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I ran across this on the internet and thought it looked like a pretty good deal at $65 bucks. Two piece leather replacement for the center console lid and cup holder in OEM colors as per interior Jag codes. JAGUAR XJ8 ARMREST COVER,LEATHER COVER for ARM REST
Looks good, price is right, but their copyright was last updated in 2007....I check things like that. I would email them first, because they say they have a 20% restock fee. I say that because if in case it doesn't match, you don't want to be charged for something not your fault (including shipping back)...be sure first. My 2000 has cashmere (SDZ) and the only close thing previous leather providers showed was doe skin, which was off a good noticeable shade.
About 12-13 yrs ago I had mine done with pleather and its a lot softer and more comfortable (and durable) than leather to put my arm on. I know they say its leather, but I'd still ask if its pleather.
I also ran across this YouTube video, it's from back in 2011, so may have been posted here before, but an excellent blow-by-blow of a refurbish of the center console and cup holder.
That's not a bad video, my armrest leather was trashed, it looked like a 3D topographic map, canyons and all...lol...so I sent it out. After $140 and getting it back I had to fix my cup holder just about month or so later, the guide pins kept slipping out (the plastic mold was spread too far)....I wasn't about to pay to send it off again. So I went to my favorite overage store (Skycraft) and found some ceramic holes that fit the posts nicely. I took my dremel and milled out the area to make the holes fit snug, but not restrictive and JB Welded them in. Its been 12-13 years and all is still good.
If doing similar, I recommend the JB Weld (or similar) sit for at least 24 hrs before testing because the spring load will knock it out after only a 4 hr set time. Btw, you may say, why didn't you color it to match...I was, but trust me, no one sees it...evvvverrrrrr...lol.
Sorry its a bit blurry, my phone camera has issues with close up pics.
I ordered a kit from them in February 2017. I can’t speak for any other colors, but the black leather they sent me was not the right color at all. I called it too much of an “inky” black vs the warm charcoal of the original. It stood out noticeably. I ended up finding a used lid with good leather, and carefully swapped the leather onto my lid, which was structurally in decent shape.
I hesitated to upload this picture from when I installed it because you can’t really tell how “off” the color was. If you look close, you can tell. I was trying to convince myself it was ok. Ultimately couldn’t live with it and replaced it as I mentioned above.
I actually just wonder why some of these armrest are perfect (like on my VDP), while others are all crumbled and rippled (like on my XK).
Is it the leather quality itself, or just different sweaty arms?
I tried to warm, stretch and iron my XK one, it got better, but still not show-like at all ...
I actually just wonder why some of these armrest are perfect (like on my VDP), while others are all crumbled and rippled (like on my XK).
Is it the leather quality itself, or just different sweaty arms?
I tried to warm, stretch and iron my XK one, it got better, but still not show-like at all ...
Mine's good as well, I gather some people lean w/ heavy pressure on them & the constant indentation eventually causes cracks etc.
I thought about that too while I was looking for one that wasn’t cracked. The only thing I came up with was that some people drive with their right hand on the wheel more often. I figure in those cars, the door arm rest is probably shot but the console lid is fine.
To be fair, I should add that I liked the quality and feel of the leather from aaaupholstery. Just couldn’t live with the color.
I did a re-color of seats and armrest a couple of years ago. When talking with the suppliers ( https://www.furnitureclinic.co.uk/?g...oaAhViEALw_wcB ) he told me "leather doesn't crack, the paint on leather does"! I know that when I removed all the original color, what 'cracks' there were all disappeared, and re-coating them turned out great. He also said that warming and cooling leather without paint on helps the leather to stretch better thereby helping the removal of wrinkles?
I used a hair dryer to warm the leather, then a cold sponge and the wrinkles disappeared too! I guess it's like most topcoats on anything, it depends a lot on what's under the surface and preparation?
Paul
Replacement Center Console Leather
