Well, we're looking of a new (used) car for my wife. I've found what looks like the perfect car for her, right car, right price, right color, only problem is that it was a smokers car.

Is there really anyway to totally get rid of the cigarette smell in the car. Is there a trick car dealers use? Or can I get rid of it by shampooing the upholstery, carpet, etc?

Dont want to miss out on this car cause we been looking for a while, my wife has a long list of things she does, and doesn't want in a car, and this one is perfect except for the smell.
Please help !
Thanks

I bought a smokers car from a freind of mine (he's a service manager at a dealership, it was a trade in). He put some sort of an ozone machine in it, got rid of the smell pretty good. You could probably take it to a detailer and they may have the machine I'm thinking of, I don't imagine it would cost that much

How sensitive is your wife's nose to the smell of cigarette smoke? If she is extremely sensitive to the smell of smoke, it will be very difficult to remove enough of the smoke for her to be happy. If she has a normal aversion to the smell of smoke, the car can probably be cleaned up sufficiently to satisfy her.

I think it will always be there no matter what you do. I've tried to get that smell out of a car a few years back and nothing I did would permanently remove the smell

Thanks guys, we just got home from the dealer, guess she didnt think the smell was that bad. It didnt keep her from buying the car.
But I still think i'll take it to a detailer for her to see if the can do anything.
She not like alergic to it or anything, just doesn't like the smell smokers leave behind.

Happy Motoring !

Lite up a Cohiba and go for a cruz,she will love the smell and no more cigarett smell.

Contact these guys: http://www.glazedistributing.com/

Ask them for Fire-D aerosol. It's used for restoration after a fire. They sell detailing supplies to dealers, and they suggested this for my R/T because it was the same thing. Worked good for me, also used an entire bottle of Febreze auto and you can't really tell it was ever smoked in.

Seem to remember curbers used to put a few drops of banana oil in the car (on a plate?) to replicate the new car smell. Never tried it, but, why not give it a try. Wife might have some in her pantry.

Unfortunately, I can't tell you how it was done, but whoever detailed my last used car (which I still own) got the smell out. I assume the previous owner smoked in it because there are 2 small cig burns. Cloth interior, too. I've never smelled any cigarette odor in it.

Have it detailed THEN use some of that orange-spray in it for a time ... it will go away eventually.

Put 2 small bowls of white vinegar on the floor and close it up tight for as long as possible.2 days if possible. Just don't set it on the console and have a very tiny hole in the container. It will leave a ring(don't ask me how I know that).IT WORKS!!!!!

The fastest is if you have access to a big cfm 220 air compressor and blow gun. Put a set of earplugs in and hit everything in the interior for as many hours you feel like. You can do it for 2 hours one day, and then come back and go at it again. The headliner is most important, alot of the stench goes up into it.

If you don't have a compressor but do have a safe neighborhood, disconnect the battery, open all the doors and let a house fan run in there for 24 hours out on your driveway. It's best to do this when it's really calm weather so it doesn't get filled up with dust. I've found the most ideal is to do it in the winter and then no bugs or cats will venture into the car.

It's alot of work, but there is no "magic" solution to get B.O. or smoke out of a car. I do like that vinegar idea and will give it a try.

Smoking, what a disgusting habit.

god way to knock of $$$$$ of the asking price. I have not had to deal with that but have had cars with plenty of other oders. 1. Leave the car outside w/ windows down as much as possible. 2. put baking soda in front, rear and trunk, ditch anything you can, floor mats, seat covers and so on...4. let a good amount of "carpet fresh sit over night. 5. and as mentioned you can run an "air purifier" when you can.

I scrubbed one top to bottom with Greased Lightning and it worked well. The heater core sill stunk badly though.

Thanks for all the tips, i'm definately going to try some of these ideas.

All of the above will work, but to really help it is to scrub the snot out of the ashtrays if they've been used. I'm surprised no one else has brought that up?

Wash all the surfaces - particularly the headliner. Then pull all the vents and vent hoses and throw then in the dishwasher. If the heater is easily accessible, pull it out and clean the guts as well as the core. The heater and vents will be the source of most of the lingering odors if you clean everything else.

You can do whatever you want, but on a hot day the smell will allways come back. Mine goes away all year until it gets into the 90's.

Try Christmas tree air freshener. Of course, I don't know which stinks worse. The Christmas tree or the cigarette smoke!!!