One Seat or Two - What Would You Do?
July 23, 2017 8:29 AM Subscribe
I live in a cold place, my new car doesn't have seat heaters, and a nearby shop is doing a summer deal: $350 for both front seats, $250 for driver seat only. I never have passengers (in the past twelve months: 0) so the $250 option makes sense - but choosing this over the "both seats" option makes me feel like the meanest person alive. What would you do?
Needless to say there are a few deeper considerations here, i.e. the concessions that (a) I am single and will continue to be so for the duration of my ownership of the car, (b) I don't have any friends or family where I live, and (c) I don't hang out with folks from work. I'm fine with all three situations on a day to day basis - I'm not actively pursuing relationships, friendships or otherwise - but let's say I own this car for 3 years, then by choosing the $250 option I'm in a sense making some sort of commitment to this state of affairs, which feels kind of weird and sad.
But why would I spend $100 on an empty seat? That seems kind of weird too. I guess the answer to that is that I would feel mortified if, on a cold day, I ended up in a bizarre situation in which I *actually had a passenger* and was sitting there with a toasty butt having to explain to them that the reason they don't have a toasty butt is that I was too tight to fork out $100 to get the passenger seat heated.
Needless to say there are a few deeper considerations here, i.e. the concessions that (a) I am single and will continue to be so for the duration of my ownership of the car, (b) I don't have any friends or family where I live, and (c) I don't hang out with folks from work. I'm fine with all three situations on a day to day basis - I'm not actively pursuing relationships, friendships or otherwise - but let's say I own this car for 3 years, then by choosing the $250 option I'm in a sense making some sort of commitment to this state of affairs, which feels kind of weird and sad.
But why would I spend $100 on an empty seat? That seems kind of weird too. I guess the answer to that is that I would feel mortified if, on a cold day, I ended up in a bizarre situation in which I *actually had a passenger* and was sitting there with a toasty butt having to explain to them that the reason they don't have a toasty butt is that I was too tight to fork out $100 to get the passenger seat heated.
The person in the passenger seat will never know that your seat is heated and theirs isn't unless you tell them. So just don't tell them.
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 8:42 AM on July 23, 2017 [11 favorites]
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 8:42 AM on July 23, 2017 [11 favorites]
Who would even know if you had a seat heater in the driver's seat if you didn't tell them?
It's your car, it's your ass, it's your money, do what makes sense for you. You don't have to justify your spending to imaginary passengers for the cold ass they won't have. It's perfectly fine.
Personally, as someone who lives in a cold place and has never had seat heaters (I also prefer cloth seats because they're far less prone to temperature extremes), it wouldn't occur to me to think about this. It's not like you're making a tall person sit with the front seat scooched all the way up. After a few minutes, my own body heat will heat the seat just fine.
I thought about the car-selling issue, but since cars depreciate so greatly in value, I wouldn't spend any more money on it than is personally convenient. By the time you sold the car, the extra $100 you spent would have long since been offset by the car's age and mileage.
posted by Autumnheart at 8:43 AM on July 23, 2017 [5 favorites]
It's your car, it's your ass, it's your money, do what makes sense for you. You don't have to justify your spending to imaginary passengers for the cold ass they won't have. It's perfectly fine.
Personally, as someone who lives in a cold place and has never had seat heaters (I also prefer cloth seats because they're far less prone to temperature extremes), it wouldn't occur to me to think about this. It's not like you're making a tall person sit with the front seat scooched all the way up. After a few minutes, my own body heat will heat the seat just fine.
I thought about the car-selling issue, but since cars depreciate so greatly in value, I wouldn't spend any more money on it than is personally convenient. By the time you sold the car, the extra $100 you spent would have long since been offset by the car's age and mileage.
posted by Autumnheart at 8:43 AM on July 23, 2017 [5 favorites]
$100 as an investment in the resale value of the car seems reasonable to me. But it does depend on when you plan to sell it on the depreciation curve.
posted by spitbull at 8:44 AM on July 23, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by spitbull at 8:44 AM on July 23, 2017 [3 favorites]
Of course if you do commence a romantic relationship you can't keep the differential seats a secret from them. That's grounds for a breakup right there, letting your partner's ass freeze while yours is all nice and toasty.
posted by spitbull at 8:46 AM on July 23, 2017 [6 favorites]
posted by spitbull at 8:46 AM on July 23, 2017 [6 favorites]
Well, the greatest depreciation for a car is in the first few years, so...
The point is, you're never going to get that money back, so do what you like.
posted by Autumnheart at 8:48 AM on July 23, 2017 [3 favorites]
The point is, you're never going to get that money back, so do what you like.
posted by Autumnheart at 8:48 AM on July 23, 2017 [3 favorites]
sitting there with a toasty butt having to explain to them that the reason they don't have a toasty butt is that I was too tight to fork out $100
But you're never going to have that conversation, are you? I mean, that mythical passenger won't know, they won't be feeling your butt!
Ah, butt warmers: a major advancement to civilization, aren't they? Things to consider when adding them after-market are:
* How often you'd have someone using it --- not merely how often you have passengers, but what's the likelihood you'd have those very-rare passengers in cold weather;
* The age of the car --- would it be worth doing for a 20-year-old beater? Probably not. A newer car you intend to hold onto until one of you dies? Probably not. A newer car you expect to trade in reasonably soon, so heated seats might affect the trade-in value? Probably yes.
* Your finances --- would spending that extra $100 mean eating a lot of ramen for the next six months, or is it affordable to you?
posted by easily confused at 8:50 AM on July 23, 2017 [1 favorite]
But you're never going to have that conversation, are you? I mean, that mythical passenger won't know, they won't be feeling your butt!
Ah, butt warmers: a major advancement to civilization, aren't they? Things to consider when adding them after-market are:
* How often you'd have someone using it --- not merely how often you have passengers, but what's the likelihood you'd have those very-rare passengers in cold weather;
* The age of the car --- would it be worth doing for a 20-year-old beater? Probably not. A newer car you intend to hold onto until one of you dies? Probably not. A newer car you expect to trade in reasonably soon, so heated seats might affect the trade-in value? Probably yes.
* Your finances --- would spending that extra $100 mean eating a lot of ramen for the next six months, or is it affordable to you?
posted by easily confused at 8:50 AM on July 23, 2017 [1 favorite]
By your logic, shouldn't you install heated seats in the rear seats too, just in case you one day have passengers sitting back there?
Don't throw your $100 away.
posted by ejs at 8:50 AM on July 23, 2017 [9 favorites]
Don't throw your $100 away.
posted by ejs at 8:50 AM on July 23, 2017 [9 favorites]
I would also caution against assuming that your lack of passenger butt-warmers means you're destined to stay single and friendless for as long as you own the car. That is a bizarre association. It's just a car. It exists to get you from Point A to Point B. It is not a manifestation of your ability to care for others.
posted by Autumnheart at 8:57 AM on July 23, 2017 [7 favorites]
posted by Autumnheart at 8:57 AM on July 23, 2017 [7 favorites]
Lots of cars come from the manufacturer with features on the driver's seat only, including seat warmers, seat adjustment "memory," etc. This is reasonable because it's by far the most frequently used seat. (And the driver's comfort is the most important, anyway.) I think you are perfectly fine in keeping your $100. Be firm with the shop if that's what you decide on.
P. S. If I rode in your car for whatever reason and in whatever relationship to you, and your heated seat did come up, I wouldn't think anything of it.
posted by wintersweet at 9:17 AM on July 23, 2017 [1 favorite]
P. S. If I rode in your car for whatever reason and in whatever relationship to you, and your heated seat did come up, I wouldn't think anything of it.
posted by wintersweet at 9:17 AM on July 23, 2017 [1 favorite]
Alternative way to frame this: If you already had a driver heated seat, and the body shop was offering to put in a front passenger heated seat for $100, would you do it?
posted by basalganglia at 9:27 AM on July 23, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by basalganglia at 9:27 AM on July 23, 2017 [4 favorites]
It won't be as nice, but if for whatever reason you decide later that you want to heat the front passenger seat, they sell heated pads/seat covers that plug into the 12V cigarette lighter.
posted by exogenous at 9:46 AM on July 23, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by exogenous at 9:46 AM on July 23, 2017 [1 favorite]
Worst case scenario, you find yourself with a regular passenger who not only knows about the lack of a heated seat in the passenger seat, but also believes that you not having the heated option in that seat does indeed make you a horrible person. If this bothers you, you know what you do then? You pay $250 to add the option to the passenger seat at this later date. That's your choice really here - would you rather pay $100 now for something you dont need today just in case you need it in the future, or pay $250 if/when you do need it?
posted by cgg at 9:47 AM on July 23, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by cgg at 9:47 AM on July 23, 2017 [3 favorites]
You get to tend to your own comfort, guilt free. This is your guilt free coupon. You don't have to tell anyone about any or all the nice things you do for yourself. Believe me, if you are sweating this expenditure, then there are people who spend millions on their comfort, and staying in their comfort zone.
With the exception of 1.5 years, I have always lived in cold climates, and never had heated seats. You deserve the niceties you provide yourself with no explanation, whatsoever, now or ever.
posted by Oyéah at 10:07 AM on July 23, 2017
With the exception of 1.5 years, I have always lived in cold climates, and never had heated seats. You deserve the niceties you provide yourself with no explanation, whatsoever, now or ever.
posted by Oyéah at 10:07 AM on July 23, 2017
It really depends on whether you think $100 is a lot of money or not. When you bought the car you paid many times that for seats you're not using too.
I'd just do it for the possibility it could come in handy, but then $100 is not that much to me. I've spent that much on floor mats for both front seats. Twice because I didn't like the first set. But the fact that you're debating it says it's a lot to you or you're very frugal, both good reasons not to.
posted by spitbull at 10:22 AM on July 23, 2017 [3 favorites]
I'd just do it for the possibility it could come in handy, but then $100 is not that much to me. I've spent that much on floor mats for both front seats. Twice because I didn't like the first set. But the fact that you're debating it says it's a lot to you or you're very frugal, both good reasons not to.
posted by spitbull at 10:22 AM on July 23, 2017 [3 favorites]
Also have you considered that you may find, despite your feeling otherwise, the perfect future spouse and that *they* may end up doing some of the driving on those long romantic ski trips? The ass you freeze may be your own!
posted by spitbull at 11:39 AM on July 23, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by spitbull at 11:39 AM on July 23, 2017 [4 favorites]
As much as it's silly, I think you heat the passenger seat as a little commitment to the idea that you're not always going to be friendless and single.
posted by wotsac at 11:41 AM on July 23, 2017 [3 favorites]
posted by wotsac at 11:41 AM on July 23, 2017 [3 favorites]
Well, how handy are you? You can get a kit on amazon for $65.78 per seat currently. But it's not a simple install--it requires that you take the fabric covering off the seat (more realistically, you'd want to take the seat out of the car) deal with upholstery nonsense, not to mention wiring, but it's doable.
Personally I wouldn't install or trust some random shop to install a third party electrical accessory whose only function is to get hot next to stuff that can melt/burn. As a buyer, seeing an aftermarket seat heater would decrease my perceived value of a used car...
posted by danny the boy at 12:12 PM on July 23, 2017 [2 favorites]
Personally I wouldn't install or trust some random shop to install a third party electrical accessory whose only function is to get hot next to stuff that can melt/burn. As a buyer, seeing an aftermarket seat heater would decrease my perceived value of a used car...
posted by danny the boy at 12:12 PM on July 23, 2017 [2 favorites]
One other thought about resale value. It's not so much the actual price value of the heated seats as the fact that up north a lot of (urban) people will not even look at a car without them anymore, regard them as necessary, and are used to the most common OEM configuration, which is both front seats being heated. So you could limit the number of buyers if you sell it privately not having both seats heated. I was surprised by this myself. I drive pickup trucks in the arctic occasionally for work, in places where you need a block heater from October to May, and where a the forced air heat on full blast barely keeps you from freezing to death while driving, and never even knew heated seats were a thing until I got them as part of a trim package on my own 2014 compact car. I barely ever use them in New York but very often have passengers who really like them, whereas I get too hot really quickly even with the heat on and consider the coldest NYC ever offers to be barely chilly after a decade of work travel on the north slope of Alaska, where 20 below is the inflection point for complaining. And then only for white guys.
posted by spitbull at 12:59 PM on July 23, 2017
posted by spitbull at 12:59 PM on July 23, 2017
The safety issue is serious, by the way. The afternarkets should have auto-shutoff after an hour. Be sure the shop is reputable and licensed and the parts used are a good brand.
posted by spitbull at 1:59 PM on July 23, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by spitbull at 1:59 PM on July 23, 2017 [1 favorite]
How much would it hurt your feelings to spend another $250 in the event that you find someone special who ends up spending a lot of time in your car? If to spend an extra $150 later wouldn't hurt your feelings, I'd wait (given that your time line of ownership is 3yrs, as opposed to like 10yrs. Who knows, maybe you'll be spending time in their car). If it would really hurt your feelings that bad, spend the $100 now.
posted by vignettist at 5:43 PM on July 23, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by vignettist at 5:43 PM on July 23, 2017 [1 favorite]
If you got a dog or something, wouldn't you want the seat to be warm? What if you need to transport a hot casserole?
Just kidding. I think there are compelling reasons either way, but what clinches it for me is the resale value later in life. One heated seat is weird. Two heated seats is a luxury for which you can charge a premium. If you have the money (and two seats won't draw too much power and jeopardize the car's electricals) then I would go for it.
posted by blnkfrnk at 6:43 PM on July 23, 2017
Just kidding. I think there are compelling reasons either way, but what clinches it for me is the resale value later in life. One heated seat is weird. Two heated seats is a luxury for which you can charge a premium. If you have the money (and two seats won't draw too much power and jeopardize the car's electricals) then I would go for it.
posted by blnkfrnk at 6:43 PM on July 23, 2017
I can't imagine lack of a heated passenger seat being a deal-breaker when selling a used car, so if you have a better use for that $100, I say just heat the driver's seat.
(Fyi: I haven't owned in car since 2001 and never had heated seats, despite spending almost 30 years in Chicago.)
posted by she's not there at 8:24 PM on July 23, 2017
(Fyi: I haven't owned in car since 2001 and never had heated seats, despite spending almost 30 years in Chicago.)
posted by she's not there at 8:24 PM on July 23, 2017
Resale: I bought my Volvo w heated front seats, I turned down a slightly newer and less expensive car (same model) because it didn't have them.
Two is the way to go. Enjoy the bun warmers.
posted by artdrectr at 9:55 PM on July 23, 2017
Two is the way to go. Enjoy the bun warmers.
posted by artdrectr at 9:55 PM on July 23, 2017
You only need one warm seat so just get one seat warmer. Also, if I were a passenger in your car and my seat wasn't warm I wouldn't think you were horrible at all. I would probably think you were nuts, though, if I later found out you bought an extra seat warmer just in case someone might happen to ride in your car and might happen to think you were awful because you hadn't got a passenger-side seat warmer.
posted by Polychrome at 3:21 AM on July 24, 2017
posted by Polychrome at 3:21 AM on July 24, 2017
I wouild take an entirely different tack. Since you now know something about the economics of the situation I would try to negotiate a better price for one seat. Maybe offer 200 in cash.
posted by jcworth at 6:05 AM on July 24, 2017
posted by jcworth at 6:05 AM on July 24, 2017
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by box at 8:38 AM on July 23, 2017 [34 favorites]