I have an opportunity to buy a 2002 C2 silver/black with PSM, Adv Technic Pkg (Xenons, Bose, CD changer), in-dash CD, 18" 5-spokes, heated/power seats, 20k miles. $46k

I think this is a pretty good price - nearly wholesale.

There's only one downside - the current owner smokes. Any non-smokers purchase a smoker's P-car? Were you able to get rid of the tobacco odor? And if so, how?

This could be a deal-breaker on this car.

FWIW, I'm not some anti-smoking fanatic, but my wife will say ixnay if there's smoke smell. I want to make the deal happen, but I need to be confident we can get rid of the smell.

 

GREAT PRICE!!!!!

 

After I quit smoking two years, 6 months and ten days ago I had to shampoo all the carpeting and then I took out both front seats and again I shampood all the carpeting and then I bombed the car several times with Ozium spray. Any professional detailing shop should be able to do it but I have a WashWizardplus so I just used that. As part of the PPI offer to have the interior detailed ($1-200USD) I don't think the current owner would mind and that way you'd be 100% certain.

 

First thing you do, smack the current owner on the head..... then follow these steps:
1) Vaccuum the hell outa that bitch... get up any ashes on the carpet, seats, etc... take out the ash trays, soak those in warm water with a little bit of dish soap, scrub them, soak em more, take em out, and dry them.
2) Get a carpet shampooer, and hit the carpet, and floor mats with this. let air dry. repeat.
3) Call up Griot's Garage and order the following:
-Leather care kit
-Odor absorbent
4) Clean glass with 50/50 rubbing alcohol/water mixture. Repeat.
5) Roll down windows, let car air out for about 2 days.
6) If smell is still there, I'll give you $5.00

 

After you do all of the above, go down to your local leather supplier and buy some old leather scraps. Place the scaps under the front seats, roll the windows up, and let the car bake in the sun for a couple of days. That ought to eliminate the smokers smell....and do a lot to rejuvinating the rich smell of fine leather.

Good luck.....and great price. If you decide to pass on the car please pm me and let me know where it is.

 

Run don't walk away, you'll never get rid of the smell, that sh*t permeates everything. Remember that Seinfeld episode...

 

Dont worry, the smell will go away, aside form the cleaning everyone else said there is this thing called a air sponge. put one under the seat for a few days after you have cleaned it , it realy does remove odor.

 

You'll never get rid of it, a deal breaker for me.

 

*****......you will get rid of it!!!!

 

Don't even wash the ash trays. Buy new ones. I second the detail shop. Get some cedar chips that they sell for your clothes drawers and put them under the seat. If that doesn't work; lock a male cat in the car for a while.........definitely won't smell like smoke anymore.

 

Some excellent advice, and some diverging opinions. The tom cat approach did not occur to me! I've been looking into thermal foggers and ozone flooding in addition to good old elbow grease, absorbers and masking with fragrance. The foggers and ozone sound really interesting, but I don't know of anyone who has actually used these.

For those of you who have actually tried to remove tobacco odor, did your attempts finally succeed?

 

yes. That odor absorber I was talking about that they sell at Griots works incredibly well... I should have said that it'd be wise to remove the seat when shampooing...

 

and like I said, if it doesn't work, $5.00 refund of the car's price!

BTW, is it a Cabrio?

I said to wash the ashtray as it's cheaper than buying new, but I'm a college student, so I like cheap things...

 

Is your wife allergic to tobacco smoke? If so as good as the deal is, I'd walk away because it's impossible to remove 100% of the smoke odor. It's possible to remove most of the odor and then minimize the lingering smell with an odor eater of your choice, but there's always a trace. And if your wife is highly sensitive to smoke, she more than likely will react to the lingering smoke odor. On the other hand if the smell of smoke is merely annoying to her, remove the seats and thoroughly vacuum and wash every square inch of the interior and you should be able to get rid of almost all of the smell.

 

If the tom cat thing doesn't work, go to the dog pound, get a long haired dog, spray it with a garden hose (make sure it is an true Porsche OEM hose) and lock him in the car WITH the tom cat. What smoke odor?!?