I was driving home from the mall and was half way around an off ramp when a deer ran out in front of me. I turned to the left to avoid it, slammed my brakes on but there was not enough room. I hit the gaurd rail doing about 15, i lightly scuffed the the tire as well. The damage as it seems appears to be a bent hood, with 3 inch lacerations in a horizontal pattern on the left side of the car. the bumper has holes popped into it and the very bottom of the left light was broken. Which probably means a new light as well. I searched for quite a while on the internet and these forums to find what the basic price will be. Definitly a new bumper, probably a new hood and a new light. Does anyone know the price of a new bumper, hood and light? i couldnt for the life of me find it anywhere. Thanks

 

Won't insurance cover the damage? Deer dodging sucks, had it happen last winter (not in a mini), nailed a mailbox and scratched up the side from the wheel well to the second door, lost the side mirror, antenna, and had to replace the windshield. And the deer just had it's fur ruffled.

Look on the bright side, it wasn't a moose!

 

Bambi must die!!! Of course with the Mini, you should have aimed for it and gone between it's legs. That's just for humor's sake; I do feel badly for you.

 

Sorry man, been there done that (I hate wildlife on roads!). Be assured the cost of the parts and install far exceeds your deductible. Don't worry about it, just turn it in.

 

Sorry to hear that, the worst thing is you and your mini will be away from each other for some time, that really sucks.

let the insurance handle the whole thing and get your car fixed at a professional place.

i wish you luck and again so sorry

 

I hit a deer once in my MINI, not much damage since the deer wasn't so big and I was only going 20mph. My hood scoop was gone and the hood only dented in two places. I asked the dealer how much it will be to replace the hood and I think it was $700. That was just the price of the hood and nothing else. In the end, I ended up taking it to my dad's friend's auto body to fix the dents, and I got a new scoop ($90!!!). I'm glad the car didn't recieve more damage.

 

A recent addendum to my car insurance policy stated they would no longer cover damage caused by attempts to AVOID hitting deer! Not sure if that's because hitting trees causes so much more damage...or if too many people were running off the road after a few beers and claiming to have been attempting to avoid a deer. Pete

 

So, like any good insured, find a dead deer and say you hit it. Just kidding. I'm an insurance adjuster and I've seen a lot of it, not willing to say I've seen it all because everyday it's something new! But of that addendum, I would say that seems like a pant load. I can see the reasoning behind it, like you say, but if you crash your car for any reason other than it was done intentionally to cause a loss, it should be covered. It will be interesting to see what happens when this addendum is challenged in court (which I guarantee it will be). Seems like it is taking away coverage for an accidental collision loss, which is why you buy car insurance in the first place!

 

It sounds almost exactly the same with me brishing with a guardrail. Does it look similar to this?

I paid out of pocket, about $2500 in the end, it would have been 3-4 grand if insurance was paying. The big cost was a whole new hood. It's double walled, so if its bent it can't really be fixed. Plastic trim and lights are dirt cheap and easy enough to do yourself. Front side panel new and replaced (I think it was $40 for a new one), door and rear fender repaired and actually look better than new.

Sounds just like mine where the edge of the rim was the same height as the guardrail and got scratched. I just touched the paint up on that..I think it took a good amount of the force, but I did also need an aligment. Email me if you have more questions.