trumpet1

I think it is interesting how German cars have distinctive leather scents depending on which brand you buy. Mercedes, BMW, Audi, etc each have a particular fragrance to their leather hides and it seems to mature with age. The car has a new smell and then a new scent takes over after about 15-20K miles. It seems to me that German cars are the best at this. Other brands lose that scent after about 25000 miles, or at least it seems that way to me. Everyone that jumps into my car says, "it still smells new" when actually they are smelling the long lasting dye in the leather. I just go with it.
I'd like to know what the vat dye is that gives it that smell. What makes a new car smell like a new car??? Glues, adhesives, rubber, vinyl....what is the main thing that is giving a new car that "new car" smell. I do know that right after buying a car, their is a vapor that comes off of the materials and leaves a film on the glass. Some have even gone so far as to say that the chemicals are toxic.

It's a shame nobody can reproduce that fresh new car scent into a spray

JohnH4260

NEW CAR SMELL: Volatile organic compounds account for the characteristic "newness." Source: http://pubs.acs.org/cen/whatstuff/stuff/8020stuff.html

There's something about the smell of a new car. To many people, the leathery, plasticky aroma that hits you when you slide behind the wheel is a pleasurable scent. Seductive. Perhaps even addictive. On the other hand, to a few people the smell is malodorous, particularly to someone who has an acute chemical sensitivity.

Exactly what gives rise to new car smell? The answer, not surprising to chemists, is a complex mixture of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), primarily alkanes and substituted benzenes along with a few aldehydes and ketones.

Nearly every solid surface inside a vehicle is a fabric or plastic that is held together in part with adhesives and sealers. Outgassing of residual solvents and other chemicals from these materials leads to a dilute sea of VOCs floating about in the passenger compartment. The same holds true for new airplanes, homes, and offices.

cjf_moraga

Ah that new car smell 4 months in and 4,500 miles and mine is starting to transition from its former leathery intensity into a more languid background ambience... I do wish MB could bottle eau-de-w221...

....however using a good quality leather conditioner/treatment is one substitute... ...things were getting quite steamy last Sunday as I gently massaged my S600's leather... well you know...

Having never bought any before I recently tried out a bottle of "new car spray" from Kragen... a light whiff and YEUCHH Definitely eau-de-Hyundai....

Chris

WSH

Much enjoy that new car leather aroma....part of why I get new cars so often...and why I'm so OCD re: what/whom is allowed in my car....

I suspect many guys lose the new car/leather aroma more quickly than others b/c many allow food/drinks/pets/rugrats/clutter in their cars, w/inevitable micro/macro-spills, etc....or get in their cars post-gym (or post-exposure to 2nd-hand smoke in areas of US where smoking still allowed indoors)...or post-sweating vs heat/humidity of ex-coastal CA summer weather...or car acquires various aromas from guys during visit to dealers for svc (another reason I hate keeping cars long enough to need scheduled mtce) or if guys let valet pkg guys drive car (wasn't there a Seinfeld episode re: that very issue???).....hard to get rid of various noxious molecules once they're in the car....

AustinGuy

Uummm..... what's the word I'm looking for.....

Farts maybe?

trumpet1

Great description indeed but what is so unique about German cars is the leftover signature leather fragrance that seems to stay with the car for many years if not forever (assuming no one smokes in it). It also amazes me how cigarette smoke lingers and ruins a room , car, your clothes so quickly and easily. I had someone begin to light up in my car the other night and I said "NO way!!!" . If I lost this person as a friend. So be it. One light up would have ruined my car for maybe months, if not longer.

derrick_lui

I agree with you...
The W203 C-classes have a distinct smell after the new car smell is gone.
So do audis, my brothers old A4 smells exactly the same as my friends new A4 after their "new car smell" is gone...

AsianML

I don't get why people smoke anyway, except for the occasional Cuban because they're pimp.

kenstudios

MB has leather and American cars have pleather - you know - the leather wannabe - the one you make a rain coat out of.

Z356

AsianML: Hey, I am offended! I am Cuban and I don't smoke...or pimp. Did you meant to say 'hip' instead of pimp? I am certainly that. Just pulling your 'cadena', Asian. Z356

lkchris

You want leather smell, get a British car.

My old 1989 Range Rover--now with my son--still smells better than any Mercedes I've ever experienced.

AsianML

You had me going for a minute there. Usted tiene suerte este tiempo.

LowTech

Passengers seem to like these - I've used both:

"Griots Leather Scent"

"Original Condition Scent"

Kar don

Funny, most volkswagens and audis smell like crayons to me after the new car scent is gone.

I bought a roll of adhesive tape from Japan, smells EXACTLY I mean EXACTLY like my new lexus. I bought another roll and put it under the passenger seat . I let a few other car fanatics I know smell it, and they agreed it was a 100% match as well. I guess my car is held together with tape that smells so wonderful.

rawimpact

That new car smell is mostly from plastic, it's known to cause cancer... but the question is, what doesn't cause cancer these days?

trumpet1

Thanks, I ordered some "original scent" just now. One bottle should last a lifetime.

LowTech

You're welcome. Lemme know what you think of it...

chrisMB89

Kar don, i was wondering where you bought that adhesive tape you got from Japan?

I would be very interested! Thanks!

gellie

My 89 560sl (30k miles) still has a very distinctive leather smell to it !

w0by

Hey I just wanted to let you know I was reading the forum and someone posted "Original Condition Scent". I bought that about 6 months ago. It was absolutely disgusting. I actually called the company and sent the product back and got my money back. It smelt like old VHS tape cleaner. Nasty.

vbisbest

LOL, that is nasty. I just got a 2005 c230 and the interior smells like crayons as mentioned in the above post. It turns out the crayon smell in the VW's was a defect in the sound insulating material they used and gave off that smell, I am sure thats not the case with the MB. Has anyone tried the leather sent? I would imagine it would just mix with the current scent and it would smell like leathery crayons.

Oxygen

If you want to bring the chemicals in the plastics and leathers inside the car "back to life" and produce that same brand new car smell, use a professional ozone generator and let it saturate the inside of the car for about 12 hours...


The ozone oxidizes molecules inside the car and re-activates the same chemical reactions that were going off when you first purchased the car, giving it that brand new car smell.

I do not recommend doing it for too long or doing it too often though.

PartyVan

So anyone tried both yet? Which one is the closest to the Benz interior smell? I've read that Mercedes puts in extensive R&D into interior materials to make sure their cars don't give off offensive odors after the new car smell wears off.

Oxygen

I've heard some people say that the S-Class starts to smell like a box of crayons after about 5 years in service.

cjf_moraga

I tried the "Original Condition Scent" The question is original condition of what? It certainly is not like the way my S600 smelt when new... but it is a new leathery smell of sorts... Not as effective as using a good leather conditioner though.

Chris