Oh Deer!!!!!

[Gaz B]

Well folks,the clue is in the title!:(
Driving home last night about half past 10 between mid calder and east calder,minding my own business when a DEER decided to run infront of me! I was doing about 50 and so was the deer I think.WHAT A FRIGHT!!!!!!:eek: The missus did'nt help much by saying "you've crashed herbie and killed bambi" (just what i needed)
Needless to say the deer is dead and the front,side and wheel of my 's' is a right old mess.I even had hair inbetween the tyre and the rim!!!
Really felt bad for the poor wee thing.It probably stood about 2 1/2 feet high and had small antlers.damn shame.
What is also a shame is my £350 excess,although i'm quite glad i've got protected no claims and a courtesy car arrives tomorrow.
The car is off to the nationwide accident repair centre in Falkirk tomorrow.Has anybody got any experiences with them?any good?
Will post up some pics of the car(not the deer)when i get a mo.:(

[RyanK]

Sorry to hear about this bud & hope it all gets sorted out soon :)

I always panic when taking the back roads home late at night

[AndyP & Lenore]

That's a real shame for you and the deer Gaz. At least you and the missus is ok.;) At the end of the day metal will bend back in shape.;) Shame about the deer though.:o

A mate of mine hit a deer with his Saxo a few years ago. It came out of no where, ran in front of his car and stopped just as he got to it. The force of the impact pushed it through his windscreen. Totalled his bumper, bonnet and obviously, the windscreen. It then fell off the front of the car and ran off into the woods before he could swap insurance particulars.:eek: :rolleyes:

A.:D

[MINI William]

not so good mate sorry to hear about the car and of course bambi

[vintageb3]

So sorry to hear about this...I hate hitting anything.

Thanks God for airbags!...I never leave the house without mine:eek:

mark

[Gismo]

Gutted for you, just a lot of hassle getting things sorted :(

[Mamoura]

Sorry to hear about the incident with the deer. Friend of mine in Wester Ross once mused over a dram, "Funny thing. The deer I hit last week and wrecked my van, was a wild animal, but if I'd shot it first I bet they'd soon find the owner..."

Anyway, after a similar incident I fitted 2 'deer whistles' to the front of my car and can say that after thousands of miles 'up north', I never hit another. Got them from the States for a couple of quid...

[AndyP & Lenore]

So sorry to hear about this...I hate hitting anything.

Thanks God for airbags!...I never leave the house without mine:eek:

mark

I'll tell Fiona you said that.:eek: :eek: :eek: :D

A.:D

[Craig]

If it is possible, DON'T GO TO THAT REPAIRER...!

they are not very good at all and I know of a few friends who had bad experiences there. Not very good workmanship at all..

I would call your insurance and ask for another repairer..

[Bumble]

Na luck with the bash - esp. the deer. Least you are okay!

[KenL]

Sorry to hear about the deer and the car.

You can insist your car is repaired at any place you chose. You do not have to use the insurers preferred place.

[Gaz B]

thanks for the kind words folks.once we get over the shock i'm sure we will be fine :eek: .
a couple of you made the point that i do not have to use the insurers recommended repairer.Is this true? with this being my first claim in 13 years of motoring i am pretty wet behind the ears when it comes to this.

Could somebody please clarify this as there is a few local garages i would rather use and the mini is supposed to be picked up on wednesday:confused: .

Deer 'o deer what a cerfuffle!!!:o

[Scottie]

dam deers I side swiped a few on the Muir of Ord road over the past 6 years but in a nice big 4x4 didn't leave a dent.

In saying that I lost a friend and know of a few folks who have lost their lifes through hitting deers in their motors.

Lady luck was ony our side it is only a motor. :D

[illegalhunter]

Now thats what i call fast food , i would have gutted it @ the side of the road.

[KenL]

a couple of you made the point that i do not have to use the insurers recommended repairer.Is this true?

Of course it is, we wouldn't have just said it would we :p

Before I got my first MINI I asked Directline this question and they said "yes, no problem".

The car may need their assessor to inspect it to approve the cost. But, this was also the case when my previous car went into their approved repairer. That repairer also did a really crap job. Put 2 big scratches on the car, which they tried to deny and fitted a busted headlamp and did not even try to align it properly :mad: Oh, they also lied to me about lead times on parts :rolleyes:

[ianking]

Give Eastern/Western accident centre a call. They also give you a mini courtesy car.
I took my previous, previous mini there after some clown reversed into it. They dealt with everything for me inc, pick up and drop off, clean car on return but most importantly they dealt with all the insurance side of things including the other persons insurance that hit me.

They are based at Broxburn.

[euan]

Yup, I refused my insurance repairer and got BMW to do it - you may not get a loan car from insurance co but MINI should be able to sort you out with one. Ask and find out!

It might take a bit longer to get it all sorted but at the end of the day you'll get it done by someone who knows the car.

[Gaz B]

Well,took your advice team, called my insurance and arranged for the work to get done at a great local repair shop that i am comfortable with. Thanks again for the advice.
Here are a couple of pics of the damage.It might not look much,but bear in mind they will have to disinfect the drivers seat!!!:p

http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i30/gar34/DSC00680.jpg http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i30/gar34/DSC00679.jpg

[AndyP & Lenore]

Ach, that'll buff out, that will.;) :D

A.:D

[Coop]

Whats your address bud? Ive got some T-Cut in the garage.....!

Seriously though, that is a shame, but what can you do? As long as you are ok thats the main thing. If I had to have an accident then I would choose that over most things (if you see what I mean).

Also, someone mentioned deer whistles. All of our work motors have them due to a lot of time spent on country roads, they seem to work so are maybe worth thinking about if you do a lot of country driving.

Grant

[Mini Ecosse]

All company motors base at our location have deer whistles fitted.
Deer whistles also given to all staff for their own vehicles.
go to www.deerwhistle.co.uk (http://www.deerwhistle.co.uk)
Suppose this brings to mind horse, bolt and stable door.
However it may prevent another nasty accident.

[Gaz B]

Deer whistles sound like a good idea if i was driving on country roads, but where i hit the deer was just between two towns next to livingston. there was even street lights.the LAST thing i expected to hit was a deer!
It came running out full pace from between two walls.I did'nt even know what it was until i jammed my foot on the brakes and it went sliding up the road! The bang was so loud that the car in front of me heard it and stopped!!!!!:eek:
Maybe we should just teach deer the highway code?!?:p