Warning - Smoking Depresses Used Car Values

• Smoking in your car can reduce its value by hundreds of pounds

Exclusive research by Manheim Auctions - which handles half a million vehicles through its17 auction sites across the UK, has revealed that heavy smokers who smoke in their car could have hundreds of pounds wiped off its value when they come to sell it.

And that’s before the driver has spent money on the onerous task of cleaning or replacing parts of the car’s interior to get rid of the smoking contamination.

Of the professional used car buyers interviewed for the Manheim survey, almost 75% believed it would be highly unlikely or even impossible to completely eliminate the effects of smoking.

79% of respondents in the Manheim survey said the price they would be prepared to pay for the car would be adjusted to reflect the work needed to ‘decontaminate’ the vehicle, some by as much as £200.

But it’s not just the smell; - discoloured roof linings, burnt carpets and upholstery are also a massive turn off, with the cost of repair set at hundreds of pounds.

However, the worst is yet to come. Of those buyers surveyed, 48% said they would not even consider buying a car which has been used by a heavy smoker.

Using in-depth interviews with a large number of professional used car buyers, who purchase thousands of cars per year, the Manheim research offers a real incentive for drivers to stub out the smoking habit.

Rob Barr, Manheim’s group communications director said: ‘We knew that smoke contamination negatively affected a buyer’s interest, but this research actually puts a cost on it for the first time."

"With the used car market currently toughening up and many drivers desperately searching for a buyer for their used car, the difference between selling it quickly or having to drop the price by a few hundred pounds could be the fact that you have not smoked in it," he added.