Rats chew through Winthrop woman’s car, destroy it

By MIKE SULLIVAN

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    WINTHROP, Massachusetts (WBZ) — A Winthrop woman is out a set of wheels after rats devoured the wiring in her car. Mechanics told her the wires are made with a common food product.

Sharonle Bolger knew something was wrong when the lights on her dashboard went out. She took her Hyundai Santa Fe to the dealership to be looked at. That’s when they discovered the rat problem. She says the mechanics originally told her the wires were made with rice, however car companies actually insulate the wires in newer vehicles with soy.

“I didn’t know that every time I was turning my car on, I am actually cooking rice for them, and cooking them dinner,” laughs Bolger, “I like fried rice, but not in my car.”

The mechanics told her rats are attracted to the soy; however, AAA has spoken with manufacturers like Honda and Ford. Reps for AAA say the companies told them the soy used in the insulation or foam is not food grade material, and it shouldn’t attract rats.

“Years ago, the wiring, and insulation of wiring, was made with a petroleum-based material. A lot of manufacturers now are going to soy-based materials. Not just in the wiring, but the foam padding itself,” explained John Paul, AAA’s ‘Car Doctor.’ “That is not an agricultural foam. It’s not something that has any food value to it. It’s strictly there as a substitute for petroleum-based products.”

Paul believes the rats are simply looking for a warm or cold place to stay, or they may also be searching for food in your car.

“As we are doing more construction, we are squeezing rats into our day-to-day lives. There is always a rodent population that you have to worry about. We have seen everything from minor damage, radios, and major damage,” said Paul. “There is an inventor of a car cover whose BMW totaled because it had sustained so much damage, and all the parts had to come from Germany.”

He suggests car owners insulate their wiring with a special wrap that contains materials similar to tear gas.

“The idea of it is they bite it, and they are going to get a hot taste in their mouth,” added Paul.

He says typically insurance companies will cover rat damage similar to collision damage, however Bolger had a difficult time getting her insurance company to help out. Eventually they did, but the money is not enough to cover her getting a new car.

“My insurance will give me $16,000 back on it. The car is paid off. That car is $28,000 to $29,000,” said Bolger. “Maybe if the car was totaled from an accident, they would give the whole thing back. They said there was nothing they could do with it. They looked at every single policy, nothing for rats. You could have bugs in your car, and it’s OK, but you can’t have rats.”

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