Here is the result of an "A" meeting a deer at 45 mph. I guess it was not so lucky hitting the deer, but lucky it didn't end up in my lap. The hood and one windshield wiper were dented also...
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Glad to see you did not get hurt and the the car was not totaled. Up here in Canada a small low car and a moose collision is a deadly combination.
Cheers
Byron
Some time back my folks were driving down the interstate in a Lincoln. A large dear startled likely by hunters come running down an embankment. The dear ran straight into the side of the car hard enough to knock it into the left lane. Caved in fender and door.
In college I worked a film development shop and we developed film for the highway patrol (film). One set of photos came through had a Van where a dear went through the windshield and separated the head of the driver.
I would say, your lucky.
Coulda been worse. Just sayin': http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=57f_1406269959
I hit a deer in my B back in the '80's. Lost the front right fender, hood & door skin -- and it was a small doe. Also had a blow-out when the fender bent in & sliced the tire. That was bad enough, but insult to injury, a passing fire truck stopped & they told me VA had insurance since the deer are protected so the state is liable... they called the police, I waited a couple hours, he wrote a report & started to leave -- when I asked about the insurance, he said it didn't apply -- only applied when the state owned the road & property... state leased the property the road I was on went through... Then, a year later when I graduated school & went to get insurance on my own, i was declined. In addition to a couple speeding tickets, and a running a red light, they said I also had an accident. Yep, the officer had writtten it up as a single vehicle accident!
Still glad your car (and you) didn't sustain much damage!
I had a similar deer hit in my 1977 MGB in 2010. The repair estimate was $4000.
I live near Moss in Goleta. I picked up the new fender and two door skins, and did my own body work.
I had enough money left to have the entire car painted....25 years after the first time I painted it, with modern urethane color and clear coat.
I wish you the best in getting your car back on the road in great shape.
Roger N. Tanner, Professional Engineer, Retired
Does anyone know if "deer whistles" actually work? If they do, I'm installing a set on each of my cars!
When I lived in NJ deer were a big problem. A body shop owner told me he repaired many deer damaged cars that were equipped with deer whistles. Based on that, it appears the whistles do not work...
I thought that if deer whistles really worked, then everyone that drives in the "countryside" would install a set.
Perhaps there are some deer that are hard of earing!
I once installed infrared night vision systems on some trucks for American Freightways, which was a less-than-truckload carrier based in Arkansas. That fleet told me their trucks struck about 1500 deer every year. So, they were trying everything they could think. Having installed multiple deer whistles on every truck in the fleet, they'd come around to a conclusion that deer whistles don't work. The night vision system functioned very well, but it was costly.
I've only had one minor deer collision in many years of driving but know many people who have had multiple deer/car collisions. In this part of the world, moose/car collisions are much more serious and often result in death or major injury. A young man who worked for me about 25 years ago nearly died when he was a rear seat passenger in a Honda Civic that collided with a moose at night. Areas in NB with high moose populations now have the highways fenced.
Here's some photos of a recent accident in Maine. The only occupant wasn't seriously injured. Note the name of the towing company!
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A picture is worth a thousand words!
I've finally found a Custom shop to repair the damage. I spoke with 15 shops, 11 said they wouldn't touch it because of the metal work and custom color mix (mica dry pearl was mixed with the paint). Even though I have the paint code the pearl was mixed in a way that the amount was not correctly noted. Also one of the suicide doors was sprung.
The estimates were from $9700 to $3000. The shop I trust the most was on the lower side. While the damage is being repaired I'll have the headlights frenched.
The damage could have been MUCH worse as many noted. The deer population has exploded in Tennessee. The deer was hit within the city limits. The police reported that an average of 4 to 6 deer are hit per month.