I had always been tempted by the demo deals on the forum, especially when working on an XC40. The other day a different dealer was fixing a parking sensor issue for an XC90 and they got a loaner that smelled so strongly of tobacco. I wonder how would one know if the loaner they get was smoked in? The dealer (not the one we leased the car from) hadn’t tried to cover it up you could tell along with the leftover pieces of cookies and stains on the seats. I assume the car would get a good interior detail, but smoke residue would be a nightmare to deal with imo. From the local Acura dealer the loaner RLX back in the day was in rough shape and the salesperson said people at least in his experience treated them poorly, the inside was stained too and sticky in some areas like the Volvo loaner.
How do you guys avoid cars that have been smoked in and what happens if a clients car is just stuck with the horrible tobacco smell if they lease it?
The relatives clothes when they brought the car back stunk of tobacco so they wiped down the seats. The service Manager just said sorry and nothing else.
Does anyone care to share the reconditioning process if any for loaner cars?
there’s an ozone machine that you throw in for a couple of days and that gets the smell out. also please untag me lol - i didn’t and don’t sell smoker demos.
Sorry, neither of your cars smelled like smoke they were mint! Thanks again for your work. Given the current market definitely will try to extend the great leases.
I wouldn’t buy a demo car sight unseen. That is something I’d want to at least sit in at dealership before going over paperwork. Even if I went through a broker.
But also a good broker wouldn’t facilitate the sale of a smelly car.
the only real brand i sell loaners or is volvo. i know in advance which ones are smokers (because i personally know the manager who drives each car and know who smokes). i never post them here. actually, one of the other guys here who used to snake cars from my dealer and has since disappeared sold one of them to a guy w a newborn. never would have done that.
Yeah that’s pretty shady. Ah back in my younger days when I used to smoke, I probably would have taken a smoked in car for a discount. Then again, I used to get reamed on leases in my 20s so, probably not
As a former smoker I don’t understand how anyone even smokes in their car. I never did that, it could wait until I was out in the open. I used to take a commuter bus to work and I’d see people waiting in traffic to get through the Lincoln tunnel into NYC smoking with the windows CLOSED. One time it was a woman in the back of a Maybach!
Hard to find a good Volvo Dealer in lower NY it seems. A different NY dealer for my sister’s XC40 unfortunately, washed it with a brush and left light lines throughout the clear coat, that was a shit show. When it was delivered the paint was perfect.
The car was a new 2022 XC60 so it wasn’t even that old. My godfather who smoked never did so in his 911 when I was younger nor in his normal work truck. That sucks that she did that in that Maybach.
It varies dealer to dealer. We send ours out to a local body shop to have the exterior buffed/reconditioned in case there are any scratches or curb rash. They clean the inside too but we also have a detailer on site for anything they miss. Then it undergoes the CPO inspection and most don’t need any service work. Goal is to get them in as new condition as possible. And luckily we don’t allow smoking/pets in our demos (not that is hasn’t happened) and most clients don’t smoke anyways.
Other dealers it is literally run them through the car wash, give the inside a quick wipe down, and then it is good to go. They are literally fart cars.
If I got a loaner during service that smelled or even had a hint of smoke, I would kindly ask for a different one. As for ensuring a purchase that doesn’t smell of smoke, you can ask the salesperson and hopefully they tell the truth or get a third party inspection and make sure they check.
Thanks for sharing! They texted the service manager about the smoke and he just said sorry and didn’t offer a different loaner. I’ll let them know next time to be on top of it and bring it up as soon as they get in the car. Based on it being filthy inside when they got it still with cookies, I doubt this dealer even checks the loaner cars except for gas being in the car. I’d hope the loaners were thoroughly cleaned, but as you’ve said they may be literally fart cars.
Probably was dropped off and then given to you immediately. Probably more from laziness than anything. But I have seen some absolutely disgusting loaners returned and the car they dropped off are usually much worse. I get that not everyone cares to keep their car pristine, but I draw the line when buttons can’t operate because there is dried coffee and other substances sticking on the console.
