hiya,,spoke to a nice man named david at southbound trimmers,,he said that a new headlining fitted to my s2,would take a day and cost around £340,,,next bookings are for the start of august and 944 kits as simon and others have said are available for just over £40,,if budget allows i will try to get it done with my present work,,if not one for the future,,six hours labour at just over £40 an hour to have it fitted at southbound,,headlining kit included in the above price,,cheers jason p
southbound trimmers- headlining fitted
- Thread starter jasonp
- Start date
Copperman05
New member
Hi Jason,
Had my recaros retrimmed by Southbound, excellent work to factory standards. I'm sure it will look like new afterwards.
Edd
Had my recaros retrimmed by Southbound, excellent work to factory standards. I'm sure it will look like new afterwards.
Edd
Kongsodoken
Active member
It is 3 hours work tops, even for a novice like me ...so make that £100 per hour
it is a good kit and a great price IMHO[
]
pauljmcnulty
Active member
Whilst I wouldn't tackle it myself, as already mentioned it'd be physically impossible for me to bend myself in to the positions needed, surely there must be a local classic-car restorer near you who'd be able to fit it easily?
They are only cars, and a headlining can't be so different on a 944 that you have to travel miles to a specialist? Southbound were the default choice for retrims until a few years ago, becuse they were the only source of some fabrics. Now you can get materials so easily from the Continent (thank God for Europe, one more reason we don't need Ukip lol [&:]) there is less reason to pay their very high prices.
They are only cars, and a headlining can't be so different on a 944 that you have to travel miles to a specialist? Southbound were the default choice for retrims until a few years ago, becuse they were the only source of some fabrics. Now you can get materials so easily from the Continent (thank God for Europe, one more reason we don't need Ukip lol [&:]) there is less reason to pay their very high prices.
hiya,,i made the initial enquiry as i would like to get the work done when the car goes in on thursday but mindful that i am having a lot of mechanical work as well as bodywork sorted i will need to prioritize,,so thought i would get a quote out of interest,,
as edd said sure they will do a great job but six hours seems excessive after watching the tipec link even to the un-trained eye,,
if budget restraints stop me from having the headlining changed this time then its a job i will do in the very near future but not at southbounds fitting prices,,,regards jason p
as edd said sure they will do a great job but six hours seems excessive after watching the tipec link even to the un-trained eye,,
if budget restraints stop me from having the headlining changed this time then its a job i will do in the very near future but not at southbounds fitting prices,,,regards jason p
Jason,
I can't add anything new to what has already been said here other than to say that it's bl**dy cheeky of Southbound to charge that much as an hourly rate, and for that length of time, to fit a headlining. £40 an hour for someone who will be paid not much more than the minimum wage to do a simple job is just rude. If you are worried about fitting it yourself then buy two new headlinings and do the job twice, AND save £260.
As I posted yesterday, McNulters is clever [] and comments like this show us why. Southbound's workmanship is reasonable but not exceptional; I've seen some very average-looking stuff done by them and know you can get better workmanship elsewhere at much, much more reasonable prices.
Oli.
I can't add anything new to what has already been said here other than to say that it's bl**dy cheeky of Southbound to charge that much as an hourly rate, and for that length of time, to fit a headlining. £40 an hour for someone who will be paid not much more than the minimum wage to do a simple job is just rude. If you are worried about fitting it yourself then buy two new headlinings and do the job twice, AND save £260.
As I posted yesterday, McNulters is clever [
] and comments like this show us why. Southbound's workmanship is reasonable but not exceptional; I've seen some very average-looking stuff done by them and know you can get better workmanship elsewhere at much, much more reasonable prices. Oli.
Ex Skyline
New member
Where ?.....Pray, do tell. I am in need []
]1. Place that MarkK uses.
2. MJ Interiors: http://www.mjinteriors.com/index.php
3. Many of the places that appear at classic car shows and suchlike.
Southbound are good, but they aren't the only good ones out there and aren't the best. They are however one of the most expensive, by a bit of a margin.
Oli.
2. MJ Interiors: http://www.mjinteriors.com/index.php
3. Many of the places that appear at classic car shows and suchlike.
Southbound are good, but they aren't the only good ones out there and aren't the best. They are however one of the most expensive, by a bit of a margin.
Oli.
Copperman05
New member
As someone who has actually used Southbound and has been to their workshop and met the those who work there and watched them work I think I have a better understanding of what they do than most. Yes they are expensive, but £40 an hour is less than what most indies charge for an hourly rate and the staff are certainly not on minimum wage but highly trained craftsman. If you have issue with why they want 6 hours to complete, call them and ask.
If you doubt their work I welcome you to come and look at my seats, the work they do exceeds what I have seen from any other leather fitter. You get what you pay for, if you don't want to pay for it then fine. Southbound are unique in that they are Porsche interior specialists, they do no other marque, they know the cars inside out and use the same materials as Porsche. By all means choose not to use them if you cannot afford to, but to comment on them with never having used them is just silly.
I got a quote from MJ interiors, they wanted £1200 v £1190 from southbound, except southbound had Original Porsche leather, they knew the Porsche style of perforations in the leather, could emboss the Porsche crest, knew the stitching down the centre of the cushions, and they knew how to fit them to 944's, with special lower sidemounts.
Edd
If you doubt their work I welcome you to come and look at my seats, the work they do exceeds what I have seen from any other leather fitter. You get what you pay for, if you don't want to pay for it then fine. Southbound are unique in that they are Porsche interior specialists, they do no other marque, they know the cars inside out and use the same materials as Porsche. By all means choose not to use them if you cannot afford to, but to comment on them with never having used them is just silly.
I got a quote from MJ interiors, they wanted £1200 v £1190 from southbound, except southbound had Original Porsche leather, they knew the Porsche style of perforations in the leather, could emboss the Porsche crest, knew the stitching down the centre of the cushions, and they knew how to fit them to 944's, with special lower sidemounts.
Edd
Copperman05
New member
Kongsodoken
Active member
Just to be clear I think Southbound do great work and the quality of the headlining is first class (and I'm very Fussy[]) I also think £300 to fit a head lining is not unreasonable, I was just saying you can do it yourself very easily but this is a testiment to the quality of the Southbound product and at £40 it is a bargain.
We need specialist suppliers like this to keep our cars on the road
]) I also think £300 to fit a head lining is not unreasonable, I was just saying you can do it yourself very easily but this is a testiment to the quality of the Southbound product and at £40 it is a bargain.We need specialist suppliers like this to keep our cars on the road
Copperman05
New member
My sentiments exactly, if you can to the work yourself and save a few pennies then fine, but dont slag of one of the few expert Porsche trimmers in Europe just because you think they are expensive. If you don't like the prices go buy a Fiat.
Edd
George Elliott
New member
I agree with you Edd except for the Fiat, the depreciation is so steep.........[]
I see Southbound like Centre Gravity, they are top notch, if some-one started a post asking "who offers a better product or Service than _____" there would be few suggestions.
They are both truly dedicated to their Craft, and they charge according to those Standards. They have competitors, they know that, they know people under-cut them, but they will not compromise, they remain dedicated and their Customers are happy.
This is not understood by everyone, it never will be. (perhaps too busy eating horse meat to understand [8|])
But I have seen some very poor re-upholstry work, and read about poor alignment, and I know the solution is guys like SB and CG.
Nice seats btw
George
944t
]I see Southbound like Centre Gravity, they are top notch, if some-one started a post asking "who offers a better product or Service than _____" there would be few suggestions.
They are both truly dedicated to their Craft, and they charge according to those Standards. They have competitors, they know that, they know people under-cut them, but they will not compromise, they remain dedicated and their Customers are happy.
This is not understood by everyone, it never will be. (perhaps too busy eating horse meat to understand [8|])
But I have seen some very poor re-upholstry work, and read about poor alignment, and I know the solution is guys like SB and CG.
Nice seats btw
George
944t
As someone who has been around for a while, and who doesn't have a bottomless pit of money when it comes to running their car, I think 'better understanding' is a position we could both claim. There is nothing unique about Southbound. They have no Porsche recommendation, affiliation or endorsement at all. They are no more special than the local under-the-arches greasy garage that has a hand-painted sign saying "Ford Specialist - we work on nothing else". They do good quality work, but they most certainly know how to charge for it.
When I was looking at having my (porsche) seats re-covered I had quotes from both Southbound and MJ. And MJ must have seen you coming Edd, because they were less than half the price of Southbound, and could cover the entire interior of my car for fractionally less than Southbound wanted for the two front seats. And - in my (very) humble opinion - MJ do the better work.
There is no such a thing as "Original Porsche leather". Porsche leather comes from cows, like most other leather. The cows that end up covering the inside of Porsche cars are not reared in special stables in Stuttgart, neither are they fed grass that is genetically-modified by Porsche scientists. It's leather. Leather of a particular grade and surface treatment, but that's not special to Porsche. If Southbound tell you otherwise and you are willing to pay for this pleasant notion then no-one will criticise you, but some of us prefer to keep our money where it stays; in our pockets.
Paying a highly trained craftsman to do a simple job is poor economics. I don't pay an investment banker to clean my house because they would charge far more than the job's worth. Equally I wouldn't expect to pay someone £40 an hour to do work that a fitter could do for less than £10 an hour. (If I do pay them £40 an hour then I expect them to do it in a quarter of the time of someone cheaper - not to take six hours to do a three hour job.)
As with everything in this world, you pay your money and you make your choice. No-one is 'Slagging Off' southbound, merely suggesting that people should make an informed choice. If I was about to pay southbound's extravagant prices to do some work for me then I'd be very grateful if someone could point out some more reasonable alternatives, and most certainly wouldn't make allegations of 'slagging off' - that is surely the point of a forum like this. To suggest anything else is happening is somewhat disingenuous of you.
Edd, don't take this the wrong way old boy, but you are coming over a bit like this fellow here:
... and that's not nice at all.
Oli.
944 man
Active member
ORIGINAL: Ex Skyline
Where ?.....Pray, do tell. I am in need [
I will suggest Vaughan Green. Very experienced with old school Porsche seats.
I too believe that much of the reason for ST being the default (and seldom really thought about) answer was because they had fabric that no one else had, which is no longer the case. They hve little and virtually everything is available to buy direct from European suppliers now for £70ish per linear metre.
That said, I have no reason to nor intention of undermining ST. I do think that theyre too dear though, even by soft Southern shandy over-inflated sense of their own worth values...
Copperman05
New member
Haha, I don't have the right accent sorry. Point is I have heard people say Southbound are slow, Southbound are expensive but you are the first person to claim that their work is in anyway sub-par. I'm not sure what 'very average' workmanship you have seen but would be very interested to find out, perhaps you could supply a thread detailing a complaint or pictures of said work? My suspicion tells me there are none.
You describe Southbounds prices as extortionate yet their headlining kit is just £40, seems pretty reasonable to me and I'm sure there are more similar items similarly priced. When I bought my Recaro seats (to then be re-trimmed) Southbound were the cheapest by almost £100 per seat! (go see my old thread), at the time Recaro had reviewed all their seats prices after being taken over by a new owner, they then put the prices up 33% overnight! David at Southbound managed to source 2 seats for me at the older price, I couldnt get them anywhere else at the same rate. TBO he could have just jumped on and charged me the extra and made some money, but he didnt. This is how I have a understanding of what Sounthbound do, I have saved myself money using them. So your assertion that they are somehow taking people for some kind of ride, charging the earth and providing sub-par work just doesn't hold true if you have actually experienced what they do. How you can make an assumption of quality based on a single quote without seeing the end result from either MJ or Southbound, surely its somewhat shortsighted and premature? Did you have the work done by MJ in the end? Can we see the results?
Yes labour is expensive, your lucky in that you can do alot of the work on your car yourself, you can save some money. Good for you. I'm not so lucky, I'm not sure I could tackle a headlining, perhaps its not that difficult, but I dont really want to mess up my interior just to find out that I cant. Ken appears to be a very handy chap, he has pretty much stripped his car single handed and replaced and renewed many parts, its a testament to what is possible given the time and resources. Most of us however are not like him, you maybe, I certainly am not. But I do admire the work, and I like shiny shiny things as Simon puts it. Before we all judge Southbounds 6 hours v 3 hours we would need to know we are comparing apples with apples. How much prep work is required? What are the methods of removal and fitment and why are they done that way? I don't see Southbound making a 3 hour job a 6 hour one just for the sake of it, it doesnt make sense. Yet we all accept it as given, Southbound must be ripping us off...
MJ do very nice interiors and I don't doubt the quality of their work. But what they cant tell you is how a 911SC gear gaiter differs from a 3.2's. Or how Porsche changed the fitment of the centre console on the 964 after 1989. Or how the 944 front carpet is all one piece compared to the segmented one from the 911, and make perfect copies of each. The list goes on, the expertise is real, not imagined, Southbound are specialists at what they do. No they are not cheap, Porsches generally are not cheap. High end products command high end prices. Porsche made our cars using quality materials and highly skilled workman who knew the cars inside out. Southbound continue to do the same.
Edd
PS Porsche use a black leather called black 8yr, Southbound get the same black 8yr from the same supplier, its the same leather. Other colours are similarly coded and similarly sourced.
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