Suicidal wildlife

[Nick Jones]

One of the hazards of country living is "wandering wildlife". Usually smallish and/or avoidable.

However, last night a large deer jumped a hedge and landed in the road about 10 feet in front of me. As I was doing about 45 at the time all my braking was done after the impact..... which was quite considerable .

The car ('96 D2 4.2QS) has suffered
Bumper is thoroughly shattered on the O/S and all 3 grill inserts lost
O/S headlight glass smashed and mounts broken. No working bulbs.
O/S headlight frame broken
O/S indicator lens gone (still works though!)
Grill stove in with dent in the centre of the bonnet just above it.
A/C condensor bowed and bearing the imprint of the gearbox cooler

Still runs and drives ok, no coolant leaks. The wing seems undamaged and the bonnet opens and closes normally.

Bearing in mind that this was a bit of a heap before the mishap and the MoT is due in about a month, it's fate hangs in the balance. Even used parts for repair are likely to cost more than it's worth. Insurance is pointless as it will be written off with only a very minor payout after excess etc and not worth increased premiums thereafter.......

Constructive thoughts welcomed.....

Nick

PS, no there is no venison in the freezer. It was a bit beat up and there didn't seem much point in ruining my boot carpet as well.

[tintin]

Big beasts those, and I would've expected more damage than shown - though you might not find that a helpful comment....
I got butted by a small buck years ago, and even that, whilst static, knocked me clear off my feet and bruised the whole of my chest for weeks.

Pity about the venison, though I thought the rule was that if you were the one in collision with a deer, then making off with it would be treated as theft - though the car behind could pick it up legally

[tonupkid]

What a shock. Sorry about your car, some tasty meat would have helped with the pain though. That's few quids worth

[tc4332]

+1 with tintin.
Steve, I believe you are correct with the legal on roadkill.

Shame about the damage. I had a similiar many years back in Germany but it was a whole herd but managed to miss all but one of them. The bloody big stag decided to retaliate and knocked hell out of my car till I managed to get my act together and drive off. It chased me for a few yards but gave up pretty quickly.

[Lee S]

I'd only had my D3 5 months when I took out a fox. A lot smaller than a deer, but it still wrote off the front bumper, main grille, fog light and grille and a radiator thing behind the bumper. Something to do with the AC I think. The fox was flattened and brown bread and I was seething. I was doing about 55-60 mph and didn't even have chance to brake. Fortunate I think as most of the fox went under the car rather than in through the rad to mash up the engine and ancillaries. Grrrr... Weren't these creatures taught to look and listen before crossing...

[PsYcHe]

Not sure from the pics, but looks like the black mounting plate for all the bits has been pushed back too.. Might be adjustable, but if not, that's going to be a pain to swap over.

[MikkiJayne]

I'm amazed how little damage there is from a deer impact at 45mph! It looks like the corner of the bumper is still in line with the wing, which means there's no frame rail or bumper bracket damage. Is the AC still holding charge? If so you can probably just bend the condenser back straight.

Headlight, bumper and bonnet from our sponsors and it should be good to go?

My brother in law has a hoist and winch on the back of his Hilux for 'tidying up' after events like this. They live near the A11 and have a lot of venison in the freezer!

[HPsauce]

Originally Posted by tintin

I thought the rule was that if you were the one in collision with a deer, then making off with it would be treated as theft - though the car behind could pick it up legally

I'm pretty sure that's right, or used to be.
My late father was a keen cyclist (and meat-eater, unlike me!) and used to cycle around the country near home (Leicestershire) and collect any decent-looking roadkill that he found, though that wasn't his reason for going out. Lots of rabbit and pheasant plus the occasional small deer!
My mother wouldn't deal with it, but he was happy gutting, cleaning and jointing whatever he found.

[Dezzy]

Ouch nasty. Murderer or murdear. Getting a big dead dear into the back of a car on your own might not be as easy as you think.
As for the 8, as you say insurance is a no no, not even to buy it back. So options are rebuild it as it's only cosmetic ish. Headlight lens new are £30 something and cheaper than a secondhand headlight unit, indicator units new eBay. Rest of it salvage parts from sponsors.

As for picking up Road kill maybe a dear but you got to gut it and hang it for a few days min. Pheasant is best hung till it starts moving although that's a bit too long for my taste. I'd not be picking up rabbit or pheasant, if it's not good enough for the Fox I don't want it.

[notorious]

Oh no! Poor d2...

What happened with the deer?
(I'd personally grill and eat the damn thing. Must be lots of quality meat.)