Most boring topic ever - Car Mats?

[Davie_GLA]

Afternoon all.

I need some good quality car mats for both mine and Mrs. GLA cars.

Mine is a 2021 A4 Avant (black edition if it matters) and 'ers is a Fiat 500.

We keep horses so the cars are generally constantly dirty but the constant deep cleaning of carpets is really getting to me during the weekly washes.

I'm not a fan of rubber car mats but feels like for the use case of the cars it's probably the best way to go but i would want some decent quality, odourless units that i can take out, give them a bash and a light powerwash.

I made the mistake of visiting an ad on facebook for one of them, and now i have eleventy billion ads from all over the show.

So, so i stick to the manufacturers options and buy genuine or are there others that the wise people of PH swear by? I'm not interested in these fully fitted "Diamond" car mats as they don't seem to fair well after a very short period of time.

[Decky_Q]

Always found the manufacturers mats the best, theybfit properly and dont curl or move about.

Ended up with 2 sets in one of my cars and that was the best set up, take the top one off and clean it, bottom one stays brand new for weddings or giving royalty a lift.

[Panamax]

Decky_Q said:

Always found the manufacturers mats the best, they fit properly and don't curl or move about.

Me too, although they can be darned pricey. I sometimes wonder why I don't start off without them and then fit some if/when the carpet wears out. Other than that, Halfords are worth a look because you can actually see what you're buying and hold them up against your old mats to check the fit. This is particularly handy if you're looking at so-called "universal" mats.

My personal annoyance is there's always only one you need to replace but they come in sets of four.

[DaveCWK]

I've never had much luck in aftermarket car mats. Even the ones that claim to be super premium just seem to be not great quality, nowhere near as soft or thick & not as heavy as some say basic OEM ones you got in a 1990s Toyota

[Mammasaid]

Car Mats 4 U provide decent mats which fit well, have bought a few sets over the years for various vehicles.

These rubber mats we've got in our works Transit, and they take a battering, but have held up well.

https://www.carmats4u.com/audi-a4-saloon-estate-pr...

[alscar]

From memory Audi do some decent thicker rubber mats - can’t comment on price though.
Know what you mean about horses and dirt though although tbf that’s what the Defender is for - mats just get shaken out every few weeks.

[miniman]

I've had some excellent sets from https://carmats.co.uk/

You need to go up into the higher end of the range to get the quality, but still much cheaper than genuine dealer mats.

e.g. https://carmats.co.uk/products/audi-a4-2016-car-ma...

[wc98]

Panamax said:

Me too, although they can be darned pricey. I sometimes wonder why I don't start off without them and then fit some if/when the carpet wears out. Other than that, Halfords are worth a look because you can actually see what you're buying and hold them up against your old mats to check the fit. This is particularly handy if you're looking at so-called "universal" mats.

My personal annoyance is there's always only one you need to replace but they come in sets of four.

Be annoyed no longer. There are e-bay sellers that sell single mats. For me the drivers mat always wears out first, just ordered a rubber one that will save the standard mat underneath from the worst of this winters fishing detritus, shingle/sand/seaweed etc when i am in and out of the car driving up and down the coast looking for favourable conditions.

[Krikkit]

Mammasaid said:

Car Mats 4 U provide decent mats which fit well, have bought a few sets over the years for various vehicles.

These rubber mats we've got in our works Transit, and they take a battering, but have held up well.

https://www.carmats4u.com/audi-a4-saloon-estate-pr...

Agreed, to a point. I've used them before, but only when OEM are either NLA or crazy money. Not as good as OEM but still decent quality.

[Lester H]

No. It has great boredom potential, but is surpassed by the ‘ I’ve seem a celebrity in a car ‘ thread.The mat thing is simple: do you go up market, or just throw away the cheap mats twice annually? The celeb thing has massive bore potential, as celebs will have cars but, with few exceptions, are we remotely interested?

[Richard-D]

I went through this one a couple of weeks ago, searched through a load of threads on here.

I bought from this ebay shop:-

https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/impulseinteriors

I don't doubt the OE mats are better but these seem good.

Paid £35 instead of £200 for the OE. They seem good too, if they had come with the car I wouldn't have known they weren't oiginal.

[16v stretch]

miniman said:

I've had some excellent sets from https://carmats.co.uk/

You need to go up into the higher end of the range to get the quality, but still much cheaper than genuine dealer mats.

e.g. https://carmats.co.uk/products/audi-a4-2016-car-ma...

And then spam you for their up to 60% off offers, which must be on 364 days per year.

Like you said though, quality is ok with the more premium ones. Annoyed that my 2 footmat car costs as much as a 4 footmat car too.

[aturnick54]

alscar said:

From memory Audi do some decent thicker rubber mats - can’t comment on price though.
Know what you mean about horses and dirt though although tbf that’s what the Defender is for - mats just get shaken out every few weeks.

Ebay is worth a look. I managed to get a full set of brand new Audi mats for £70 on there. They're great for winter months, then I swap back to carpet for spring

[Davie_GLA]

Richard-D said:

I went through this one a couple of weeks ago, searched through a load of threads on here.

I bought from this ebay shop:-

https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/impulseinteriors

I don't doubt the OE mats are better but these seem good.

Paid £35 instead of £200 for the OE. They seem good too, if they had come with the car I wouldn't have known they weren't oiginal.

Thanks, typical that they don’t list any for my car.

[vikingaero]

The best car mats are often sold in the USA where they now seem to have really high borders to keep dirt/snow/slush/water contained. One brand recommended over there are Cannon Car Mats (a UK brand!).

That said, most of the OEM ones are better. The cheaper ones are vacuum formed and are really thin and wear through.

[alfasud1]

This oddly was a recent subject of the "group chat" I dont think you can do better than OEM most of the time, having just ordered a set of the rubber OEM ones for my V60 with the lip etc.... I know from past experience that these are exceptional, however I am unable to find them for my P2 XC70 and have went for the Carmats4U ones , just waiting on the delivery to see like for like.

[Davie_GLA]

Ooh. I might wait until you get them and can give the usual PH no bullst review.

I made the mistake of asking at Motorpoint. These fkers wanted nigh on £300 quid for mats! And they wanted to charge extra for a coating that can be applied every month as part of an “enhanced protection pack”. s.

[SaulGoodman]

+1 for carmats4u. It was a while ago but I got some nice premium rubber mats for my 3 series convertible in a red trim to match the leather. Was v pleased with them.