Armadillo vs. C6
Racer
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 275
Likes: 0
From: San Diego CA
Don't wanna get too much into this. But we (as humans) tear the hell out of everything and destroy just about every organism on earth. Just a thought. And also, a life is a life, just cos we can think on a concious level, does not give us so much more of a right to live than any other living animal. But then again, just my opinion.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 3,488
Likes: 27
From: Long Island NY
Sorry to hear about the damage and the dead armadillo.
If you hadn't lowered the car though (and instead raised it a bit), you may have squeezed by with far less damage or no damage.
I suspect that eventually the whole "lowering" trend will fade away after enough people damage their cars and realize that lowering is totally impractical for street use.
But then we'll be back to a "lifting" trend (because there always has to be a trend)... but at least lifting / raising a car makes it FAR less vulnerable to getting severely damaged from very common road irregularities, obstacles and debri.
You may need to install an "armadillo-guard" on your lower front bumper... something like a cow-catcher.
I never hit an armadillo, but I did once almost hit a porcupine (in Colorado)... glad I was able to avoid him though!
Hope the repair goes well.
If you hadn't lowered the car though (and instead raised it a bit), you may have squeezed by with far less damage or no damage.
I suspect that eventually the whole "lowering" trend will fade away after enough people damage their cars and realize that lowering is totally impractical for street use.
But then we'll be back to a "lifting" trend (because there always has to be a trend)... but at least lifting / raising a car makes it FAR less vulnerable to getting severely damaged from very common road irregularities, obstacles and debri.
You may need to install an "armadillo-guard" on your lower front bumper... something like a cow-catcher.
I never hit an armadillo, but I did once almost hit a porcupine (in Colorado)... glad I was able to avoid him though!
Hope the repair goes well.
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 12,092
Likes: 123
From: Okiehoma
I'm surprised at the low damage estimate. I hit a "soft" racoon last month at 75mph on drivers side. The damage was to the drivers side bumper cover (its black so you couldn't really tell) but plastic was stressed and the insurance paid $2000 to replace/paint bumper cover and grill and other related parts and once they had front end disassembled they found that the air conditioner condenser took a hit as well, so it was replaced. The car was at body shop for 36 hours and would've been out in six had they known about condenser. Farmer's Insurance Group insures all my assets and did me right.
Your estimate seems a little low considering what you hit.. i would look into it further and would recommend new bumper cover ( i cant tell the difference) .. since it's a comprehensive claim (since the dillo hit you) you don't have to worry about a premium increase.
Someone needs to do something about these critters assaulting our beautiful cars...
Your estimate seems a little low considering what you hit.. i would look into it further and would recommend new bumper cover ( i cant tell the difference) .. since it's a comprehensive claim (since the dillo hit you) you don't have to worry about a premium increase.
Someone needs to do something about these critters assaulting our beautiful cars...
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Drifting
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 1,745
Likes: 0
From: Nevada
I wonder if one of the forum vendors can do a sticker outline for the car. I would be an 'ace' if they had a deer outline for my beater truck. 
Hopefully all works out ok, its hard to avoid such things.
Hopefully all works out ok, its hard to avoid such things.
Heel & Toe
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 18
Likes: 0
From: Tinley Park IL
Burning Brakes
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 824
Likes: 0
Be happy that your car can be repaired. Be sorry the armadillo cant. A life is a life and the way you wrote your story made it seem you didnt really give a damn. To give you the benefit of doubt I'll assume you were going at a speed where those were your only options. As for your bumper as long as there wasnt any structural damage I think that finish would be adequate.
things like this ? i came real close to losing mine once ! never again !
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 6,779
Likes: 2
From: NCM Lifetime Member
St. Jude Donor '12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17-'18-‘19-'20
...And that is the lesson of this story.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 8,514
Likes: 235
From: Currently somewhere in IL,IN,KY,TN,MO,AR,MS,AL, or FL
And all these tree hugger "a life is a life" folks - do you feel the same way about lovebugs?
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 21,390
Likes: 1,010
From: Various places in Southern California.
Too many. I can't tell you how many accident claims I've handled in which people have been hurt or killed trying to avoid a small animal. It's not worth the risk.
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 2,324
Likes: 0
From: MN
Maybe I'm missing something here - you have to REPLACE all those parts and, at the very least, get the front bumper cover painted? There is no way it only costs $475. You can't buy the parts for just that. Is this what you get post-$1000 deductible? I looked into getting a portion of my rear end cap repainted, and that was $750 by itself, without any parts of any kind.
Be aware.
Be aware.