Swarm of RATS destroy wiring and leather seats of couple’s two-year-old Mercedes worth £42,000
The sly vermin are thought to have gained access via an aluminium heat shield above the exhaust
A COUPLE have been left devastated after a swarm of rats munched through their £43,000 Mercedes.
Rodents have chewed up wiring, leather seats and plastics in the luxury motor after making their way into the boot.
James Matchett said one hulking fur-bag even dashed past him as he vacuumed up the mess in the two-year old motor.
It fled through a hole, dropped onto the rear tyre before running across his foot.
Now the pricey C220 Premium Class sits “abandoned” at his house in Co Down, Ireland.
The couple hope to sell it as soon as possible.
James said: “This has been a complete nightmare. There is the physical damage here but this has been emotionally very distressing too.”
The 52-year-old said his wife Diane first noticed the problem after Christmas when she spotted a hole in the back seat.
James removed an internal panel in the boot and found what he said was “a mess of foam, just like a burst pillow”.
And as he tried to clean that up, one “sizable rat” bolted past him from behind the seat, through a grill, dropped onto a rear tyre and darted off.
Further inspections found wiring had been munched through, meaning that when he started the car all the warning lights sparked into life.
James said: “They have caused a huge amount of damage.
“My wife is now unable to get in it, not that the car is fit to drive at the moment anyway. She said, ‘What if I was driving and I felt something brush past my leg?’ She’d be straight into the hedge.”
The sly vermin are thought to have gained access via an aluminium heat shield above the exhaust.
From there they munched two inch holes through plastic grilles and arrived behind panels in the boot. After that they got stuck into the rear seat bolsters.
James said no one had ever even sat on the back seat of the car, which has just 24,000-kilometres on the clock.
James said the car, owned by Diane, 53, was kept “spotless”.
He said: “There was no rubbish in it and it was kept very clean.
“I can only think that rats sat under it for warmth and had a look around and saw they could get inside.”
He added: “It’s our sixth Mercedes in ten years, but we’ve never had a problem like this. I wouldn’t want my worst enemy to go through the stress and emotion of this.”
James claimed Mercedes at first said the incident was due to outside influence and therefore not covered by warranty.
However, it did offer him a five per cent discount on parts.
Retired civil servant James said: “That was an insult.”
The Co Down man added: “They say they pride themselves on customer service but that has proved to be nonsense so far.”
A Mercedes-Benz spokeswoman said: “This must be an unfortunate and upsetting situation for Mr Matchett and while we do offer an extremely comprehensive warranty, it doesn’t cover damage caused by external influences, such as wildlife.
“Unfortunately, our technical experts haven’t been given access to inspect the car so it’s difficult for us to comment further and our recommendation is that Mr Matchett contacts his insurance company.”