There are basically three kinds of people drawn to the world of custom auto upholstery. Understanding which "type" you are (broadly speaking) will go far in helping you understand what your needs truly are when you're seeking the services of a custom auto upholstery specialist, which will in turn, help to ensure that you get the most out of it, and walk away with exactly what you wanted.

The three broad-based categories of people seeking services like these are:

1) Generalists, looking for repairs, maintenance, and upkeep. By far the most numerous group, these folks aren't looking to spend an arm and a leg on some elaborate aftermarket project, they just want to keep their vehicle running nice and looking nice. For the former, they've no doubt got AAA and a mechanic on standby. For the latter, they'll turn to a custom auto upholstery specialist to keep the headliner and door panels pristine, and to repair or replace any rips and tears in the seats or consoles.

Most often, the jobs that this group brings to the custom auto upholstery specialist have fairly quick turnaround times, and are pretty straightforward. It's rare that you'll see a generalist working with his upholsterer on some long term, elaborate project.

2) Then there are Classic Car Restorers. This group is probably the second largest, and they almost always want big, deeply involved projects. Often, they'll pick up a classic car for a song, with the knowledge and understanding that it's seen years of neglect. They task their specialist with completely restoring the interior, while being faithful to the original design. These projects generally from several weeks, to several months to complete, depending on exactly what is being done, and the people in this grouping tend to be the most demanding and exacting, as they want absolute perfection in their restoration work (and rightly so!).


3) Finally, there are the diehard Auto Enthusiasts. Unlike the classic car restoration crowd, they're don't have a problem spending money on whatever they happen to be driving. For this group, it's not about faithful restoration, but rather, creating a driving experience that's absolutely unique to them. For these folks, their car is not simply a means of conveyance, but rather, an expression of individuality, and after market effects can only take you so far (they are, after all, still mass produced).

For this reason, the folks in this category will put their heads together with their specialist to create an often elaborate look and feel that they can be proud of when the job is finished. Again, these projects are likely to span weeks or months, depending on exactly how involved they are.

If you're looking to have work done on your vehicle, give at least some thought to which of these categories you fall into before contacting your custom auto upholstery specialist. Understanding exactly where you're coming from will help you define exactly what it is you're looking for, and will help ensure you get exactly what you're after in the end.