Lovely morning all.

On the way in to work this morning, I hit and killed a deer. The new car is a mess and at this point, I'm waiting for the tow truck to take it from my home to the garage for the insurance adjuster. I don't know what's worse, the damage or the deer shit on the car! And yes, I confirmed the deer was dead.

Shutterbug and I aren't hurt and I was able to drive the car home. It handled fine, generally worked normally (stopped, steered and shifted normally) and the doors opened and closed normally *whew!* so it looks hopeful. Funny part was when the car was in the driveway shut down, I heard what sounded like water. I looked over and saw what appears to be transmission fluid pouring out.

Anyhow, I wasn't charged and fortunately, my insurance premium won't be going up over this incident. I just pay the $350 deductible and pick up my rental as soon as I hear back from the car rental company.

I called dispatch as soon as I got back home and the operator was not a happy camper. TFB! I also emailed my manager and scheduler and the manager understood.

Not fun when your car's f**ked and I started getting shivers when I could see in my mind's eye the deer flipping up over the hood and through the windshield. I had to remind myself repeatedly that didn't happen.

Yikes! I had a similar experience, but considerably luckier. I was doing about 70mph, midday, on a nice empty 3 lane, last winter, coming back from some skiing. So I'm cruising along, when suddenly my passenger (g/f at the time) says "hey, check out those deer in the woods!". Before I can even turn my head to look she starts again - "HOLY SHIT! DEER!!", I hear a loud *WHAM* on the passenger side of my car, and I'm suddenly fishtailing uncontrollably down the highway. I glance out my rear view for a split second and see a deer doing a somersault over the trunk of my car.

I somehow manage to regain control and pull over. I rush to the front of my car to inspect the damage... and there's nothing. So I run to the passenger side, and lo and behold... My rear passenger door is totally smashed in, though the window remains intact. Apparently the deer hit me instead of the opposite. Had I been going 5 miles slower I certainly would've run into him. Very lucky.

needless to say, hitting a deer is one of my biggest fears. I wouldn't drive at night because of it for the longest time.

Ugh. We have them everywhere out my way. I can't tell you how many accidents they cause on my road. Every morning, it seems as though at least one is hit and their organs litter the road.

Deer strikes don't generally make your insurance go up... because basically a deer can't sue you.

Back in 04, I annihilated a deer with my blue Cavalier... There were eight, I got one.
$1500 damage.

Up here, deer strikes are a real concern because deer in Adirondacks are fucking huge!
...and we now have moose, as well.

fun fun fun

Well, the tow truck has come and gone so the car is now at the garage waiting for the adjuster. Shutterbug will be picking up the rental car today (insurance covers loss of use) and soon, we'll be hearing if we will be back in the market looking for a replacement (again) or waiting to pick up a newly repaired car.

Here's a couple of shots taken of the car and deer. For those who are interested, the poop was further back of the door. Luckily Shutterbug had her window closed.

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And the deer.

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are you going to eat the deer?


So far, the car needs front fender, bumper cover, hood, headlight, headlight bucket, radiator/condenser, tranny lines, front tie-bar knocked back in, maybe an alignment...

it looks like a Buick Park Avenue? Electra? Maybe a Lesabre? Rough estimate $2200.

Posted by Samurai are you going to eat the deer? So far, the car needs front fender, bumper cover, hood, headlight, headlight bucket, radiator/condenser, tranny lines, front tie-bar knocked back in, maybe an alignment... it looks like a Buick Park Avenue? Electra? Maybe a Lesabre? Rough estimate $2200.

Unfortunately, we left without taking the deer and when we went back, something else grabbed it. (DAMN!) (Found out from the cop that it is legally ours)

It is a 2000 LeSabre. Very comfortable ride too. Just bought it in early June to replace the 91 Regal we had after that one finally gave up the ghost.

I'll be serving a lovely venison pot roast tonight. Bring some wine.

Posted by KublaKhan I'll be serving a lovely venison pot roast tonight. Bring some wine.

Sounds good to me! On my way!

I've seen a deer strike in the middle of LA. Republican conspiracy?

LOL! I have a 2000 Buick Regal...sans deer accident. Only difference with mine is it's silver.

Shael

I would get your Insurer to pay you out, and get a new(er) better car. Once it's been in a mashup like this...it will never be the same. Also...Yager would be good for this occasion! Rare please KK.

Posted by Bootleg I would get your Insurer to pay you out, and get a new(er) better car. Once it's been in a mashup like this...it will never be the same. Also...Yager would be good for this occasion! Rare please KK.

With the economic situation the way it is, I don't blame him for going for an older car.

It's the main reason I bought the Buick. Parents wanted me to go whole hog and buy a new Chevy Equinox, but considering the depreciation the moment you drive it off the lot is around 10 grand and with the paper industry being volatile lately, a 600 dollar a month car payment isn't feasible when your job may or may not be there tomorrow...I don't blame them at all.

Also...the guy I bought my regal from has one Le Sabre "Custom" left of the four he had, a 2001 with about 65K miles, asking about 4000. Too bad you're not closer to NY. Only problems I've had with the Regal are a heater fan dying and a weird short with one of the antilock brake sensors, but I couldn't ask for a better car about now. Being that it's paid off and doesn't owe me a dime, since I've only put about 500 bucks into it, most of it being tires.

Shael

I had a deer run out in front of me when I was driving home alone at night with my kids in the back seat. Thank god she kept running and I didn't have to do anything drastic.

My heart totally stopped for a minute and I had to pull over and calm down before starting up again.



Glad to hear you are ok though.

Highest cause of severe accidents where deer was involved:

Swerving away from the deer and hitting something solid on the side of the road/car next to you.

For goodness sakes, if a deer runs in front of you folks, don't swerve unless you're positive you can avoid it without hitting anything else/worse.

Posted by ActionSatisfaction Esq. Highest cause of severe accidents where deer was involved: Swerving away from the deer and hitting something solid on the side of the road/car next to you. For goodness sakes, if a deer runs in front of you folks, don't swerve unless you're positive you can avoid it without hitting anything else/worse.

Believe me I did that! Also, I didn't have enough time to swerve fully out of my lane and when I hit the deer, I just straightened the car figuring it was too late and the only thing that mattered then was getting the car stopped safely. *whew*!!!

The area this happened was very quiet at that time of the day (5:50 am) and we generally encounter one or two vehicles at the most. Also, fortunately, the stretch of road was straight and we would be able to see headlights a very far distance off. That was also going through my mind at the time.

Posted by Squidgit I had a deer run out in front of me when I was driving home alone at night with my kids in the back seat. Thank god she kept running and I didn't have to do anything drastic. My heart totally stopped for a minute and I had to pull over and calm down before starting up again. Glad to hear you are ok though.

Thank you. Very glad to be able to say we're okay as well. And I am very glad to hear you missed the deer completely.

And the verdict on the car. It has been written off.

No structural damage was found in the initial inspection but the insurance company added on the rental, storage of the car and an extra 10% for any other hidden damage that may turn up. We got what we paid for the car so we're satisfied with the settlement. (Just bought the car in early June) So, it's car hunting time!

Our mechanic (the one who did the ball joints on the car just two days prior to the accident), is being very helpful. We got to the inspection stage of one car (another 2000 LeSabre but a Custom instead of the Limited we had) but when he got it on the hoist, he found a lot of problems with the car. Suffice to say, it would have cost way too much to safety and he wasn't too sure if there were other problems that could crop up down the road. (Thank you!) Got the rental til Monday but if we don't have another car by then, will get a cheaper rental.

A buddy of mine was cruising down a rural road and a squirrel jumped onto the roadway. He swerved and ended up rolling his car a bunch of times. He survived but the car was totalled. If I see a squirrel on the road and can't avoid hitting him I won't like it. But, if it's between a squirrel and some poor bastard whose wife it's going to make into a widow, brother squirrel, you are gonna go down.