Anyone ever bought seats from the wrecker?

JayArr

Original poster
Member
Sep 24, 2018
504
Mission BC Canada
Our Envoy (we call it "The General") works as a dog and grocery hauler all week long and as the tow vehicle for our 19 foot trailer on the weekends. I can count on one hand the number of times we've used the rear seats in the last two years. I figure I can shave hundreds of pounds off the GVW by pulling the two rear seat rows and putting in a piece of plywood and some foam for the dogs. This is the big extended XL model with three rows of seats, it weighed in on the scale at close to 6000 pounds without the trailer. If I can get it back down around 5500 that would help save $$ on gas and help the engine work less when towing. (we went on a 7000 mile trip this summer and hauled the seats with us the whole way for nothing.)

This leads to a problem, what to do with the seats while they are out. I don't have space to store them so my first instinct is to just give them away on Craigslist or if that doesn't work, just drop them off at the dump. My wife says she has a bad feeling about this because it would make the vehicle harder to sell down the road.

What's a set of seats worth? Has anyone bought a set? Could I get rid of these and buy a replacement set five or ten years down the road if needed to sell the vehicle?
 

6716

Member
Jul 24, 2012
821
I'm in the same question. My Trailblazer is just for fun and adventure, and I could do some cool stuff if I pull the rear seats. But what if I decide I want them back?

I guess I don't put a lot of value on resale of my 05 in 5 years. If it lowers the value then so be it. Or look at it this way ... is the gas savings worth the resale hit if you can't source some junkyard seats?
 
Dec 5, 2011
574
Central Pennsylvania
I highly doubt you'll shave 500 pds by getting rid of rows 2 and 3. BUT, you can get rid of 50+ pounds by ditching the spare tire, spare tire carrier, jack, and tailpipe resonator. Is your spare even usable?
Removing the seats ~may~ save you a couple hundred pounds TOPS. But that may be just enough for you... that's up to you. Personally, I'd rather have the seats - and I have 3 dogs. As for seats from a wrecker - simply, don't. Most wrecker yards make absolutely no effort whatsoever to preserve interiors. Unless you find a donor vehicle that has all the glass intact, and the doors/windows were closed, the seats will be ratty at best - and they'll expect top dollar for them any way. Finding one in decent condition 5 to 10 years from now would be surprising. Also, the floor pan is not level below the seats - but that's addressable with some plywood.
 

Sparky

Member
Dec 4, 2011
12,927
On the other hand, in 5 years the absolute newest 2009 Trailblazer or Envoy would still be 16 years old. I don't think it would have tremendous resale value.

I just know if you ditch the seats you'll likely end up wanting them again at some point. But, if you leave them, you'll never use them. Just how it works :tongue:
 

JayArr

Original poster
Member
Sep 24, 2018
504
Mission BC Canada
I just know if you ditch the seats you'll likely end up wanting them again at some point. But, if you leave them, you'll never use them. Just how it works

Sigh... yep, that's where I'm at. I think i need to just find a place to store them.
 

Blckshdw

Moderator
Nov 20, 2011
10,665
Tampa Bay Area, FL
I'm kinda in the same boat. Took the 3rd row seats out a long time ago, but they take up a lot of space in the house. I want to take out the 2nd row seats too, but I'm trying to get stuff out of the house, not store more stuff. I rarely have more than 1 extra person riding with me, but it's often enough that I wouldn't want to be repeatedly hauling seats in and out. Just can't win...
 
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Dadwagon

Member
May 21, 2020
141
West coast
Would bet that if they are in decent shape, there will be someone who wants to buy them from you. Because junk yard seats are rarely usable unless you get it on the day it arrived.
 

JayArr

Original poster
Member
Sep 24, 2018
504
Mission BC Canada
OK, in the end I found a place to store them, they actually fold up better than I thought. They fit on a shelf 4 feet by three feet by 2 foot 2 inches tall. That includes both rows of seats, the headrests and carpets as well as that shelf from the back. They can sit there for ten years if need be then I'll put them back in to sell it.
 

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Dec 5, 2011
574
Central Pennsylvania
Out of curiosity, what would you estimate the weight of those are? Occasionally, someone will stop in and ask about weight reduction (as you have) for various reasons including racing... might be helpful to them to know what the weight is ~roughly~.
 

Dadwagon

Member
May 21, 2020
141
West coast
When my friends had sports cars, we all talked about stripping the rear seats, carpets, headliners to save weight and thus go faster. It turns out a Subaru and Honda rear seat weighs about 4 pounds and are made of the cheapest thinnest lightest foam.
 

JayArr

Original poster
Member
Sep 24, 2018
504
Mission BC Canada
Someone suggested about 200 lbs and I think that's pretty close.

The rear seats in my Nissan 240SX weigh about ten pounds total, I don't think there is even a steel frame invlved in the bottom portion.
 

Dadwagon

Member
May 21, 2020
141
West coast
Every part of the car feels heavy. Wouldn't doubt 200 pounds for the rear seats if you include the frame holding it to the floorboards. A solid chunk of a SUV! Would sell the seats locally to someone who really needs them and not worry about storing.
 

mrrsm

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Oct 22, 2015
7,642
Tampa Bay Area
The one thing to be mindful of is that it only takes *ONE* Tired, Old French Fry ...buried somewhere, wedged down inside of one of those "Chariots" to attract Rodents from Hundreds of Miles Away.

If that is a storage place out in the Garage, wrapping those seats in the Wide Industrial Size Saran Wrap...then dropping in Moth Balls and/or Rags soaked in Peppermint Oil thrown inside of a secondary Plastic Wrap and then Taped up Tight will go a long way to them NOT becoming "The Mouse Palace Hotel" Quicker than Boiled Asparagus... :>)
 
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JayArr

Original poster
Member
Sep 24, 2018
504
Mission BC Canada
Spent Sunday "flattening the floor of the General. The bolts and studs from the seats provided mounting places for some brackets and posts and then plywood pieces went in to make the floor level from behind the front seats to the back gate. The wood is split down the center of the car so that we can store some stuff in the 6" under it, a carpet covers the plywood then foam goes over it all followed by blankets and two large golden retrievers. I think I've saved 200 pounds with the seat removal but I bought a generator for the trailer that probably weighs 100 so I'm still down 100 pounds. (that's a different project involving propane conversion for the RV forum I'm on LOL)
 

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mrrsm

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Oct 22, 2015
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Will you be soldering in Black Wire Extensions for the Class 2 Network Ground Splice Pack under the Rear Passenger Seat to make for easier access and be able to get at it if necessary...perhaps by placing the Comb closer to the Rear Fuse-Power Box?
 

JayArr

Original poster
Member
Sep 24, 2018
504
Mission BC Canada
Nope!

The cushions, carpet and wood can all be pulled out in 30 seconds (without any tools) to get access to anything I need under there so I can't see a reason to spend anytime extending it. Everything is still stock, nothing was permanently altered, in fact I could have the rear seats all back in within about 1/2 hour with an 18mm socket.
 
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Dadwagon

Member
May 21, 2020
141
West coast
Jay, that's a great finished product. Our family of three recently went car camping with the seats folded flat for a night. With a kid requiring a car seat, we can't remove the rear seats, so have to deal with what we got. Perfect for two adults and dogs.
 

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