You should be able to hit it for $2,000. What part of the country are you in and where on the last sofa did it crack?

Have you considered purchasing one second hand? That should be able to keep the price pretty low and if you are lucky, you may very well end up with high quality product that is one upholstery cleaning booking away from perfect. Just a thought.

If you buy leather, make absolutely sure that it is NOT bonded leather, which will start flaking within a couple of years or so. It is difficult to tell just from looking at it, and so you need to have in writing that the sofa is upholstered in genuine leather. Real leather is expensive, and one cowhide can cost $500 wholesale. It will take multiple hides to upholster one sofa, and so the sofa should cost several thousand dollars.

An option to real leather is faux leather that is like Naugahyde, which is a specific brand. Faux leather will hold up much better than bonded leather, but not as well as real leather. Bonded leather, when new, looks more like real leather, but in a short time it falls apart.

look for subtle markings that distinguish natural leather from synthetic materials. Leather will typically be warmer to the touch than imitation materials. It has also unfinished (no color) reverse side once you open a zipper if it has. Also, consider purchasing a leather furniture with heavier pigment and corrected grain because they are the easiest to care for.

Look for reviews. Ask for referrals from friends.

i've worked with all kinds of so called leather, and nothing hold up like real leather.it's impressive that the new material out these days are so close to the real thing . the best way to tell if it's the real thing is to unzip, look and feel the inside. it should look like raw hyde (rough and grainy) and should be about 1/8'' thick. if the company has used REAL leather then they would build a high quality frame . also, if you happen to find one, then most likely it's a discontinued item. i.e. don't count on customer support.

$2K is not going to get you a good sofa, esp. in leather.

It's VERY hard to find well-made furniture now. You want a frame that is made from hardwood, blocks on the corners, eight-way hand-tied, preferably legs that are not attached but rather are part of the frame.

For a new sofa, in leather, made well, I think you should expect to pay 6K or more.

Another option is to find an antique sofa with a frame you like and have it reupholstered in leather.

The first, and simplest test (but not enough on its own) to see if a sofa is well made is to try to lift it on one end. If it's VERY heavy, that's a good sign. If not, that's a bad sign.

I'd look at Lee Industries for a new sofa.