Case Study: 2019 Mercedes GLS 450

Today’s case study is a 2019 Mercedes GLS 450, in Pearl Black Metallic.

The car belongs to a new client, from a neighbourhood where many other of our clients live. She responded to an offer received in the mail.

One of the reasons the owner decided to get her Mercedes cleaned right now was a strong, unpleasant smell in the car.

The client had recently purchased a set of winter floor mats from the dealer, and she suspected those were the source of the smell. She also hoped that a thorough cleaning would reduce, or even eliminate, the annoying smell altogether.

So far, nothing unusual.

The so-called “rubber mats” are in fact manufactured from a compound that is oil-based.

Over time, the compound oxidizes, and releases oil fumes into the air. These oil fumes have a strong chemical smell which, in some cases, can become irritating and downright unpleasant.

This happens in the first few months, and goes away over time. (by the way, the same chemical process is the source of the “New Car Smell”…)

There’s also nothing you can personally do about this, other than cleaning the mats often, to remove the oxidation layer.

Knowing this, I explained the situation to my client, along with the limitations our car cleaning has about this, and picked up the car.

Once we got started on the cleaning though, we realized something wasn’t quite right.

The smell in the car was not the typical chemical “scent” usually given out by winter floor mats.

Instead, it was a strong, pungent odour, coming from a different source.

And then, it hit me…

It was the smell of mice.

Having mice visiting your car, especially during the winter months, is very common.

And it’s not your fault. You can have the cleanest car on the face of the planet — if there are any mice in your area, and they discover the warmth of your car… they’ll pay you a visit.

The only thing you can do to minimize the chances of that happening, is to move your car around every single day. Mice don’t like to be “chauffeured” around, so they’ll avoid getting on board in the first place.

Whenever mice visit a place, they leave behind an unmistakable “scent”. And when they’re frequent visitors, the “scent” becomes quite strong.

And, even if you clean the area to the best of your abilities (perfection?), the mouse odour will still linger around.

(By the way, this car was not in bad condition at all, because the owner herself gives it a thorough vacuuming every couple of weeks.)

The only effective way I found to get rid of the “mouse odour” is to do an Ozone Shock Treatment.

Aside from deodorizing, the Ozone has the added benefit of killing mold, bacteria, viruses, pathogens and allergens.

Anyways, back to the Mercedes GLS.

Clean My Car to the rescue…

As you can see, the exterior is in pretty good condition, mostly because of frequent automated washing.

Even with that, there was still a noticeable improvement after the cleaning session was completed. (We also waxed the paint, to make it shiny and glossy, just like a new car would be.)

The exterior has regained its true colour, and it looks (almost) like a brand new car.

The interior was a different story…

When you spend time in a car, especially with the entire family, dirt gets dragged inside no matter how careful you are.

(to see our Car Interior Cleaning Process, go here)

Quick side note: Many car owners expect an interior in such condition to come out clean with “just a quick vacuum”. This is never the case. Aside from a thorough and extensive vacuuming, the carpets need to be shampooed, otherwise the improvement is minimal at best.

In this particular case, the client followed my advice, and chose the appropriate cleaning package.

A few hours of solid and meticulous cleaning, and my client’s Mercedes GLS is completely transformed…

We always get better results cleaning a higher-end car, such as a Mercedes, which is mostly because of the quality materials Mercedes uses in assembling their cars.

Just like anything else in life, with cars you get what you pay for. In this case, you pay more for an Mercedes than you’d pay for most cars, but you get much better, and more durable finishings.

The interior is now spotless — dirt and debris gone. It also smells fresh.

My client was super happy with the results. This is what she had to say about it, on Google reviews:

Alex, thanks for the thoughtful note and Starbucks gift card. Very nice customer service. I will be recommending your service to my friends.

If you own an Mercedes, and would like to get it properly cleaned and detailed, by someone with experience in the peculiarities of the Mercedes brand, you’re in the right place.

Visit CleanMyMercedes.ca for details.

(On the other hand, if you’re driving a minivan or pick-up truck, our premium car cleaning service may not be right for you.)

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