Finding the perfect seats for your car or truck doesn't have to be a wild guessing game. Whether you're revamping your ride's interior or replacing worn-out seats, our guide is here to help you navigate the process with ease. From utilizing our comprehensive vehicle search tool to diving deep into the specifics of seat compatibility across generations and models, we cover all bases to ensure you make an informed decision. Discover the ins and outs of seat swapping, including essential considerations like vehicle generation, body changes, and wiring differences. Plus, we offer practical tips for buying from salvage yards to private sellers, ensuring you find seats that not only fit perfectly but also enhance your driving experience. Join us as we explore the journey to finding the ideal seats for your vehicle, ensuring comfort, style, and safety on the road.
What Seats Will Fit In My Car or Truck?
Using Our Vehicle Search
We've written seat swap guides for numerous vehicles. To locate the most complete information on swapping your seats, use our easy vehicle search function(make, model, year) at the top of the page.
Figuring It Out Yourself
A great place to start is to identify your vehicles generation. For the below example, we're going to try and identify what seats will work in a 2016 Mazda Miata. We'll start by visiting the Mazda Miata Wikipedia Page and navigating to the "Generations" section. For this example, we can see that the 2016 Mazda Miata is part of the third generation. The Wiki refers to this style as the ND, which links to the MX5 ND Wiki page. This page lists the model years as 2015 - Present and also informs us that the Fiat 124 Spider shares the same body. Taking all of this information into account we can come to one relatively safe assumption. Seats from a Miata or Fiat 124, so long as they're from a 2015 or newer model, should be a direct bolt-in.
Additional Considerations
In addition to identifying the generation of your vehicle you also want to consider other things that could change the body. If your vehicle is available as both a coupe and convertible that's something to consider. For trucks, cab sizes are a similar topic. Seat wiring can be different between vehicles even of the same model year. If you're adding features you want to make sure you do additional research using forums - check our forum index for more information. When you purchase from us you're covered by our Rest Easy Fitment Call Guarantee. Before shipping your order one of our experienced technicians will call you to discuss all of these considerations and verify you're getting exactly what you need.
5 Key Tips for Buying Car or Truck Seats
- Ask where the seats are being stored and how long they've been listed online for. Most salvage yards will store the seats in the vehicle, typically exposed to the elements. Much like online dating, you need watch out for outdated photos.
- Check for signs of accident damage. Many seats will slightly "twist" in an accident causing you to constantly feel like you're leaning.
- Verify that all sensors and computers in the seats are functional.
- Ask how the seats are shipped. It will not matter how good of a deal you get on a set of seats, if they get destroyed during shipping. Our seats are individually boxed in double-walled boxes, with plenty of packing material. All of our orders also include shipping insurance.
Where to Buy Used Seats
Get Your Hands Dirty at an Auto Salvage Yard
Junkyards (they don't like that name anymore) can be a treasure trove for bargain hunters, offering a wide range of vehicle seats at significantly lower prices. However, the process and quality of what you find can vary greatly. That being said, searching for vehicle seats in person at a junkyard can feel like a treasure hunt that takes forever, with no guarantees of finding what you need. While the potential for lower costs is a significant draw, the time and effort required can be substantial. This method is for those who have the time to spare and enjoy the hunt, but it's essential to remember that there are no guarantees of quality or functionality. It's also very easy to fall into the trap of purchasing seats that look like they'll work, only to learn the hard way later.
Salvage Yards Online Storefronts on Auction Sites
While we appreciate the idea of salvage yards attempting to make the most out of their inventory by offering seats online, they have near universally missed the mark by using automated listing software. This software automatically offers the seats up for sale, regardless of condition. Photos provided are typically of poor quality, making it hard to assess the condition of the seats, which are often left exposed to the elements. Also take into consideration that the salvage yards will not take the time to clean, disinfect and condition the seats that they are selling.
This set of King Ranch Seats were advertised as "A" condition, meaning near perfect. With the only photos being blurry and standard definition, it's all guesswork. These ended up having water damage from the open windows.
This purchasing method epitomizes the saying, "you get what you pay for," with the added risk of receiving a product that doesn't match your expectations. Sure, you have the recourse to return the seats however you'll be on the hook for the return shipping assuming they allow returns at all.
Private Seat Sellers on Marketplace & Auction Sites
With a couple taps everybody has access to private online sellers, whether it be through auction websites or through local cash deals. Buying OEM vehicle seats from a private party or through an online marketplace presents another set of challenges and opportunities. This route can offer lower prices and a wide selection, but it comes with its own risks.
Concealed Damage to Modules, Electronics, or Airbags
When purchasing seats from a private party the functionality of essential components, such as the modules, is not necessarily guaranteed. A malfunctioning passenger occupancy sensor can easily become a costly issue, with replacements like the Ford part BE5Z-14B056-A costing over $250. These issues can not be diagnosed until your installation is complete, leaving you either without a vehicle or driving around in unsafe conditions.
In recent years we've seen a rash of individuals purchasing seats with blown airbags and "repairing" the seams and installing "new airbags". While restitching a blown airbag seam is technically possible with special thread, it's a process that I would not trust a random person off the internet to do, especially since the machine to do the stitch properly costs $46,000. Large manufacturers also often specifically prohibit the restitching of their seats! We recommend avoiding seats like this at all costs as an improperly deploying airbag can make accidents significantly worse.
"Take The Money and Run"
Make sure you trust the person you're purchasing from. We have seen a recent uptick in social media scammers, our team even did an investigation into the scammers. These scammers hide behind Facebook anonymity, using marketplace listings to get access to victims. These individuals steal high quality images from ourselves and others in the industry and then offer the "product" at half the price. They get the funds cleared before your "delivery date" so by the time you're filing a dispute they're long gone with your cash in hand.
Why Choose OEM Car And Truck Seats?
All we do is OEM Seats, our team has specialized knowledge on seat compatibility that far exceeds your average parts guy and that parts guy at the Dealership. Note that most Dealerships won't entertain the idea of a seat swap because of legality issues and their lack of knowledge. If you talk to your Dealership about a seat swap, 80% of the time you will hear, "It can't be done." When in fact it can be done.
We've got the seats, and we've got your back. Our seats are guaranteed to be free of any accident damage. All seats original safety features are tested. Every seat undergoes a thorough cleaning and disinfection processes. While our prices reflect the premium quality of our products, they represent true value by prioritizing your safety and peace of mind above all. The standards set by our obsessive shipping department ensure that you can breathe easy during shipping. Your seats will show up exactly as they looked online. You can purchase from OEM Car and Truck Seats knowing that you are getting the right seats the first time. It will be the last set of seats you'll ever purchase for your vehicle.