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My E30 smells of old people

Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 9:37 pm
by robsy
I ahve a smell problem with one of my i E30s which has been sitting on my drive and hadnt been used for a while.

recently i decided to get it on the road again so charged opened it up -

i noticed it smelt of wee and a genreal old fogey type of wiff - so i decided to wash the seats and carpets with various cleaners and spray in odour neutralisers...

needless to say - the car looks clean but still smells of OAPs, it so bad that i dont want to even drive the thing..

I did notice when i bought it that it had a light wiff then but with it smells really bad now when you first get in it. Ive tried airing it by leaving windows and sunroof open but it doens seem to work...

Anybody help with how to neutralise it once and for all??

Cheers

Re: My E30 smells of old people

Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 10:40 pm
by bodger
try some fabreze :mad:

Re: My E30 smells of old people

Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 10:44 pm
by d6dph
You can get air fresheners that work through the vents too.

They are designed for cars with air con as it kills the bacteria in the vent pipework, But I cant see why it wouldn't help for your problem.

Basically you activate the aerosol and shut the car up with the fan on full and recirculating, this pulls it through the vents and should kill off most of the smell.

Normally about £5 each.

Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2007 8:26 am
by Stiggler
Maybe installing an old person will neutralise the smell? You need to find out whether the old person has a positive smell or a nagative smell and install the correct one.

Maybe a vomitting baby will get rid of it? :?

Or you could try Fabreze BUT surely the 80's cool of the E30 requires a bit of 'Shake n Vac' (you know, to put the freshness back)

Ha! you'll be singing it all day now! :D

Re:

Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2007 8:39 am
by kirils
try forgeting fish inside on the sun, you will loose the old people smell 100% sure :)
or you will have to do it, by taking out all the sits, carpets, and soak them in a water for one day and rubbing cleaning everything inside, that would do :)

Re:

Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2007 6:32 pm
by isTURBO
If Its that BAD.

Try swapping the seats and maybe the carpets too.

Might sort it out or alternatively sprinkle a whole bottle of Lapidus or some strong aftershave .

Hope it works

Cheers :D

Re:

Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2007 6:37 pm
by dazleeds
i agree with stiggler

your gonna have to do the shake n vac :banana:

my tech 1 always ends up smelling like a fogey when its off the road

couple of weeks sat and the dry musty smell appears :cry:

a damn good hoovering and an airing usualy does the trick tho

Boss for men also works wonders winkeye
and may be of some help if your life is a little quiet right now :D

Re:

Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2007 6:44 pm
by daimlerman
Whats wrong with us oldies? We still get speeding tickets....and we often know how to fix old cars...give us a break!!

Re:

Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2007 6:46 pm
by dazleeds
daimlerman wrote:Whats wrong with us oldies? We still get speeding tickets....and we often know how to fix old cars...give us a break!!
fair point :D

But im guessing you havent yet reached the dry urine and moth ball smelling stage :lol:

Re:

Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2007 9:00 pm
by bodger
how about some old spice

Re:

Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2007 9:41 pm
by DanThe
Shake n Vac FTW :D

Or an alternative

Image

Re:

Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2007 9:44 pm
by fuzzy
maybe if you removed and buried the body of the pensioner you ran over from your boot it will smell a little fresher :D

Re:

Posted: Sat Aug 25, 2007 10:38 pm
by robsy
Treid the neutralisers, febreze and the ones that kill bacteria for Air con etc -

Havent tried shake n vac.....do they still do it? - hadnt really been in the old foget upright cleaner section in the supermarket beofre....

Ahh that Shake n vac advert brings backj memories....

i'll give it go failing which might just have to sell it with a whole load of magic trees hanging up like that scene in Se7en.....

Re:

Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2007 9:19 am
by B7
Go for the aftershave as well on the mats. It does work.

It must be getting damp in the car somewhere. Dont forget the boot area. Smells travel (as we all know!!!) and the boot area is the most likely area it will start. Notoriously damp, remove the panels completely and clean everywhere with household kitchen cleaner or bleach to neutralise anything (mould etc.) and leave it on a warm day in the sunlight with the boot windows and sunroof open. Clean all the panels as well and febreze heavily.

On the interior front, try removing the seats completely (a quick job) and the centre console. It's amazing what gets dropped down the back of / under the seats and what gets past the gear gaiter. Hoover it right out and again clean wash and frebreze everything.

Should sort out the odouuuur!

Re:

Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2007 11:39 am
by M7STN
I had this problem with my Mtech1, the problem was the water drains at the front on the scuttle were blocked and causing the floor to be damp. It would dry out and was a nightmare to find the problem. After the drains were sorted I left it in my heated garage for a week and cleaned the whole interior a few times. After that I used fabreeze and lots of airfresheners. The smell has now gone.

Re:

Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2007 1:27 pm
by iDreamBeemer
Don't forget your roof lining could be smelly too, give that a wash too!

Re:

Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2007 7:23 pm
by tomtomiS
sounds silly, but, clean the glass while ur at it. i know that nicotine / marijuanna smell sticks to the glass so cleaning that may help a tiny bit ( if u smoke that is!)

Re:

Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2007 10:12 pm
by mineralblue
I've never smoked anything that smells remotely like old people 8O
Legal or otherwise :rasta:

Re:

Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2007 10:23 pm
by fuzzy
mineralblue wrote:I've never smoked anything that smells remotely like old people 8O
Legal or otherwise :rasta:
youve never lived then and have obviously led a sheltered life :D

Re:

Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2007 10:57 pm
by iDreamBeemer
mineralblue wrote:
I've never smoked anything that smells remotely like old people
Legal or otherwise
You not seen Kieth Richards smoked his old man - literally!! You never know what some people get up to!

Re:

Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2007 11:18 pm
by mineralblue
My corner shop has never sold stale p*** rizla winkeye

Re:

Posted: Sat Sep 15, 2007 12:35 am
by gareth
if a job's worth doing, it's worth doing right!
http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... pic&t=6610

i just remembered that thread from ages ago!

Re:

Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 4:27 pm
by B51ngh
You should purchase all the different scents of Magic Trees and open them in one go leave the car overnight and no more old people smell just Magic Trees!!

Re:

Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2007 2:50 pm
by Bobert
Have you considered the idea that the smell may be you? How old are you?

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Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2007 3:05 pm
by touringandy
lol, ad get a proper valet done seats and carpets cleaned right through if the smell retains you`ve got damp in the car thus meaning its leaking water in somewhere :wink: