How to Get That New Car Smell Back
While it's impossible to completely restore that brand-new off-the-showroom scent, you can still get a hint of it with these techniques.
Written by Rochelle Miller-Hernandez
Reviewed by Carrie Adkins
If you're a fan of the unique smell that comes with a new car, you may wonder how to get it back after it fades. Since the actual new car smell
comes from a chemical reaction
causing odors to release into the interior of your vehicle, it's hard to duplicate the exact same thing. But there are ways to recreate a similar smell — even in older cars. As long as you use the right products, and look after your car properly, it really isn't that hard to get a new car smell.
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Use scented products
If the simple scent of a clean car isn’t enough, you can try and recreate the new car smell by using a scented product. They come in many different forms. There are scented wipes to clean and wipe down components like your dash board and leather interior. There are also pump and aerosol sprays, as well as air fresheners, to introduce the new car smell to your vehicle.
Stay in the shade
Heat is a major component needed to get rid of a new car smell. With that in mind, the process of releasing the chemical odors is a long undertaking. While most of the scent will dissipate in the first few months, some will linger. By keeping your car in the shade as much as possible, you can extend the life of the smell as long as possible. This can be seen if you smell the difference between a car kept on the outdoor lot and one in the showroom.
Savor the scent
Remember, interior components such as the odors of leather or wood will not fade like the other chemical smells. In fact, they may grow stronger with time. Savor the scents that remain as they are part of the initial new car smell that you first experienced when buying your vehicle. By keeping your car clean, you might even be able to make them more evident.
Get your car detailed
Some of the chemicals in the products used to detail the interior of a car have a very similar odor to that of the scent of a new vehicle. Use these products to prolong the scent and to keep your car clean. Removing distracting odors from food and spills will help keep the new car smell more prominent, too.
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