Here's what I usually do when I buy a used car.

1) Take the car to a full service professional car wash and pay them $40 or so to thoroughly steam clean the carpet. (Without the proper equipment it's tough to do a good job at home)

2) Spot clean with Tech in places where the steam cleaning wasn't perfect.

3) Buy a new carpet mat set (~$100) We have these in PartsShop.

4) Buy 2 cans of Scotchgard. (~$10) There is a special version of Scotchgard for automotive use. The only real benefit over normal Scotchgard is that it doesn't smell as bad and the smell disappears faster. First make sure the carpet is perfectly dry from the steam cleaning. Next, you want to thoroughly coat (until wet) the carpet and mat set with Scotchgard. Use a small brush to make sure the Scotchgard gets well into the knap of the carpet. Leave the windows open for a day if possible and leave the mats outside the car.

Now your carpet will look and smell like new and require little more than vacuuming to maintain. One of the first things I did after buying my new E430 was to coat all of the carpet and cloth in the interior and trunk with Scotchgard.

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Bill Wood - Webmaster
MercedesShop.com, LLC