I hit a deer last night...

[Thor Von Clemson]

Guess theres a first time for everything. I was driving home from seeing my girlfriend at work. I saw the deer with about 15 ft to avoid it, so I slammed on my brakes and turned as hard as I could. I almost missed it, but almost does not count when it comes to hitting a baby dear going sixty in your NEW CAR.... Its gonna cost a couple thousand to fix, which puts most of my other plans on hold (I was gonna buy an engagment ring with some of that thousand dollars) Anyways, the car is driveable at least. I am going to try to wait as long as I can to get it fixed. My girlfriend, along with her family, says quite adamantly that it is considered a, "natural disaster", therefore I should not have to pay the deductable on my insurance (progressive) or the costs to have it fixed as long as I get two estimates from two different shops. I really do not know a whole lot about insurance, but I am praying to the Big Man upstairs that this is true..Does anyone know anything about this? [img]/images/graemlins/help.gif[/img]

[charvelguy]

Re: I hit a deer last night...

In Minnesota, I believe deer have the right of way. Did you hit it in the rear?

Ok, joking aside, sorry to hear you new car got smashed up and I feel sorry for the deer.
There's always venison for the future inlaws. I wonder how many people after hitting a deer actually took it to a butcher and ate it. I do not know if I would or not..such a waste.

It should be covered under your comprehensive coverage in your policy, which usually carries a lot lower deductable than some folks collision. I think I carry a 100.00 or zero, I cannot recall but it is variable. STD I think is 250.00. Did you have a rental policy? (where you pay extra in case you need a car rental)
Otherwise you can usually work out a deal with the shop that gets included in the billing.
Glass is usually free, not sure if that is by law in Minnesota or not...but I've never had to pay for it with full coverage which you should have with a new car.

Progressive is usually pretty expensive I thought, you should try American Family for a rate quote. I found they were cheaper than State Farm.

I used to play in Forest Lake quite a bit at the Upperdeck, you ever make it up there? You must hit the Maplewood MGR quite a bit. Anyways... Best of luck...

[Mrs Tekky]

Re: I hit a deer last night...

Charvelguy is right - it should be covered under comprehensive. Depending on the insurer you may have to pay the deductible. I don't konw a lot about progressive. Definitely get the estimates. The claim rep you talk to when you call it in should be able to give you some more details. Ad if not, ask to speak to someone higher up. the most important part is to review your insurane policy. Unless it's specifically excluded in the policy, they should have to cover it.

As for keeping the deer after it was hit - depends on the damage to the deer. If it was hit badly, there may be bone shards through the meat or it could be damaged to badly to make use of it. Often though, if the person who hit it doesn't want it, the police have a listing of people that will come get the carcass.

[SeventhSon]

Re: I hit a deer last night...

Yep, I hit a deer in upstate NY. A Big One. Totaled my car. Insurance considers it an Act of God so it's completely covered under comprehensive.

If I were you, I'd find an insurance adjuster to total your car. Just get another brand new one. Your repaired car will NEVER be worth the loan payments that you are making on it. Think about what would happen if you had to flip the car. You'd be upside down on your loan.

[Thor Von Clemson]

Re: I hit a deer last night...

There were to many parts of the deer to salvage anything. I thought about calling my girlfriend's dad so he could tag it, but since it was such a small deer and it was pretty much dismembered, it did not seem like it was worth it. I am gonna call our insurance guy about comp. Hopefully it will cover it. My relatives live in Forest Lake. I have never been to the Upperdeck, but I go to FL usually every few months. The last band I saw was at the Legion in Fridley. Other than that, I have not been to a show in a long time. I used to go to the Quest, 1st Ave, and the Java Joint in St. Cloud a lot (my band played there quite a few times). Once school gets over, I will have time to see more shows at more venues around here. Anyways, back to the insurance. I have to buy new insurance in May. I am wondering if any of you Minnesota members can recommend anything? Like I said, I have progressive. I personally think I get the shaft every month; my girlfriend pays the same amount for insurance as me and she has a friggin sportscar. Any ideas?

[charvelguy]

Re: I hit a deer last night...

Depends on how old you are and your overall driving record.
If you are under 25 and male, they are usually pretty hard on ya as a risk consideration. They may have even changed the cutoff to another age, like 27.
I still think American Family would be way cheaper, and State Farm the next best. A rate qoute is just a phone call away.

What kind of car was it?

I had forgot that the police had a list for the carcass, and I had not considered the damage to the deer itself..usualy the torso looks intact. Must have been a pretty small deer, that is too bad for both.
Last time I was in a vehicle that we thought hit a deer, it was a 24ft truck fully loaded with gear and it didn't do any damage if we had clipped it.

I have been known to use my horn every 100ft or so with a short blast while driving at night going through deer populated areas.. plus I keep my eye scanning side to side on the shoulders for eyes when driving through two laners. Sounds crazy but I have been spared from hitting a deer, or most animals. But then again, I'll brake for squirrels. It's the geese and wild turkeys that sometimes try my patience.

[Mrs Tekky]

Re: I hit a deer last night...

A lot of companies have online rate quoting. Take your time, do your research. Age, marital status, college education, credit, driving record, and multiple other things can have an effect on your rate. Do your reseach. Some places have better customer service. State Farm is not usually the cheapest, but generally offer more extensive customer service. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Just remember - cheap insurance is not always the best when something does happen. (Sorry - I work for an insurance company - and no I cannot get you a discout - I can't even get myself a discount).

[Newc]

Re: I hit a deer last night...

The biggest problem with eating a roadkill deer is the fact that the internal organs can sometimes rupture from the impact, and toxins from them can flood the meat, ruining it.

[charvelguy]

Re: I hit a deer last night...

When I did a rate quote for Geico and Progessive online, they killed me. It would have cost 3-4x what I currently had payed. They advertise extensively, that costs $$- you as a consumer pay for it. I'd throw that cute little lizard out the door cause he ain't saving me 15% or more.

For me, State Farm seemed to have taken a big jump in their rates do to 9/11. Apparantly the payouts in New York and where they had basing had something to do with it. From what I understand, the companies primarily based on the West Coast and smaller companies in the West didn't have the rate increases that those based in the East did after 9/11.

Farmers may be worth looking into as well. Unfortunately, a company can now absolutely slay your rates from a bad credit report-which really is unfair if there are things on there that are not yours. I used to work in credit and it was a nightmare of clerical errors.

[SeventhSon]

Re: I hit a deer last night...

Dude, I am telling you, your biggest issue right now after a wreck like that is the resell value of your car after they repair it. Just using made up numbers, but do you like the thought of paying off a $30,000 loan on a car that's now only worth $20000? Or selling the car at some point and being surprised that you can't pay off the loan with the proceeds?

Don't believe me? Ask the dealer that you bought the car from if they'll give you the mint blue book value on your car as a trade in after the repair is done. Should be good as new, right? They'll laugh at you.

Good luck.

[charvelguy]

Re: I hit a deer last night...

They won't total it unless it is 70% of the value.

A new car that had 2000.00 in damage... unless it was used to begin with... I'm almost sure will not get totalled no matter who reviews it. You are correct tho, it won't hold value as it did before but nor will he get the value of a new car even if he could find an adjuster that would total it.. which I would think wouldn't be likely.

I've been in that boat. A year after I bought my '99 Mazda, I got into an accident where I got caught up in some slush, I lost control and my rear end turned about 180 degrees during a snowfall. I found myself stalled and sliding backwards as my car faced into oncoming traffic on a major highway during morning rush hour.(694- it's a 3-4 lane going one way) I was just going to try to restart when I saw headlights, and then wham! Nothing like the sound of metal being impacted against metal.
I could have been killed as I was hit by a huge Ford diesel powered extended cab pickup but thankfully I wasn't hit again after he spun me back around I rolled onto the shoulder. That car probably had less than 20k on it and 4 years left on payoff but the damage only came to about 3-4k if I recall. I just figured I would have to own it until it was no more.
It got reared by a uninsured this Sept. At 6-7k damage.. that totalled it.

[Mrs Tekky]

Re: I hit a deer last night...

Insurance companies do not like totaling a car - and most definitely won't on a new car with only a couple thousand worth of damage. It has to cost more to fix it that they could get out of it. Even if they total it - chances are you will still be paying part of the loan because chances are the worth of the vehicle is not even the current loan total. And often if a car is totaled - they try to reach a settlement rather than total value. Resale value will definitely go down after an accident - but that amount depends on the accident - was there frame damage, etc.

Good luck man. Let me know if you want help finding online quotes or contacts.

[Thor Von Clemson]

Re: I hit a deer last night...

I think I am gonna wait to get it fixed till may. I have to buy new insurance at that point, so I will try to find the best one for me. I will be getting a new job after graduating (in may) so I can afford to pay a higher premium if it gets me a lower deductable. BTW the car is a 2005 Hyundai Elantra GT. It is pretty nice considering it is the first car I bought on my own.

[Grandturk]

Re: I hit a deer last night...

I had $6300 worth of damage on a Honda Civic that blue booked for $6000. The adjuster knocked the shop's estimate for cost of repairs down to $5900 and they paid to repair it.

[Guest]

Re: I hit a deer last night...

[img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img] bummer