A deer hit my car!

[GeekOnTheHill]

Not the other way around. He hit me. A big buck. You think he'd at least have the decency to die in the process so I could have eaten him.

How hard is this part to get and replace? 2002 SC1.

Thanks,

Richard

[SL19302]

Originally Posted by GeekOnTheHill

Not the other way around. He hit me. A big buck. You think he'd at least have the decency to die in the process so I could have eaten him.

How hard is this part to get and replace? 2002 SC1.

Thanks,

Richard

Driverside fender wont be hard to replace, For your body style you will need a LH fender from a 2001-2002 SC1 or SC2 best place to look is a j/k or Ebay hopefully you can find one in your color, 2000 fenders were a different style and the lines were different.

[GeekOnTheHill]

Okay, thanks. I'll start searching in the morning.

-Richard

[OldNuc]

Probably 75.00 for fender and liner at JY if they pull it and it takes about an hour to remove and replace. beware that the screws must have those little plastic sliders under the head and not be snugged down. Back screws set alignment and the rest allow for expansion.

I almost go a big doe a couple of nights ago.

[SL19302]

Never knew that, learned something new about those nice polymer panels with the bolts

[GeekOnTheHill]

Originally Posted by OldNuc

Probably 75.00 for fender and liner at JY if they pull it and it takes about an hour to remove and replace. beware that the screws must have those little plastic sliders under the head and not be snugged down. Back screws set alignment and the rest allow for expansion.

I almost go a big doe a couple of nights ago.

Thanks. Glad she missed you.

I don't know what compels these animals to run into the paths of moving vehicles. You'd think they'd either stay still or run the other way.

Maybe they're depressed.

-Richard

[GeekOnTheHill]

Actually, that should have been 2001 SC1. Same part. Just my OCD kicking in here... gotta keep things accurate.

-Richard

[OldNuc]

Originally Posted by GeekOnTheHill

Thanks. Glad she missed you.

I don't know what compels these animals to run into the paths of moving vehicles. You'd think they'd either stay still or run the other way.

Maybe they're depressed.

-Richard

The dogs ran one out of the yard night before last and the dumb thing got caught in the invisible fence wire and pulled down about 100' foot of it in the thickest cedar trees and brush on the side of a steep hill. I am not a fan of deer unless properly cooked.

[GeekOnTheHill]

Originally Posted by OldNuc

The dogs ran one out of the yard night before last and the dumb thing got caught in the invisible fence wire and pulled down about 100' foot of it in the thickest cedar trees and brush on the side of a steep hill. I am not a fan of deer unless properly cooked.

They must be among the dumbest animals in the forest. There are two orphaned yearling does that live by me that come up to me all the time like it's old home day. I'm like, dummies, don't you know you're supposed to be afraid of humans? But they just stand there with dopey grins on their faces. I suspect they'll be venison stew before the weekend's over.

As for the fender, a junky in the next county over from me has one in black for $100.00. He's always a bit on the high side, but usually he'll negotiate down a bit if you pay by cash. I submitted a contact request to him.

I also know a junky in Texas who's a friend of mine from one of the pilot message boards. I sent him a message, as well. If he has one in his yard I'll get a slightly better deal, but the shipping may make it a wash.

-Richard

[OldNuc]

You will pay the volume price to ship as they are light.

Deer are dumb....

[Signmaster]

A drunk human hit my faither in laws car while he was doing about 50. Troopers determined that the drunk impacted the side of the car and that he (FIL) already had two tires off the road and was braking hard, so he faced no charges.

The drunk guy had already wrecked his car and was running onto the road for help.

[DIYguy]

We hit a deer a few years ago in our BMW. I couldn't have been going more than 5-10 mph faster than the stupid thing but did around $1500 in damages. Just as with the OP, that one didn't have the decency to die either. I wish I could have caught it but it ran away.

Deer whistles went on all our vehicles within a few days. I even have them on my bike. Before you laugh, they do seem to get the deer's attention just long enough that I can hit the brakes (or horn) or swerve out of the way. We will not drive without them on our vehicles any more.

Sorry about your car, but it's repairable. At least you are OK. It could have been a lot worse. I used to work with someone who hit a deer head on at about 60 mph. He and his wife each spent quite a while in the hospital. It went partially through the windshield. That could have been worse too.

The only good deer is a properly butchered dead dear with a nice spice rub and slow cooked over hickory wood.

[ohioguy98]

Did you get his insurance info?

Deer aren't "dumb", at least no more so than any other grazing species. Nature designed them to be plenty smart for where they fit into the food chain, otherwise they would not have evolved and survived as a species for millions of years. Their actions and reactions are exactly what they need in order to have a reasonable chance of escaping their primary predators (wolves, big cats, etc). When scared they either freeze (predator eyesight based on movement) or they quickly dart in unpredictable patterns to throw off any four-legged pursuers.

Freezing dead in their tracks or darting back and forth in unpredictable patterns tends to works pretty well for avoiding a wolf. A speeding Buick? Not so much.

[underthehood]

Hate deer myself. Nothing more than rats with hooves IMO

[GeekOnTheHill]

Originally Posted by DIYguy

We hit a deer a few years ago in our BMW. I couldn't have been going more than 5-10 mph faster than the stupid thing but did around $1500 in damages. Just as with the OP, that one didn't have the decency to die either. I wish I could have caught it but it ran away.

Deer whistles went on all our vehicles within a few days. I even have them on my bike. Before you laugh, they do seem to get the deer's attention just long enough that I can hit the brakes (or horn) or swerve out of the way. We will not drive without them on our vehicles any more.

Sorry about your car, but it's repairable. At least you are OK. It could have been a lot worse. I used to work with someone who hit a deer head on at about 60 mph. He and his wife each spent quite a while in the hospital. It went partially through the windshield. That could have been worse too.

The only good deer is a properly butchered dead dear with a nice spice rub and slow cooked over hickory wood.

I was thinking about those whistles. I may go buy some now.

This deer would have wound up in my front seat had I not skidded to a stop. Big buck, too. You're right, though: As car-versus-deer events go, I got off pretty easy.

Thanks.

Richard

[TXSaturn02]

I heard the same people who are responsible for JFK's assassination have been training animals to wreak havoc with motorists over the last 50 years.

I have a lady friend who moved to Arkansas from (Houston area) where she grew up. She wanted to go back 'home'. When little, she thought deer were so cute. Now that she is an adult and had to drive her car to get about, she learned to hate deer. She never hit one, but they got her blood pressure up trying to avoid them. She also moved back to Houston in less than a year. I'm sure it wasn't just the deer that made her decision, but I'm sure they didn't help.

[GeekOnTheHill]

I think part of the reason for the deer collision may have been that my left headlight isn't as clear as I would like it to be. (The deer attacked from the left.)

Also, the adjustment screws for both headlights rotted away long before I bought the car. I kind of jerry-rigged them by enlarging the holes in the plastic and basically shimming them, but they're still less than ideal.

So today I ordered new headlight assemblies from RockAuto. I was tempted to go for OEM at ~$150.00/each, but RockAuto has reaplecements that have gotten good reviews (including on this forum) for about half the price. Also, they have a pretty good return policy, so if they don't fit, I'll send them back and go OEM.

Getting them from a junkyard was also an option, but I figure that junkyard ones (at least around here) are likely to have the same problem of the adjusting screws being rusted away. Pretty much anything that can rust, rusts up here because of the road salt in the winter.

-Richard

[OldNuc]

Lights do not scare the deer away but they do allow seeing them sooner so evasive action may be taken.

[GeekOnTheHill]

Originally Posted by OldNuc

Lights do not scare the deer away but they do allow seeing them sooner so evasive action may be taken.

Yes, exactly. I'm an unusually attentive driver and usually pick them out with plenty of time to avoid them, but I think the poor lighting (especially on the left) contributed to my simply not seeing this deer in time.

It was my own stupidity, when you get right down to it. I've been "thinking about" changing the headlights ever since I bought the car, but I don't have reasons to drive a whole lot at night, so I kept putting it off. I should have just gone ahead and replaced them.

-Richard

[DIYguy]

I subscribe to the Ron White theory on deer. If you could shoot at them using bullets with two tiny headlights, a blaring horn and only traveling 60 mph, you'd hit them a lot more often. :drool

Try KC Masterpiece, mesquite wood and a slow cooker..... if you don't subscribe to dry rub BBQ over hickory wood.

Again, glad you're OK.