RODENT TROUBLE

[CROCO]

Hi everyone ,I have been down in the dumps for the last couple days, a bloody rat has got in to my car and has chewed threw the top of third row seat and one ofthe head rest, Im not sure how the barstard got in, or I know when I opened the tailgate he flew out, whether it got in when someone opened the door to carry somthing inside and left one of the doors opened for a short time I dont know, or whether or not they can get in the car some other way I dont know.

I went and saw my local toyota dealer to see if they could fix it , they can they replace the head rest and the back seat leather covering, BUT WAIT you would never guess how much! just for the head rest $ 800 and to replace the leather covering almost $2500 for the third row .

My next place I tried was a upholster that does auto trimming and seats, he could fix it but he would have trouble getting a material to match the factory trim, toyota have a copy right on all their trim material, so the only way your going to get any factory trim is to buy it from toyota but after the price they gave me im not sure, but saying that I want everything to match.

the service manager at my local toyota dealer said I could get the job done under insurance, but I dont want to lose any of my no claim bonus.

I went and saw the wreckers and he put out a search for me, he hasnt let me know of anything yet that he has found anything.

So I thought I would ask the queston if anyone can help with ideas and If anyone knows If I went through insurance I would lose any of my no claim bonus or any one knows the prices of a good second third row seat, your help would be greatly appreciated.

cheers david.

[Taka]

What a rotten luck David!

I would say $800 + $2500 plus labour (I presume) will be just a little ahead?? of excess payment + difference in primium after losing no claim bonus... You need to punch the calculator there.

Not sure wreck is the go as it is only the first model has combine third and split already in the current model. Condition is variable. But volume is there being a popular car. You never know your luck - since the third row being down wont get damage in a rollover ...

So i guess my advice is to wait a little while. If you feel running out of time then you may have to bit the bullet.

Edited April 27, 2012 by Taka

[OZchris]

Just an aside, interestingly we were quoted $3000 to redo the complete interior (KX-R 7 seater) in leather (real leather, not Toyota pleather :) )

[Andrew357]

Why don't you call your insurer and find out?

There aren't any other options you haven't listed besides not doing anything about it.

[Ronnyboy]

The price you were quoted seems about right for Genuine leather seats.

Is there tear easily noticeable? if not, then it may be worth leaving it as it is since its the third row seat.

there's a few auto trimmers in Sydney that may be able to repair the seats.

[CROCO]

Yeah the tear pretty bad, the head rest is destroyed, I probadly should of clarified, the price I was given was just for the back cover , not the actually seat it self.

[JohnM]

Hi David,

A few years back I hit a flock of birds near Alice Springs driving a Tarago. The front was damaged. When I checked with my insurance company I was told my no claim bonus loss would amount to about 10% of my premium. About $60. Of course I had to pay the initial $400 of the claim, but it was still cheaper going through insurance. I would suggest calling your insurance first.

John

[CROCO]

Thanks john, and everyone else for your posts, thanks guys.

yeah I give my insurance company a ring on monday and see were I stand with my no claim bonus, im also going see my house and contents insurance company on monday aswell to see what I can do with them to, my car was parked in my garage so I dont know whether or not that you could claim on your home and contents insurance or not, I quess I will have to wait and see.

I keep everyone posted on my outcome.

[RayboyGTX]

Thanks john, and everyone else for your posts, thanks guys.

yeah I give my insurance company a ring on monday and see were I stand with my no claim bonus, im also going see my house and contents insurance company on monday aswell to see what I can do with them to, my car was parked in my garage so I dont know whether or not that you could claim on your home and contents insurance or not, I quess I will have to wait and see.

I keep everyone posted on my outcome.

Hi Croco, unfortunately most insurance companies have a general exclusion of 'Rodents' check out your product disclosure statement (that useless book you get every year)

so if you want to have the claim paid, you may need to blame it on a possom, reason is

- possoms are a protected animal (Aus only NOT in NZ) and therefore cannot be classed as rodent and the bite/damage would be very close.

Edited May 8, 2012 by RayboyGTX

[CROCO]

Hi ray, I rang my insurer yesterday and told them what happened and put in a claim, they gave me a claim number, so hopefully everything goes well.

My local toyota dealer rang me today, so they could photos of the damage, so they may not need to send a accesser.

So now its the waiting game.

[RayboyGTX]

Hi ray, I rang my insurer yesterday and told them what happened and put in a claim, they gave me a claim number, so hopefully everything goes well.

My local toyota dealer rang me today, so they could photos of the damage, so they may not need to send a accesser.

So now its the waiting game.

fingers crossed dude!

[CROCO]

Hi everyone, my toyota rang me yesterday it all been approved, all I have to do is pay my excess which is $600, so now all I have to do is wait for the parts to come in, which the service advisor said will take a couple of weeks.

Once all the parts are here all I have to do is book my car in.

A couple of parts they had in the country, the other parts have to come from overseas.

I keep everyone informed when I know more.

[CROCO]

Hi everyone, just a quick update on how things are travelling with the repairs on my car, my local toyota dealer rang me this morning and the parts have just arrived, some of the parts had to from japan , they didnt have any in the country and some had to be made from sratch, such as the headrest and back seat cover, so after 6 week wait the parts are finally here and can get my baby fixed up.

The service advisor said it would take about 2 days to fix and I have to wait to the begining of next month before I can get the repairs done, anyway I keep everyone posted after the repairs done.

[11/16Aurion 12Kluger]

All sounds good David.. another bonus is it being the 3rd row seat so that can be popped out and left at the dealers for the 2 days instead of being without a car.

[CROCO]

Thanks barney, I cant tell you how happy I was when toyota told me the parts came in, I think I got of lightly compared the stories the service advisor told me what rats can do to cars wirering and electronics, he told me a story that bloke had a brand new 200 series for only a week and a rat ate the upolstery on the driverseat, that would make anybody cry, happening to my kluger nearly made me cry let alone a car thats worth three times as much.

I will put out a warning , dont leave you car open when not near it or leave food and drinks in the car , there have been a few mice and rats getting about, and there have been a few cars getting damaged by rats and mice,they can reake havick, I dont wont this to happen to anybody elses car .

[11/16Aurion 12Kluger]

I saw a picture of a car recently where a satnav attached to the window of a car exploded.

The damage was unbelievable. They reckon the extreme heat caused the battery to explode?

I suppose that is possible.

Thanks for the heads up on keeping the windows up... i normally leave them down when in the garage but no more.

[CROCO]

Hi everyone, well I picked my car up this morning, the seat has been repaired, they replaced the back cover on the seat and a new head rest, it looks a million bucks, dubbo city toyota did a fantastic job, you wouldn t even no what happened, all I had to pay for was the excess which was $600 which isnt to bad, considering the damage was nearly $5000 OUCH!

So hopefully nothing ever happens like this again, the only time I had problems with a rat was on my grandfathers farm where I had my first car, mazda 929, it ate the washer bottle and that was it, that was a dam sight cheaper than a seat to get repaired, anyway you cant help bad luck, so its all good now, im happy my baby all fixed,cheers david.

[tpl]

sorry double post. internet too slow..

Edited July 3, 2012 by tpl

[tpl]

Hi David, you should have gone to toyota wreckers to get cheap parts. Glad that your seats are good now.

[Ronnyboy]

$5000 is a little painful for 3rd row Genuine leather seats.

Hopefully this does'nt boost your premium by much.

$600 is still a bargain when you think about it.

[CROCO]

Thanks loon and ron, I was orignally going to go to the wreckers before I rang my insurance company, but when I rang them they said I had lifetime no claim and wouldnt lose any of my excess, I was over the moon, all I had to pay was my excess which was $600, which was about what the wrecker quoted me for a second hand seat,im insured through toyota insurance cant recomend them higher enough they were very helpfull and this is my first claim with them and I have had three cars insured through them and their fantastic, so I decided I get my seat fixed, yeah the price to get the seat repaired is a bit steep, I said to the guy I surpose thats what you get for having leather, he said cloth interior isnt really that much cheaper and I spoke to a upolsterer and he said the cloth seat covers if there got to replaced can be as exspensive as the leather, so that made me feel a little bit better, but now Im happy the seat looks great and the kluger driving like a dream what more could a bloke ask for.