Car Question...any help?

[missymouseworld]

We have been looking for a used first car for our son and found what we were looking for at a local dealership. The only problem is, the previous owner was a smoker and the car has a cigarette smoke smell....the question is, can you remove the smell with something? Or, does it always stay and become masked with air fresheners? I hope someone has had an experience with this and would appreciate some help because we have to make a decision today and there is nothing else holding us back.

I have researched online and some have said to put cups of coffee grinds in the car for a few days (I have no idea what this does) and others have said charcoal....others say it will never go away.

The interior has leather seats, but the rugs and overheads probably absorbed the smoke.
We are a non-smoking family, so we can detect the smell immediately.

Any help would be appreciated.

[DizneyRox]

Smoking is a nasty, dirty, disgusting habit... It makes thing around it disgusting as well. I wouldn't be surprised if it were everywhere in the car and IMHO will never fully be gone. It will ooze out of the cracks between different areas, it's probably all throughout the heating and air conditioning vents, absorbed into the seat cushions, and I would bet the headliner is yellow as well from the filth.

I would never purchase a car from a smoker, or a house.

[Ed]

Check with the dealer or a local detailing shop; sometimes an ozone generator can be used to eliminate the odors; the ozone gets into all the nooks and crannies, air ducts, under the seats, etc.

If there is still a lingering milder odor, there are small generators available that plug into the cigarette lighter/power outlet. These operate every time the vehicle is used, or if it's plugged into an "always-on" outlet it will operate 24x7.

:smokin:

(Sorry... couldn't resist! :thedolls: )

[missymouseworld]

Thanks for the information....

Checked with a car detailer and they said it will NEVER be completely gone. We can replace the headliners and that can cost a couple hundred $, and that is not a guarantee that it will be gone.

My son is disappointed, but we will find something else....unfortunately, it is a deal breaker.

It can't be healthy to be smelling it all the time in the car and I am thinking once the summer comes and the cars is sitting in the sun, the smell will be worse.

Back to the searching........

[DizneyRox]

The price is/was right for a reason, the dealer knows that... You are right about the summer, it will hit you right in the face.

I can smell the smoke smell from a car in front of me at a light, can't imagine actually being inside their car.

[QTPie68]

I think you were very smart in passing on the car. Those smells and stains will never come out, no matter what you do and really, do you want to be in a car that smells like that if it bothers you?

Something better will come up :thumbsup:

[MNNHFLTX]

My BIL does body work (including rebuilding wrecks and re-selling them) and he won't even think of buying a car that someone has been smoking in. There's really nothing you can do to totally eliminate the smell and the damage (discoloration to the plastic components and windows). So IMO it was smart of you to pass on the car. But I can empathize with your situation--it took us about 3 months last summer to find a used car that suited both my teenage son and his dad and I. It can be a frustrating situation.

[missymouseworld]

But I can empathize with your situation--it took us about 3 months last summer to find a used car that suited both my teenage son and his dad and I. It can be a frustrating situation.

So true....


We went back and forth all day yesterday up until the evening, and after doing extensive research on cleaning a car with smoke smell, we had to follow our first instinct and pass on this one. The dealer said they were going to ionize the car for 24 hours, (bomb it?? wonder what they kind of chemical :sick: they use for that) :confused: and completely detail it, but some people online and friends of ours said it will temporarily remove the odor, but no one could tell me that it would permanently get rid of it.

Once again, thanks for all the feedback and getting information from Intercotees.

[alex61821]

How about when your dead beat brother-in-law borrows your car since they blew the engine in their own car and they have such poor credit they cant rent a car. Then he calls you and tells you that the car is leaking oil everywhere, i have owned the car for 6 years and it has never lost a drop of oil in that time. turns out he blew the head gasket so now i have to pay to get it fixed and to top it all of he smoked in the car and now i cant get rid of the smell. I cant even go to his house and smack him around since he was thrown in prison for crack possession on school property.

[MegaDisney]

How about when your dead beat brother-in-law borrows your car since they blew the engine in their own car and they have such poor credit they cant rent a car. Then he calls you and tells you that the car is leaking oil everywhere, i have owned the car for 6 years and it has never lost a drop of oil in that time. turns out he blew the head gasket so now i have to pay to get it fixed and to top it all of he smoked in the car and now i cant get rid of the smell. I cant even go to his house and smack him around since he was thrown in prison for crack possession on school property.

:jaw:

Sounds like a winner!

[crazypoohbear]

How about when your dead beat brother-in-law borrows your car since they blew the engine in their own car and they have such poor credit they cant rent a car. Then he calls you and tells you that the car is leaking oil everywhere, i have owned the car for 6 years and it has never lost a drop of oil in that time. turns out he blew the head gasket so now i have to pay to get it fixed and to top it all of he smoked in the car and now i cant get rid of the smell. I cant even go to his house and smack him around since he was thrown in prison for crack possession on school property.
I just want to say that in my world, he would be a write off!
You don't need that in your life or if you have kids in thier lives either.
Good luck with the car and keep the bills in a place to remind you of what not to do next time.