Aldridge/East Kent Trim/Classic Trim! Opinions please.

[Escota]

Alright Men, well as per the title really, i am after advice from people who have used the above trim suppliers and tell me what you think of them?

 

I am buying all new interior including carpet, door cars, headlining, window seals, door seals etc etc for my Mk1 Escort and i am stuck on who to buy the products from.

 

East kent trim sell a full mk1 escort seal kit for £367, but ive used these seals in the past and havent been over impressed as they split on the edges over time. Classic trim do a complete seal kit for £560, which is a lot more cash but if the quality is better then i would be happy! Has anyone bought seals from either company?

 

As for door cards, carpets etc choosing between aldridge and classic trim is kind of like choosing your mum or dad lol! Both have their perks but ultimately its down to cost and quality.

 

Any advice or experiences would be much appreciated.

 

Cheers

Rob

[Mickey Stewart]

Hi mate, I purchased the following for quality and price if helps:

 

Aldridge trimming for: Door cards, boot mat, carpet, kick cards, rear arch trim, clips etc- Cheaper than classic trim and same quality

 

Classic trim for seats - Front roll top complete seats and rear seat, they do part exchange as well if required, Aldridge only supply the covers not complete seats.

 

East Kent trim - Purchased all door seals, boot seals - good quality with no problems.

 

Hope that helps

[Tall paul]

I've had bad experiences with east Kent trim, stuff not fitting properly, gutter trims flying off scratching paint work, rubbers leaking I could go on.

 

Not bought anything from the others tho so couldn't comment but then you get what you pay for o suppose.

[Escota]

Nice one lads, thanks for your information and experiences! It looks like i will just mix and match a bit between the companies and see how my wallet copes haha. 

 

Interesting to hear the different views with east kent supplies! And yes its very true you get what you pay for, i would just be worried that east kent and also classic trim use the same seal supplier/manufacturer but yet charge different amounts.

 

Thanks again, and anyone else with more info will always be appreciated.

 

Thanks

Rob

[mk2 mike]

I've also heard very negative things about east Kent. Never used them myself so its only hearsay but as Paul said above, the main issue seems to be poor fitting rubbers. To be honest the ONLY good comment I've ever seen about them is the one by Mickey above.

[mk2 matt]

i have a set in my rs2 from classic trim

they supplied the front seats covered and a rear seat cover

the back of the rear seat was not a very good fit in the top corners.+  the vinyl was cut too short so you could see the inside of the seat from outside

fronts were very good

but the vinyl they use is matt not gloss and the beta cloth is too blue.[ its black with a blue tint ]

aldridge are better .

 

ian

[Escota]

Right ok, so sounds like most of you have had similar issues with east kent like i have in the past even though it wasnt on a classic ford! 

 

I think i might use classic trim for the seals and aldridge for the interior trim. I already have MK1 twin cam seats front and rear so thank fully i dont have to worry about seats. 

 

Very good info from mk2 matt! Thanks for that buddy.

 

 

Rob

[johnnyspencer]

i was just about to order front and back screen rubbers and roof lining from east kent... not so sure now!

[Johnv]

Just thought I'd let you low about my experience's with east Kent, I've fitted several front and rear screen rubbers from them and they can be a bit hit and miss but generally not bad, rear quarter rubbers fit terrible around the corners, I've fitted 4 headlinings, the first 3 I couldn't fault and would recommend to anyone but the one I fitted last week had some stitching that was a bit pissed and made the whole job look like stevie wonder had fitted it, door rubbers I can recommend, same as the boot rubber also good, inner and outer door glass seals are also pretty good,

All of the above were for a mk1 escort,

At the moment I'm just trying to decide whether to get classic trim to retrim my rs2000 fishnets at a cost of £750 which I thought was a bit steep or order a set from Aldridge and fit them myself, I just can't decide.

[over_head_cam]

From experience, if you fit EKT door seals on a mk1 Escort the doors will not shut. Whether this issue has been addressed or not I don't know. My recommendation would be to find some good second-hand or NOS items. Not had any experience with Aldridge, so I can't comment.

 

If you feel confident about fitting covers yourself then I'd say go for it. If you have doubts then you have to consider paying someone else to do it for you, which obviously bumps the price up.

 

Personally I think a lot of the stuff trimmers sell is overpriced. They have us by the round ones though, as we are a captive market and can't really shop around much.

[deadly456]

DONT USE CLASSIC TRIM got my MK1 RS2000 full trim from them and its taken me 15 months to get it all and seats were to blue and dont know how rest of it fits as not put it in yet. You can never trust him,just a con man. Never answers phone and i used to ring him 2-3 times a week,after i spent £2600 with him 

[Johnv]

Thanks for the info, Sounds like too much of a risk to use classic trim, I think I'll get the covers from Aldridge and do it myself and save a few quid at the same time, I've fitted the aldridge rear seat covers a few times and they looked first class, couldn't fault them, the fronts are gonna be not so easy, I have striped fishnets before and swaped over covers from one to another but I want them perfect this time,

I'll just have to see how it goes and report back.

[deadly456]

Aldridge will trim them for you,i spoke to them and they said they would do it. I chose classic trim because he did a full service and he was at classic ford that year and looked proper professional

[iandq]

hi, i got all my anglia interior ( apart from the carpet, did that myself because of new tunnel etc ) from aldridge,and i can only say good things, it took slightly longer than they estimated to make but i wasn't in a rush so it didn't matter. the quality and fit is good, and the colours are spot on. i ordered front and rear seat covers, and  all door cards and headlining. i did order some seals fron ekt but sent them all back, total rubbish. i found a company that sold seal sections by the metre and used that, and it's fine. aldridge were very polite and helpfull at all times and don't even take your money until they are ready to dispatch your order, i can't recommend them highly enough.

cheers, ian.

[JAY PS]

East kent supplied sunroof seals for my granny they dont fit and already going bald , when I complained they told me I was nuts , theve sold loads with no problems. , standard excuse im told. Some guys have waited a number of days to get them on phone

[Skoty]

havnt tried the rest, but have used east kent trim and never will again!! absolute bollox! poor quality parts that dont fit or look anything like the originals, and the chap isnt very helpful either! absolutely useless company in my experience but i have heard a few people say there alright but i must stress few people if ya know what i mean.

 

one of the things i bought was a rear screen rubber for my 105e and it was like 4" too long!! wouldnt fit at all! the chap reckons that there cant be anything wrong with it as noone else had moaned! he tryed telling me its supposed to be like it, i sent it back in the end and he was abit of an arse, telling me something like "you wont get any different ones because i supply all the places with theres"

 

so i had a second hand original one off a mate and cleaned up in the end.

[JP.]

To make things clear about East Kent Trim....

 

There's a fully new staff since 8 months now. Differend people doing the headliners now which should be better ( all made in  house ).

They are working on new and better fit rubbers all around. So their stuff gets improved time after time.

 

They are not scared on comments and the new staff is doing their best to suplie the best there is available on the marked.

It all depends what they can get on rubber profiles and whats available on rubber profiles to make the rubbers we need.

 

Most of the other supliers buys it at East Kent Trim so you get the same stuff.

[mk2 mike]

Seems then the answer is to go to another supplier who DOESN'T get supplied from East Kent.

 

Simples.

[johnnyspencer]

Seems then the answer is to go to another supplier who DOESN'T get supplied from East Kent.

 

Simples.

thats the first question ill be asking when i buy mine.