Double-EDad

Don't know for sure if she/he was stupid or just scared, but it was a desolate wooded stretch of road where deer are known to be at night, so I was going a subdued 40 in lieu of the posted 45. I was totally on alert...and yet this deer just freakin' JUMPED from the right, directly in front of my car!! He/she was good sized - his/her shoulders were a little above the hood of the car, or so it seemed! I hit the brakes and steered right and slowed to mayb 30 mph before impact, but there was still a pretty good "THUD" in the front as I seemed to hit him almost exactly broadside. Couldn't tell what happened to the deer but he disappeared off to my left.

I figured maybe the license plate got pushed into the plastic of the bumper or something minor like that. That's what it FELT like to me (I was sure the deer was hurtin').

I turned around and went back to see if I could find the deer. I saw one down & totally out on the opposite side of the road from the way I was originally travelling. He looked so dead that I began to doubt whether it was the one I hit. Didn't see any other critters.

Anyway, the car felt fine so I drove it home and into the garage. I took delivery on June 9th, have 2,870 total miles, and prior to tonight it was in perfect condition. Anyway, I got out to look at it and saw this:










Inconsiderate bastard. Makes having someone park a couple of inches too close to me seem like such a minor issue.

mustangGT90210

That really sucks man! Will your insurance cover that? (Time for that cowl hood!)

20115.0

^ +1 on a new hood. that sucks man, id be so sad

cdynaco

That's funny!


Sorry to hear friend. But the damage could have been a lot greater.

monkeystash

Sorry, that really sucks. That is one of my worst fears.

montreal ponies

Ouchhh, hope the insurance will cover your accident. I live in an area with protected woodlands and is known for it's many deer population. I've encoutered numerous since living here, but never hit one. Close calls so far. But since i got the Mustang, i've never taken that road at night, always drive the busy boulvd further down. I'd rather hunt Challys and Maros than deers. Keep us posted. Good luck.

05GT-O.C.D.

Insurance will cover it, comprehensive coverage, should be a non-chargeable loss w/ most companies so it hopefully won't affect your rates. (still have your comp deductible though)

Good luck.

houtex

Question: If you had indeed taken out the deer, can you keep it and make venison?

*looks around at the disbelieving crowd*

What? It's a valid question, I figure.

/Venison sausage is tasty.
//Wouldn't sacrifice the car for it, though.
///Hm... maybe a "beater."
////Gives a new meaning for the term, yeah?

jetlag

+1

It's a shame he didn't stay around and provide you with dinner.

csledd

deer jerky!


That sucks man, but could have been much worse

Double-EDad

Quite true, and thanks. I was glad the airbag(s) didn't go off. I was alert and driving a little slower than posted. If i'd been crusing @ 45 and hit him, it would have been worse. This car is expensive and was flawless prior to the hit (so I guess I've gotten that 1st scratch out of the way), but it's just a conveyance/machine in the grand scheme.

I've driven so many hundreds of thousands of miles with no incident (my last speeding conviction was 1990). This is also my 1st new car in decades, so OF COURSE this had to happen now, to this car, not the Datsun pickup I drove past 207,000 miles, and not even the Honda Accord I owned before this.

VERY ironic: my next door neighbor has hit 3 deer or so on the past 5 years in his P.O.S. Toyota pickup. He NEVER washes the thing, and jokes that it gets washed whenever the body shop finishes repairing the latest deer damage. GET THIS: He saw me detailing my car THIS PAST SATURDAY morning (9/11/10) and couldn't resist saying to me, "Hey, it's just going to get dirty again anyway!" Here's where Karma is a *****: my reply to him was: "Well I'm not gonna wait until I hit a deer for it to be cleaned, that's for sure!!" Ha-ha, heh-heh..hah-ha....uugggh.

PS: This was my 1st-ever Multi-Quote.

Double-EDad

Exactly, it's under comprehensive, so it's just a $100 deductible for me, but fortunately no automatic insurance rate increase. No claim is a good claim, but this is a relatively good situation.

Ironically, as I found out when I hit a pothole in Feb in my Accord and bent the wheel rim and ruined the tire, POTHOLE DAMAGE is counted against you as a collision claim, and your rates go up if you have a claim from that! (I didn't file a claim in my case - it was just one wheel and one tire, but the road potholes around Richmond were so bad last winter that there were reports of some people hitting them so hard that the impact triggered BOTH airbags!! Can you imagine behing held liable for that?) I used to think deer were more avoidable, but after tonight, I've changed my tune - this thing jumped out of the thicket right in front of me so quickly there was no avoiding it, unless I was maybe going 25 or so.

kona stang10

deer freak out when they see bright white color moving at speed, i'd consider a darker color paint job when you get body work done....

Double-EDad

Actually this may be my chance to scope out getting those Guardsman Blue LeMans/Shelby stripes painted across the bumpers/hood/trunk.

PTRocks

Sorry for your car, and I'm glad you're ok. It could have been a lot worse, deer are small, moose are not. Even if you are going 40, that's a lot of mass, all above the hood line.

jacostang

Bummer, but maybe a silver lining for ya....

Treadhead

That sucks. Good luck on the stripes. They should look great!
Those moose pics are crazy!

stangfoeva

that SUCKS! I've had several close calls with squirrels out here in So Cal. The little bastard jump right into the wheels

Adam

That sucks, especially with a brand new car.

20115.0

lmao id much rather almost hit a squirrel than a deer. though one time i had a squirrel jump infront of me on a rainy day. that could have been real bad