) from invading your car.

2. Cover your seats when riding "wet" from the beach. (I now carry plastic trash bags for this.)
Waterproof seat covers are available. Costco sells a nice black set for $24.95 for bucket seats.

3. Apply leather conditioner often.

In my previous car, the driver's seat eventually split. I attribute that to occasionally driving from the beach in wet salty board shorts and normal wear. ($1,000 to recover the one seat.)

I should have put neoprene seat covers over the leather but they were heated/cooled seats and the "cooling" function would have been rendered unusable.

I'm facing the same dilemma in my new RX450h. Don't really want to cover the leather.

BTW: The passenger seats held up just fine.

[terracore]

If the vehicle is driven regularly it will do fine. Between the drying of running the A/C and getting baked by the sun.

[Grassyknoll]

When I moved here I brought my Acura which though it was 7 years old at the time, looked new. Within two years it was hit twice by locals, once by a tourist and the leather seats split apart. On my wife's Acura I installed Wet Okole seat covers and we'll see if they last longer.
I have really given up on trying to keep my cars looking nice. Guess it's a trade-off to living in the tropics.

[terracore]

A few years ago we sold a 1995 Jeep Wrangler (soft top model in Puna). It had the original leather seats in them. They were ugly, but they also had been rained on. Almost 25 years old and no splits or rips.

"I have really given up on trying to keep my cars looking nice. Guess it's a trade-off to living in the tropics."

My sedan has algae growing on the side of it. The car wash keeps it at bay but doesn't get rid of it. A pressure washer works, but I'm afraid of what that will do to the paint. At this point I consider the algae a Puna Patina.

[Ariel188]

Originally Posted by Grassyknoll

When I moved here I brought my Acura which though it was 7 years old at the time, looked new. Within two years it was hit twice by locals, once by a tourist and the leather seats split apart. On my wife's Acura I installed Wet Okole seat covers and we'll see if they last longer.
I have really given up on trying to keep my cars looking nice. Guess it's a trade-off to living in the tropics.

Hmm I read in another post "expect your nice car to not be nice soon." I don't understand, why are so many people running into cars there? I am confused, lol.

[Futuremauian]

Originally Posted by Ariel188

Hmm I read in another post "expect your nice car to not be nice soon." Why cant people drive there? Why are they running into people? I am confused, lol.

Tourists drive unfamiliar rental cars and accidentally scrape them against other cars by misjudging clearances. Parking spaces and lots are also small here.

Tourists also sometimes drive with no lights at night. (See my other thread.)

My previous Lexus was scraped on all four corners and my right-side mirror was broken by someone's car door on a windy day at Target. Eventually, I had the front bumper replaced and it was hit again within months. The estimate to repaint my scuffed rear bumper was $800 so I used touch-up paint instead.

My new Lexus was only 2 months old when a lady backed into the side of it while I was waiting for a parking space. Fortunately her left rear bumper entered my wheel well so most of the hit was absorbed by my tire. She had thousands in damage but I had only a few hundred which her insurance covered.

Along with small parking spaces most residences don't have garages so cars are exposed to the elements. The climate is very hard on leather and vinyl as well as paint. Then you also have people who don't much care if they open a car door against yours since it's not their car anyway...

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by Futuremauian

Tourists drive unfamiliar rental cars and accidentally scrape them against other cars by misjudging clearances. Parking spaces and lots are also small here.

Tourists also sometimes drive with no lights at night. (See my other thread.)

My previous Lexus was scraped on all four corners and my right-side mirror was broken by someone's car door on a windy day at Target. Eventually, I had the front bumper replaced and it was hit again within months. The estimate to repaint my scuffed rear bumper was $800 so I used touch-up paint instead.

My new Lexus was only 2 months old when a lady backed into the side of it while I was waiting for a parking space. Fortunately her left rear bumper entered my wheel well so most of the hit was absorbed by my tire. She had thousands in damage but I had only a few hundred which her insurance covered.

Along with small parking spaces most residences don't have garages so cars are exposed to the elements. The climate is very hard on leather and vinyl as well as paint. Then you also have people who don't much care if they open a car door against yours since it's not their car anyway...

Whew - glad I live on Oahu as I've never dealt with any of those issues.

[Nyfinestbxtf]

This is just me, but I would never buy a new car here. Just something good enough to get from point A to point B. The furthest you will ever have to go is Kona. As long as it can get there safely, that’s all you need.

[Ariel188]

Originally Posted by Futuremauian

Tourists drive unfamiliar rental cars and accidentally scrape them against other cars by misjudging clearances. Parking spaces and lots are also small here.

Tourists also sometimes drive with no lights at night. (See my other thread.)

My previous Lexus was scraped on all four corners and my right-side mirror was broken by someone's car door on a windy day at Target. Eventually, I had the front bumper replaced and it was hit again within months. The estimate to repaint my scuffed rear bumper was $800 so I used touch-up paint instead.

My new Lexus was only 2 months old when a lady backed into the side of it while I was waiting for a parking space. Fortunately her left rear bumper entered my wheel well so most of the hit was absorbed by my tire. She had thousands in damage but I had only a few hundred which her insurance covered.

Along with small parking spaces most residences don't have garages so cars are exposed to the elements. The climate is very hard on leather and vinyl as well as paint. Then you also have people who don't much care if they open a car door against yours since it's not their car anyway...

Oh boy. this is a sad fact I did not know about. I finally have the nicest vehicle I have ever had in my life, 4 runner and i planned on keeping her forever in nice condition. I plan to have a garage thou, so hope that helps. Maybe Ill park far away and walk to the store hahaha