My 2008 997.1 tt has the adaptive sport seats. The car has 11k miles on it currently.


When I got it about 3 months ago with 10K miles on it the driver side bolster looked pretty good: no scratches, little crinkling/cracking of the leather.


I've tried not to pivot or swivel too hard when getting out of the car. I tried not to button up the left back pocket when wearing pants that have back pocket buttons. I was hoping to minimize the wear on the bolster that one often see in high miles cars. I am not that heavy: 200 lbs give and take a couple Fuddrucker burgers.


But to my dismay today the driver side bolster is noticeably worse for the wear: more scratches, leather fading. And only after 1k of additonal miles.


I realize that this is unavoidable to a certain extent, but is there any trick to preventing the wear from occuring too quickly? I realize that there are leather reconditioner remedies available, but I prefer not to have to use them so soon. TIA.

 

I back into my car seat, hold the sterring wheel for balance and then do the reverse when getting out. I think a lot depends on height, weight and your ability to get in and out based on your personal dexterity. I am 6'0" and weigh ~185 lbs. I have a 2013 BMW 640 Grand Coupe with ivory Nappa leather. Very soft. Not a wrinkle on the bolsters and I have owned the car for over 2 years.

 

As mentioned by calguy, i also place my left hand on the bolster and while getting ready to touch back of seat, I have my back side rub a bit against the palm of my hand.

 

Lol. This whole thing cracks me up. Mainly because I ponder all the same, and try many tricks to enter and exit for the same reasons. Fact is, if your contributing here... We are getting old!

That said....I to would like to know what I can do to make it stop and or touch up to maintain the current acceptable wear status... Besides go to the gym. And damn I haven't had fuddruckers in some time.

 

Don't be too hard on yourself, I suspect part of the issue isn't how much it has deteriorated over 1000 mi, but how much the dealers cosmetic repair to previous bolster wear has deteriorated over that timeframe. It's tough when you are a big guy (in my case 6'3" 220 lbs) not to do some damage to the bolster during entry and exit.
For what's it's worth here's my technique. For both entry and exit, right hand on the wheel at about 10 o'clock. Left hand on the sill with your arm in a firm position. If you experiment you can see that you can use these two pressure points to support your body in a way that allows you to vitally never scrape the seat back bolster either getting in or out. You can substantially reduce sliding over the seat bottom bolster as well. Basically you're using the palm of your left hand firmly planted on the sill to lift your body into and out of the car. With your weight supported by left arm and hand you can also position your body forward to miss sliding over either bolster. I suspect this is much easier if you're tall. You do have to be fit and use some muscle for this to work, but it does for me.

 

I had similar wear marks on my Terracotta bolsters. Called a Leather restoration shop that has a mobile service and for $125 had it and my sill re-died. It's been more than 2 years and still looks great!

 

Appreciate all the pointers. Sigh... where did I put that 24 HR Fitness id? Got to get back to my fighting weight just for egress and ingress of my 997 tt. As Mr. Jagger said: "what a drag it is getting older".


Or maybe I can just buy this: http://rennlist.com/forums/parts-mar...s-qty-2-a.html ???

 

Chances are that when you bought it, they had it covered in some coloured wax. This can rub off fairly fast, thinking you are wearing it out quick.
You have some really good leather care/restoration kits out there. I treat my car (beemer) once a year and am not too bothered throughout the year with getting in/out...