(March 9, 2020) HOUSTON — Automotive odor removal specialists, The Odor Doctors, has insisted for years that car sanitation is a service that is imperative to the automotive industry due to the money being lost to persistent, unwanted smells. With the increasing concern from coronavirus, The Odor Doctors points out that since a large portion of used car inventory were once rental vehicles, there is a new reason for dealerships to sanitize every used car.

We estimate that 30 percent of 47 million used cars sold annually in the U.S. were once rental vehicles. Today's global interconnected economy relies on the use of local rental vehicles. Each of these cars is used by many passengers and often, at the end of its three-year life as a rental vehicle, is sold as a pre-owned certified vehicle by franchise and independent dealers.

Sanitizing used cars is the dealer's responsibility, and now there is an easy solution.

The Odor Doctors have developed a method of eliminating bacteria from car interiors that has nearly a 100 percent success rate. Frank Simmons, the owner and operator of The Odor Doctors discussed the motivation behind his company's continued drive to improve their sanitation process, "Bottom line, a car's safety directly correlates to a car's value. It takes a sophisticated solution like the one we've mastered in order to completely eliminate odor-causing bacteria. Currently, our odor removal treatment has a 97 percent success rate. And that's a number we're dedicated to improving."

In the age of Covid-19, the novel coronavirus, it is more important than ever that used cars be sanitized prior to purchasing. An even more prudent used car buyer may prefer to only visit lots where they know the dealer has gone the extra mile to ensure that the car they buy has been completely sanitized.

Tim Caldwell, general manager of Sterling Acura in Austin, Texas, says, "The Expertly Sanitized Program by The Odor Doctors has been one of the best profit generators for our over-all operations and we put it on every pre-owned vehicle. Our returning customers now ask for it when they come back for regular maintenance. We have also found that our sales staff appreciate one less thing to worry about when test driving our used car prospects."

During your search for a new car it is important to be mindful of whether or not the car has been sanitized. The Expertly Sanitized sticker will ensure that the car you are looking to purchase has been carefully and effectively cleaned.