Smoke Free Zone

Today's focus was on Nancy's car - more specifically on getting rid of the odor of smoke that has been detectable since we purchased it last December. The previous owner was a pipe smoker. We know that from the tobacco residue that was left from his pipe pouch that use to be placed in the glove compartment. At the time, I didn't think the odor should be a deal breaker. I thought i knew a detail person that could easily remedy the problem. I was wrong.

Josh gave it his best effort, but he came up short. He has a good reputation when it comes to detailing cars, but this job didn't represent his best effort. After a few days, even though the odor was less intense, it was still present. I've been working on a solution ever since. The other day I asked Nancy how well she liked the car (a 2005 Buick LaCrosse CXS), on a scale of one to ten, and she said nine point eight. That is a very high score for my wife to give any vehicle, she isn't a car person, so I said we would take one last shot at getting rid of the smoke odor for good, since she really seems to favor this car. I happen to like it as well.

Today I had the Buick dealership change all of the pollen filters in the passenger compartment and afterwards I took it to a new detail shop that just opened in Elk Grove. I had previously talked to the owner at some length about the problem and he agreed to tackle the job personally and with only a minimal charge if I wasn't satisfied with the outcome. He had just recently purchased a machine designed specifically for eliminating vehicle odors and he said that he has gotten very good results.

We left the Buick at the detail shop for about three hours and upon returning I had Nancy check it out thoroughly - she has the more sensitive sniffer. She gave the job a thumbs up - so it appears that the mission was accomplished. We'll know more in a few days - after the interior drys out completely. But everything looks favorable at this point. Who knows, we may have the Buick for a long time. That would be a significant change from our recent practice of trading about every two years.