A vehicle is a big investment – sometimes in the tens of thousands of dollars – and so it makes sense to want to protect your investment as much as possible. There are a variety of accessories available to protect different parts of your vehicle, but the upholstery is one of the most important areas of the interior. Car and truck upholstery tends to take a great deal of abuse, particularly from owners with an active lifestyle. From drink spills, to kids with ice cream, to pets, to water and sand and salt – factory-installed upholstery can go from like-new to grungy and stained in just a few short months. Because upholstery can't be properly washed, there's often no way to get the stains and smells out of the fabric. One great way to protect the factory-installed upholstery, and therefore your investment in your vehicle, is with neoprene seat covers.

neoprene seat covers are some of the most durable and protective seat covers for your vehicle. All seat covers protect your vehicle's upholstery from the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays, as well as dirt and stains, but neoprene seat covers provide extra protection from water damage. Neoprene is a waterproof, vinyl-like material that can protect car and truck seats from wet bathing suits, wet dogs, food and drink spills, and more accidents and situations that might ruin factory-installed upholstery. Imagine you are coming home from the beach, and your bathing suit is still wet; if you sat down on the installed upholstery with a bathing suit soaked in salt water, it would result in water damage to your upholstery, and also a ring of salt that would remain on the seat after the water dried. The only way to remove that stain would be with a steam cleaner, or having your vehicle's interior detailed; even so, the damage done to the fabric by the salt would be irreversible. With a neoprene seat cover, you won't need to worry about that, because the waterproof material will protect your upholstery from the water and salt. neoprene seat covers can be washed, making it easier to remove any type of soil that might get on them; best of all, no matter how much abuse your seat covers take, when you remove them, your upholstery will be like new. Unfortunately, neoprene seat covers are not completely waterproof.

There are holes cut into the seat cover (for the seatbelt, straps, et cetera) through which large quantities of water can seep; also, large amounts of standing water (such as what might occur if you left your car window open in the rain, for example) will eventually seep through the seams of the neoprene seat covers. However, if you are simply looking for a material that will protect your upholstery from wet bathing suits and ordinary wear-and-tear, neoprene seat covers are a great choice. There are many companies that manufacture neoprene seat covers, and most will also install them in your vehicle. If you choose to purchase them online and have them shipped to you, you may want to have someone local install them. You can install the neoprene seat covers on your own, but they can be tricky; however, the company you purchase from should be able to give you very clear instructions on proper installation and care.