I always thought leather seats were tougher than cloth

[Pavel9]

I suspect there are many factors involved with seat material longevity. If the driver gets in and out a dozen or more times a day - often the case with a young family in an urban environment, the wear on the outer faces of the seats will be extensive. Also, the size of the occupant's bottom will make a big difference too. In our case, we've had several Volvos with leather, most with cloth seats/vinyl. Leather developed wear faster. The leather always seemed to be a thicker material than the leather in Brit cars we've had. I suspect if the leather is a bit too thick it will be more likely to crack. Then there's sun exposure of course. In our 1997 850, the exposed surfaces deteriorated much faster than the surfaces in shadow.
In this city, the price of redoing a pair of leather seats is shocking, but I was lucky to pick up one pristine used front seat (same design and colour) for $100 - was very proud of myself! And then, at home, I realized the "new" seat had no airbag. Silly mistake on my part, but at least the seat looks good...

[abscate]

Pavel, you can remove the skin from a good seat and put it onto your frame with an air bag. I thought all p80 Volvos had sideairbag, with only a change in design between 1998 and 1999? Needs verifying.

[850 LPT]

Pavel, you can remove the skin from a good seat and put it onto your frame with an air bag. I thought all p80 Volvos had sideairbag, with only a change in design between 1998 and 1999? Needs verifying.

If I remember right, side airbags became standard on 850's in 96', before that they were optional.

[Pavel9]

Abscate, Yes I thought of that but am a little afraid of mucking with the side airbags. I could pluck up my courage...but ought not to sink 3 whiskys first...
Is there a difference between airbag seats and non in the stitching? I would expect the airbag stitching needs to break more easily to let the bag out.