Same thing happened to a friend of mine. I was going to suggest you contact your insurance company. They might just pay for the replacement panels/dash parts and repairs.

 

That thought crossed my mind. But we have a $500 deductible on comp/coll just to keep our premiums under $4,000 a year (CA).

Plus, where this thing was found... there is no way they would have done a thorough enough job to get rid of the source of the smell, though the car would probably reek of air freshener for months.

Plus, after experiencing how fast things went to hell in the 12 hours since I first caught a whiff, until 5am the next day when the stench almost knocked me over. The thought of waiting a couple of days, or a day. or even a few more hours for the work to be done.... oh no... the car would never be the same again.

At least that's what I told myself as I was tearing the car apart Sunday morning. Then when I found it........ sweet Jesus...... the thing was HUGE!! Whatever was causing the stink, there was a helluva lot more of it yet to come. Maggots, Ants, Hanta Virus... yum

I just returned from San Diego... business trip, brought the kids and wife along. On a couple of occasions I swear I caught a whiff of it, maybe it was just "post traumatic stress disorder", but my wife agreed with me. So I do a re-treat tomorrow and air it out some more.

The good news is, it looks like it was just the one rat. And I went R/T San Diego, plus lots of local w/o a hitch so maybe the harness will be ok.

Lots of good advice though. Maybe this thread should be searchable for others with the same problem.

Coming back on Saturday, smelling this thing for the first time, the "Car Talk" guys were on the radio dealing with a snake that got loose in someones dashboard. So it does happen.

 

Has a photo been posted?
How did it get in?

 

4000 bucks for insurance?

 

$4,000 is insanely high for one vehicle. I am in CA and have what I would consider "average" coverage on my TCH, and it's $900 a year (Liability 100K/300K, 100 Deductible Comprehensive, 500 Deductible Collision)

I could get a lot lower by jacking up the deductibles.

 

I am in CA too and my insurance is not that high! Maybe it depends where in CA.

 

...Or the driving record, or the ages of the drivers and family members in the same household. I no longer have teenage boys in my home so my insurance bill has dropped big time.

 

Are you in LA? If so, I think there are companies that clean up dead bodies after murders, etc. Maybe they would have an idea on getting the smell out. What a hassle. Good luck. LL

 

2 vehicles, 2 drivers, 3 tickets. 2 were BS speed traps and one really nasty one from rural Alabama, that was a complete sham, that those vindictive bastards made sure to send to CA DMV. That'll learn me shoot off my big mouth about ginning up their flat-line tax base.

All 3 come off our records this year so I expect the premiums to go way down.

 

On the subject of the smell.

How is it coming out? Also, I was talking to a few people and a professional recommended an Ozone treatment. basically, filling the car with a constant flow of ozone, which breaks down and kill the bacteria that causes the smell.