Getting cigarette smell out of a car

NewLeaf1986

About a month ago my OH asked me to find him a car that fits within the new Bristol CAZ coming into force later this year.

We ended up settling on a 2008 Jaguar XF 3.0 V6 Petrol with all the toys (19" factory alloys, Bowers & Wilkins audio, bi-xenon headlights, heated and cooled seats, black leather, gunmetal grey, all that good stuff).

Full Dealer service history, 54,000 miles, flawless MOT history, it checked all the boxes. It's a lovely motor through and through. 

We are both really happy with the purchase.

Only trouble is, previous owner was a smoker. 

Have dettol'd and febreeze'd the crap out of it and given the upholstery a good scrub but the stale cigarette essence is still lingering...

Does anyone have any bright ideas? 

Besides this little issue the car is basically showroom, I still feel it was worth the investment. 

marlot

I bought a car which seemed fine, but when the sun got on it, the smell of smoke came out.
I did a thorough wet vacuum, including the rooflining.  Twice.
Ran an ozone generator for a few hours.
Changed the cabin filter and ran an aircon deodoriser through.
This did about 90% of it.  I put a new neutradol in there each month and the smell is now gone - even on hot days.

chrisw

It might be worth taking it to a professional car detailing specialist who will have the experience and materials to do the job. Phone around a couple and see what they can do.

neilmcl

I'd also recommend taking it to a specialist car detailer. The cigarette smoke will have penetrated the headlining which will need a thorough clean.

NewLeaf1986

Thanks guys, while I do have the time and inclination to try all of the above myself, I don't quite have the necessary skill or experience. 

We'll find a good detailer 👍

neilmcl

This stuff is supposed to be good but you'd still need to thoroughly clean the surfaces/headliner first.

https://airvidox.com/collections/all/products/airvidox

Also, change the cabin air filter.

NewLeaf1986

Thanks all, it seems from my research as well as your advice that an ionizer, new cabin filters and something like the airvidox are going to be important on top of a thorough clean by me or a detailer so I'll be sure to get all that done 🙂

Even the service history booklet stinks of fags, previous keeper was a real chain-smoker. 

I gave up a few years ago and this really brings home how foul a habit it is 😱

LudaMusser

If you want to have a go at the headlining yourself you’ve got nothing to lose. Simply buy a 750ml-1 litre of all purpose cleaner and dilute with water in to a spray bottle. Dilution rates are normally on the bottle. All supermarkets sell it and it’s strongly scented.

 Drench the whole roof lining and go over it with a couple of microfibre cloths, all available at supermarkets. You’ll need to clean your interior glass afterwards. It will only cost a few pounds, detailer etc are not cheap, it depends on your financial situation and if you have the time. Wipe off the seats as you go. HTH

pulliptears

I had an old clio like that.  I'd think I'd cracked it until a hot summers day when it would just start to stink all over again.  Unfortunately I never managed to shift it fully.

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tedted

where do you get diesel from