Cigarette odor in van

[Ashley&Scott]

Personally I would not buy a vehicle with a cigarette odor.

[Deleted]

I hate to say it but cigarette smell is downright impossible to get rid of.

You can try cleaning the carpets and air it out, but I feel like minivans are a dime a dozen and I'd want my new to me car close to perfect so I wouldn't go through the work.

[Deleted]

And usually when car dealers say "slight" they really mean "obnoxiously strong" so be prepared for that.

[Brie]

Yep. For me it is. Sorry.

If the sales rep says it's slight and found it necessary to call you, it's probably at least moderate.

Could you ask them to price match it to a similar non smoky van?

[hilwithonelary]

I drove a Ford Escort in high school that had previously been smoked in. Eventually, you couldn't smell it just sitting in the car, but every time I turned on the air conditioner, it blasted stale smoke odor in my face. Personally, I'd hesitate to buy a car that had been smoked in.

[soozy87]

I wouldn't buy it with a smoke smell.

[takeonyou]

You can't get it out.

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using proboards

[MamaMaui24]

May 1, 2014 9:34:36 GMT -5 hilwithonelary said:

I drove a Ford Escort in high school that had previously been smoked in. Eventually, you couldn't smell it just sitting in the car, but every time I turned on the air conditioner, it blasted stale smoke odor in my face. Personally, I'd hesitate to buy a car that had been smoked in.

I was going to say the same. Our used car has a funky smell for a few seconds every time we ran the AC. Smoke would be bad.

[glitzy07]

I agree with others that I wouldn't purchase a vehicle with smoke smell. I'm pretty sensitive to the smell of cigarettes and it would drive me insane even if it was faint.

[Deleted]

May 1, 2014 9:26:54 GMT -5 tulips said:

We're having a 2012 Town & Country transferred from Cincy to Indy for a test drive. (CarMax, no obligation to buy).

I was told by our sales rep today that the Cincy store told her the van has a "slight cigarette odor."  UGH

We're still doing the transfer to test drive since the van is everything we want options wise and hits our budget and we're not obligated to buy it after the transfer.

Is cigarette odor in a car a lost cause? (It's leather seats, BTW). Would a deep clean of the carpets help if we decided to buy? I'm torn. BOO!

Pass on it.  We were gifted my FIL's camry that reeked of smoke.  It also had cloth seats.  We had it professionally detailed and it no longer reeks, but the smell lingers.

And when it rains it's worse!

Also I don't believe cigarette odor can be slight. :-p

[6fsn]

I would be surprised if they hadn't already deep cleaned and done all of their tricks to rid the smell (and they have a lot of tricks). If they can't get it out you never will.

[VillainV]

Ugh, I wouldn't by a car that had been smoked in. I know you're excited about the car, but I think you'd regret it. Plus, the third-hand smoke that lingers in fabrics and upholstery is REALLY REALLY toxic to kids.

You'll find something else. There are tons of minivans out there that haven't been smoked in.

And seriously, there are people who still smoke in cars?

[lolo]

Honestly, I wouldn't even test drive it.

[birdy]

I would probably wait for a van that hasn't been smoked in. Our house was smoked in at some point and I can still smell the smoke when opening one of the closets (built in 1924). That stuff hangs on.

[7costanza]

I wouldn't even bother to test drive it. I had a used car that had been smoked in, and I was never able to get the smell out.

[lulu21]

As for the odor I think it will be hard to get rid of but you'll love how it drives! We're looking at a white one tonight

[gibbinator]

If it really is slight, then yes, I'd consider it and plan to do a deep clean/new carpets etc.

But I agree, there's rarely such a thing as "slight" in the cigarette odour world.

[celiacmom]

I have a 2010 town and country that I hate! It has had so many issues (all warranty covered but still.) everytime we go in with an issue they say oh yes this is very common in this van .

[shellbear09]

It's a deal breaker for me. When we were looking we drove a car at Carmax with the odor. The sales guy acted like it didn't smell but I think he was a smoker. I think they get a lot of rentals which of course are smoked in.

[zarapipe]

Good call! I wouldn't even waste my time test driving it.

[thatgirl2478]

It was probably in the air filters too. You can change those, clean the carpets, wipe the seats, and STILL never get rid of it. It's ridiculous.

Supposedly (I have no experience with this) an ozone machine/air scrubber can get rid of it, but I don't 100% trust that it will.

We turned down a van with fewer miles at lower cost because of the cigarette smell - it was just too much for me to deal with.

[Deleted]

May 1, 2014 9:45:16 GMT -5 6fsn said:

I would be surprised if they hadn't already deep cleaned and done all of their tricks to rid the smell (and they have a lot of tricks). If they can't get it out you never will.

This is my thinking too. They probably already tried everything to get the smell out. They didn't want to have to notify potential buyers about the smell KWIM?

I'm glad you cancelled the transfer. Good luck van shopping!