How to Transform Any Car Into a Luxury Car
Look if there is already a luxury sibling of your car., Wrap your steering wheel with leather., Replace and cover all the plastic., Replace the carpet., Change your cover seat., Replace your wheel with alloy., Be subtle., Replacing the grill may be...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Look if there is already a luxury sibling of your car.
Chances are that if you own a car, that there may be another one with luxury features.
Get to test drive the luxury version of the car and compare it with yours.
You will notice the subtle changes that the manufacture has applied. -
Step 2: Wrap your steering wheel with leather.
If there is something that makes a car feel great is a thick and soft leather steering wheel.
There are 3 options to accomplished this.
The first one, is to buy a kit online.
It usually is made with "PV Leather" but it comes with everything you will need to do the job (a leather strap with saw patterns in both sides, a thin foam to put between the leather and the wheel, a string and a needle) This option cost around $5 to $10 on ebay .The second option is for you to buy the leather, cut a strips of around 2 and half inches by the diameter of your wheel, saw 2 lines in the side (you will use those lines two zigzag the string and wrap your wheel entirely) and saw the leather to the wheel., This can cost between $5 to $20 and is the most advance option.
The third option would be to take your wheel out of the car and take it to a upholstery specialist.
They will charge you around $50 for completing the wheel.
Remember that we are talking about the wheel ring and not the airbag area!!! Do not cover the airbag !!!! , There nothing that says cheap as plastic in a car.
Does your doors have cheap plastic armrests? Cover them with vinyl or leather !!! again, add a thin foam so it feels softer.
This will improve your car interior and even the safety.
Once more, do not do this over any airbag !!! Is your center cover a plastic mess? Try looking for some real wood veneer.
If you want your veneer to be flexible, just leave it water for 4 to 20 hours, apply it over the console, and sealed it with an air vacuum bag (the same one used to make food last a long time). if you don't like wood, then try some aluminium, although this process is different. , Do you know where that brand new car smell comes from? 50% is from the fumes of a new carpet. this cost between $50 and $100.
Also change your knob and emergency brake for something made out of aluminum, leather or wood. , You can find them already made for your car online and it cost between 200 to 800 bucks for a typical car.
Some companies will allow you to have certain parts in leather and others in leatherette, making the seat feel like real leather but on a lower price.
This in combination with a new carpet, will assure you a brand new car smell. , I don't recommend to get big wheel as it will look tacky.
But if your car came out of the factory with hubcaps, this is an easy way to make your car feel more luxurious.
If your car has really small wheels, you may change it so the diameter of the rim is 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to
5.1 cm) highers.
Do not replace the diameter of your tires.
It will destroy the quality of your ride and it will mess with your clocks on the dash.Also, try to look for wheels that would look stock in a car instead of choosing a sportier or wild version. , So, you don't want your car to be a "X Brand" anymore? Then remove the badge.
A lot of luxury cars do not have big badges.
Do not add any piece of plastic piece of chrome from Walmart, nor paint your car in an exotic (and often expensive) color.
If you want to replace the color of your car, try looking into the stock colors of current luxury cars.
Avoid having a two tone car at all cost.
If your car has any trim, you may get away with paint it in other color (like matte black) and you can risk by adding some chrome to such stock parts.
Avoid doing it in the door handles at all cost! Nothing says ghetto more that chrome door handles and pillars. , Again, be subtle.
It has to look as if that car came from the factory with that grill, so avoid anything that is too flashy.
Luxury is about quality, not being flashy. , This will give you some luxury features like hands free communication with your cellphone and it will take all those messy cables from your GPS unit out of the way.
You may want to improve the speaker of your car to get a better sound quality.
Talking about stereos, Avoid a bass in your car !!! Loud doesn't mean better, nor luxurious. crisp and clear sound do ! If you really want a base, try to hide it so no one can see it.
Some cars also have replacements for the a/c functions from mechanical switches to screens. , A car park on the side of the road all the time will never be luxurious. -
Step 3: Replace and cover all the plastic.
-
Step 4: Replace the carpet.
-
Step 5: Change your cover seat.
-
Step 6: Replace your wheel with alloy.
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Step 7: Be subtle.
-
Step 8: Replacing the grill may be a good idea.
-
Step 9: Replace your car stereo with a double din GPS touchscreen.
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Step 10: Keep your car up to date with the maintenance.
Detailed Guide
Chances are that if you own a car, that there may be another one with luxury features.
Get to test drive the luxury version of the car and compare it with yours.
You will notice the subtle changes that the manufacture has applied.
If there is something that makes a car feel great is a thick and soft leather steering wheel.
There are 3 options to accomplished this.
The first one, is to buy a kit online.
It usually is made with "PV Leather" but it comes with everything you will need to do the job (a leather strap with saw patterns in both sides, a thin foam to put between the leather and the wheel, a string and a needle) This option cost around $5 to $10 on ebay .The second option is for you to buy the leather, cut a strips of around 2 and half inches by the diameter of your wheel, saw 2 lines in the side (you will use those lines two zigzag the string and wrap your wheel entirely) and saw the leather to the wheel., This can cost between $5 to $20 and is the most advance option.
The third option would be to take your wheel out of the car and take it to a upholstery specialist.
They will charge you around $50 for completing the wheel.
Remember that we are talking about the wheel ring and not the airbag area!!! Do not cover the airbag !!!! , There nothing that says cheap as plastic in a car.
Does your doors have cheap plastic armrests? Cover them with vinyl or leather !!! again, add a thin foam so it feels softer.
This will improve your car interior and even the safety.
Once more, do not do this over any airbag !!! Is your center cover a plastic mess? Try looking for some real wood veneer.
If you want your veneer to be flexible, just leave it water for 4 to 20 hours, apply it over the console, and sealed it with an air vacuum bag (the same one used to make food last a long time). if you don't like wood, then try some aluminium, although this process is different. , Do you know where that brand new car smell comes from? 50% is from the fumes of a new carpet. this cost between $50 and $100.
Also change your knob and emergency brake for something made out of aluminum, leather or wood. , You can find them already made for your car online and it cost between 200 to 800 bucks for a typical car.
Some companies will allow you to have certain parts in leather and others in leatherette, making the seat feel like real leather but on a lower price.
This in combination with a new carpet, will assure you a brand new car smell. , I don't recommend to get big wheel as it will look tacky.
But if your car came out of the factory with hubcaps, this is an easy way to make your car feel more luxurious.
If your car has really small wheels, you may change it so the diameter of the rim is 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to
5.1 cm) highers.
Do not replace the diameter of your tires.
It will destroy the quality of your ride and it will mess with your clocks on the dash.Also, try to look for wheels that would look stock in a car instead of choosing a sportier or wild version. , So, you don't want your car to be a "X Brand" anymore? Then remove the badge.
A lot of luxury cars do not have big badges.
Do not add any piece of plastic piece of chrome from Walmart, nor paint your car in an exotic (and often expensive) color.
If you want to replace the color of your car, try looking into the stock colors of current luxury cars.
Avoid having a two tone car at all cost.
If your car has any trim, you may get away with paint it in other color (like matte black) and you can risk by adding some chrome to such stock parts.
Avoid doing it in the door handles at all cost! Nothing says ghetto more that chrome door handles and pillars. , Again, be subtle.
It has to look as if that car came from the factory with that grill, so avoid anything that is too flashy.
Luxury is about quality, not being flashy. , This will give you some luxury features like hands free communication with your cellphone and it will take all those messy cables from your GPS unit out of the way.
You may want to improve the speaker of your car to get a better sound quality.
Talking about stereos, Avoid a bass in your car !!! Loud doesn't mean better, nor luxurious. crisp and clear sound do ! If you really want a base, try to hide it so no one can see it.
Some cars also have replacements for the a/c functions from mechanical switches to screens. , A car park on the side of the road all the time will never be luxurious.
About the Author
Nathan Cooper
Brings years of experience writing about DIY projects and related subjects.
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