W205 Artico imitation leather

[Gazwould]

Pops looking at S205's around 60K miles , most having 140A imitation leather on VIN Decoder .

Avoid like the plague ?

 

[BTB 500]

We had Artico on our S203 and it was absolutely fine. Had no issue with buying an S205 that had it - look at a few cars and see what you think.

Alcantara is 'imitation suede' (completely synthetic), and is used on many high-end cars without anyone complaining about that being fake.

 

[poormansporsche]

The artico in my w209 was tough as old boots, the 2 year old artico on the a250 seats that I transplanted into my van is £hite. Not sure which camp the w205 seats fall into

 

[poormansporsche]

Alcantara is 'imitation suede' (completely synthetic), and is used on many high-end cars without anyone complaining about that being fake.

Alcantara is actually a brand name product and costs upwards of 3 times as much as normal unbranded synthetic suede (fake fake suede) so got to be something in it !!!! The Mercedes fake suede is not a patch on "real" alcantara (on my a250 seats anyway !!)

 

[BTB 500]

I had (genuine) leather and Alcantara seats on a previous non-MB car - very nice.

 

[Gazwould]

Real Leather is rare which is nice because it narrows down the field considerably .

Easily detected by it's 10 Vs 5 panels .

Artico




Leather




Here's a 205 with Artico currently on sale with 69K .

 

[SpikyMikey]

Alcantara is actually a brand name product and costs upwards of 3 times as much as normal unbranded synthetic suede (fake fake suede) so got to be something in it !!!! The Mercedes fake suede is not a patch on "real" alcantara (on my a250 seats anyway !!)

I think MB (like many mainstream manufacturers) now use Dinamica .

 

[BTB 500]

Here's a 205 with Artico currently on sale with 69K .

That's pretty bad. Our 205 is only on 20k miles but the seats look as new; the ones in our 203 had barely any marks/wear when we sold it at 120k. I posted these pics of the 203 driver's seat at 100k in another thread some time back ... the marks are just dirt/mud (it was Mrs BTB's car )

Real Leather is rare which is nice because it narrows down the field considerably .

I wanted a petrol S205 that wasn't a C200 (and wasn't a hybrid) - they're like hens' teeth to start off with

 

[Darragh1]

My dad has E 2011 w212 with black artico. The driver's seat base split at the seam and my sister in law a C 2012 W207? with cream artico same split.
Otherwise it is comfortable and hard wearing but based on that I made sure my 2010 E had real leather.
Not to sabotage but does anyone know a supplier of exactly matching artico perforated seat base material? A new seat base cover was €460ish from mb. (I think that was the price).
Thanks,
D

 

[SpikyMikey]

My dad has E 2011 w212 with black artico. The driver's seat base split at the seam and my sister in law a C 2012 W207? with cream artico same split.
Otherwise it is comfortable and hard wearing but based on that I made sure my 2010 E had real leather.
Not to sabotage but does anyone know a supplier of exactly matching artico perforated seat base material? A new seat base cover was €460ish from mb. (I think that was the price).
Thanks,
D

Found this whilst noodling about the WWW.
Might be worth a try?
*Sample* Mercedes C-Class AG207-1337P *Perforated* Black Seating Vinyl [AG207-1337P] - £1.99 : AS Trim, Vehicle Textile Suppliers - Buy Upholstery, & Adhesives Online UK Ipswich

 

[OneForTheRoad]

Real Leather is rare which is nice because it narrows down the field considerably .

Easily detected by it's 10 Vs 5 panels .

Artico
View attachment 131581



Leather
View attachment 131582



Here's a 205 with Artico currently on sale with 69K .

View attachment 131583

Looks like a porker has been sitting on that seat.

 

[alabbasi]

Vinyl is usually hard wearing. It can be a bit sticky in the summer but it's easy to clean

 

[Gazwould]

Looks like a porker has been sitting on that seat.

Can't see a Porsche wanting to drive a fellow Stuttgart .

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

I’ve only had one car with Artico, a 2003 W163 ML. I did have to have a the outer seat base panel replaced because it started splitting with the wear and weight of a bum being slid across it twice every journey.

Other than that though it was indistinguishable from the day it rolled out of the factory. I can’t remember how many miles it had done by then but it was probably 80-100k miles.

A car upholstery specialist removed the seat cover, unstiched the affected panel and replaced it with another. It wasn’t 100% match (probably a generic vinyl) but you had to study it closely to notice.

 

[Gazwould]

Leather is rare but finding people who know their A hole from their elbow is even more rare !

Some despite owning the car from new some for 8 years don't have the digital record to hand nor have a Scooby Doo about a 5 year 77,500 ATF fluid and filter change

 

[Benz17]

Leather is rare but finding people who know their A hole from their elbow is even more rare !

Some despite owning the car from new some for 8 years don't have the digital record to hand nor have a Scooby Doo about a 5 year 77,500 ATF fluid and filter change

some just see a car as a form of transport to get to A to B. Not many are enthusiast’s, or are meticulous in caring or servicing the car, and these are the cars i as an enthusiast avoid.

 

[OldskoolRS]

My previous two Company cars had leather and the one I've bought myself has Artico. I'm very happy with it, plus it cleaned up as good as new (some suncream like marks on it when we bought the car). Whether it ages worse in years to come I can't say, but for 7 years old it looks pretty good to me:



The back is literally like new as it's hardly ever been sat in I imagine:

 

[rayaans]

Mine is an early w205 on a 64 plate. 40k miles and it's held up much very well.

Don't be fooled by mileage affecting wear. Low mileage cars will inevitably have more bolster wear from the number of times drivers get in and out and arguably more than a car with double the miles just sat on the motorway all day

 

[Justintyme]

Pops looking at S205's around 60K miles , most having 140A imitation leather on VIN Decoder .

Avoid like the plague ?

In the first MB I owned ( 2010 E class 200 cdi) the artico was split in two on the driver's seat, and there were several in the sales room the same. But that was about 5 years ago, so they may have changed it by now ( reinforced or something)

 

[Darragh1]

Found this whilst noodling about the WWW.
Might be worth a try?
*Sample* Mercedes C-Class AG207-1337P *Perforated* Black Seating Vinyl [AG207-1337P] - £1.99 : AS Trim, Vehicle Textile Suppliers - Buy Upholstery, & Adhesives Online UK Ipswich

thank you spikymikey