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4 Ways Seat Covers Save You Money

 

Seat covers cost money upfront. But are they worth the investment? We think so, but instead of telling you our opinion, we'll shoot it straight to you with the facts.

We'll use $287 for a set of bucket seat covers since that's what the average TigerTough bucket seat covers cost.

1. Repairs and replacements

If you keep your trucks for a while, you'll need to repair ripped-up and damaged seats to improve conditions for the driver/operator (we're looking at you, blue collar folks). It also helps with your brand image. If your crew rolls up in a truck with foam spewing out of the seat, how does that speak to your work?

We asked some customers how much they've paid to repair or replace seats. The average cost to repair or replace seats was $632.50 per seat.

Date Cost Seat type Notes
11/8/2022 $600.00 F-250 bucket seat Lease trucks and the cost can be up to $1,200 if the leasing company replaces the OEM cover with OEM parts.
12/2/2022 $345.00 Single bucket seat That isn't figuring any labor or downtime; it takes them an hour to fix.
11/4/2022 $600.00 Ford E van driver's seat No downtime or tech time is included in the price.
3/14/2023 $1,000.00 Vehicle seat The price is per seat.
3/20/2023 $250.00 Transit driver's seat $250 for a Transit seat back. They buy from the dealer and have to replace it themselves.
4/13/2023 $1,000.00 Pickup seat Replaced the entire seat.
Cost to repair or replace seats.


Not only do you have to pay for the seat to be repaired, but there's also truck downtime you need to factor into the cost. 

If a pair of TigerTough seat covers cost you around $287 ($143.50 per cover) and an average of $632.50 to repair or replace a seat, you've saved $489 per seat.

Money saved: $489/seat

2. Increased resale value

There comes a time in every truck's life when it's ready for the next journey. And when it comes time to sell, we want you to walk away with the most money you can.

If your seats look like they lost a bar fight, and someone opens the door of that vehicle (whether it's the dealership or the next potential owner), they're greeted with an interior that looks like trash. That gives them the instant impression that the truck's had a rough life, and that's how you've taken care of the rest of the vehicle maintenance for the whole time you've owned it.

According to Kelley Blue Book, a vehicle can be in perfect condition mechanically and physically on the exterior, but if the seats are torn and busted, it drops to good.

Condition Trade-in value Private party value
Good $3,487 $5,494
Very Good $4,433 $6,580
Excellent $5,015 $7,248
Numbers based on a 2012 Ford F150 Regular Cab with standard features

At a minimum, having seats in excellent condition can save you hundreds of dollars when it comes time to sell.

Money saved: $295-$1467

3. Lease chargebacks

Maybe you lease your vehicles. Check into the charges you get after turning it in; it's normal for leasing companies to work in charges for seat damages.

On average, we see leasing companies charge $1,000-$1,200 for damaged seats. They'll allow some light wear, but if they deem a seat damaged, they'll charge you for the whole dang thing.

Money saved: $713

4. Detailing

We realize work trucks might not get detailed very often, but if you drive around a personal vehicle and spill a coffee inside, you'll probably want to get those seats cleaned.

So how much will a nice detail cost you?

An interior detail with deep cleaning can cost around $279. That's not terrible, but do it once and you've paid for a set of seat covers.

Check it out; we've taken a cup of coffee to a TigerTough seat cover to show you what happens:

Spoiler alert: The seat under the cover was totally unscathed. Your lap, on the other hand, might be a different story.

Money saved: $280 after two details

How much money will seat covers save you?

Depending on your situation, seat covers can save you anywhere from $280 to $1467 or more, depending on your vehicle (we based that $1467 number off 2012 Ford F150.)

But if you put them on when you first get your vehicle, they'll help you get more money for it whenever you decide to sell it.

Are seat covers worth it?

Do seat covers cost money? Yes.
Is there a range of prices? Yes.
Are they worth it? Yes. Especially if your vehicle's interior sees equipment, debris, dogs, or kids (like 90% of you reading this).

Do the research and find the best seat cover for your truck, and you'll walk away, saving money in the long run.

 

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Who TigerTough Is Right For and Who We're Not.

We get it a lot; people looking for seat covers for vehicles that we don’t cover, crazy colors, or other really custom stuff that we don’t do.

So here’s who we’re right for and who we’re not.

First off, let’s start off with who we’re not right for. That way, if you’re in that category, you don’t have to waste any time.

If you’re looking for seat covers for a passenger car or SUV, a side-by-side, or a custom dog bed, there’s a good chance that we’re not your best bet. If it’s the dog bed one, we’re definitely not a good choice. 

We're not the right people if you’re looking for seat covers with the logos of your favorite sports team, vehicle manufacturer, or motorcycle (yeah, that one) on them. We do offer embroidery as an option to customize your covers, but we don’t do any licensing of copyrighted logos. Honestly, it’s really expensive, and we’d rather put the cost into good materials instead of a cool logo.

If you want seat covers that are two-tone, alligator skin or have crazy colors, we’re not the right seat cover. The same applies if you want extra foam padding, heated covers, or options like that. 

If you’re looking for a seat cover that you can quickly pop on to take the dog to the vet or trees to the dump, we’re probably not right. Our seat covers are going to take 30-60 minutes to put on and about half that to take off. So this one is your call.

Finally, the last thing we aren’t is cheap. And that’s for three major reasons.

  1. We won’t send our manufacturing out of the USA. We’ve passed up opportunities to cut our labor costs to a quarter of what they are by sending everything across the border to get made. We’d rather pay American workers a fair wage. 
  2. We use the best, toughest materials we can get so our customers get the best seat covers possible.
  3. Every seat cover is designed specifically for a vehicle. That involves bringing trucks to our factory and spending hours designing the best seat cover possible.

If we’re not right for you, no hard feelings. We’d rather you find out now than after you spent your hard-earned dough and ended up disappointed.

Now, who we ARE right for.

We make seat covers for work. And by work, we’re talking blue-collar, hard work. Contractors, pest control, last-mile delivery, service trucks, and law enforcement, just to name a few industries. 

The people who use our seat covers are typically doing some of the following:

  • Multiple entry/exits every day.
  • Getting dirty
  • Wearing tools and/or weapons on their belts
  • And, most often, a combination of all three.

TigerTough Ironweave seat covers are made from 1000-denier CORDURA, some of the toughest material we can find to wrap around your seats. In fact, it has a higher abrasion rating than Kevlar. We use it because while it’s almost impossible to tear, it’s easy to work with, it’s water-resistant, and it’s made in the USA.

You’ll probably notice that our covers have no decorative stitching (aside from the optional embroidery, if you choose that) and very few seams. That’s because seams and stitching are the weakest points in anything sewn together. Since our customers use their vehicles as tools in their toolboxes, we’re doing everything possible to eliminate weak points.

Actually, a customer who goes by the name R00ster said it best. He’s a farmer from Virginia and says

“I would not say they are luxury but most definitely built for work.” 

R00ster - A VA Farmer

R00ster goes on to say he throws grease guns, screwdrivers, and fencing tools (even his chain saw) on his seats and doesn’t worry about it anymore.

We build seat covers for people like R00ster. The people whose day-to-day jobs are the ones that make the lights come on, the food hit your plate, the gas come out of the pumps, and the packages show up on time. Ours are some of the best work truck seat covers on the market, and we're darn proud of that.

If you’re looking for a seat cover that isn’t luxury but most definitely is built for work, TigerTough is the best choice. 

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Seat Covers: Accessory or Necessity?

Both. How's that for an answer?

What Are You Doing?

If you're slapping some purple, fuzzy, Tweetie Bird covers on your Camry, they're probably an accessory. Even if you're the kind of person that gets bored with a plain, boring, gray interior like everyone else has and wants to spice things up with an epic camo pattern, they're still an accessory.

When your seat covers become a part of your work truck, that's when the story changes. When your truck's covers are in place to prevent your day-to-day from tearing up the seats in your vehicle, then you can start calling them a necessity.

This Ford truck is ready to go to work with TigerTough seat covers on every seat.

Construction workers, linemen, roustabouts, and roughnecks know what we're talking about. They've got work to do, they don't have time to worry about keeping their truck sparkly clean. Not when you've got some of the dirtiest, toughest jobs out there. Those fleet managers know that quality seat covers are a necessity if they want to get anything for their trucks when they're done with them.

Travis from Black Hawk Energy Services talked about it here: An Extra $3000 In Resale Value

Bryan from Anderson & Wood Construction has proved they're a necessity here: North Dakota Construction Trucks Look Like New

And Dan from the Hollis, NH Police Department would tell you they're a necessity: Here Is Why

So often, fleet managers and owners look at work truck seat covers as an accessory. They're right if they're just trying to make their trucks look cooler, but if they're committed to making their fleet as efficient and cost-effective as possible, seat covers for their work trucks are necessity

Interested in seeing if they'd help you have better equipment, happier drivers, and more money? Grab a sample and let us know what you think.

I'd Like A Sample

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What Are Tactical Seat Covers?

A lot of companies sell "Tactical" seat covers. But what exactly makes them Tactical? Is it the use of military grade fabric? Or is it the strips of Velcro across the back that make them look like a military backpack? Maybe it's a spec-ops theme so they sound tough.Let us demonstrate what makes a seat cover Tactical. We make a truly tactical seat cover. It is a cover designed specifically for men and women who put their lives on the line every day to protect us. TigerTough Tactical seat protection is designed specifically for police vehicles. Our Ironband protects your seat from your duty belt. Our fabric is more abrasion resistant than Kevlar.They aren't camouflage and they don't have miles of Velcro on them, but TigerTough Tactical covers DO stand up to the abuse of being part of a police car.

Why do we make seat covers for police vehicles?

If the seats take a beating in any vehicle, its police vehicles. Officers can easily be in an out of their vehicle up to 50 times in a shift. That alone puts a lot of stress on the seat, say nothing about the duty belt wearing the back of the seat while the officer is seated as well.

Why should a department use seat covers?

There are three major reasons that you should be using seat covers in your patrol vehicles:

1. Improve Driver Morale 

If your officers are getting into a vehicle that has a ripped, torn, and worn out interior, they're not going to feel good about their cruiser.

Happy employees take better care of corporate assets in terms of exterior appearance, interior cleanliness, and timely reporting of maintenance issues. - truckinginfo.com (Source)

2. Increase Resale Value 

Your vehicles are going to be worth more when you're finished with them if the seats are in great condition. When you install tactical seat covers in your new police vehicles, the seats are preserved until the covers are removed.

3. Save Money and Reduce Downtime 

Again, this is another benefit of covering your vehicles' seats when they're new. It far less expensive to put TigerTough seat covers on your new vehicles than it is to remove torn seats and re-upholster. TigerTough seat covers install in about 15 minutes, depending on experience. That beats a couple of days of downtime at the upholsterer!

Are you ready to save your department money and look good doing it? It's an easy click away. Either give us a shout or see if your favorite up-fitter is a TigerTough Tactical Dealer.

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Five Reasons to Use Custom Seat Covers on Fleet Vehicles

When you're managing a fleet of vehicles, you probably don't think about something as simple as a seat cover being able to erase some pains. There are many ways that using custom seat covers can benefit your company and make you a more effective fleet manager. Here are a few of our favorites:

1. Improve Your Resale Value

This is probably the biggest one. (That's why its number 1). Using seat protection on your fleet vehicles will definitely improve the resale value of your vehicles. By installing TigerTough custom seat covers when the truck is new, (Your upfitter can do it for you) you preserve the seats from all dirt, grease, and wear that happens over the life of the truck.

2. Improve Driver Morale

Nobody wants to get into a vehicle that has a broken down, worn out interior. Custom covers prevent that. TigerTough's Ironweave fabric will stand up to the abuse that a fleet vehicle takes far better than the factory upholstery will. Your trucks will look better and your drivers will be happier because of that.

3. Save Money on Maintenance

Investing a few hundred dollars in proactive seat protection will pay off big time. According to Law and Order Magazine, small problems will quickly become big problems. Once a vehicle starts to have a few minor issues (a light not working, a cracked windshield, a torn seat) the operator starts to care less for the vehicle and neglect will result in bigger problems.

4. Customize Your Fleet and Promote Your Brand

This is where the custom comes in. TigerTough seat covers are available with custom embroidery so you can promote your company's image, a safety message, or whatever you wish. There is very little that we can't do to customize your seat covers.

5. Be More Comfortable

Over time, the foam in the seats of a vehicle start to break down and the seat loses its support. TigerTough covers hold the seat in place, offering more support and comfort over the life of the vehicle.

Check out all the reasons heavy duty seat covers will benefit your fleet.

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