Thinking about neoprene seat covers? Think twice before you make that purchase. I owned a set and dumped them. And after having ridden on them for six months, I don't recommend them to anyone. There is a reason for that. Here's the story behind my opinion.

Neoprene Seat Cover Lust

On the showroom of my local Jeep stealership, there are numerous beautifully lifted and modified Jeeps just aching for someone to get in them and drive them somewhere to play in the dirt. All of them have one thing in common. They all have neoprene seat covers.

What is the allure that causes us to stare at these seat covers in wonder and begin researching how we can acquire some to put on our seats? Is it the colorful panels that match the paint job on the Jeep? Is it the neat and tidy way they stretch over the seats, custom cut to fit perfectly and look like they were factory installed? Is it the promise of being waterproof and easily cleaned in case you get caught in a rain storm and don't want your seats damaged?

So many people install these seat covers on their Jeeps. Some are happy. Some are not. I am one of the nots.

The Story

I saw those seat covers on Jeeps at the stealership, and I found online a major reputable distributor of those sorts of seat covers to purchase mine from. My Jeep is bright silver with a black interior, so what could be more color coordinated than gray panels with black edges? $180 later, my front seats were covered, and they looked great!

Then, Georgia's hot Summer Sun came out, and down came the top on the Jeep, and off went the doors on any day when it wasn't supposed to rain. I drove to work repeatedly on my new neoprene seat covers.

I noticed right away that my slacks for work would stick to the seat covers in an uncomfortable way. All the way through my one hour commute to work, I would be shifting trying to stop my dress pants from riding up on me. It was very uncomfortable. And the neoprene didn't breath at all, so my sweat was stuck to my pants and skin in the humid Georgia heat.

I also started to notice that the colored part of the seat covers were collecting dirt. I tried washing them off. It didn't help. I tried doing everything the instructions said to do with them - no avail. The stains from Georgia's Red Clay were too much for neoprene. I don't remember who told me they clean up in a snap, but that guy was obviously not using Georgia Red Clay as his test dirt.

And the grey panels faded in the sunlight. They faded from gray, to a pretty silver color, to a washed out light gray that wasn't very pretty at all, and it showed dirt. The black parts of the seat covers were pristine, so I assume the fabric paint was what was fading, and that it was also what was causing dirt to stick to it.

Supposedly these seat covers were waterproof. I spilled a lot of water on the passenger seat, and it didn't stand up on the seat like I expected. Instead, it just soaked right into the cloth. What the heck?!? I had to get a towel and wring out the seat cover.

I Yanked Them Out and Put Them in the Garage

I had it with those seat covers. They weren't waterproof, they collected dirt, I was sweating like a pig, and my pants would ride up on me. Time for the seat covers to come off. I put them up in the garage and gave up on them.

It took quite a while for me to admit my $180 mistake to myself and pull them out. I didn't want to go there. I told myself I was pulling them out to give them a better cleaning. But they stayed in the garage for six months.

A friend mentioned that I might call the company and ask them to replace the colored panels with black ones, since the black seemed to hold up against dirt better. That would solve one problem, anyway. They wouldn't look beat up anymore, and they would no longer fade.

Customer No Service

The company I bought them from, as I remember, offered to replace the panels at no charge. So I boxed up the seatcovers, and I shipped them to them to be fixed.

They were not happy to get them. They were wondering where the check was.

They called me up, and asked where my payment was. I explained there was no payment due. They disagreed, and the salesman on the phone called me a name. I became angry and hung up on him.

They called me back later, and asked what to do. I said that even if I was mistaken, that they had now acted very ugly toward me and owed me the panels free just to make it up to me for calling me names on the phone. They disagreed. They explained I could have them back, or I could pay them.

I asked for them back.

What I received was my seat covers, a bottle of scuba shampoo (I did not ask for this) a bottle of protectant (I did not ask for that either), and a very friendly note suggesting I try to use these products to clean my seats. I did try one more time using their specific products. The seats were cleaner, but still unusable and faded. So, saying phooey on that, I put them on Ebay for sale, and they sold for $80. I shipped the shampoo and protectant free.

Business Lessons Learned

What I found was that the major company that distributes these neoprene seat covers, the leader in this area, was difficult to work with, pretty unprofessional, and unwilling to lose an argument on the phone. The shampoo and protectant they sent me, plus shipping on the covers, was more expense than fixing my seats, especially when you consider the charges to their 800 number trunk line and the labor spent arguing with me for 30 minutes.

Not only that, they lost time trying to clean the seat covers at their place, and they caused me to tell everyone I know what a crummy experience I had with them on the phone. I spent some major time on my own diverting people from them to another online retailer who sells a competing product of equal quality. I know I cost them at least 10 sales. I figure they lost around $300 total on the whole deal - all to win an argument on the phone.

Conclusions

They do fade - at least the color panels fade. The black portions held up OK.

They are not waterproof. Neoprene absorbs water and holds a layer close to your skin to keep you warm in cold water. That's why they use it in wet suits. It doesn't work like a majic plastic bag over your seats in the rain. It just soaks up the rain and turns into a giant sponge.

They do collect dirt on the colored panel portions.

The stains will not always wash out with special shampoo.

They do not breath, and you will sweat like a pig in a warm, humid climate

They stick to wool and other dress pants material, so when you are commuting to work in your jeep, your pants are riding up in your crotch something terrible.

They cost a fortune and start looking bad in a Jeep driven topless in a single Summer.

Your seats are not going scuba diving. They do not need neoprene, which is designed to keep you warm underwater, not smooth and comfortable to sit on.

Therefore, I would say never, never buy neoprene seat covers.

If you must buy seat covers, get the Mopar seat covers, or if you are stuck on Neoprene, get them from JC Whitney.

Buy solid black and nothing else. Hawaiian prints look like a koolaid commercial, and the color panels that look so stylish in the catalog fade and get dirty real fast. Get all black - black cleans up easier and does not hold stains as badly.

If I had it to do over again, I would have ordered them from someone else (like Quadratec's generic neoprene covers) in solid black.

Read the fine print! I should have read the return policy of the company I was dealing with before I ordered their name-brand neoprene seat covers. It clearly states the charges and the ludicrous hoops they require you to jump through to get replacements or refunds from them.

One Man's Opinion... or is it?

I had a bad experience with these seat covers and with the company I bought them from. Others have had good experiences with their seats, with the company they got them from, or both. You can decide for yourself if you want to spend nearly $200 to put seat covers on your front seats made of scuba suit material.