hodmandod

I hasten to add that I have to agree with goofball that it will not remove the tar staining, which must be physically removed, but it will take away the odor.

ca993twin

Is it possible that BOTH np993 and goofball are correct, depending upon how heavily the car was smoked in? Certainly if there are tar stains on the headliner, you have a serious issue. With an occasional smoker, the smell can go away. My idiot son smoked in my car (no, not Rufus), and the smell went away with airing out and some fabreeze.

Ed Hughes

^^Therein lies the rub. Nobody knows how pervasive the tar/smell is in this car. What worked for one car, might not work on another. As goof's post points out, the owner's tolerance is subjective too.

If I'm shopping for a nice 993, and I'm paying $30Kish, and a possible car is a smoker's-I'm moving on. I'd be bummed if I was weeks into it with the super-ozonator humming away, and I still smelled smoke.

To suggest in black and white that it can be remedied, is foolish, when nobody really knows.

goofballdeluxe

Does that mean the road trip to the La Brea Tar Pits is off? Damn, I have a nice brown suit that I was gonna wear, and I was gonna wear way too much cologne, too.

You guys are a bunch of killjoys with no appreciation for second-hand smoke, pollutants, and tar build up. Whatever.

TTKan

Let's put the issue of whether the smoke smell can be removed or not aside (though interior experts that work on quite pricey Ferraris and Porsches tell me that it definitely cannot be removed completely). I would ask whether you want to buy a car from someone who cared so little about the car that he would actually "abuse" it in this manner? I am not saying you have to put on white gloves when you drive your car, but I would never, ever buy a smoker's car because I believe, more often than not, that it signals that the car was not cared for in the manner that I would prefer. Again, this does not mean that anyone who smokes in his car never changes his oil, but I do believe there is a correlation between smoking or chewing or whatever and the lack of proper care. Why take that chance?

OhioLefty

I appreciate everyone's help and advice. The ONLY reason I was considering this particular "smoked in car" was because it was 90% of what I'm looking for in my price range. I don't know how many of you have done any serious looking but I'm heading into my 2nd month of searching and there just aren't that many 993s for sale that come close to what I'm looking for.

96-98 993 C4S or C2S (wide body), 6 Speed
Aero II Kit (turbo look)
Motor Sound Package
35k-80k miles (lower would be even better)
never driven in snow
a few other options that won't be deal breakers if I can't find them.

Had this car not been smoked in I would probably have taken the plunge after a thorough PPI but I think I'm gonna pass. I have to give kudos to the dealer who was very honest about the smell in the car in a recent phone call about the car. If it was bad enough for him to mention it without me asking first, it must be bad.

The search continues...

jscott82

As an ex smoker (15 years ago) I will say there is a huge difference between smoking with the windows up and windows down. Windows down: the smell comes mostly from ash being blown back in the car, cleaning can probably take care of that. If they smoked with windows up, I would not touch it with a 10 foot pole.

When I bought the race car it smelled as if someone had smoked in it as some point. Wasn’t a problem for me as planned on gutting it anyway. What I didn’t count on was the tar film that permeated the car, even the gauges were foggy, had to disassemble them just to clean the inside of the glass.

TTKan

I know it can be frustrating, but two months is not a long time to search for these very special cars. And here is another secret: the search is the exciting part!

JMR

I have had some luck with those odor absorbing sponge based products that are sold in hardware stores. Just rip 1/2 of the paper cover off and slide it under a front seat. It really works wonders and doesn't make the interior smell like a french ***** house..

Van1

I certainly wouldn't settle for a smoker's car just to get options like motorsound. In fact having had MS, I don't think that particular option is even worth consideration. There are much better aftermarket options. And if you just have to have MS it's just a couple of mufflers and airbox cover that can easily be added. Even and aero kit can be added.

dapper

Also with goofballdeluxe here, I don't think you will ever really totally eradicate the smoky smell unless you gut the interior and refit with significant cleaning and even some parts replacement.

But at the same time I appreciate how frustrating this must be when you sourced what was seemingly the exact car for you in terms of specification/history. Many flippantly suggest to 'go find another', I appreciate it isn't quite as easy as that but in this case I would agree with them its probably the best course.

Stealth 993

Find a auto detailer in your area with "Drive Pure", or other deodorizer. I do not like Ozone for older cars, it can affect the interior, as it needs to be in there for about a day to work. You also need to scrub every surface of the interior.

But with work or $$ it can be done.

RS man

I guess it depends on how badly the car has been "stained" with the nicotine and the chemicals in the cigarette. I bought a MINI which in my overeagerness to buy didn't realise there was an airfreshener sprayed for a reason - to hide the smell. I am a lifelong non-smoker and very sensitive to the smell of cigarettes and the smell has taken at least a year to come out. I wet vacuumed the car, kept windows down etc and eventually the smell has lifted and I don't notice it any more. Perhaps someone more sensitive than me will notice but if you had the choice, I would not buy a car which has been smoked in. So my answer is yes it should go but will take a long time....

Rick Lee

I've smoked in my 993 off and on over the years, but never without a window or both down. My parents are militant anti-smokers and certainly would have said something, had they noticed any hint of smoke stench when riding in my car. I haven't smoked in it for over two years, but it never stunk of smoke. I've smoked in my wife's car before and she didn't notice it afterwards. Just gotta have the windows open. Have you actually smelled the car or did you pass on it based on the dealer's description?

OhioLefty

Dealer told me the car had a very strong smoke odor. He said it turned him off so bad that he couldn't recommend the car to me. It is still for sale after more than two weeks at the dealership and this place moves a lot of Porsches. (TruSpeed in Costa Mesa, CA)