damn forest rats

[cookiedough]

first time ever in 30 years having to file a major comprehensive claim.

hit a forest rat coming home at night from work unavoidable 1 second to swerve which I did doing 60mph into the other lane on rural hwy. to avoid a head on collision doing 2-3K damage around right front quarter panel and lower front chrome bumper smashed in bad to my 1 year old 2017 toyota tundra.  500 dollar deductible comprehensive with Progressive first claim filed EVER besides rock chips in windshield the past 30 years of driving.  Is barely driveable had to take a crow bar to bend out the lower front chrome bumper from not hitting my tire when making left turns. 

There goes my perfect driving record although deer collisions are comprehensive and better NOT and should NOT increase my insurance rates. 

NOT working anymore 2+ hours on overtime at work anymore, too fricking dark and too many deer running around after 6 p.m. in the dark country roads.

I could have drastically swerved into the left lane ditch on the gravel in that 1 second I saw the deer running across the road but in HEAVY rain near freezing temps good chance doing 55 mph I would have flipped the truck or ran off the road and if I would have braked or stayed in my own lane both would be a head on collision with the forest rat for sure doing 2-3x's the damage.

now to find a reputable lifetime warranty repair shop that gives free loaner vehicles out and hope they are not booked out 2-3 weeks or more to get in for the 3-4 days to repair it.

[Oss]

That really blows Cookie (was gonna say thats the way cookie's tundra crumbles but that would be cruel)

Hit a deer with wife's van a few miles from home. They come from nowhere

You did well to escape as you did  Good work saving the car and yourself from serious injury

[old2soon]

Soooooooo did the little rat bastid have insurance?  Glad yer okey dokey but kinda sux fer yer Tundra.    Guy I ride with down here and myself were just discussing forest rats earlier today. RIDE SAFE.

[Skinhead]

That really blows Cookie (was gonna say thats the way cookie's tundra crumbles but that would be cruel)

Hit a deer with wife's van a few miles from home. They come from nowhere

You did well to escape as you did  Good work saving the car and yourself from serious injury

I agree that would be cruel.  Good thing you didn't say it.

[cookiedough]

yah, screw work taking off 2+ hours today to get estimates from 3 repair shops to see damage guessing 3K worth before most close at 5-5:30 p.m..  Does not take much to do 2-3K in damages am sure. 

Near can get by with paintless dent repair but saw a dime sized chip of paint off the right front passenger side quarter panel dented in behind right front tire.  The rest I think can do paintless dent repair except for front chrome bumper right side and fog lamp assembly.   Forest rat hit his head/neck area front edge of chrome bumper and am sure his body flung around and damaged behind right front tire.  Only small dent in front passenger door panel do not think that is twisted metal but hard to tell since behind right front tire is smashed directly in front of passenger door.

It could have been much worse if it hit head on collision which it would have done if I either slowed down or gone straight in my own lane.  One of those 1 second reactions saw it just before I hit it.

Did not help was downpouring RAIN and a little foggy out and dark.  This WI weather surely sucks near 2 inches of rain in 24 hours in winter and barely above freezing temps right now this morning.  Where is the snow?

[semo97]

Living in deer country all my life, I always have a deer strainer on our vehicles, if you buy one get a good one

[..]

Shoot them all 

[3fan4life]

The wife had a deer hit her car (yes he ran into her) a few years ago.

I've always told her to NEVER run out of the road to miss a deer.

When talking to the insurance they questioned about whether she ran out of the road and hit anything besides the deer.

The way that they explained it was, if it was "only" a deer strike then everything was pain under comprehensive and the rates don't go up.

If she had hit ANY secondary objects the claim would go under collision and the rates would increase.

[Hooter]

Sorry about the mishap!  You are good, so all is good. I'd be interested in hearing how Progressive responds to this.

[cookiedough]

Sorry about the mishap!  You are good, so all is good. I'd be interested in hearing how Progressive responds to this.

well, Progressive is interesting on how they MUST process the claim.  I have to wait for a claim adjuster from Progressive to wait until this Thursday at a local repair shop they deal with more often (but can go anywhere) vs. just going to anywhere without having to have their own claim adjuster at the repair shop.  Sort of sucks having to schedule AROUND the adjuster's schedule not just mine. 

Going by myself to anywhere without their adjuster for an estimate is useless will throw it out NEED their own claim adjuster at the repair shop of choice. 

I picked one shop I dealt with 10 years ago when dealer paid for my paint job under warranty.  They have free loaner cars am sure 2-3 days of repairs and said can get me in if not this coming week for sure following week not having to wait more than 2 weeks is nice and they stand behind repairs for as long as I own the truck which is normal. 

I know one local small time repair shop who does not like to deal with Progressive coming to their repair shop butting in telling them what needs and does not need replacing.  I might for heck of it get another estimate NOT thru Progressive adjuster just to make sure they are NOT skimping on needed repairs since is over still a 30K vehicle.

The other repair shop I called does not offer free loaner cars but thru Enterprise only a discount of 25 bucks per day fee. 

Truck is driveable but looks like crap front quarter panel around front right tire and smashed in lower chrome bumper upfront.  Police officers pry bar got a workout me bending the lower bumper back to not rub on the front right tire when turning got it to 1 inch away at least should be good.

Scary coming home again tonight,  my nerves tad bit rattled.   A rabbit ran in front of me scaring me which normally does not.

[Jess from VA]

Riding around for hours today, I passed three or four dead white tails that had been blown in two (or maybe three, it was hard to tell).   I'm glad someone else hit them. 

Cars and trucks stepping up for motorcycles everywhere. 

Even dead, you don't want to run over a carcass at high speed, just like a speed bump. 

I also saw a dead pure-white skunk today.  It smelled just like the regular ones though.  You especially don't want to run over any of those either.

[cookiedough]

Riding around for hours today, I passed three or four dead white tails that had been blown in two (or maybe three, it was hard to tell).   I'm glad someone else hit them. 

Cars and trucks stepping up for motorcycles everywhere. 

Even dead, you don't want to run over a carcass at high speed, just like a speed bump. 

I also saw a dead pure-white skunk today.  It smelled just like the regular ones though.  You especially don't want to run over any of those either.

or a pack of racoons or opposums, both of which I had to swerve around on cycles at night around me.

[..]

https://www.insure.com/car-insurance/diminished-car-value.html

[Hooter]

Good luck Cookie! My Progressive experience was terrible  at best.

Jess...don't hit a woodchuck.  I've hit two now and it is like running over a tree limb. Not much give!

[Dave Ritsema]

Pretty much everyone I know has hit one in our neck of the woods at one time or another. I have hit three over the years, one of them in a fire truck with lights and siren going. (No one will ever convince me deer whistles work if all that didn't.)

I also swear by the advice never swerve for a deer. The majority of injuries from deer encounters I have seen over the 27 years on the FD has always been the result of someone swerving and then losing it, going off road, striking a tree, rolling the vehicle, etc.

I say if you have time, center him up and hit him square on while staying in your lane. If you have a deductible on your comprehensive (I do not) your gonna pay the same amount if you have $1000 of damage of $5000. Not worth risking your life to try and save the insurance company a few bucks.

PS, A comp claim like this will not effect your insurance rate. Glad your OK, stuff can be replaced, people can't.

[Jess from VA]

Good luck Cookie! My Progressive experience was terrible  at best.

Jess...don't hit a woodchuck.  I've hit two now and it is like running over a tree limb. Not much give!

Yeah I did that too, several years back.

A huge fat one thought he was a squirrel, and did the cross the road, go back, then at the last minute, back across the road.  I saw him and slowed, but when he went back to the berm, I sped up to pass him, and he ran right back under me.  No give, ran over him on both tires, and it bounced me clear out of my seat.  Only thing touching the bike was hands on the bars.  I turn around to look, and he's waddling away with no apparent injury.  Around here there are millions of them.  And turkey vultures sitting on all the roadkill, and so big they take off like bombers gaining altitude very slowly, right into you (or maybe just clearing your shield as you duck under it).

[Daniel Meyer]

Deer strikes are comp claims?

[Dave Ritsema]

It is here in Indiana.

[cookiedough]

Yah,  deer strikes are comprehensive not collision claims and should not raise insurance rates.

While not swerving out of the lane is recommended by most,  I will try to swerve to the best of my ability as long as still on the road and not much gravel, if any gravel, as long as safe to do with NO oncoming vehicles coming at me.

Reason:  If I stayed in my lane entirely on this one, it would have been a head on collision whether I braked for that 1 second or not and would have had a head on collision doing major damage to my newer truck probably not able to drive it as well.  Since I swerved as much as I could to the left lane in that 1 second, I clipped the deer on only right front bumper/passenger wheel well area is all doing damage to make truck still driveable.

Doing MAJOR repairs to a non-driveable near new vehicle is not good as far as keeping it or selling it/trading it in later either one.  I will continue to try to swerve to avoid any type of rodents on the road as long as I feel safe to do it and still be on the road (or tad bit of gravel shoulder).

I would rather have a driveable vehicle vs. one totally smashed up to keep driving it several years in the future even once repaired, or so one hopes repaired fully.  More damage done, the more chance it will not be repaired as it was once OEM.

Things better not happen in 3's since the garage door spring broke this morning and somehow caused my vinyl door to push the top section IN off the groove of section below it and dented it in now having to spend yet another probably near 1 grand to replace a std. 16x7 garage door and will not run that thru insurance since have a 1000 dollar home deductible.  That makes 1500 bucks out of the old bank account in 3 days do not need a 3rd thing to happen this week since my comprehensive with progressive on vehicles is 500 bucks......

[cookiedough]

After disagreeing with Progressive adjuster on him wanting to use NON factory OEM parts being aftermarket not even certified non-OEM parts being front chrome bumper section, front quarter panel section, fog lamp assembly, he called me back stating body shop will go OEM adjusting price of OEM down to aftermarket parts (or so he says).  Progressive policy he said if 1 year and 12K miles or newer, they go OEM parts, but if over 1 year/12K old,  like to go aftermaket not even certified non-oem parts.  My truck is 14 months and 15K miles just out of 1year/12K miles.  I told him B.S. on Progressives part just to save them a few bucks.  I still have to pay my 500 deductible.  Will be interesting to see if Progressive jacks up my rates next renewal since supposedly comprehensive deer collision claim is NOT suppose to affect insurance rates since unavoidable collision not my fault.

When the labor is over 1K while 5 major parts all total under 1K NON-OEM aftermarket there is a problem right?  I guess it should work out since the body shop can get me in next Thursday already so that is good especially since as of now my right front door cannot open up due to twisted front quarter panel around wheel well opening.

Now,  garage door spring busted 3 days ago as well bent my vinyl top section panel in as well due to weight/force of spring being busted when garage door opener tried lifting door with NO spring help.  Got 3 installers hopefully showing up this coming week to get estimates.  All over phone said 1-1200 bucks so have to wait to see who shows up and what brands they have.  Thinking of going steel insulated door this time around since insulated only 200 bucks tops more vs. uninsulated door and since my 25 year old cheaper vinyl uninsulated door has seen its better days. ONLY thing I like about my vinyl door is light and is VERY QUIET have heard most steel doors are creaky and LOUD going up and down, not so with my vinyl door very quiet which I like.  2 of the 3 installers said they now use ceramic coated rollers vs. all steel so supposedly quieter going up/down.  Will see but every other persons newer steel garage doors makes TONS of CREAKING noises going up /down which I totally hate.

I have a 1K deductible on home insurance so not running the garage door thru insurance.  Sucks out 1500-1700 bucks total in one week there goes my paycheck for over 2 weeks.   When it rains, it pours......