I clipped a deer last month while going to work. It was about 10:15PM on a 4-lane divided highway. My speed was about 50MPH when he came into view. The deer was a full grown stag with a 5 point rack. His weight was at least 200lbs. I had enough time to lock up my brakes a scrub off most of my speed. I was probably going less than 30 mph when I hit him. The car nose dived and I hit the deer low in the hind legs and hindquarter. He bounced off my hood and somersaulted away from the car, which was preferable than crashing through my windshield.
Now the funny part. I pulled over to the side of the road. By that time 5 cars had stopped and had the emergency lights going to try to warn traffic that there was a large wounded animal flopping around in the road. I only broke the deer's hind legs and he was thrashing around in a blind panic trying to escape. Cars were flying by and there were several near misses. One car came screeching to a stop only a few feet in front of the deer and could not move around him due to traffic.
A bystander commented that someone was going to hit the deer again or a stopped car. Only a minute later this happened. Some kid talking on his cell phone and not noticing a stopped car with flashers on skids and POW, hits the stopped car. He crushed his hood, bumper, and took out his grill and headlights. Both front airbags went off. The front windshield shattered from the airbags going off. He was OK but the look on his face was priceless, a hilarious combination of cluelessness and shock. I got to listen in as he called his dad and explained that he just totaled his car. The deer eventually dragged himself across the road and that's the last I saw of him. Some local got himself a nice trophy rack and a freezer full of venison. The police eventually showed up and got the accident reports written up. I drove on to work.
Just over 3 weeks later and I FINALLY got my car back today. Damage was around $4,000. The body shop did an excellent job. Here are a few shots of the carnage: crushed hood & radiator support, broken grill, headlight, and lots of miscellaneous plastic bits.
The insurance adjusters were typical. I never met them but they tried to force the shop into using used parts. The shop owner said OK, but he had the right to refuse parts that are not up to par. The used parts arrived: hood, headlight, AC condenser, and some other small bits. The parts were too used and rejected. The adjuster had to be called back to see what junk arrived. After that all new VW parts were ordered. This added a week of waiting. I provided the shop owner with copies of the ETKA program of the whole car from the firewall forward. This helped him expedite parts and he commented that I gave him more detail than his Mitchell repair manuals.
Here is a shot of the front end removed. The large square piece of shattered plastic on the floor is a duct that directs air from the grill to the AC condenser and radiator. It was not visible until the front end was dismantled. It took another week to get it as it was missed on the initial inspection. There were shards of plastic stuck in the AC condenser and radiator fins. Because the integrity of these two critical parts were compromised there were replaced without question. The insurance adjuster was annoyed to hear this.
New AC condenser and radiator installed. I new gallon of VW G-12+ coolant was ordered and used to top off the cooling system. The AC system received a fresh charge of R-134 with new oil.
Here is my car almost done. The big hold-up was the right headlight. First a box shows up with a right side part number but it contains a left side headlight. Another unit is ordered and it arrived cracked. Another unit is ordered and is back-ordered for a week. All new lenses were installed in the bumper. They were all cracked.
Here she is all done. The sunlight was fading fast so the photos are a bit grainy. What you can see easily is how clear the new right side headlight is. At night it is very clear and the light is white and bright. The original left side is dim, yellow, and dull. The shop did polish the left side headlight but the plastic has aged too much. I have ordered a new left side headlight. That problem will be corrected by the end of the week.
The shop missed the TDI badge. I'm sort of liking the clean look of the front end without it so I think I'll just ask them for it and I'll install it whenever I'm in the mood.
Damn dirty deer, but now it's all behind me.
Now the funny part. I pulled over to the side of the road. By that time 5 cars had stopped and had the emergency lights going to try to warn traffic that there was a large wounded animal flopping around in the road. I only broke the deer's hind legs and he was thrashing around in a blind panic trying to escape. Cars were flying by and there were several near misses. One car came screeching to a stop only a few feet in front of the deer and could not move around him due to traffic.
A bystander commented that someone was going to hit the deer again or a stopped car. Only a minute later this happened. Some kid talking on his cell phone and not noticing a stopped car with flashers on skids and POW, hits the stopped car. He crushed his hood, bumper, and took out his grill and headlights. Both front airbags went off. The front windshield shattered from the airbags going off. He was OK but the look on his face was priceless, a hilarious combination of cluelessness and shock. I got to listen in as he called his dad and explained that he just totaled his car. The deer eventually dragged himself across the road and that's the last I saw of him. Some local got himself a nice trophy rack and a freezer full of venison. The police eventually showed up and got the accident reports written up. I drove on to work.
Just over 3 weeks later and I FINALLY got my car back today. Damage was around $4,000. The body shop did an excellent job. Here are a few shots of the carnage: crushed hood & radiator support, broken grill, headlight, and lots of miscellaneous plastic bits.
The insurance adjusters were typical. I never met them but they tried to force the shop into using used parts. The shop owner said OK, but he had the right to refuse parts that are not up to par. The used parts arrived: hood, headlight, AC condenser, and some other small bits. The parts were too used and rejected. The adjuster had to be called back to see what junk arrived. After that all new VW parts were ordered. This added a week of waiting. I provided the shop owner with copies of the ETKA program of the whole car from the firewall forward. This helped him expedite parts and he commented that I gave him more detail than his Mitchell repair manuals.
Here is a shot of the front end removed. The large square piece of shattered plastic on the floor is a duct that directs air from the grill to the AC condenser and radiator. It was not visible until the front end was dismantled. It took another week to get it as it was missed on the initial inspection. There were shards of plastic stuck in the AC condenser and radiator fins. Because the integrity of these two critical parts were compromised there were replaced without question. The insurance adjuster was annoyed to hear this.
New AC condenser and radiator installed. I new gallon of VW G-12+ coolant was ordered and used to top off the cooling system. The AC system received a fresh charge of R-134 with new oil.
Here is my car almost done. The big hold-up was the right headlight. First a box shows up with a right side part number but it contains a left side headlight. Another unit is ordered and it arrived cracked. Another unit is ordered and is back-ordered for a week. All new lenses were installed in the bumper. They were all cracked.
Here she is all done. The sunlight was fading fast so the photos are a bit grainy. What you can see easily is how clear the new right side headlight is. At night it is very clear and the light is white and bright. The original left side is dim, yellow, and dull. The shop did polish the left side headlight but the plastic has aged too much. I have ordered a new left side headlight. That problem will be corrected by the end of the week.
The shop missed the TDI badge. I'm sort of liking the clean look of the front end without it so I think I'll just ask them for it and I'll install it whenever I'm in the mood.
Damn dirty deer, but now it's all behind me.
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