Repair at dealership or indy?

BaileysMam

Hi all
I have a 4 year old Honda Civic that is still under warranty until next year.

A bloody rodent got in it and chewed the wires (connector harness).

It was repaired at the road side temporarily but have taken to dealership today and they have recommended replacing entire harness at a cost of £1300. They tell me a smaller repair job could potentially put the car’s computer at risk if there’s any “surges” (can’t remember the exact explanation).

Am I being silly to pay that money or is it sensible to stick with the dealer as the car still has some warranty left over and could mean better re sale value in future if I stick with the dealer?

Grumpy_chap

BaileysMam said:

Hi all
I have a 4 year old Honda Civic that is still under warranty until next year.

A bloody rodent got in it and chewed the wires (connector harness).

It was repaired at the road side temporarily but have taken to dealership today and they have recommended replacing entire harness at a cost of £1300. They tell me a smaller repair job could potentially put the car’s computer at risk if there’s any “surges” (can’t remember the exact explanation).

Am I being silly to pay that money or is it sensible to stick with the dealer as the car still has some warranty left over and could mean better re sale value in future if I stick with the dealer?

The Dealer is probably correct that the only way to be sure that the repair is complete and durable is to replace the complete wiring loom (harness).

How does the quote compare to the price from a local independent garage?  
How does the quote compare to the price from a specialist auto-electrician?

Can either of the latter source a replacement wiring loom from a Breakers Yard?  That could save a reasonable proportion of the cost.

Have you got the rat's details to send him the bill?

BaileysMam

Thank you for your reply!

I’m just trying to find out what an independent auto electrician would charge. No one is answering My calls!!

I would love to know where the culprit lives… we do get squirrels in our garden…!

Brie

BaileysMam said:

I would love to know where the culprit lives… we do get squirrels in our garden…!

Get a cat.  Not a nice fluffy spoilt thing but something semi feral that will happily hunt down any rodent in the vicinity.  

BaileysMam

We have an indoor cat

But there are bloody loads of cars roaming our estate! Maybe it was one of them….

Brie

BaileysMam said:

We have an indoor cat

But there are bloody loads of cars roaming our estate! Maybe it was one of them….

You have cars roaming your estate????  I'd move if I was you - sounds all a bit too Stephen King & Christine to me!!!

BaileysMam

Brie said:

BaileysMam said:

We have an indoor cat

But there are bloody loads of cars roaming our estate! Maybe it was one of them….

You have cars roaming your estate????  I'd move if I was you - sounds all a bit too Stephen King & Christine to me!!!

Eeek 😧 

Bloody autocorrect 

cymruchris

You've not said how bad the chewing is - but if you're planning on keeping the car a while - I'd probably get the entire loom replaced via the dealer - otherwise you risk the headache of ongoing electrical gremlins with warning lights flashing up all over the place at random times, because the cheaper fix of rejoining all the cables manually wasn't as good. And then get some anti-rodent spray and liberally spray it under the car from time to time (it does stink though). 

BaileysMam

cymruchris said:

You've not said how bad the chewing is - but if you're planning on keeping the car a while - I'd probably get the entire loom replaced via the dealer - otherwise you risk the headache of ongoing electrical gremlins with warning lights flashing up all over the place at random times, because the cheaper fix of rejoining all the cables manually wasn't as good. And then get some anti-rodent spray and liberally spray it under the car from time to time (it does stink though). 

Thanks this is reassuring
I’ve found out it’s covered by my insurance under “malicious damage” 

Bigwheels1111

This is common on new cars due to eco stuff.

Nissan qashqai are getting ABS faults where I live and dealers are quoting £1000 for repairs.

2 wires need soldering and taped.

The cause is on newer car plastic wire shielding used on looms, its an eco nut oil used to make the loom covering.

All sorts of little animals love the nutty taste.

SiliconChip

BaileysMam said:

cymruchris said:

You've not said how bad the chewing is - but if you're planning on keeping the car a while - I'd probably get the entire loom replaced via the dealer - otherwise you risk the headache of ongoing electrical gremlins with warning lights flashing up all over the place at random times, because the cheaper fix of rejoining all the cables manually wasn't as good. And then get some anti-rodent spray and liberally spray it under the car from time to time (it does stink though). 

I’ve found out it’s covered by my insurance under “malicious damage” 

Really? Surely "malicious" implies that it's been done by a person with intent, rather than by a rodent that woudn't even have the concept of malicious damage or intent.