Are you wondering if should I get car seat covers for my car? Are car seat covers worth it? Especially if the car is brand new and the original seat covers are still shiny and attractive. You are not alone on this, so many car owners wonder the same thing.
Today is your lucky day. I will help you make the best decision by weighing out the pros and cons of getting a car seat cover. So here comes the million-dollar question!
Are car seat covers worth it?
Yes! They are worth it and I’ll give you the reasons why.
Asides from the fact that car seat covers prevent spills, stains, dirt, etc from messing up your car seat, A survey carried out by the United States Department of Transportation reported by Caltrend stated that the average American drives for 55 minutes daily, which amounts to 330 hours every year.
Considering this report, you will agree that it’s a lot of time spent in the car, so how can one not consider being comfortable for 330 hours in a year?
Also, spending this amount of time in the car is bound to depreciate the car seats, make them slack, worn out, sweaty as well as dirty, and the way to limit the impact of this is by, Yeah, you guessed right, installing a car seat cover!
Car seat covers are totally worth every cent you spend purchasing them. They can give you comfort while driving and work as car seat protectors, but you will need to research and find the best car seat covers for your car.
Why Is Having A Replacement Car Seat Cover Important?
Since we have already agreed to the fact that car seat covers are really worth it, I’ll go ahead and give you 10 top reasons why you should get one immediately if you are yet to do so!
- Offers protection to the Car seats
- Adds Aesthetic beauty to the car
- Hides Stains/Blemishes, Wrinkles, etc
- Simple to maintain
- Cost Effective
- Adds Value to the Car
- Highly reusable
- Offers Luxury, Comfort, and Satisfaction
- Protection from UV Rays
- Many Variations for Different Weather Conditions
Offers protection to the Car seats
Car seat covers offer protection to your new car seats. It protects your vehicle seat from wear and tear, spillage, dust, and dirt, protects the original color, etc especially if it is a family car (children, pets, etc) or for road trips.
Adds Aesthetic beauty to the car
Getting car seat covers to improve the car’s interior is a great idea. It makes your car exude class, comfort, and beauty and instills confidence especially if you pay attention to and take pride in the interior of your ride. You have the freedom to choose from a variety of covers.
Hides Stains/Blemishes, Wrinkles, etc
Maybe your car isn’t that new, and the wear and tear over the years are starting to show. Or you just bought it as a fairly used ride and want to hide the stains and spillage from the original owner. A car seat cover is an answer as it hides those stains and dirt and gives your car a newer and fresher look.
Simple to maintain
Most seat covers are very simple to maintain when compared to car seats. For instance, a neoprene seat cover just needs a good wipe, and Fabric seat covers can just be removed, washed, and installed again.
Cost Effective
From an economic perspective, seat covers are cheaper to install and maintain than the original car seats. Buying and installing a car seat can be costly, and car seat manufacturers charge a lot. But a car seat cover can be more friendly to your financial plan. That’s why I recommend people install seat covers for their newly bought cars.
Adds Value to the Car; Car seat covers keep your car’s worth for many years. For instance, protecting your car seat puts it in perfect condition when you want to sell or swap. It assures you of getting extra than when the seats are misused and dirty. Also, if your car seat covers are already worn out and stained, you can improve the financial worth by adding car seat covers to hide the stain and it will fetch a reasonable price.
Adds Value to the Car
Car seat covers keep your car’s worth for many years. For instance, protecting your car seat puts it in perfect condition when you want to sell or swap. It assures you of getting extra than when the seats are misused and dirty. Also, if your car seat covers are already worn out and stained, you can improve the financial worth by adding car seat covers to hide the stain and it will fetch a reasonable price.
Highly Reusable
Yes, you read that right! You can reuse your car seat covers as many times as you want to be provided they are still in good condition. When they get dirty, it doesn’t mean you have to discard or manage them.
When they get dirty, it doesn’t mean you have to discard or manage them. You can remove and clean them following the directions for cleaning each material. The cleaning and maintenance differ depending on the car seat cover material.
Offers Luxury, Comfort, and Satisfaction
Custom seat covers with extra foam padding, heated seat covers, and cooling seat covers offer added comfort while driving. This is supported by the study “Surveys on the Satisfaction and usage of Car Seat Covers” on 150 people by Researchgate which stated that the luxuriousness of car seats depending on the material was 8.5%
Protection from UV Rays
The sun’s UV rays go through your car’s windscreen and windows to cause car seats and dashboards to fade. The hotter or longer the sun shines on the car, the more faded they become.
This shows why some people not only subscribe to the usage of car seat covers but also dashboard covers. They work as a great protector for the original equipment.
Many Variations for Different Weather Conditions
Not all cars come with heated seats or cooling seats. Opting for heated or colling after-market seat covers give you the options to choose from depending on your preferences and the weather. In winter you can install a heated car seat cover and exchange it for a cooling seat cover in the summer.
Isn’t that sound great?
Why Car Seat Covers Can Be a Bad Idea?
To make informed and guided decisions on whether you should or shouldn’t get a car seat cover, I’m going to analyze some of the reasons why you don’t need a car cover for your ride.
- May interfere with the deployment of airbags
- Can be Expensive to buy
- Why hide the Original Interior/ Car Seats
- May cause Discomfort
- Not all car seat covers are long-lasting
- Detracts from the Car’s Original look
- Regular cleaning and maintenance required for Reuse
May interfere with the deployment of airbags
Many modern cars are equipped with airbags that deploy and protect in case of impact. Some seat covers, especially Universal seat covers (meant to fit all vehicles) interfere with the successful and full deployment of airbags, leading to more injuries in case of an impact. I strongly recommend custom seat covers to be on the safer side.
According to Research to Impact, conducted by RMIT University to test the reliability of car seat covers, it was discovered that 40% of car seat covers were impeded by side airbag release.
This report and discovery led to the recall of more than 20,000 car seat covers by Kmart that were previously labeled as “compatible with airbags”. The best way to ensure that your car seat covers are safe is to go for car seat covers that are tailor-made for your car’s brand and model.
Can be Expensive to buy
You may wonder how! When compared to those that use their car seat without covers, you will find out that protecting your seat will cost you extra bucks to purchase and probably install.
Those who opt to use their car seat covers do not spend any extra dollars though it costs more, in the long run, to get new car seats when the unprotected ones become worn out!
Why hide the Original Interior/ Car Seats
Many have argued that getting car seats for their cars is pointless. if you end up hiding the original car seat in a bid to protect it. Sounds right to you?
It was opined by them that being extra careful with your car seat covers is preferable to hiding or covering the original car seats. We are all entitled to our opinions, right?
May cause Discomfort
Some seat covers, especially when you get ones that are mismatched for the car installations or original car seats can be highly uncomfortable.
It can lead to discomfort, for instance, pairing an Australian sheepskin seat cover against a plastic based surfaced car seat can lead to incessant shifts and leave you with the constant feeling of wanting to adjust it. A cover must perfectly fit your car seat snuggly without gaps or saggy sections, otherwise, the whole point of comfort will be defeated.
Not all car seat covers are long-lasting
Imagine buying car seat covers twice or thrice a year. Wasteful and annoying, I can tell. Some covers are not built to serve for a long time.
Though it has been proven to a reasonable extent that the cheaper the car seat cover, the cheaper the durability.
It can be frustrating to get a seat cover only for it to become faded after a short while.
Detracts from the Car’s Original look
Having a seat cover in your car may deflect from its original look which will make it difficult for people to admire the original interior of your ride’s brand and model.
This also describes fittingly people that lack aesthetic or color sense. Sometimes they end up fitting in covers that neither matches the exterior nor interior of their car model thereby making the car look tacky.
In other words, the original car seat look may be what you want for the interior of your car, and covering it up might make the car look tacky.
Regular cleaning and maintenance required for Reuse
One of the reasons why you shouldn’t get a seat cover for your car is if you are living in a weather-friendly environment, rarely use your car and engage in constant cleaning of the car, then you may not need the car seat covers.
Most people go for covers because they rarely clean, use their vehicles every day, and need to protect it from harsh weather conditions.
The majority definitely will benefit from using a car seat cover, some cars will also look much better with car seat covers than without.
Wrap Up
Whatever your case is, take note of the pros and cons, if you agree with more pros than cons, then definitely get a befitting car seat cover and vice versa! And yes, car seat covers are worth it! Check out the best guide for Ford F150 and Ram 1500 seat covers before leaving.
