7 Smells That Petrolheads Can't Stand

1. Burnt clutch

Car drivers of the world: stop the clutch abuse now!

Perhaps you haven’t touched your project car for a while, or maybe you’re off to see a tantalising barn find. But when you open the door, you’re presented with a foul odour of dampness and mould. The horror, the horror.

3. Diesel fumes

The smell of burnt petrol is an oddly sweet one. The acrid stench of diesel? Less so…

4. Broken catalytic converter

If your cat’s on the way out, expect a nasty rotten egg smell, a loss of performance, and a big bill to replace it. Not good.

Whether it’s your ride or someone else’s, the horrid smell of a car being consumed by flames isn’t one you want to experience.

6. Burning oil

The nasty odour of burning oil can point towards a number of costly problems for your ride. Or maybe you were just a little careless when you last topped up and it’s burning off the rocker cover…

7. Cheap leather

A proper leather interior is one of the nicest things in the motoring world to get a good whiff of. However, the leather interiors in some cars - particularly if it’s cheap faux stuff - is just weird and a bit nasty.

Want to read about some sweeter smells? Click here for the car odours that turn every petrolhead on!