My gf has recently bought a car from a dealer and over the last couple of weeks its getting a bit smelly.

We think the previous owner may have ha a dog, as that’s what it smells like, it also appears to be coming through the vents??

Anything we can do to get rid of, or reduce the smell?

Would a car car valeting get rid of it?

If its coming through the vents it could be you just need the pollen filter replacing. Depending on how long the car has been laid up for at the dealership between owners then sometimes any dampness in the pipework for the ventilation system can get smelly, spraying antibacterial air freshener type stuff into the air intakes for the ventilation system can help sort that out too.

If its the air con then
http://www.halfords.com/motoring/engine-oils-fluids/air-conditioning-recharge-supplies/comma-aircon-cleaner

If no air con then pollen filter

Dead body in the boot. Have you checked the boot?

course, if it’s a repossession there’ll be a dead rat in the ventilation system 😀

Just check that there’s no water in any of the footwells or under seats or even the spare tyre well

I’d also feel around the floor and under the seats of the car and see if theres any water getting in. If you’ve noticed it in the last few weeks then that coincides with the weather getting wetter.

EDIT beaten to it

does it coincide with using the screen washers?

Had one car with a rancid washer bottle. Ended up taking the rear nozzle off and putting bleach in the washer bottle and flushing it out.

Fix the problem, then take care of the effects with Nilodor. It’s amazing stuff – one or two drops will make the smell go away. Used it myself with a doggy car and then moving into a rental.

My 14 mt old car started smelling from vents ,changed the pollen filter,all good again..filter is 24mth service item but as there about a tenner change it every yr..they get very black and stinky..

I bought a car that had a dog in and tried 3 bottles of fabreeze, bowls of vineger, sprinkle of bicarb of soda on the carpets, Steam cleaned it with one of those wall paper jobbies,

It was marginally better but never went away. Car got dumped but thats another story.

You’ll never get rid of dog or ciggy smells in the upholstery but you can change the pollen filter and spray a bactericide into the AC. Make sure the fan is always running on the lowest setting to force air through the car, it amazes me when I see muppets driving around with their windows all misted up because they don’t understand the use of the ventilation system. Cars get very damp inside in cold weather.