Originally Posted by farmerjones

FYI....many of you know the seat trim bits that are (now colored red or blue, as discussed here) chronically failed. I had to have them replaced 3 times on my TT. Removing those trim pieces is a BIG job, they do not just "pop out" as one might expect. The seat back must be removed, and then they trim must be carefully pried away from the seat and also separated from the side air bag itself. This means the COMPLETE removal of the seat from the car to preform removal. And then there is the cost..... Perhaps the pricing has changed since 2016 but I can tell you every time the seat trim was replaced on both seats the warranty bill with $1500+. Sadly even removing them to be wrapped could prove to be a much more involved process than it seems on the surface. I can tell you....there are so many tabs on those pieces to get it off without breaking some of them could prove very difficult, and of course you have to be mindful of the air bag itself. I can say...these cars are so awesome and fun I'd hope the color of a trim piece wouldn't keep you from ordering and enjoying the car, even if it is not your ideal color choice of trim.

Originally Posted by Randall_G

Unless you were ordering gray stitched seats, "take it or leave it" is not consistent with the US order guide. Carbon fiber inlays are only optional for the grey stitching seats (JN). Otherwise, they're a required option. In other words, the only way to get aluminum inserts is to order the gray stitched seats.

Black w/red stitching seats (AR) requires design selection interior (PEF for red), which is your current frustration. Ordering PEF in turn requires carbon fiber inlays (5MB). It's the same for selecting the seats with blue stitching: TH requires design selection interior (PEI for blue), which in turn requires carbon fiber inlays (5MB).

I explicitly asked my salesman if I could order the red stitched seats as a standalone option: not allowed.