racerfoo

tonight, i found an AWESOME road to go driving on. its about 30 miles of curves, very smooth road. well the 7 was lovin it, and about 20 miles into it after a sharp turn, a deer runs out in front of me. so quick i never had a chance. took off my headlight, bumper is dented, hood is pushed in a lil, and the fender is screwed. dang dude.....i just got this car last monday. 850 miles later i hit a deer.

at least i killed the deer.....it was a 4 point (well, thats all that was left anyways). Ill get some pics up soon.

Any advice on getting it fixed? i will probably need a new hood, fender, headlight, and possibly bumper. its coming out of my pocket, so what do you guys think is the best thing to do? If a 99spec bumper or replica is about the same as a stock bumper, then i'd much rather do that. hood? aftermarket a bunch more than stock hood? and the headlights, im sure a replacement would be less than a sleek light kit....is there any other cheap headlight kits? like that still pop up, but have dual light setups? fender can stay stock, not ready for widebody yet.

man, THIS SUCKS!

MichRX7

That does suck. I just missed one here in Michigan the second week I had my 3rd gen.

Call the insurance company, get all new stuff (maybe a single turbo...hmm...) and get it fixed over the snowy winter.

racerfoo

i have a 1000 dollar deductable, so i figure reporting it wouldnt make *that* much difference. im just gonna fix it myself and try to do it cheap.

MrKentChu

did u take the dead deer home and eat it? i'm sure it taste better after u tenderized it.

kent

rynberg

woah, hold on there. A new bumper and hood are both several hundred dollars each, plus the fender and lighting assembly. You also don't know about other damage you may not have noticed yet. Also, when you get these new parts, they will have to be modified slightly (if you go aftermarket), not to mention painted. You are looking at a few thousand dollars at least. Make the insurance company help you out.

rxrotary2_7

i agree. thats why you pay them every 6 months. or month, whatever your case may be.

MichRX7

Or, days...that is about the length of time he's had this car.

RX7FAN

$1000 is a big deductable but it is nothing compared to how much it may cost to get your car fixed right.

In the past 2 months there were a couply people that had minor accidents that took out a corner like yours and there was talk about the ins co. totaling the car. Sure aftermarket parts are cheaper and look better but get your estimate on factory parts and take the amount over the deductable and buy your aftermarket pieces.

But remember you'll end up paying more for insurance next time... There may be some forgiveness for hitting a deer and not a car though...

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

I disagree.

If your age is correct in your profile, the last thing you need on your insurance is a claim for damages. Your rates will go up and depending on the costs and/or the company, they will drop you the next renewal time (I've been there). You'll come out cheaper paying for it now than for the next 5 years worth of insurance.

First thing is to get the car checked out to make sure there is nothing else damaged besides the exterior. After that, then you can think about what to replace.

RX7SpiritR

iTrader: (1)

Yeah, tell insurance and pay the $1000 to fix it to a point and then let insurance handle the rest of the money issues. Mine is a $500 deductible, but that's because of the loan, kinda sux but I guess in a way it's good if I get into an accident or something.

rxrotary2_7

always opt for a low deductable. its only a few dolars more every month.
mahjik- i dont realy care what you agree with. j/k

turbojeff

iTrader: (30)

Some info that might help you make a decision. In Oregon (insurance laws vary by state) hitting a deer is a comprehensive claim, that won't affect your insurance rates. It has to be obvious that you hit an animal. It is pretty easy to tell the difference, an animal does a lot of surface damage, a object/car or whatever smashes the car differently.

Headlight assy ~$450
Hood $779
Fender $200
Bumper cover ~$500 (complete assy is $1200)

The above prices don't include paint or installation! Crashing the front of an FD is VERY likely to total it due to part prices. Your car doesn't sound totalled at all but trust me it is gonna cost you $3K +++ to fix it. Please don't do a halfass job, FDs are pretty rare, fix it right.

Jeff

Kiflin

1,000 Deduc???

Thats insane, mines only 500.

RonKMiller

I disagree. Carrying a higher deductible will save you hundreds of dollars a year. It does on vehicle, homeowners and health insurance. So there!

It all boils down to what kind of risk you pose to yourself and the insurance company over time. If you are a defensive driver, (although anyone can nail a deer - I've done it in two cars and a motorcycle) take care of your health by eating right and exercising, and look out for potential fire and safety problems in your home you are going to come out WAY ahead by carrying a higher deductible. An insurance company "rewards" you by putting you in a lower risk group. When you do have a claim they are more likely to overlook it without raising your premium or cancelling you.

Start filing small claims, especially several over a period of a few years and they will screw you big time, if they even decide to keep you as a customer.

The laws vary tremendously from state to state, depending on the strength of the state insurance commission. Some have got lots of ***** and help consumers tremendously (so much that many companies pull out of the market) and others are total wimps, and the insurance companies do pretty much whatever they please.

There actually are a few good companies out there, but most will make you fight for compensation, especially if the claim is dubious. (gee, I can't imagine anyone trying to defraud an insurance company...)

I think Racerfoo is going to be shocked when he sees what the total repair bill is going to be. If it's done right with OEM parts and paint I'm going to guess $3 - $5K, EASILY...
There is ALWAYS hidden damage.

I'm sure Racerfoo is a very skilled and careful driver and would NEVER speed, (even though he said the "7 was lovin' it") but driving at night, on an unfamiliar CURVY road, in deer country, in an ultra high performance sports car, at a young age? Recipe for a crash.

Venison should be served rare, sauteed with wine, butter and mushrooms.

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

I agree on the deductable part but here in Missouri, and him being that young. he's lucky he has insurance at all on the car. The companies around here will drop you in a heartbeat if you are young, have a sports car, and any claims.

I did something similar a long time ago when I first got my 300zx. One car accident. I ended up footing the bill myself as I had already been dropped by one insurance company on an FC and one claim.

7sweetie

thats sick, im happy here in texas we dont have deer

poor college student

damn... that sucks... i don't have too many deer arond here, but i was hittin' up the twisties in my fc, and a coyote jumped out in front of me, good thing it was on a straightway and it was kind of far in front of me, so i got to slow down and swerve around it...

jdhuegel1

Yup. Deer season in IL too. Sucks.

rxrotary2_7

Ron. although i agree with you that it will save a few hundred every year...who actualy puts that money aside for an incodent like this? not to many would be my guess. so by paying a little extra evey month is in a way, "putting it aside"
and espicialy for his age, i am going to say it will be easier to dish out $500 rather than $1K.

Scrapiron7

Damn, you just got the car last monday and have already put 850 miles on it? That's about how much I put on mine over the summer

racerfoo

hey, when you just get a new car, you know you wanna drive it all the time. that was gonna be my last drive for a few weeks, back to the beater. but now looks like im stuck with the beater anyways. at least its winter and the weather is already bad, not rx7 driving weather anyways.

dubulup

I put 7400 miles in 4 months!!!

RonKMiller

OK, I agree. But only if you PLAN on crashing alot....

...Come to think of it, when I was his age I DID crash alot! (Extend arm straight out...palm up....bring hand to forehead very fast and hard. Repeat multiple times.)

Poor guy, 850 miles....BUM-MER.

overkill

Lotan

i've rung up 24,000 in 4 months...in my Galant. Texas had to go and get all huge and ****