Deer Strike

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Bill Dally

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I was driving my Boxster up I-80 from SF to Reno tonight. Just outside of Auburn a deer ran right in front of me (from the median - left to right) and I hit it's hind end square on. It came up the hood and against the windshield but didn't come through the glass. The car is a mess - front bumper torn, hood mashed in, right front fender mashed in, right headlight demolished, etc.... I'm thankful that I'm in one piece. I'll post a photo of the car shortly. Unfortunately I have no collision insurance and I don't think "uninsured motorist" applies to a deer.
 

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So sorry about the damage to your Box. I'm just glad you weren't hurt in the incident. Have you got an estimate on the repairs yet? It's very unfortunate about your lack of collision coverage. By an odd coincidence I had cause to post this on PPBB on the 11th:


"Whew!!-- had a really close call yesterday going to work in my '02S. Deer abound in my little corner of the world here in southern Oregon. They even wander my neighborhood in herds of eight or ten. No predators. (if you don't count unfortunate vehicles) Anyway, I left for work before dawn yesterday. Took the usual freeway/secondary road route through town. Came to an unlighted section of two lane road which is bounded by homes on on side and an open field on the other. I was doing about forty through the s-turn there when I suddenly saw the reflected eyes of a yearling deer standing stationary in my lane. Thank goodness for Porsche brakes!! I hit the animal center bumper at about 5-10 mph. He literally bounced off, picked himself up and ran like hell for the bushes! Expecting at least some cosmetic damage, I pulled over into a driveway and got out the flashlight for a quick check. Amazing! No a scratch anywhere. Just a temporary case of tachycardia for me. A more thorough check at work revealed nothing at all. How's that for luck, guys ?"

Hope your luck improves drastically and soon.
 
I'm glad to hear you're ok

A couple of years ago, my wife Kaye bagged a nice 8 point buck with her minivan. When I called the Insurance Agent the next morning, he asked if anyone was hurt. It turns out that the common situation with cars with longer hoods is that the deer will slide up the hood and sometimes come through the windshield.

In Kaye's case, the short hood of the minivan precluded that.

Does this mean that the 914-6 is now your daily driver?:D

Doug
 
Alternative transport

Fortunately I'm a bicycle commuter so I don't need a "daily driver". When I do need to drive, I'll take my 69 911. The 914-6 is a little wild for street use.
 
looks like a good candidate for an S build for a Spec Boxster now Bill:D
 
i hate to hear about this bill. glad you are ok. a friend wrecked his miata last week avoiding a deer. it all can happen so fast. now that hunting season has started it is putting pressure on the deer to move more........let's be careful out there :)
 
Glad your o.k.

Are you gonna try and fix it yourself? Gaurds Red body panels are on eBay often,you might want to keep an eye out.
 
That sucks! It happened to us about 10 years ago on I80 about 10 miles before Boreal ski Lodge and we were going to Boreal : ( We were in a Toyota Landcruiser doing about 65mph and wham! no major damage, we were able to go snowboarding and drive it home but the damage was about 8k and a dead deer (small one)...on a side note, do those deer whistles really work? (to prevent stuff like this happening)
 
Deer overpopulation!

As one who drives this route on a regular basis, the deer are clearly a problem to motorists. The state highways and secondary roads are even worse. So...a little history lesson. A hundred years ago the deer herds had been severely thinned by wanton hunting...slaughtering if you will. Now in the 21st century, they're everywhere in large packs (not quite herds yet). As a foothill dweller for almost 20 years, the situation has gotten worse every year. We have a group of 10-12 deer that live less than 200 feet from the house. The bucks even run in packs of 4-6, which we never saw prior to the last couple years. And the aggression factor, due to interaction with benign humans has greatly increased. Nothing like having deer tracks on the front deck, and everything that can be eaten, will be. Solution: it's time to allow for very liberal hunting of these animals. Sorry PETA! But my homestead never had issues with bears and mountain lions until the deer over-populated. And venison salami tastes so damned good....!
 
Where my mom lives on HWY 1 in pt arena ca they have deer insurance.
my porsche is registered there and she tells me all the time to get deer insurance so when i go cruising up hwy1 to visit her i will be insured.

p.s. So sorry about your porsche.
 
Sorry about your Porsche, this is so unfortunate. Mine is a '98, but I carry full coverage w/ $500 deductibles. Runs about $664/yr. The good driver discount helps.

I always try to be alert about the deer crossing my path. I commute the 280 a few days a week from SF to Menlo and see the deer crossing signs everywhere. I am not at all interested in seeing the damage one of these buggers could do at 75 or 85 mph. Oops, that should be 65 on 280.

I have a place up in Sonoma Co. and I have been caught off guard, late at night going up for the weekend. I will round a corner near the house and 2 or 3 deer will be standing on the pavement, causing me to brake hard. My inclination is to stop the car, get out and strangle the buggers. Except I am too slow. Yeah, I know they were here first and we are encroaching on their space...but that doesn't prevent me from swearing up a storm, while I try and think of a way to install a cattle guard on the bumper.
 
Bill Dally said:
I was driving my Boxster up I-80 from SF to Reno tonight. Just outside of Auburn a deer ran right in front of me (from the median - left to right) and I hit it's hind end square on. It came up the hood and against the windshield but didn't come through the glass. The car is a mess - front bumper torn, hood mashed in, right front fender mashed in, right headlight demolished, etc.... I'm thankful that I'm in one piece. I'll post a photo of the car shortly. Unfortunately I have no collision insurance and I don't think "uninsured motorist" applies to a deer.
Click to expand...

Bill, I'm sorry for your loss - and glad that you didn't get hurt. As I posted on ppbb (in response to evilmorg's original post there), I almost had a deer mishap myself this past weekend. I was on Skyline, on my way to Alice's to meet a friend over lunch. Driving along at a reasonable pace, turn a corner, see the deer to my right. He was quite big - heck, almost a smallish horse. I immediately went for the brake, but he had already committed to cross the road - and was off in a jiffy. Thankfully I did not get to experience the full power of the brakes on my boxster. It certainly was a moment of thrill/panic, and I am glad nothing too "interesting" happened.
 
Damage update

An update. I drove the Boxster back from Reno yesterday and took it to Yeahman's for an estimate: $4,479.68 - and it might go higher if they find more things damaged underneath.

After getting home, I pulled the bumper cover off and found that the cross-member at the top front of the tub is bent, so this is not going to be a simple matter of bolting on new parts.
 

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Update

Over the weekend I scrounged a used hood and right headlight in Santa Rosa and this morning I dropped the car off at Yeahmans. He was able to straighten the front panel of the tub, (see before and after pictures below) so it won't have to be replaced.

Unfortunately he found that my bumper cover is too cracked and dented to repair and the used hood I bought is pulled where the latch bolts on.

Front panel from the top BEFORE, AFTER, overall progress - fender pounded out, new hood installed for test fitting.
 

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I wouldn't think too much of the front bumper. There are tons of them on eBay.

Shouldn't cost more then $500 to get a used one & have it repainted right.

Good Luck and keep us updated on your work.
 
blinkwatt said:
I wouldn't think too much of the front bumper. There are tons of them on eBay.

Shouldn't cost more then $500 to get a used one & have it repainted right.

Good Luck and keep us updated on your work.
Click to expand...

I already bought a new one from Carlsen - $816 plus the cost to have it painted.
 
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