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Diablo upholsterer? Need help with a good upholsterer for interior


turbotoo
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Lookup Driven Exotics. I witnessed first hand the precision and dedication they have towards nailing every detail. They were restoring a Countach interior while I was there and every little bit was SPOT ON!

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You really do need to shop around if price is a concern, and Lambo-tax on interior work is very HIGH. There are also a lot of cheaper shops out there that would do a horrendous job. The key is in finding someone who will work with you throughout, and isn't afraid to re-work it if it's not right.

 

Several of the high end shops known for this kind of work among Lambo owners justify costs reaching between $20-30k for full interiors because they argue,

 

1) the results speak for themselves/you get what you pay for

2) mastery/experience with the peculiarities common to Lambo interiors

3) customized full-frontal customer support

 

However, I've also seen at least one $20k+ interior on a Diablo that looked like complete dog-ass hell. It was shocking. I've heard prices as low as $6k, but normally it's between $10-20k for the shop that hasn't been passed around exotic owners.

 

The reality I've found is that stitching leather is not rocket science. Of course it takes a skilled effort, but there are more than two people on Earth who can do it. The highest priced shops will sell you on the exact opposite of that idea -- that they have the one guy on Earth who can do it, he's been doing it since 1865, and are you willing to risk such a car with someone else? Some shops can keep their prices very high because many owners are indeed quite wealthy and by accepting the highest prices, encourage Lambo tax inflation. I'm sure a high-end shop owner would argue with me that their margins are too thin on interior work so I don't know what the hell I'm talking about, but my answer would be, why don't you just get out of that business? They would then say that they are a full-service operation dedicated to all things Lamborghini out of love and enthusiasm for the brand and it would be immoral to not provide such a service. Call me crazy, but I suspect there's some profit in charging $25k+ for a two-seat sports car interior. There are still custom shops out there that can do work indistinguishable from factory for A LOT less money. On top of that, lots of mom&pop shops that have also been stitching since the Cretaceous and would be thrilled to dedicate their undivided attention to such a car. I know of one shop in Italy manned by experienced former factory types, that can undercut the high end shops CONUS by more than 50%, but you're paying to ship parts oversees too. If price is not a concern, then sure, go with Driven Exotics in CA or Wil de Groot in NJ, etc. The high end shops won't let you down on results.

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Steve/Driven Exotics has had a full time upholstery expert (Jesse) for over a year now. THE ONLY place I would use for the Diablos You DEFINITELY get what you pay for

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Steve/Driven Exotics has had a full time upholstery expert (Jesse) for over a year now. THE ONLY place I would use for the Diablos You DEFINITELY get what you pay for

 

:iamwithstupid:

 

I saw it in person, like I said. The man does good work.

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These guys do fantastic work, indistinguishable from factory...

 

http://m.shamrocktrim.com/

 

I've seen their work and it's great. And I like to support local, family-owned businesses like this one that's been around since the early 80's. But aside from the absolutely insane price they quoted me to do the interior on my Diablo - she actually had the nerve to say that they'd be using "Four, maybe five hides". Are you f-ing kidding me? Had it done elsewhere. Used two hides (including the dash, which I hadn't told her to quote on) and still had material left over. Shame on her - even by South Florida standards.

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I've seen their work and it's great. And I like to support local, family-owned businesses like this one that's been around since the early 80's. But aside from the absolutely insane price they quoted me to do the interior on my Diablo - she actually had the nerve to say that they'd be using "Four, maybe five hides". Are you f-ing kidding me? Had it done elsewhere. Used two hides (including the dash, which I hadn't told her to quote on) and still had material left over. Shame on her - even by South Florida standards.

 

How much did they quote you? The going rate I've heard is around $30K.

 

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How much did they quote you? The going rate I've heard is around $30K.

 

 

My friends just did a full lp640 interior including color change and I believe it was just over $14k. $30k is retarded.

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I've seen their work and it's great. And I like to support local, family-owned businesses like this one that's been around since the early 80's. But aside from the absolutely insane price they quoted me to do the interior on my Diablo - she actually had the nerve to say that they'd be using "Four, maybe five hides". Are you f-ing kidding me? Had it done elsewhere. Used two hides (including the dash, which I hadn't told her to quote on) and still had material left over. Shame on her - even by South Florida standards.

 

 

2 hides and did the dash. Unless they used vinyl on some parts I kind of find it hard to believe. 4 or 5 hides is completely crazy but there is never a hide of leather that is fully usable. Some parts of the hide need to be split so you could wrap certain panels. There are many variables. I would say 2.5 to 3.5 hides depending on coupe convertible or using alcantara on some parts. The job would be anywhere from 12k - 16k.

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Is your interior totally f..ed up?

cannot it be save by a detailer - restorer?

 

i tend to preserv original interiors as long as they are not destroied

 

 

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My friends just did a full lp640 interior including color change and I believe it was just over $14k. $30k is retarded.

 

 

Who did that work?

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I had Steve @ Driven Exotics do my entire interior. Mine was in fact totally shot, my diablo has almost 100km miles, and the prior owner used it as a daily driver and used the car very well.

 

I removed all 90 pieces, drove them down to Gilroy, and reinstalled them myself. Full interior, all leather pieces, including carpet, but my headliner and wheel were both fine.

 

You can see the details on other Lamborghini enthusiast site, but here is my summary:

 

First, Steve is just a great guy to work with. He not only runs a great shop, but he is a nice guy, fair and very helpful. As I had never done an interior, let alone something as complex as a Diablo, he was on-call to help me through he tough spots. I literally called or emailed him over 100 times with questions as I was pulling and reinstalling the interior, and he was not only immediately responsive (usually returning my call within 1 hour), but also very patient. For instance, I would ask how one piece or another, he would tell me to look at all the old leather pieces (which he marked and returned to me with each piece).

 

His attention to detail is unreal. He selected the hides from various samples, had the leather thinned to the right thickness, had all the taps/dies for the headrest embossing, and the Daytona seat patterns. In addition to the stitching, a real tough spot was stretching the leather around the intricate curves and bends of the interior (the pod, the big dash part, etc.).

 

Another example is the bib under the raised dash, or the treatment of the defrost offset, the odd leg contours in the seat bottoms, the cross stitched exterior closures on the oh-sh(t bar, the door card stitching - all were reproduced perfectly. And when I mean perfectly, I mean perfectly. My god, the seats are works of art, plain and simple.

 

I picked up the interior from Steve in stages (about 8 trips in all), and both he and Jesse took their time to answer all my questions, show me techniques, and generally entertain me having fun learning about interiors.

 

My deadline was taking the car to Monterey last year. I got everything back together, and the day before driving down to Monterey I dropped a coilpack. I called Steve, and he knew how frustrated I was, so put together a fresh pack (coil and amplifier) and gave it to me to use for the weekend.

 

Sorry for the long post, I just cant say enough about Steve.

 

Geno

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