[tcrist]

I'd say, ask for references, but he is not going to give you any that would not be favorable to him.

Go to some meets and ask the car guys in the area about him. Ask them who they would recommend.

Another thing:
First impressions mean a lot to me. Did you get a warm and fuzzy or a knot in your stomach when you visited his shop?

Did you walk in and say "not to bad" or "WTF"?

Note: most upholstery shops that I have gone to were dirty and disorganized. But they were fair priced.

The couple that I went to that were clean and perfect looking, were 3X the $, and the work looked the same.

Go figure.