I had a 2005 Mercedes SLK 350 (fun 2 seater!). Best car I ever owned, just sold it a couple of weeks ago. It was bullet proof, never had any major issues outside of standard maintenance (I almost didn’t want to get rid of it but I’d bought a BMW M3 convertible, needed 4 seats).
Anyway - one day I start her up. I get several ECU errors all at the same time. I’m an automotive software architect. I knew almost immediately - this is a CAN bus cable problem. No way so many different ECU’s would fail together.
I lifted the hood - and there it was, a perfectly round nest (squirrel/chipmunk). After looking around - yep, chewed right through the wire harness. I’ve heard of this soy based shielding. Yep, $3.5k for a new harness and install. Almost 20 year old car, taken down by furry.
That said, while I had a high deductible, the insurance DID cover it. It wasn’t just mechanical wear, I equated it to vandalism.
“Vandalism” I like that.