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So my wife and I were just 30 miles into an 800 mile trip to Indy to visit our daughter and family when....BAM! A deer appears out of nowhere and almost makes it past us. Operative word is “almost”. We hit her in her left hindquarters at 60 mph. She flopped on the drivers side headlight assembly, destroying the cover, while cracking the left fender and left side of the fender cover. Those of you who have hit deer know that you have no reaction time. You know...clear road, deer/bam!
Well the deer ran off and we weren’t leaking anything so we continued our trip. After we got to Indy I called Marc at Vettenutts and got an OEM bumper cover, a used headlight assembly and a used fender all shipped home. When we returned home our trusted body man couldn’t use the fender because of it’s condition so he sourced a new fender.
The Vette is finally back home looking new! The hair in the fender is all the Hartford needed to see.. Good as new!
They do come out of nowhere, glad to hear you and yours are well. We have them all over the area here in Colorado Springs, with 30 mph neighborhood speeds there’s luckily time to react (so far).
Last edited by Life’s good C5; Jul 29, 2020 at 05:01 PM.
So my wife and I were just 30 miles into an 800 mile trip to Indy to visit our daughter and family when....BAM! A deer appears out of nowhere and almost makes it past us. Operative word is “almost”. We hit her in her left hindquarters at 60 mph. She flopped on the drivers side headlight assembly, destroying the cover, while cracking the left fender and left side of the fender cover. Those of you who have hit deer know that you have no reaction time. You know...clear road, deer/bam!
Well the deer ran off and we weren’t leaking anything so we continued our trip. After we got to Indy I called Marc at Vettenutts and got an OEM bumper cover, a used headlight assembly and a used fender all shipped home. When we returned home our trusted body man couldn’t use the fender because of it’s condition so he sourced a new fender.
The Vette is finally back home looking new! The hair in the fender is all the Hartford needed to see.. Good as new!
I hit one on my 2011 Yamaha R1, spent lots of time in hospital , rehab, physical therapy. Metal plate in shoulder, rods in left arm, loss of use in left hand. Deers show no mercy!
Glad you got your ride repaired.
Late last fall, we hit a stag at about 40 mph in our "other" car. He bolted out right in front of us. The impact spun him round and his antler took out the passenger door skin. Despite the car being drivable, it was a $6,500 repair - all new front facia and trim, complete with all the support structures, light assemblies, new hood, new door, new front fenders, and a new "radar" cruise control unit behind the grille, which of course had to be re-aligned by the dealer. I have to say that our insurer - Allstate - was a dream to deal with over the whole thing.
At least we were not hurt - courtesy of driving a 2 ton luxobarge with a "perfect" IIHS rating.. Air bags did not even deploy. And the b****y deer even ran away!
If anyone needs a body shop in Frederick, MD (where the accident happened), I have a recommendation - no-one would ever know our car had ever been repaired - a perfect job.
Last edited by jackthelad; Jul 29, 2020 at 08:45 PM.
Bummer about the accident, but great to know no one (including the deer, apparently) were not injured and that you could continue your trip!
Great work on the repair by your body man!
Deer whistles are a bad idea on any car. If anything they will make an otherwise stationary, grazing deer bolt, sometimes in the wrong direction.
I, myself, have had a few encounters of the deer kind. Rolled a small fawn with my Avalanche, had slowed down to let a large group cross the road, thought it was clear, started to accelerate and here it came. Only hit it doing about 20 MPH, no damage.
Another time, driving down the country roads, out of the corner of my eye I saw one jump on the embankment to my left. Couldn't do anything, the deer HIT ME on the driver door, cracked the mirror housing with its face, very small dents on door. Never got it fixed, was a POS Aveo I used for commuting.
Most importantly is that no one was hurt. Cars can re repaired or replaced. Your repair looks good so kudos to your body man. Regarding deer, it always amazes me that deer can be so smart and stealthy in the woods but have absolutely no clue or sense when it comes to roads and vehicles.
I've got two of them but fortunately I was not driving my Corvette at the time. Both deer were DOA and I only had $86 damage on my car covered by comprehensive. One was a bambi, other was a large female. Neighbors had them for lunch.
Honestly - I seen the title and expected the worst. We have deer strikes here all the time and they can be devastating to the vehicle - and actually killed folks when they go through windshields, or the driver loses control of the car. Nothing worse than a Kansas two lane highway at night without the shoulder brush cut back...
I also care about the deer - but glad the OP is OK and the repair was successful.
I had one dart out of the brush and run head on into the rear driver's side door on my crew cab dually. It punched in the door skin pretty good before my forward momentum took it into the bulge for the rear tires. It blew a football sized hole in that. Needed new door skin and a whole new bed side panel.
My insurance lady asked me if I was reporting hitting a deer. "No, Ma'am", I told her. "That deer hit me."
Wrmiles, that’s what my wife and I said. If we had hit the deer with the center of the Vette it would gotten shoveled up into the windshield. In the end it’s all just “stuff” that can be replaced. Not so with our health. Stay safe.
Deer vs Vette
