So bought a used car, mildew smell...

[jeff061]

2008 w/29,000 miles. After the awful air freshener smell they used dissipated there was a clear mold and mildew smell. I complained at them and they said they'd lok at it and clean it out again, whicn they did. Flash forward a week that air freshener is gone and it's still there.

I've left them an aggressive message with my thoughts on this. I am out of town for a couple weeks on business so I can't get back there in the near term. I am nervous this gap in time may hurt me at some point.

What are people's thoughts on how to handle this? I was planning on calling a lemon law attorney tomorrow, I don't even know if this applies. Kind of pisses me off, I paid a good chunk of change and don't expect to deal with this shit.

Edit: I did test drive it and not notice it and they have played dumb so far.

[Mustang]

Have you run a car fax on it to see if it was involved in any major floods?

[DaddyTorgo]

you gotta lemon-law it and start over. period. if you're not around to get the thing returned, have friend/family do it for you.

don't even think of doing anything else.

[jeff061]

Yeah, they gave me one before I bought it. Rear ended a couple years before it was sold. Nothing like water damage.

[stevew]

I'd send it back ASAP. Cars shouldn't smell like that.

[jeff061]

Response back from dealer a second ago

I assure you we didn't sell you a car with water damage. We'll take another look when you get back from Florida. Have a safe trip

. Fucking dealers....

[MikeVic]

Maybe the AC needs a tuneup?

[McLovin]

I had a problem with mildew smell coming from the a/c of a brand new Infiniti. Per the dealer switch to fresh air,instead of recirculating air ,a few minutes before turning the car off. This clears out the moisture in the system. It worked for me.

[Alan T]

Reminds me of the episode of MythBusters where they tested to see if you could ever actually get the smell out of a car that two huge pigs died in and sat for a month.

[jeff061]

Ha, funny Alan, I thought the same thing. Quite sure its not A/C.

[sooner333]

If they won't take it back, find out who the parent company is, if anyone and fax a demand letter addressed to him/her.

[RainMaker]

If it was water damage, you can't get the smell out. I had an old Chevy Baretta back in the day that leaked a little through the roof. Was able to fix it but it always smelled like a wet dog.

[CU Tiger]

1) Lemon Law *most likely* doesnt apply. It is a USED car...
2) You need to find out the source of the smell before you proceed. A neighbor owns a business that all they do is solve water leaks for dealerships, Ive learned quite a lot over evening beer and grill sessions and an issue I had with an Expedition we had for a former sales position.

If it is flood damage, then teh smell willl be coming from under the carpet mold and inside/under the seats. The carpet can be peeked uner eaily somehwere on any car, if there is obvious mold, you have an under water car and a chance.

Other options inclue condensate drain clogged on AC (as mentioned, actually Id put this at 50% or better odds in one form or fashion and was partially to blame in the aforementioned expedition) sometimes the water can sit an be smelled through the vents, other times it can actually drain back into the cabin, the AC system is usually mounte on the firewall, and can drain down, behind the dash and under the carpet where it actually stops. The thick carpet pad means no noticeably wet carpet and an unknown smell.

Other options include leaking around a windshield channel, or sunroof and being trapped above the heeadliner. Or inside the dash itself totalaly our of sight. Or just an odor from being in a damp garage or storage building where the mold was never in the car itself, just the odor.

What make.model car is it and Ill ask the neighbor of he has any ideas?

[DaddyTorgo]

MA actually has very good lemon laws...i believe they apply to used to cars too (although TBH i'm not sure)

[M GO BLUE!!!]

If they give you ANY crap, pay a lawyer a retainer & have them deal with the attorney.

[jeff061]

Yeah, lemon laws apply to used cars, just wasn't sure if its mechanical problems only. Its a BMW 335Xi, so I'm not going to deal with much before going the lawyer route, I am not going to worry about stuff like this in this car. I've kept most communication in email for a paper trail.

What I am trying to decide is whether I should give them the benefit of the doubt and let them fix it(they said they would) or just work on somehow returning it.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by jeff061

Yeah, lemon laws apply to used cars, just wasn't sure if its mechanical problems only. Its a BMW 335Xi, so I'm not going to deal with much before going the lawyer route, I am not going to worry about stuff like this in this car. I've kept most communication in email for a paper trail.

What I am trying to decide is whether I should give them the benefit of the doubt and let them fix it(they said they would) or just work on somehow returning it.

good question - question is if you let them work on fixing it are you potentially going to mess up your ability to return it because "the clock is ticking"

[panerd]

Would be interested in how good of a deal you got. If it was like 1/2 of what a car that year and model should go for that would be different than if you paid a normal asking price.

[jeff061]

No, no where near a deal where I'd expect something wrong. I bought it at a Subaru Dealer(Metrowest Subaru for those that hear the ads in Boston ). They had it a grand or 2 cheaper than a BMW dealer would, I talked them down a couple grand from there.