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A couple of weeks ago on my way to work I hit a deer. First time that has happened to me. Looks like the insurance company is going to try to have it fixed. Can anyone offer any information on what to expect? The car is a 1999 base with right at 100K miles. The body shop will get it today and start the estimate process. What will they do with damaged mods if any? I have a few dress up items and a blackwing under the hood that may have some damage. Thanks in advance for any info.
My son's Z06 had a similar damage from a deer hit. It was about 8k to fix. He had no damage to anything except the bumper cover, fender and one headlight. As long as no structural pieces are broken it's an easy fix.
I'm so sorry that this happened. Unfortunately, I suspect this will be totaled. I hope that you are okay. If they somehow do end up repairing the car, I would imagine it would depend on your particular policy as to if the mods are covered.
Originally Posted by C5MSG2004Vert
My son's Z06 had a similar damage from a deer hit. It was about 8k to fix. He had no damage to anything except the bumper cover, fender and one headlight. As long as no structural pieces are broken it's an easy fix.
Your son's Z06 was likely worth a lot more than a base '98 with 100K miles on it. $8K worth of damage will almost certainly total this car.
That's what I thought. I'm fine, I was running 70ish on a backroad 2 lane at 5am and bam! Didn't see it until it was there. I will say this, after I hit it I was still rolling until I could get off the road. These cars can take a punch. No air bag deployment.
If they total it....I would find out the price you can purchase it for....it may make a good project for you....
I have done the buy it back thing with a '99 FRC which I still DD. That was a different story though, bonehead backed into it in a walmart parking lot with a hitch that punched the left side door and took out part of the quarter panel and yanked the tire back. Bought it back for 3K and fixed the mechanical. Still got a hole in the panel though.
If they total it....I would find out the price you can purchase it for....it may make a good project for you....
I'm very sorry this happened. I've been there. Not only a good project, BUT-In some states, you can buy the car from the insurance company BEFORE its totaled, and it will retain a clean title! Michigan is one state that does it that way, at least it was that way. Don't know if the law has changed, or not. This happened to my 1985 IROC-Z, which had a Lingenfelter 383 SBC in place of the 305. However, my car was stolen, and recovered. I took a chance, because I couldn't hear it run before I bought it. I'm with Monte/Warlord on this. I hit a deer in my 2000 C5 Vert, going only around 25 mph, back in 2003. Over $6,000 in '03 $$ to fix!! But car was new enough to avoid totaling. Sometimes, something like this can work to your advantage. Trying to think positive! Best of luck to the OP.....
True. Cars are totaled when the damage exceeds about 75% of the value. So if the car was worth about 12k that leaves about 9k or less for repairs to the car for it not to be totalled. If the damage amount is near the limit for the car to be totaled, sometimes you can get the insurance company to pay you the amount of damages minus what the salvage value would be.
QUOTE=MWWarlord;1604389271]I'm so sorry that this happened. Unfortunately, I suspect this will be totaled. I hope that you are okay. If they somehow do end up repairing the car, I would imagine it would depend on your particular policy as to if the mods are covered.
Your son's Z06 was likely worth a lot more than a base '98 with 100K miles on it. $8K worth of damage will almost certainly total this car.[/QUOTE]
That's what I thought. I'm fine, I was running 70ish on a backroad 2 lane at 5am and bam! Didn't see it until it was there. I will say this, after I hit it I was still rolling until I could get off the road. These cars can take a punch. No air bag deployment.
So glad you're ok.
I've hit two of those rats with hooves on my motorcycle and somehow survived. And I've had a couple close calls in the Vette, here in rural Michigan.
insurance will total it and offer you a dollar amount or the option to buy it from them. so they will take the cost of the car repairs and subtract the selling price from that. I just went through it and they even paid me for being without a vehicle during that time.
Glad you came out OK, and kudos to a hell of a car. It doesn’t seem right that one can insure for stated value on a hot rod policy, but not on a regular policy.
I drive my car 1500 miles a year, but since it’s my primary vehicle a carrier like Hagerty won’t cover it…
A couple of weeks ago on my way to work I hit a deer. First time that has happened to me. Looks like the insurance company is going to try to have it fixed. Can anyone offer any information on what to expect? The car is a 1999 base with right at 100K miles. The body shop will get it today and start the estimate process. What will they do with damaged mods if any? I have a few dress up items and a blackwing under the hood that may have some damage. Thanks in advance for any info.
This was mine:
Headlight assembly, new hood, bumper cover, fender, and the air dam/wheel well underneath. It was just under $9k with the air dam being a used part. Everything else was OEM. The insurance company paid the claim, but if it had been $1200 to $1500 more, they would have totaled it. Of course I would have bought it back and rebuilt it myself at 78K miles, but I think they will really frown on replacing your mods. Please post the outcome, I am sure I am not the only one that is curious.
For the happy ending, I have an amazing body shop in town, and she is just as good as new.
And I never drive her in the foothills between dusk and dawn anymore!
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Could be close on the total threshold, especially with 100K miles. Unless you have specifically declared on your policy what mods you have done and are paying for increased coverage, your policy may not cover them. Best to check with your agent on how your policy reads.
Headlight assembly, new hood, bumper cover, fender, and the air dam/wheel well underneath. It was just under $9k with the air dam being a used part. Everything else was OEM. The insurance company paid the claim, but if it had been $1200 to $1500 more, they would have totaled it. Of course I would have bought it back and rebuilt it myself at 78K miles, but I think they will really frown on replacing your mods. Please post the outcome, I am sure I am not the only one that is curious.
For the happy ending, I have an amazing body shop in town, and she is just as good as new.
And I never drive her in the foothills between dusk and dawn anymore!
-D
Ugh!! Brings back memories. Mine happened after dark, on the passenger side. One place you got lucky is that the hood isnt broken. My headlights were up, and on. The deer hooked the headlight assembly, ripping it out. On the way out, it took a hunk of the hood. Also broke the fender in half. I almost missed it. But that worked against me, because when I sideswiped the deer, it then wiped out the passenger side remote controlled, heated, with memory, mirror. It pivoted the mirror into the side door glass with such force that the "WHACK" sound it made sounded like a small caliber gunshot!! It also left a mirror matching, oval shaped imprint etched into the door glass. So the mirror (replacement was $600.00 in 2003 dollars) AND door glass needed replacing, too.......
Dang, sorry about the deer.
I had my 97 (120k miles) totaled for similar damage (headlight cover, front right quarter panel, carved out about a foot of hood at quarter panel, some cracking at engine bay shroud/cover thingie near quarter panel). They valued the car at $ 6,600 and let me buy it back for 2k. I bought a new quarter panel, headlight cover, reinforced the cracked seam in engine bay, repaired the hole in hood with fiberglass & filler. The painting was a hang-up, most body shops in the area won't do partial repairs (understandable I guess). So, I wrapped it for 3k instead. Added new wheels and tires.... It feels like a new car :-) (to me).
If you have space and inclination, buy it back and hit the Forum & YouTube for some video tutorials on Vette panel adhesive, etc. and have fun!
The biggest expense is that inner fender. It is fiberglass and boned to the frame. They take a lot of time to replace (ie labor) and are expensive and hard to find.
I fixed my buddys car last year after hitting a guard rail with it.
Another deer vs C5
I feel for you, hope it's in the repairable range, if not perhaps upgrade to another loving Corvette.
