Hopefully, this is the right place to post this, I refrained from the stock problems/issues, since this is not defect.

It's been a while since I have posted here, but I could not resist since I personally, I have never seen anything like this. Although, after researching it does not seem to be that uncommon for cars in parking garages.

So basically upon starting my car to go to the store, my car begins to emit smoke and stink. I immediately turn the car off and inspect under the hood. To my surprise I see that rats have chewed in several areas inside the engine bay

Pictures of visible damage

Yes I know she's dirty and needs coolant :/









I live in a loft so I have to use permit parking in a garage attached to my apartment building. I have never had any problems before of the 2 1/2 years living here. The owner of the building informed me that the construction on a nearby loft projects has caused the rats to migrate into the garage. The owner of my apartment building was extremely helpful to get the ball rolling on a claim with the parking structure.

Taking it into the dealers tomorrow, but I am concerned about driving it to the dealer which is approx 5 miles away.

Curious to hear your opinions on the damage you can see... My knowledge is limited when it comes to cars so any help would be appreciated!

 

Do *not* drive it to the shop - have it towed. You said that when you started the car, it began to smoke, so something somewhere is already burning. Plus, you've got all sorts of conductors that have had the insulation chewed off of them and are sitting bare.

The last thing you need is to go from what's already going to be a time-consuming repair to a full-blown car fire.

EDIT: As far as the actual damage itself goes, the plug wires will be easy and relatively cheap to replace. The wiring harnesses will be a different matter. Some harnesses are fairly short, and only connect two or three components together. Other harnesses in the car are quite long, and snake all over to various parts of the car. As such, they tend to be expensive and time-consuming to replace, since a lot of parts have to be disconnected or removed to replace the harness. Replacing the damaged harnesses is the only good solution - cutting out and replacing just the damaged sections isn't a good option, since that would involve a LOT of splices, which would set you up for a lifetime of corroded connections, loose fittings, and intermittent electrical gremlins.

 

Thanks Scott..yea I want to get it towed. Also, I do not want to incur any liability on my end toward repairs. The guys that looked at it in my parking garage ran it for a few minutes to see if their were any electrical arching and more smoke. The car obly smoked upon ignitions and dwindles after. So they basically, told me to drive it :/
Actually, my car smells like burnt animal now, but honestly the last thing I need is a fire...

 

Welcome to the club! We should have our own avitar. Critters chewed threw 1 1/2 spark plug wires and left little brown pellots on top of my engine block last fall. I had to pay $200 bucks to replace the wires and have the rest of the car checked for other damage. The upside was that by running on only 3 cylindars, I was getting 36 miles per gallon.

 

Hey, quit sprinkling sugar on your spark plug wires!

I guess if it's warm and chewy and doesn't bite back it's OK to EAT.

Fight back-
Spray your under bonnet chewables with---
http://dogs.about.com/cs/toppicks/gr...r_apple_gr.htm
Bitter Apple Spray.

If that fails or the rodents like the taste of bitter apple even more then
try diluted tabasco spray. Steak sauce would only make the rodents fatter.

 

I have some pepper spray Maybe that will keep em off...hehe

After getting my car fixed my next project will be to eliminate that noxious crematory smell....

 

To anybody familiar with the strange and bizarre world of Car Talk this will not seem so unusual. Happened to my own mother, it did!!!

 

This is one of my best stories. Last winter I needed to add washer fluid. I stopped at a gas station, opened my hood and there was a field mouse looking right at me. It stopped for a split second then jumped out of sight. I jumped out of my skin. He (or she) had built a cozy little nest in ond of the engine nooks. No damage, but a lot of spent acorns lying around.

 

You gotta add washer fluid more than once a year.

A mouse is better than a snake.

I bet the mouse was quite happy not to be disturbed... until that moment.

I guess mice don't mind the noise in exhange for some heat and relative safety.

I bet the mouse was thinking... Hey that big guy got all my treasure (acorns)

 

It looks like you spilt Soda and left it there

 

That's an understatement! Nice to see you post again and to know that you still have your MINI! Keep us posted on what happens with the rodent situation. Best wishes, sweetie!

 

man thats horrible, im sorry!!!

 

My dad took 12 years of his life to take a faded brown Slant 6 71 Dart to turn it into a 340 Swinger clone. He went out one day and uncovered it to find a rat chewed a big hole in the headliner. Granted, its not electrical but its on the same page.

 

Not for sure if you are talking to me, but I have never spilt soda on my engine. Thats just four years of happy motoring dirt

 

Attached are 3 pics of a rather large snake that hitched a ride with a motorist in St Louis a while back and this is ABSOLUTELY TRUE. The driver noticed the snake when the car suddenly stopped running on the interstate. The driver got out and raised the hood to find this!!! A friend who happened along a few minutes later had a camera and took the pics.

 

Oh Man thats sad for the car and the snake..That appears to be a ball python, I actually own one of those. Must of been someones pet that they let loose

 

Thanx MINIclo! It been quite the journey.. I just never would of thought of rats taking over my car... Now that the problem has been acknowleged hopefully, the owners of the buildings will get on exterminating before others fall victim to the rats :impatient

 

You know, there is a pretty simple (and eco friendly) solution to this: Go and brush you cat / dog, gather up all of the hair, ball it up in a small section of pantyhose, and tie it off to something under the hood. The scent will keep the critters away.

 

Ya, I think you're cookin' a rat there matey.

 

Ha Yeah not to fond of that burnt hair smell...
I inspected my car again today noticed ratty footprints on my rims from some brake dust...lots of footprints...

 

why them little b******'s. Incredible. Can't wait to hear when you have your MINI back in order. Good luck!

 

The damage is extensive...I have a 2003 MINI cooper, and the estimate is about $2000 away from what it is worth in the KBB.. The rats really did eat my car literally. I am heart broken that my car is never going to be the same

 

I'm so sorry, digi. That's awful.

 

Those pics are highly disturbing. And that snake is either pregnant, or just ate a mouse. Her tummy is huge in one spot.

I have such a (unfounded) fear of snakes. I fear that if I find one in my MINI (engine bay or otherwise), I'll have to buy a new MINI. I would lose sleep at night wondering....are there more?

 

Thanks for your kind words, I am just completely floored to say the least. Not for sure how to procede from here. Looks like the beginning of a big mess...