Hi -

My E is already slightly overdue for the 10,000 Mile service call- which I was going to have done in the next week or 2.

Now I have another problem - as I T-boned a deer doing 45 yesterday about 1 mile down the road from my house. I know I have to contact my insurance tomorrow - but I've never dealt with anything like this before.

Do I take it to a dealer ASAP and let them deal with it? Should I be provided a loaner while it's fixed?

Any dealer is a one hour drive each way - but I want to get this taken care of immediately. I'm leaking washer fluid all over the place, and I smell antifreeze although can see no evidence of it leaking anywhere. The resevoir levels do not seem to have changed since yesterday either....

Help!

Call your insurance ASAP. Then find out what they'll do for you. It depends on the type of coverage you have. I imagine they'll recommend a shop or three and you'll take it there. It is unlikely that they will rec you take it to the dealer. Your insurance company will have shops near you that they do business with.

Weather or not you get a loaner depends entirely on your coverage. They can't exactly bill the deer :)

Let us know how it goes.

And if you have a dog, (or any pet) and think there might be even a TINY chance there is anti-freeze leaking---DO NOT let the pet any where near where the car has been! I had a dog who just LICKED at an anti-freeze drip, and luckily I saw it, and the doctor saved her. Scary stuff!

And reguardless of who's fault it is, be prepared for your Insurance rates to go up. Your record now indicates that you are prone to hitting deers.:roll:

You may have killed Bambi's mother.

If I were you I would just keep quite and hope that nobody ever found out

First off find the best body shop in your area and that isnt the one your insurance company deals with. Insurance companies cut deals with body shops to keep costs low for them. In many cases this results in the use of cheap aftermarket parts that dont fit or dont have the same crash worthiness as the orginal Honda part. They rust quicker etc. I would take it to the Honda dealer and let their body shop handle. Dont settle for used or non Honda parts.

This why we need more predators ie wolfs, coyotes, bears and mountain lions. If a few little kids, a couple of dogs and thousands of cats get eaten so be it.

This why we need more predators ie wolfs, coyotes, bears and mountain lions. If a few little kids, a couple of dogs and thousands of cats get eaten so be it.

hahaha ..awesome!

Tell the insurance company the deer ran into you.

Where are the pictures of this T-Boned deer ?

Tell the insurance company the deer ran into you.
I'm pretty sure that dog wouldn't hunt!

I hope you stopped and tried to help the deer.

first thing that when on my e was my dear whistle's VERY IMPORTANT UP STATE NEW YORK should be mandatory like seat belts $7.00 plus tax in auto parts store

getting out to help the deer is one of the things you should NOT do.. as much as we think we should its actually a dumb move.

1. theres nothing we can do for it
2. if it happens to just have the wind knocked out of it, theres a slight chance it might go for payback

I would make sure that it was down permanantly and load it up (after getting a road kill permit!) and slice and dice it at home. **nothing like a good 'ole venison steak**

All deer on the highways are required to have "crossing" hazard insurance. You have to exchange information though...

Regards,

a deer doing 45

Damn that's one fast deer!

Seriously though. You are luck you could drive home. How badly damaged is the E? Got Pictures? The fluid could be your windshield wiper fluid. It's behind the passenger fog light.

first thing that when on my e was my dear whistle's VERY IMPORTANT UP STATE NEW YORK should be mandatory like seat belts $7.00 plus tax in auto parts store

Studies have shown that deer whistles and dear whistles are not effective at preventing close encounters with bambi and friends. We need more effective predators cougars, wolves and bears oh my! But the terrorist at PETA will scream. They are complaining about roach eating promotion the 6 Flgs is hacing in October. Eat a roach and get in free.

There are more deer in Fairfax County right now than anytime in the lst 250 years.

where is the damage pictures ??

Reminds me of a time when I was upstate NY , and hanging out with the boys , and it was my turn to make a run ! (beer -idiots) On my way back on an isolated farm road , I felt a bump , like I ran over something . I immediately pulled over to discover that I had ran over a pig . The poor thing was already dead for some time , so I figured what the heck and besides the boys were waiting ! I looked around and all I could see was farm land for miles ! So I dragged the pig to the side of the road and took off ! Never telling anyone of what had happened ! A few weeks later my doorbell rang , and when I opened the door only to find two state troopers there , I identified myself as a fellow member and asked what the problem was ? They asked me if I had been upstate the month before and I said yes , then they asked me if I had run over a pig ? I of course said yes and knew I was in trouble , turns out that the pig had survived ! But I knew that noone had seen the incident and since I had yet been read my rights , I might get away with this ! Well the troopers had a job to perform and took me in ! As I was beinging lead away I turned to the troopers and asked , how they found out ? They said the pig squealed !!!!!!
Man I crack myself up ! LOL

...ba dum bum tshh

First off find the best body shop in your area and that isnt the one your insurance company deals with. Insurance companies cut deals with body shops to keep costs low for them. In many cases this results in the use of cheap aftermarket parts that dont fit or dont have the same crash worthiness as the orginal Honda part. They rust quicker etc. I would take it to the Honda dealer and let their body shop handle. Dont settle for used or non Honda parts.

This why we need more predators ie wolfs, coyotes, bears and mountain lions. If a few little kids, a couple of dogs and thousands of cats get eaten so be it.


It is in your insurance policy wether or not A/M parts are allowed to be used. ALL insurance companies besides STATE FARM alow used and or A/M parts to be used after 12 months/12000 miles. I know this because I work as an estimator at a body shop . With that said I have not seen any A/M parts availible for our Element. Sheet metal in the past would not fit as good as OEM if you bought A/M parts. Now if the parts are CAPPA certified then they are ok. You have a right to pay the difference between the A/M price and the OEM if you so wish. And sometimes you would be amazed the little of a price gap. An A/M fender for a 2002+ Camry runs $210 list, and OEM costs $269- a difference of 60 bucks. but the thing is insurance companies dont give a rip if they save 5 bucks!

Another thing to look for- make sure the body shop blends both of your fenders if they replace the hood- many insurance companies will not allow this.

good luck
matt

Your rates won't go up because you hit a deer. Do you have rental reimbursement on your policy? Another thing to consider once the repair is done is to ask your insurance company for diminished value. This is a claim they will settle with you as your car is now worth less as a trade due to the repair. Even if it all looks perfect, you can settle the diminished value claim for at least $500. It's worth asking for because most insurance companies won't offer it to you.
:shock: