Can anyone recommend a place to get a carpet kit? Looked at CIP, bugZone, aircooled,net, etc. The kits look to run about $60 and are 7 piece. are these decent kits, already grommeted for shifter, e-brake, seat belt, heaters  along the doors.  Any advice would be appreciated. I know you get what you pay for, but can't afford like Wolfsburg West who wants $200-300, but then anything maybe better than the rubber mats/ carpet that was in this one.
Thanks
Ron

The really cheap ones are not really carpet.  They are a non-woven felt like material.  Don't get one of those . . . you won't be happy with it.  Regardless of the brand, make sure it is either a woven or tufted carpet.

Also make sure it has bound edges.  You'll be much happier with it if it does.  A sewn in heal pad in front of the gas pedal is a nice touch.  From that point on it's pretty much a matter of money vs. quality.  Generally, more money = better quality; less money = less quality.

I think TMI makes two or three different grades of carpets.  For whatever type and quality you end up picking out, TMI will usually be the best value.

All of the carpet sets I've ever seen had the plastic threshold piece sewn in to hook under the door.  What I mean by bound edges is that all of the exposed areas of the carpet that are cut have some type of binding sewed around them.  The felt carpets and some of the cheaper woven and/or tufted carpets don't have the binding.

TMI doesn't sell direct, but they have their product catalog online at http://www.vwupholstery.com/onlinecatalog/onlinecatalog.html.  It shows all the styles they make.  Like Anthony said, they make some the better carpet sets out there.  You will find some that are a little better quality, but it's hard to beat them on value (what you get verses what it cost).



Edited By Zen on 1089158532

I can't really say one way or the other about jute for padding under the carpet.  I don't have any personal experiance with it.  But I can tell you a little about jute in general.

The company I've worked for since the late 70's is the second largest supplier of woven polypropylene carpet backing (primary and secondary) in the world.  Up until the mid-70's, all tufted carpets had a jute secondary backing.  In the mid-70's Amoco Fabrics introduced a polypropylene secondary backing (thats the net-like woven fabric stuck to the back of residental carpets with latex).  By the early 80's the traditional jute backing had completely dissapeared from the market.  The reason is pretty simple.  Jute is organic.  If it gets wet it mildews, molds and rots . . . and stinks.  Polypropylene can't rot and is mold and mildew resistant.  I'm not saying that you need to find polypropylene padding (don't think anyone makes it anyway) and I'm not saying jute padding wouldn't be ok . . . but, if it gets wet, I can tell you that it's gonn'a rot and it's gonn'a stink.  I'd use something else.

Called CIP today and talked to a customer service rep. The TMI carpet they sell, the piece that runs along the heater does not have a threshold/door sill cover sewn on to it. They said the bound edges should slide up into a track and if I wanted I could buy the Sill Covers. I guess I'm confused due to my bug had the felt carpet and rubber mats in it, but the piece that ran along the heater had a plastic sill cover sewn / glued to it and it fit over a lip in the door frame. If this makes sense and hasn't confused anyone, can anyone tell me if you use the sill covers or not.
Thanks
Ron

I can't remember for sure, but now that I think about it, it seems like the last carpet I installed didn't have a "sill cover" over the edge.  I think it was a bottom of the line TMI set (still a pretty nice looking carpet) from J.C. Whitney.  I wouldn't swear it was TMI, but it did come from Whitney . . . it came with a 69 bug that I no longer own.

It had thread bound edges, and I "THINK" the edge over the door sill had a plastic strip sewn under the edge binding.  It slipped into the grove on the top of the sill, but it was hidden under the carpet.

FYI . . . If anyone needs any interior items from TMI, contact Sun Coast Bugs and they will deliver it to you at any of the shows they attend at no charge.  That's no charge on the delivery . . . you still got'a pay for the products.  But, give Sun Coast a chance and you will be hard pressed to beat their prices!

http://www.suncoastbug.com/