Picture from Autopartner-atr.de
A friend of ours recently had the unfortunate experience of taking his car in for its regular service, only to be totally shocked by the quote for the work when he came to pick up his car. When he asked why it was so expensive, the mechanic had one word, 'Marder.'
I imagine the conversation went something like this.
Friend: You want to charge me how much for this regular service? Is this highway robbery or what?
Mechanic: No, it's marder.
Friend: Yeah, I know I am going to be a martyr if I pay this ridiculous bill... you have to be joking.
Mechanic: No, it's marder, Sir. Little animals. They eat car.
Friend: Uh huh. And if I feed my car at night-time it also turns into a wild gremlin. I get it. HA HA. I want to speak to your boss. This is a disgrace.
Mechanic: No, no, you do not understand. It is a marder. These animals like hot tire smells and rubber smells and eat your car if you not careful. Marder. (showing teeth in a fast chewing motion, hands like paws crouched at the chin, making a chewing sound like a crazy rabid animal...)
Friend: Oh you think you are funny, eh? You think I am supposed to believe there are some rubber eating weasels out there that like the smell of my tires? HA! Well, we'll see about that! Yeah, that is what you will look like when I am done with you, you stupid cow. (Tearing quote into pieces and storming out...)
There ... my role playing is fulfilled for today. :) But honestly, this is true. The scene above is not, but the marder is real enough. I would not have believed this had I not heard it from a very reliable source... make that several reliable sources because all my colleagues at work went on and on about how this little weasel creature will and does in fact ruin lots of cars in Switzerland, eating the hot rubber at will. There are even insurance plans that protect your car from these creatures, although I am certain the Swiss do not buy them as I am convinced that the Swiss do not inform the foreigners in advance of this real-threat of a car rubber eating creature, there in turn protecting their own Audi's from imminent consumption... It is a ruse, a conspiracy I tell you! Show me THAT in the Living in Switzerland Guidebooks! (Ok, if it is in there, I give up! :)
So PLEASE if you have a car, make sure that you are doing something to protect it from marders - or else you might, too, be slapped with a heafty fee to replace all your marder eaten rubber plumbing in your car. Good luck!
More on the Marder here - in German and in English, although I am not convinced it is the same creature as described in the German text.
More about Marder's eating your cars:
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5 comments:
heres the one that eats cars: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beech_Marten
Yup... when I was a kid our neighborhood marder did a number on our car and my mom almost fainted when she saw the bill. Beware.
I come looking for info about Räbeliechtli - and what do I find - info about marder eating the rubber on cars!! And that leads me to learning about the Wascally Wabbits of Denver International Airport - and reminds me of the busdriver in New Zealand telling me about the Keas eating the rubber around car windshields - and I assumed he was just joking 'til I saw them do it!! And, yeah! I found your post about Räbeliechtli, too!!
Oh YES -- this happened to us!!! Funnily enough it turns out our auto insurance policy covers us for weasel damage!! Hahaha! Yeah -- it totally ate our car. The man said to park over a piece of chicken wire as they hate to step on it. Instead we moved to a flat with underground parking. :-)
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