You bought a smelly car?

You have just bought a car and it smells. Maybe you noticed it on the test drive and hoped it would go away. Maybe it only became obvious once you owned it for a few days. Either way, Gary's advice is the same: you have more options here than you might think -- and the order you do things in matters.

Bought from a Dealer or Trader

You have trade rights. The correct move is to go back to them first, before spending your own money. They may have already given it a valet and put an air freshener bomb in it -- and it still smells. That does not mean the conversation is over; it means the valet was not sufficient, which is a reasonable thing to say to them.

If you bought the car online and the dealer is a long way away, you do not have to physically take it back. Call them, explain the situation, and tell them you have found a specialist company near you who can deal with it properly. The key is to let the dealer call us -- not to book it in yourself and then ask them to reimburse you. If the dealer is taking responsibility, they should be the ones engaging us, booking it in, and paying for it directly. That way the paper trail is clean and there is no argument about costs after the fact.

What can also happen: we get the car, start the treatment, and find the problem is more serious than it looked. A spillage under the carpet that the dealer did not know about, for example -- it is not always obvious, and dealers are not to blame for things they genuinely could not see. If we get into it and find it needs more than the agreed treatment, you go back to the dealer with that information. We can report to them directly at that point. Sometimes the right answer is a new boot carpet rather than more cleaning attempts; we will tell you honestly when that is the case.

Bought from a Private Seller

You have fewer formal rights, but it is still worth a conversation. Most private sellers did not know the car had an odour problem -- or if they did, they hoped you would not notice. Call them, explain what you have found, and tell them what it is going to cost to sort. A reasonable private seller will often meet you halfway. Gary says they see this fairly regularly -- people do come to an arrangement. It is worth asking before you absorb the full cost yourself.

Whatever your situation, give us a call first and describe the smell. We can usually give you a sense of what you are dealing with and what level of treatment it is likely to need before you come in. See our professional car odour removal service.