Rat damage to cars | Protection, solutions & advice

zerocritical · 23rd February 2009, 22:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Oh good grief! Insurance? Are you going to claim?

called the insurance guy.. Damages caused by rats are not covered by insurance.

saurabh159 · 24th February 2009, 00:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by zerocritical

Had gone to MASS today.. was shocked to see the damage done.
As I guessed earlier, they gave me all sorts of reason to get the complete wiring changed.

Estimate?
A WHOOPING 25-30k. Just for the wiring. this estimate can increase if some more parts are found to be damaged.

That's a really big amount

I too had to replace some wires in my Alto but the damage was limited to Rs 1500.

Thad E Ginathom · 24th February 2009, 00:40

Insurance companies the world over are hardly known for their enthusiasm to pay out money, but Indian companies seem to make a fine art of refusing to do so.

zerocritical · 24th February 2009, 09:41

Talked to some other electrical guys... The said the will try to do something about it today evening... Lets see whats in place for me tonight..

VJ_MAVRICK · 24th February 2009, 10:00

Damn that is costing a bomb "zerocritical", and I never thought that those little fellas can cause that much of a havoc. Time to get some more tobacco pouches for sure and sorry to have heard about the insurance thingy.

Do re evaluate the space where you park regularly, as I think they had been gnawing off and feasting on your under the hood space for quite some time now. On a lighter note along with Tobacco pouches, get friendly with some cats

, it surely helps.

zerocritical · 24th February 2009, 10:18

BTW, last night i had kept around 4-5 cubes of RAT kill, near tyres and under hood.

Checked today morning, Bloody hell!! All were gone except one.!!!!

Also tried camphor but that doesnt seem to be working as the rat kill had gone.. will try tobacco now..

lohithrao · 24th February 2009, 16:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by zerocritical

BTW, last night i had kept around 4-5 cubes of RAT kill, near tyres and under hood.

Checked today morning, Bloody hell!! All were gone except one.!!!!

Also tried camphor but that doesnt seem to be working as the rat kill had gone.. will try tobacco now..

Dont worry dude if the rat kills are gone in couple of days the rat will also

btw this rat seems to be a bad one...thats a big damage it has done!

Few months back i noticed a huge gang of rats around my home, on checking under the car hood did notice lots of torn paper etc and i sensed it was time for the attack... go lots of rat kill cakes and put it all around my place and under the hood of the car. next morning saw all had got eaten(rat cake) after couple of days placed the Rat kill again but less of them...couple of cakes were left by the end of the week hardly saw any rats

so rat kill works!

yogisays0909 · 24th February 2009, 17:04

We got the entire building treated from some Pest COntrol people to get rid of rats.
Those little fellows had screwd every single wire under the dash. Thank god the car started and rewiring costed around 4-5k.
Usualy when i am not in country the car is started once a month and after this incident its been clean and warmed every alternate day.

ravibhat · 24th February 2009, 17:32

Hi zerocritical, I suggest you try Surakhsa and see whats their estimate. Do give TBHP referance there, they should give you godo service and less quote.

I suggest get it done in A.S.S rather than outside mechanic. Electrical things are very important factors of any CAR. Lets not take chance

Ravi.

zerocritical · 25th February 2009, 06:10

Thanks guys for the suggestions..
@Ravi: Ditto. I too was skeptical to get the work done from outside mechanic.
Earlier, I had taken the number of electric guy from MASS. Called him yesterday and asked if the wiring really needed to be replaced and if there was an alternative to it. He told me that he would come unofficially to my place and fix the existing set.

So got the time fixed and he, along with 2 others came at 7pm. They started their work, opened the dash, removed the wiring part by part, replaced the wires which was torn and ripped by the rodent and taped them nicely.

To my surprise, there were a host of things including my old car cleaning cloth inside the AC blower!!! Looked like the rat had made my car as his LUXURIOUS 15BHK bungalow!!

The AC inlet in swift is actually wide open and there's a lot of place for rats to come to the cabine. He covered the area with a mesh.

The whole process of cleaning and rewiring took about 4-5 hours. After the work completed at about 11 30, we started the engine and checked all the electrical components. All seemed to be working fine.
All this while I did not talk to him about the price he'd charge.

Now came the $$$$ part. Asked him the amount. He said "Mein zaada nahi bolonga saab! 8000 de dijiye!! " (I wont ask for more, just 8k!!)

8k is not more for him!??? took about 15 mins for bargaining and finally paid him 1500 for the job. In all a neat job done,by a professional electrician from Maruti Authorized Service Station, and saved me a lot of money!!

Have taken some pics, will post them soon. Thanks again guys for the help.

shabahmad · 25th February 2009, 10:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by zerocritical

Asked him the amount. He said "Mein zaada nahi bolonga saab! 8000 de dijiye!! " (I wont ask for more, just 8k!!)

8k is not more for him!??? took about 15 mins for bargaining and finally paid him 1500 for the job.

I wonder how he thinks 8K is less amount. (zaada nahi bolunga).

Its always right to bargain. After my car attacked by rats, i tried to get in touch with my relative who is a Maruti Dealer Workshop manager and asked about the cost of wiring. To my surprise they used to procure the kit from local market around 5-6k and sell it to car owner around 20K.

But this kits are hardly available in market.

ravibhat · 25th February 2009, 10:39

Thats very good way to fix the things. 8000 to 1500 ? Man you are good bargainer

Ravi.

zerocritical · 25th February 2009, 11:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by ravibhat

Thats very good way to fix the things. 8000 to 1500 ? Man you are good bargainer

Ravi.

Yeah.. Delhi born na.. bargaining is in my blood!!
My friends always take me shopping ti get the things at half price!!

zerocritical · 25th February 2009, 23:24

Here are the pics..

Rat damage to cars | Protection, solutions & advice-dsc00946.jpg

Rat damage to cars | Protection, solutions & advice-dsc00939.jpg

Rat damage to cars | Protection, solutions & advice-dsc00947.jpg

Rat damage to cars | Protection, solutions & advice-dsc00938.jpg

Rat damage to cars | Protection, solutions & advice-dsc00948.jpg

Rat damage to cars | Protection, solutions & advice-dsc00945.jpg

Rat damage to cars | Protection, solutions & advice-dsc00943.jpg

Rat damage to cars | Protection, solutions & advice-dsc00942.jpg

Rat damage to cars | Protection, solutions & advice-dsc00944.jpg

Here you can see the AC vent from which the rat can come into the cabin.

Rat damage to cars | Protection, solutions & advice-dsc00937.jpg

This mesh is used to cover the AC Vent:

Rat damage to cars | Protection, solutions & advice-dsc00941.jpg

Rat damage to cars | Protection, solutions & advice-dsc00940.jpg

KSM-Vtec · 25th February 2009, 23:42

Man that looks like a great job. wanna get something similar done for my OHC also.

24th February 2009, 00:40	#213
Thad E Ginathom Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 11,300 Thanked: 28,927 Times	Insurance companies the world over are hardly known for their enthusiasm to pay out money, but Indian companies seem to make a fine art of refusing to do so.
	() Thanks

24th February 2009, 09:41	#214
zerocritical BANNED Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Sydney Posts: 302 Thanked: 0 Times View My Garage	Talked to some other electrical guys... The said the will try to do something about it today evening... Lets see whats in place for me tonight..
	() Thanks

24th February 2009, 10:00	#215
VJ_MAVRICK Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Sydney Posts: 1,239 Thanked: 34 Times View My Garage	Damn that is costing a bomb "zerocritical", and I never thought that those little fellas can cause that much of a havoc. Time to get some more tobacco pouches for sure and sorry to have heard about the insurance thingy. Do re evaluate the space where you park regularly, as I think they had been gnawing off and feasting on your under the hood space for quite some time now. On a lighter note along with Tobacco pouches, get friendly with some cats , it surely helps.
	() Thanks

24th February 2009, 10:18	#216
zerocritical BANNED Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Sydney Posts: 302 Thanked: 0 Times View My Garage	BTW, last night i had kept around 4-5 cubes of RAT kill, near tyres and under hood. Checked today morning, Bloody hell!! All were gone except one.!!!! Also tried camphor but that doesnt seem to be working as the rat kill had gone.. will try tobacco now.. Last edited by zerocritical : 24th February 2009 at 10:20.
	() Thanks

24th February 2009, 17:04	#218
yogisays0909 BHPian Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Navi Mumbai Posts: 547 Thanked: 375 Times View My Garage	We got the entire building treated from some Pest COntrol people to get rid of rats. Those little fellows had screwd every single wire under the dash. Thank god the car started and rewiring costed around 4-5k. Usualy when i am not in country the car is started once a month and after this incident its been clean and warmed every alternate day.
	() Thanks

24th February 2009, 17:32	#219
ravibhat Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 2,256 Thanked: 37 Times View My Garage	Hi zerocritical, I suggest you try Surakhsa and see whats their estimate. Do give TBHP referance there, they should give you godo service and less quote. I suggest get it done in A.S.S rather than outside mechanic. Electrical things are very important factors of any CAR. Lets not take chance Ravi.
	() Thanks

25th February 2009, 06:10	#220
zerocritical BANNED Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Sydney Posts: 302 Thanked: 0 Times View My Garage	Thanks guys for the suggestions.. @Ravi: Ditto. I too was skeptical to get the work done from outside mechanic. Earlier, I had taken the number of electric guy from MASS. Called him yesterday and asked if the wiring really needed to be replaced and if there was an alternative to it. He told me that he would come unofficially to my place and fix the existing set. So got the time fixed and he, along with 2 others came at 7pm. They started their work, opened the dash, removed the wiring part by part, replaced the wires which was torn and ripped by the rodent and taped them nicely. To my surprise, there were a host of things including my old car cleaning cloth inside the AC blower!!! Looked like the rat had made my car as his LUXURIOUS 15BHK bungalow!! The AC inlet in swift is actually wide open and there's a lot of place for rats to come to the cabine. He covered the area with a mesh. The whole process of cleaning and rewiring took about 4-5 hours. After the work completed at about 11 30, we started the engine and checked all the electrical components. All seemed to be working fine. All this while I did not talk to him about the price he'd charge. Now came the $$$$ part. Asked him the amount. He said "Mein zaada nahi bolonga saab! 8000 de dijiye!! " (I wont ask for more, just 8k!!) 8k is not more for him!??? took about 15 mins for bargaining and finally paid him 1500 for the job. In all a neat job done,by a professional electrician from Maruti Authorized Service Station, and saved me a lot of money!! Have taken some pics, will post them soon. Thanks again guys for the help.
	() Thanks

25th February 2009, 10:39	#222
ravibhat Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 2,256 Thanked: 37 Times View My Garage	Thats very good way to fix the things. 8000 to 1500 ? Man you are good bargainer Ravi.
	() Thanks

25th February 2009, 23:24	#224
zerocritical BANNED Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Sydney Posts: 302 Thanked: 0 Times View My Garage	Here are the pics.. Here you can see the AC vent from which the rat can come into the cabin. This mesh is used to cover the AC Vent:
	() Thanks

25th February 2009, 23:42	#225
KSM-Vtec Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: MH-02-India-Bombay-Bandra Posts: 1,562 Thanked: 446 Times View My Garage	Man that looks like a great job. wanna get something similar done for my OHC also.
	() Thanks