Old car smell?

[jamie323i]

As i dont use my E30 much the interior really smells like an old car(i know it is!).

Is there anything i could use to get rid of this,i realise it will never smell like new but it does stink a bit!

I dont really do air freshners as they can smell a bit sickly.

I cant be the only one who has this problem,so what are the solutions?

[Muli]

Jamie,

Is it a muskey smell ??

As daft as this may sound but have you checked to see if there is any dampness in the car??

[SeymourCake]

I got the same problem.

Hate it when I step into my E30 for the first time in the day.

Really want to get rid of "THAT" smell. It is sort of a damp musky smell like described above.

I think it might be the old leathers in mine?

[wullie325i]

I got the same problem.

Hate it when I step into my E30 for the first time in the day.

Really want to get rid of "THAT" smell. It is sort of a damp musky smell like described above.

I think it might be the old leathers in mine?

or the water

[robbo86]

Really want to get rid of "THAT" smell. It is sort of a damp musky smell like described above.

Lift the rear carpet and see if its wet under there.

[Banjo1981]

And if there's nothing there get the fabreeze out.

[BEERBOY123]

If it's garaged leave the windows and sunroof open.

Best thing would be to lightly Fabreze the carpets and seats as suggested above.

Have to say, I like the musty smell a bit, adds character somehow. Took my brother-in-law out in mine last week and he said he loved the eighties smell! Very evocative apparently.

I've had three E30s and they all smelled the same and none was leaky.

[Alex]

all my e30s have stunk but ive always done the following

taken the carpet out and used a wet vac thing on them and give then a really bollocking

spray loads of deoderiser on the seats etc

do the same with the boot carpet

generally cleaned everything, dash door cards, glass, etc

and bobs your uncle, mine used to have that e30 smell but it doesnt smell at all now, all you can smell is my airwick airfreshner

did this about 3-4 month ago and still smells lovely

[Topblag]

The gliptone liquid leather air fresheners are good for old cars with leather - it brings a strong leather smell and to my mind is better than magic trees etc.

[TheHeap]

get the interior cleaned profesionally.

it's just the old sweat and tears from the previous owners.

[Alex]

get the interior cleaned profesionally.

it's just the old sweat and tears from the previous owners.

[SeymourCake]

get the interior cleaned profesionally.

it's just the old sweat and tears from the previous owners.

lol NICE!!!


I think I am going to have to take the carpet out for sure...

Although I don't really feel like going through the hassle.

[minicooper172]

I love the smell of my E30, the old car smell, although it might not be the same smell you're experiencing.

[Blitz]

Same here. I like old BMW smell. Kind of petrol and wet dog smell. Smells sophisticated.

[sihooker]

I smoke in mine,though I dont use the ashtray,so I'm often told by people that my baby stinks.

Philistines!

[jamie323i]

Some good advice,i think i will be following alex's advice and shampoo the carpets etc...

I do leave the sunroof tilted to air it though.

Will report back as soon as done.

Cheers!

[Alex]

Some good advice,i think i will be following alex's advice and shampoo the carpets etc...

ive done it with all my e30s and its got rid of the smell

if you dont have a carpet cleaner you could use a pressure washer and plenty of shampoo/scrubbing brush but takes ages to dry out as the foam soaks all the water up

[SeymourCake]

Do you have to take the seats off to take the carpet out?

[Alex]

yep

seats, kick panels, door trim, center console, front console, underdash panel, undo seat belt rails

requires a lot of swareing and pulling to get it in and out

[DanThe]

Air fresheners are

I bladdered my E34 touring with Wynn's Cockpit Shine yesterday as part of its annual clean and it now looks and smells fantastic

But as above, best place to start is under the carpet, if its soaked through no amount of fabreze or anything will make much difference. You need to first make sure your car is water tight

[George]

The gliptone liquid leather air fresheners are good for old cars with leather - it brings a strong leather smell and to my mind is better than magic trees etc.

Agreed. Good stuff imo.

[SeymourCake]

anyone got a guide on how to undo the seats and seatbelt rail?

[jamie323i]

Air fresheners are

I bladdered my E34 touring with Wynn's Cockpit Shine yesterday as part of its annual clean and it now looks and smells fantastic

But as above, best place to start is under the carpet, if its soaked through no amount of fabreze or anything will make much difference. You need to first make sure your car is water tight

Dan,i believe my car is water tight,rare on a preface i know,i think its just an old musty smell rather than damp.

[SeymourCake]

Right I gave my floor mats a good scrub today....

Got a bucket with warm water and washing powder and cleaned it hard with a sponge. Then Jet washed it thoroughly. Waited for it to dry and then used Carpet Mousse, scrubbed it down well with a plastic brush. Let that dry then hoovered it off. Only then, the musty smell disappeared. Finally, got the "shake n vac" powder, hoovered it off, and it was now smelling FRESH.

Done the same to all 4, chucked the matts back in my car... And it is safe to say...

It is smelling much better. Most of the musty smell has gone, I guess if I want to completely eliminate it, I have to do the same to the whole carpet. At the moment, the smell very "neutral", no distinct foul smell.

I reckon it will definitely be worth doing the entire carpet the same way.

Also I can now easily identify which parts are smelling funky, (steering wheel etc.) so I will tackle all that later on.

[maddogg]

Auto Glyn do a 'PSV TRAVEL FRESH' air freshener which is like a large tea bag type affair. Its ment to go in the ventilation system on buses or coaches etc. They smell ok and last for quite a while. I tucked mine under one of the front seats. Best not to make contact with dash trim as have heard that can damage some materials!!!

I work in a garage and our local autoglym salesrep sold me mine but maybe available from www.autoglym.com

[powelly]

You first need to find the source of the odour, fix that first, smells from carpets, seats etc can be helped with something like Autosmart Bio Brisk, it's a biological upholstery shampoo with and activley kills the bacteria that leads to nasty smells, you need a spray extration machine though, or a vax.

[BadMoonRising]

Mine smells really nice