My entire life I have been an advocate for the environment. Having been raised in the mucky L.A. air basin through the horrid 50s and 60s, you'll hear no complaint from me about clean air laws. None.
But then I got the ticket for an incomplete registration on my vehicle and that's where the seven month-long saga began: Me and one Highway Patrol officer on the side of the road talking about rat damage and why I couldn't get a smog test done with the engine light on.
The first time the rats managed to nest in my vehicle circa 2007 it cost me $2K. Some super auto friends repaired the dash harness instead of replacing it... wire by wire. Worked great for 4 years.
Then, some very tenacious rats entered the picture. Several weeks after getting the $10 fix-it ticket, I took the vehicle into a mechanic. He proceeded to put it on the computer and so many codes came out the computer froze. He sent me to a vehicle electrician. The vehicle electrician, having the same thing happen, suggested I go to Toyota.
So there I was in late October standing in the driveway of the Toyota dealer with an estimate in hand for just the parts (the electrical dashboard harness and floor harness) at approximately $3.5K with removing the dash at a bargain basement rate of $1700.00.
I just stared at the paper. I couldn't even cry. I had no idea what to do. I asked him if there was any cheap quick fix... Nope.
It absolutely never occurred to me to make an insurance claim, something the repair fellow suggested. So I called my insurance company. Yep, I was covered. Where did I want to take it?
Meanwhile, I went to court to ask for the first of three extensions. While sitting outside courtroom 54 in Orange, a fellow and I began talking. He told me he knew a fellow that would make sure I passed the smog test engine light on or not. $175.00. He would have to take me there. I got his number just in case. I've thought long and hard about the irony of our conversation within the confines of the courthouse.
After haggling with the insurance company, it was deemed that they would, indeed, pay for the repair of that AND my extremely chewed up car interior. Enter the second court extension.
So, I decided since I couldn't drive the car, I would stop my car insurance until it was going in for repair. Note: Don't ever do this (reason is down thread). So I headed to the DMV to get a non-op. That, however, was not to be. In CA, one cannot get a non-op if your registration renewal date is within 90 days. Meanwhile, I let my insurance lapse.
Second extension in hand, the dealer, myself and the insurance company decided I would take the car in in early December. That date didn't work out because ALL the parts had to be special ordered and that would take at least two weeks putting the entire thing close to Christmas and New Years when borrowing a car would be the most difficult. So, we moved it to the first week of January.
Meanwhile, I was trapping rats (and more rats) IN the car via a live trap. The rats got dropped off about 4 miles away. Big ones, little ones each not uniquely unhappy to leave their comfortable little dive.
When I thought I had caught the very last of them, I took the car in to get the interior cleaned and detailed. I had to pay extra. I guess there is a surcharge for ratmobiles.
Three days before I was to take it in, more rat poop in the car. Damn it. Damn, damn, damn! So, I moved the date out another two weeks. I kept trapping but caught nothing though it did cure my taste for peanut butter. I finally gave up and took the car in for what was to be a four day repair.
My third extension and 15 days later, I got my car back. That was about two weeks ago. They told me to drive it 100 miles, make sure it was warm and have it smogged. Voila! I was on my way to getting those nifty green license plate tags so I could stop cop-dodging. But it was not to be. While the car was super clean, it failed because the computer hadn't had enough time to reset. So back to the dealer I went to ask them what to do and to have a little "discussion" about a rat chewed water hose they didn't replace which I discovered under the hood.
500 miles, they told me. Drive it 500 miles and the computer will reset. So off to the DMV I went to pay my registration (without the smog) and get a temporary. Not so fast... I couldn't get a temporary because there was something about a 10-day something or other I was beyond and while I paid my registration in full, I got a suspended registration because I had let my insurance lapse. So home I came, had a very strong scotch and water, got on the internet and paid the $14.00 DMV fee (which you cannot pay at the Auto Club) for letting my insurance lapse. Now I had to drive illegally again to get 500 miles on the car so I could get the smog test done and pass so I could get my tags.
See any irony there? There is absolutely NO WAY to legally drive the car 500 miles to pass. None. Zero.
So at 426 miles, the car went back in to Toyota for a day-turned-three. Thank God for loaner cars. I had the first one so long I started to move in. While it was there I had them replace the failing serpentine belt and timing belts and smog the damn thing.
$420.00 later, I had a smog certificate in hand and off I drove (illegally, but with insurance) to the Auto Club. I got the beautiful green tags. I accidently ripped it in half. I stuck the damn thing on anyway. Then to the Highway Patrol Office to get the ticket signed off. Done.
Tomorrow, for the fourth time, I will be at the court to pay my fees and hopefully avoid having to take a fourth day off work to see the judge. The CHP said it was simple.
I'm not buying simple. I'll believe it when it's over.
Then on to the car interior... or what's left of it.
My neighbor now has rats in his SUV and he doesn't park anywhere near me. So, it's war! I bought 20 traps and this weekend will start trapping all around the property perimeters. Another neighbor who had rats in his truck suggested a certain type of trap he puts atop all four tires at night. I'm going tomorrow to stock up on those.
Meanwhile, I have been taking the dogs everywhere with me in the car to get their scent in there hoping to stave off further immediate invasion... and the car needs a good cleaning again.
In the end, that $175.00 cheat cert sounds great... but I have to live with myself and not walking the talk wouldn't allow that. But it sure was tempting.
As a rescuer of both dogs and cats, I keep asking myself where those rat terriers are when I need them most?