You see the inside of your car more than anyone else ever will. Every journey you are looking at the seats, resting an arm on the door trim and glancing up at the roof lining, so interior wear is the damage you live with daily — long before a passenger or a prospective buyer ever notices it. Our car upholstery repair service restores tired, torn, burnt and faded interiors at our fixed workshop in Greenwich, South-East London, bringing leather, fabric, vinyl and Alcantara back to a condition you are genuinely happy to sit in.
Prefer to talk it through first? Call our workshop on 0207 998 4712.
What car upholstery repair covers
Car upholstery repair restores the parts of your interior that wear, tear, stain or fade with everyday use — seats, roof linings, door cards, dashboards, centre consoles and carpets. Rather than replacing an entire seat or trim panel, we repair the damaged area itself, which keeps the original materials in place and is almost always kinder to your wallet than a full replacement. If your interior was damaged in an accident, we can also carry out the work and handle the repair through your insurance.
Bringing your interior back to condition helps you to:
- keep the cabin looking and feeling the way it did when you bought the car;
- stop small splits, burns and loose trim from spreading into a bigger, costlier job;
- protect resale and part-exchange value, where a tidy interior counts for a great deal.
Car seat repair — fabric and leather
Fabric and cloth seats
Cloth seats take the brunt of daily life: worn bolsters where you slide in and out, frayed seams, snags and stubborn stains. We re-stitch split seams on high-frequency machines, patch and re-weave damaged sections so the repair blends into the surrounding weave, and replace the foam padding underneath where a seat has lost its shape or support. The aim is a seat that looks right and feels right, not an obvious patch.
Leather seats
Leather cracks, splits along seams, scuffs on the driver’s bolster and colour worn away by years of getting in and out are all repairable. We clean and prepare the hide, fill and bond tears with flexible leather-grade compounds, re-stitch seams where needed, then recolour and seal the area so the finish matches the grain and sheen of the original. For heavily worn seats we can re-trim a panel entirely in matched leather.
Leather recolouring and sun-damaged interiors
Years of sunlight fade and dry out leather and plastics, leaving seats looking grey, patchy or shiny where the top coat has worn through. Using airbrush systems and colour-matched pigments, we strip back the tired finish and recolour leather and vinyl to their original shade — or a new one, if you fancy a change. The result restores depth and evenness across the whole panel rather than spot-touching a single mark, which is what makes a recolour look factory-fresh rather than repaired.
Car Roof Lining & Headlining Repair in Greenwich
A loose roof lining is hard to ignore: the fabric bellies down towards your head and, left long enough, drops into your view of the rear window. We carry out car roof lining repair at our Greenwich workshop, bringing a sagging headlining back up flat and firm against the roof.
Why car roof linings sag
The lining above you is built in layers: a moulded board shaped to the roof, a thin layer of foam, and the fabric you see. The foam holds the fabric to the board, and it is the part that fails. As it ages it breaks down, the fabric loses its grip, and the lining lets go, often as a small bubble that spreads.
Heat speeds this up. A car parked in the sun gets hotter at roof level than anywhere else in the cabin, and summer after summer of that bakes the foam until it crumbles. Damp does similar harm, which is why a lining that has been wet tends to come away sooner.
That is also why quick fixes rarely hold. Pins, sprays and tape are all trying to attach fabric to foam that has already turned to powder, so the lining drops again and the pin holes stay.
How we repair a sagging headlining
Every job starts with an inspection at the workshop, so we can see how far the fabric has come away, the condition of the board and how the panel is fitted in your car before we quote.
The headlining panel then comes out of the car. Working on it at the bench, rather than overhead inside the cabin, is what lets the job be done thoroughly: the failed foam-backed fabric is stripped away and the crumbled residue cleaned off, leaving a sound, clean board to bond to.
Fresh material, matched to the colour and texture of your interior, is bonded across the whole board and worked into its contours so it sits without creases or lifted edges. We treat the full lining rather than re-sticking the part that has dropped, because the foam fails across the entire board. Once the bond has set, the panel is refitted and checked in the car before you collect it.
Roof lining repair for drivers across South-East London
Drivers bring their cars to us in Greenwich from across South-East London: Blackheath, Charlton and Woolwich close by, with Bexley, Sidcup, Bromley and Orpington a little further out. If you have been searching for car roof lining repair near me in that part of London, bring the car to us and the repair is done here in the workshop.
Being a bodyshop as well as an interior repairer, we handle trim and bodywork in the same workshop, so a sagging lining can be booked in alongside any other work the car needs. To have yours looked at, book an inspection at our Greenwich workshop and we will give you a clear quote before any work starts.
Door panels, trim and dashboards
Door cards, armrests, dashboards and centre consoles pick up scuffs, scratches, cracks and worn-through colour at the points you touch most. We repair splits and cracks in leather, vinyl and plastic trim, rebuild worn edges, and recolour the surface to match the rest of the cabin. Small, well-matched repairs here make a surprising difference — these are the surfaces right in your eyeline every time you drive.
Cigarette burns, tears and scuffs
Cigarette burns, sharp tears from keys or buckles, and scuffs from child seats and luggage are all everyday interior damage we repair regularly. For a burn or a small hole we cut back the damage, fill and re-texture the area, then colour it to match so the repair disappears into the surrounding material. Catching a small tear early stops it lengthening every time weight moves across the seat, so it is worth booking in sooner rather than later.
How our upholstery repair process works
Every interior is different, so every repair starts with a proper look at the damage. Our process is straightforward:
- Assessment. We inspect the damage, identify the material, and give you an honest view of what can be repaired and what — if anything — is better replaced.
- Preparation. The area is cleaned and degreased so adhesives, dyes and finishes bond properly and last.
- Repair. We re-stitch, patch, fill, re-pad or re-trim as the job needs, using trim-grade materials matched to your interior.
- Colour matching. Leather and vinyl are recoloured and sealed to blend seamlessly with the surrounding trim.
- Final check. Every repair is inspected before your car leaves, so the finish meets the standard we would expect on our own vehicles.
Why choose our Greenwich workshop
Interior trim work is precision work, and it is far easier to get right in a controlled workshop than at the roadside. Our fully equipped Greenwich premises lets us clean, prepare, dye and cure materials in the right conditions, with the airbrush systems, high-frequency machines and trim tools the job demands. Our technicians bring over 70 years of combined experience across everyday cars and prestige marques, and every repair is backed by our workmanship guarantee.
Upholstery is one part of what we do. We are a full car body repair specialist, so if your car also needs car scratch repair or paintless dent repair, we can put the whole car right in one visit. See the areas we cover across South-East London on our service areas page.
How much does car upholstery repair cost?
The honest answer is that it depends on the material, the size of the damage and how many areas need attention — a single cigarette burn is a small job, a full leather re-trim is not. As a rough guide, the indicative UK ranges below give you a sense of where prices typically start. For a firm figure, the only accurate answer is a quick look at the car and a free quote.
| Upholstery repair | Indicative UK price from |
|---|---|
| Cigarette burn or small hole (single) | from £50–£120 |
| Fabric seat or bolster repair | from £60–£200 |
| Leather seat tear or crack repair | from £80–£250 |
| Leather recolouring (per seat) | from £120–£300 |
| Sagging roof lining / headlining re-trim | from £150–£350 |
| Full leather re-trim (per seat) | from £250 |
For a wider view of interior and exterior repair pricing, see our car body repair cost guide.
Car upholstery repair FAQs
Is it worth repairing car seats?
In most cases, yes. Repairing a torn or worn seat keeps the original materials in place and is almost always more cost-effective than replacing the seat or living with the damage — and it protects the car’s value, where a tidy, cared-for interior counts for a lot at part-exchange.
Can leather seats be repaired?
Yes. Cracks, splits, seam damage, scuffs and worn or faded colour are all repairable. We fill and bond tears, re-stitch seams, and recolour and seal the leather so the repair blends with the grain and sheen of the original hide. Only the most severely deteriorated leather needs a full re-trim.
How long does car upholstery repair take?
Most repairs are completed within one to three days, depending on the extent of the damage and any colour matching or re-trimming involved. We will give you a realistic timescale when we assess the car.
Can you match my existing interior colour?
Yes. We colour-match leather and vinyl using airbrush systems and matched pigments so the repaired area blends with the surrounding trim. We work with leather, vinyl, fabric and Alcantara.
Do you guarantee the work?
Every upholstery repair is backed by a six-month workmanship guarantee, on top of the final inspection every car passes before it leaves the workshop.
Can a sagging car roof lining be repaired?
Yes, in most cases. The fabric usually drops because the foam backing behind it has broken down with age and heat, rather than because the board itself has failed. We inspect the lining at our Greenwich workshop and tell you honestly what yours needs before any work starts.
Is a roof lining the same as a headlining or a headliner?
Yes. All three names describe the fabric-covered panel fixed to the inside of your car’s roof. Roof lining and headlining are the usual British terms, while headliner is the American word you will often see online. Whichever one you searched for, it is the same part and the same repair.
Do you repair roof linings on any make of car?
We repair interior trim on the everyday and prestige cars that come through our Greenwich workshop. Headlining panels are fitted differently from one model to the next, which affects how they come out of the car, so we look at yours before giving you a quote.
Book your car upholstery repair in Greenwich
You spend more time looking at your car’s interior than anyone, so it is worth having it put right properly. Bring your car to our Greenwich workshop and we will restore the seats, trim and finish to a condition you are proud to sit in. Request your free, no-obligation quote today.
Or call our team on 0207 998 4712.
