So I hit my first deer last night....going about 55MPH....and here's what happened. The car doesnt even start...and its leaking fluids.

Only has 67,000 miles....so not sure if my insurance will claim it totaled....what do you guys think?

<img src = "">

 

Man that sucks. I was in a car that hit a dear when I was 14. The car was totaled out and we had to spend Christmas Eve until 4:00 am christmas morning, in a truckstop in Arkansa.

So I feel for you.

 

Sorry to say it looks like its gonna be a total loss.

looks like structural damage. by the radiator.

I was once in a accident that dented up the front of the hood. and headlight and rad. and insurace paid me out for the car.

I would first see what your insurace company would say than take any mods off your car and sell them.

 

poor deer....
how come hood got more damage than the bumper...thats alot of damage on hood..you will need a new hood, headlight may be an ac condenser and radiator too..btw if insurance do cover u'll just have to pay the deductible so not a big deal.
and next time use the DEER WARNING device...you can buy them at autozone, pepboys etc.

 

It shouldn't be a total. This is my wifes car after an accident a few months ago and they wouldn't total it. It was about 90k at the time.

 

Thats why I don't like to drive on the Taconic... Deer all over the place.

 

wow sorry man thats horrible good luck with the insurance

you can always tell everyone you went hunting and shot a nice deer

 

Atleast the deer didnt go through your windsheild

I doubt they will claim that as totaled

 

interestingly, Soonerfan's 2000 max had far less visible damage and it was totaled

 

sorry for your loss.....

 

I think he meant 90k miles... insurance/salvage laws vary by state, which would probably explain the discrepancy. That, and it depends on the claims adjuster.

 

Sorry to hear that....look at mine http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=492151

 

I really hope they total it.

 

NO way thats a total...no way

 

I'm sorry to hear man. My max was totaled and I thought it could have been fixed But I guess it all depends on your insurance co. and who writes it up.

 

Holy ISH!! Class of 2006 ftl?

 

Wow, sorry for your loss. I've had very close calls with deers myself. Hope everything works out.

 

sorry man....

 

Thanks for all the comments guys....I guess I'll try to get the estimate tomorrow....before sending it to my insurance company. I'm not ready to let go of this car yet.....but we shall see, I don't think the car will ever be the same......

Should I get an estimate from 2 body shops?

Be careful out there....the deer population is out of control.

 

Anyone have a ton of empty wall space at home?

 

i was driving down the road yesterday and saw 2 deer right in the middle of the road. they were jsut standing there looking lost. Well thanks to my hids i was able to see them from a distance and stop. I couldnt picture hitting one of them. sorry for your loss

 

hrm i dont remember seeing allot of posts about hitting deer last year

upstate gun season isnt till next month man, gotta whip out that crossbow!

 

I have an itchy trigger finger this year...

Living in NYC all summer really killed my shooting time, damn NYC gun laws!

 

I was picking up my little brother from his Jr. Prom when some a-hole ran the red light going 60 in the pouring rain.

 

hey frack, time for mods! nothing says "i feel better" like a CF hood, HID projectors, and a new front facia!

(ps sorry about the hit, but at least you have evidence that a creature crossed your path)

 

I thought it was funny...my supervisor rolled her Maxima on ice this past winter and they fixed it. $14,000 to fix and they didn't total it! '03 with aroudn 45k. Ahhh her car was my inspiration to buy a Maxima. Gotta love test drives on cars that aren't yours.

 

Sorry to hear about your loss. But good thing you aren't injured w/someone hitting you going 60...

 

Sorry to hear about that... stupid a$$ deer !!! stupid useless, dumba$$ animals that bring no good to this world.

If the insurance doesn't total it... have the body shop install the 5.5gen front end (HID lights, bumper) and a hood.

 

Sorry to hear about your loss, but quite honestly your car doesn't look bad. I figure the leaking fluids would be from a busted rad. fRom the looks of it, you will need a new front grille/hood, have the rad support either replaced or pulled back into shape, new driver side headlamp and thats about it. The bumper looks salvagable and so does the driver front fender. Get the rad replaced, and your good to go. There is probably more than what meets the eye here, but thats all that I can see that is wrong. If they total it, and there is no frame damage, I suggest buying it back for real cheap, and doing the repairs yourself...then driving the car for at least another 200k, as you won't have good resale on a "salvage" branded car.

 

thats nothing they arent going to total it

 

did the airbags go off?

 

depending on what was damaged under the hood i'd say that its easily totalled. Depending on what the % is for your state. sometimes it may not look like a lot of damage but those fricking insurance folks total it anyway....to save themselves from the hassle of fixing your car.

do you want to keep it? or do you hope they total it?

 

Stupid deer.

I hope you atleast killed it.

 

 

Did the airbag pop?

sorry, didn't see the post above.

 

Ok- so I got an estimate from the body shop...$8,100.....

Then after 1 week, my insurance company said its not totaled and the damage is $6200, because they want to use non-OEM parts....so they are mailing me a check for that amount.....

However, I dont want my car fixed at the shop its currently at....the insurance company told me that most body shops will have to honor their estimate(6200)..... does anyone know about this? Even if I take the car out of state to a body shop a friend works at?

Plus the car does not run...so I'll have to pay for towing.

 

Yes you can get you car fixed anywhere you want it is against the law for them to tell you where to get it repaired. If you take ut out of town to get fix and more money is needed for additional of hidden damge the shop can submit a supplement to the ins. co for additional cost on the repair. If you do not want aftermarket parts used on the car if you call your adjuster you might be able to work out new parts instead. good luck!

 

After my car is repaired....will it still have a "clear" title.... and will the carfax on it say something about being in an accident.... I guess I can just forget about trading the car in to a dealer now.

 

Yes, they use non-oem body part. You'll most likely have to fork up some $$ for OEM parts. You could request CAPA certified part which are pretty close to OEM, and are cheaper than OEM. You may want to get original headlights or switch to the 5.5 generation. The aftermarket housing may have a reduced output.

You can also decide to part out the max or sell as is, and get a new car.

 

frack1217 -- your title will still be clear (if your car was totalled, it would likely have a salvage title) but a carfax report will likely show an accident since insurance is involved. If they do a good job repairing it, trading it in at a dealer shouldn't be a problem.