Just Hit a Big Deer with my '85 911

[jcgranato]

I just hit a Big Doe at about 65 MPH with my 1985 911. She tried to change directions and fell down on the pavement. I hit her without even touching the brake. I hit her and went air-born. (Not very high obviously but did leave the ground being launched off her fat body) My car has a factory 964 front bumper, which the bottom half was ripped off and i have a fiberglass 964 rear bumper that caught her on the way out the back. The bumper looks fine (its dark so not real sure) but my rear license plate is bent straight out. Looking under the car I see lots of fur and skin with fur attached caught on things.

My question is what do I look for damage wise. When I take it to the body shop, where are the vulnerable areas to look at? I'm thinking that the car being 30 years old, the tech or estimator may not necessarily know what to look for.

Thanks in advance.

Joe

[matt930s]

Some pics would help.


What happened to the deer? Was it put down? Or didn't make it past the hit?

MattR

[jcgranato]

Deer was DOA. Car runs fine, drives fine and leaks nothing. Trying to figure out if there are any paricularly vulnerable areas. Its too dark to get ant decent pictures.

[Jack Stands]

Glad you're alright, deer encounters can go very badly for both. It sounds like the car will have to get up on a lift to see what the underside looks like, but it is mostly a flat surface until you get back to the engine.

[jcgranato]

Yes I am fine, not even shook up or mad! I'm really surprised I am not upset. I guess as I get older, thinks come into perspective quicker and easier.

The underside is covered with hair. I would assume that if any suspension was bent it would drive funny, if the motor was damaged it would run/sound funny and if any oil lines were damaged it would be leaking.

[Bill Douglas]

Have a look. Get your shirt dirty and have a very good look underneath. Then get a wheel alignment done and that will give you an indication as to whether the chassis (body) is bent or not.

[Quicksilver]

In the little technical specifications book it has a list of measurements (with tolerances) for control points under the car. The body shop can start with checking to be sure they are within tolerance plus the alignment.

They certainly won't miss the body panel repairs so that won't require special goading ...

[zippy_gg]

Be sure to leave the fur and other animal debris until the insurance adjuster has a chance to look at your car, and/or take lots of pictures.
Otherwise your carrier may decide you were involved in a single vehicle accident, went out of control and hit a tree or other non movable object. That would be an at fault accident.

[RedCoupe]

Originally Posted by zippy_gg

Be sure to leave the fur and other animal debris until the insurance adjuster has a chance to look at your car, and/or take lots of pictures.
Otherwise your carrier may decide you were involved in a single vehicle accident, went out of control and hit a tree or other non movable object. That would be an at fault accident.

+1 At least here in AZ, colliding with an animal is covered by your Comprehensive coverage not your Collision coverage, so if you file a claim it shouldn't impact your insurance premium.

[obscene]

Originally Posted by zippy_gg

Be sure to leave the fur and other animal debris until the insurance adjuster has a chance to look at your car, and/or take lots of pictures.
Otherwise your carrier may decide you were involved in a single vehicle accident, went out of control and hit a tree or other non movable object. That would be an at fault accident.

Couldn't agree more. Don't touch anything until the insurance claim is sorted.

Best of luck too. I hit a deer last spring but went under it instead of over.

[ClickClickBoom]

El Chup ate one too:
El Chup is tough!
Rats with hooves.

[sixbanger]

Take the truck and get your free meat. That deer owes you.
I once was driving my 356 down the road one morning about 11AM and out of nowhere comes these deer up a hill and ran right in the road and jumped across the front hood. I crapped my pants
. They didn't get hit but I was pushing down hard on the brakes and the guy right behind me almost rear ended me. He saw the whole thing. Man was I ever lucky. I thought they were going to come right through the windshield.

[ClickClickBoom]

The deer in Calif are not much bigger than a German Shepard, and they eat acorns, so they cook up and taste like a bowl of skunk rectums. They are only fit for possums and raccoons, or mountain lions.....
The one I ran over with the Deuce, I had the rope out and was gonna drag the carcass to the sierras, but thought that would be too gruesome, even for me, not to mention the wimmens and chillins of silicone valley during rush hour.

[hcoles]

Originally Posted by obscene

Couldn't agree more. Don't touch anything until the insurance claim is sorted.

Best of luck too. I hit a deer last spring but went under it instead of over.

That's almost exactly where I contacted a deer. Right headlight. After considerable back and forth with State Farm and the repair place I got the damage covered but had to pay for matching the other fender and redoing the hood/side mirrors/etc. I think the final bill was $11k or so. I drive much more careful near dusk now.

[Baz]

RIP "Bambi"

[Lake Guy]

In Canada we hit moose and they can kill you in the cab of an F350 pickup. They have 4 foot tall legs so you never go over them. Worst thing is for one to come through the windshield alive. They basically kick the crap out of everything inside the truck killing the occupants. I'd say you're very lucky!

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by jcgranato

My question is what do I look for damage wise. When I take it to the body shop, where are the vulnerable areas to look at? I'm thinking that the car being 30 years old, the tech or estimator may not necessarily know what to look for.

The bottom of the car is flat. No big news the lower front took the bulk of the impact.

You went into the air or at least very up there from the front end bonk. At 65 mph your car travels 95 feet in one second. The launch may have saved you a world of hurt.

Check suspension point pickups in rear and exhaust.

Focus on the nose damage to a fault.

[tips]

Did you backdate?

I think pics of this car showed up on my insta explore

[obscene]

Originally Posted by hcoles

That's almost exactly where I contacted a deer. Right headlight. After considerable back and forth with State Farm and the repair place I got the damage covered but had to pay for matching the other fender and redoing the hood/side mirrors/etc. I think the final bill was $11k or so. I drive much more careful near dusk now.

Mine happened early morning on a very busy highway which was the last place I expected to see a deer. Fortunately Hagerty has been absolutely amazing to work with. I can't compliment their customer service enough.

[obscene]

Originally Posted by tips

Did you backdate?

I think pics of this car showed up on my insta explore

If you're asking about my car, yes. It got a lot of exposure recently when @rgruppe and @rennline posted it. My instagram is @benjaminobscene if you want to see all the in progress pictures.