Not long ago I was on the front line, servicing cars for our “while you wait” customers. I was performing a 5000 mile service on a Honda Fit. The car is getting up in miles, but it is in perfect condition. My report to our customer, Robin, is a good one — just a tire rotation and an alignment that can wait until next year. This is fantastic news for Robin because she is finishing her degree so she can become a librarian, and for now, she needs to spend as little as possible on things like auto maintenance.

Our chat gets round to smelly cars. Robin tells me that occasionally there is this smell that she can’t seem to find the cause of.

“It’s sort of a musty odor or an old food smell”. Robin shared.

I ask about the heating and ventilating system settings and Robin mentions that her daughter goes to school near a turkey farm so she keeps the system on recirculate so the horrible Turkey Farm smell stays out of the car. This might seem like a harmless thing to do, but in the winter it can cause all sorts of problems.  The windows can mist up, and the heating system might stay damp and start to smell very musty.  Robin is thrilled with the answer.  She’s happy that it’s not a big issue and the next thing is a Tweet to her friends!

Robin is the daughter of a long time customer. Her parents own a game store in Savage Mill.  Also her mom is a great architect who did a wonderful job of designing the deck at our home in Columbia, MD.

The next thing I hear is my phone. Ding! I have a new Twitter follower!  It’s Robin. (note: This tweet if from back when we were called British American Auto Care.  We have since changed our name to BA Auto Care.)

We are so fortunate to provide service to so many Columbia area families.  We take care of your family just like we would take care of ours.

You’ll find other causes of odors mentioned in this blog.