Hope some kind soul like vic viper or glyn ruck can help.

I had the misfortune to hit a deer broadside on this evening. There was no way i could avoid the poor creature and it was a sufficient impact to kill the animal probably best it did. This being france a fellow motorist stopped and has taken the carcass and will be delivering a leg to me after he has butchered it! Am still a bit shaken and upset at having killed such a lovely creature not to mention the consequences re the car which of course is damaged, fortunately I was sticking to the 90k (56 mph) limit and must have impacted at 50 or so it is not too severe.

1 ils headlight unit is misaligned but still turns on, not checked if it swivels etc, but the centre of the exclusive style (old man grill), and the black grill below are all cracked albeit still in situ. The car has distronic so has the square plastic piece in the centre together with the front camera which also still works as do the parktronic sensors. The towing eye cover has 1 tab broken, the polysytrene between the bumper and radiator has been damaged by part of the grill as it impacted towards the engine and the number plate carrier lefthand and centre lugs are a broken off. Where can i find an exploded diagram of these parts, can you buy the insert of the grill or is it only possible to replace the whole grill and is the polysytrene an insert only or part of the bumper?

Overall given the impact the car seems to have survived well, just a shame it did not seem to react and brake or aid braking over my actions or if it did i was not aware as there were no warning beeps etc. I fear a big bill but i want the car restored to its pre accident condition. Hoping it will not be an insurance claim!

 

That really sucks for you and the deer. I don't know how it is where you live, but here in the US if you have Comprehensive in your Auto Insurance, an impact with a deer is covered, minus the deductible. Rates are not adversely effected either.

If it were me, I'd prefer my beautiful car was restored by a qualified body shop, with genuine Mercedes parts, but perhaps that's just me.

Again sorry to hear about your accident. I'm sure it was an awful experience. At least you are OK and the car can be restored to new condition.

 

Thanks not sure i will sleep well tonight. Agree totally the car will only be repaired by my mercedes garage with mercedes parts but they are shut until monday and i am trying to get an understanding of what bits maybe needed. I worked in the uk insurance industry but france is a little different not sure if they will register this as a fault claim or not but our deductible is 500 euro so if the bill is less i may not involve them.....

 

Based on what you said was needed, I'd be beyond amazed if the repair is less than $500 euro. Mercedes parts are unquestionably expensive.

I can't imagine a run in with a deer, which is completely out of your control, could be considered a fault claim. I'm sure when you take your car in for a repair estimate, you'll feel better.

Try to relax and not let this get you down. I'll repeat that you're OK and that's the most important consideration. It really is.

 

Thanks for your kind comments. Did not sleep much and today have been obsessed with the poor car. Actually given what happened it is amazing how well it survived and a non mercedes owner would think it undamaged as it is only on close inspection the damage is visible. OH drove it 6km return to our local village and there are no error messages or warnings and parktronic and front camera work fine. Willlet you know the cost of repair when i have the devis. There is a nasty looking dent on the rad fins which might indicate a relacement rad is adviseable. Looks as if the clips holding the distronic unit got pushed back onto it. The bumper cover is unmarked which given the clear deformation which took place is pretty amazing, maybe the car did help with braking....

 

I'm sure you can't wait until you can get into the service center. I hope get some sleep tonight.

 

Hi rbrylaw I have the devis from my garage your were right 820 euro and i am unclear whether they spotted that one of the headlight units is slightly out of line, i think it has pivoted around the bolt securing it in place. If not and it needs more than a quick undo and retightening of the bolt there is nodoubt another half hour labour at 85 euro per hour. Overall the labour is 224.5 euro plus 20% tva (vat in uk) and parts 426.98 plus tva. Parts are a full grill at 291.67 the two lower grills at 28 and 50 and 35 for the polystyrene insert. None on their own too expensive but they add up! They said the rad is fine and the damage is superficial. Deer impacts are common and they expected more damage than there was so we were lucky. Car is booked in for next wednesday.

We have a 575 excess so will probably pay ourselves, hitting a deer may not be a fault claim here, in the uk it is simply a matter of whether the insurers can recover the costs which dictate if you loose no claims bonus, but we did not report the stike to the local mayor or hunt so it may get complicated!

 

I'm glad the costs are pretty reasonable. I noticed in another thread you commented the ILS is a little off since the accident. Definitely don't try to adjust it yourself. Before you drop your car off, print out a list of everything you think needs to be looked at/adjusted and hand that to them so you don't forget anything. I'm sure once it's back all fixed, you'll be relieved.

 

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Vic thank you very much for your trouble it is much appreciated.

 

Just to update car repaired this pm but annoyingly the cameras were not recalibrated grrrrrrrr so we have to return 75km roundtrip bit cross but we are all human. They did do the light which needed calibration too. Looks good but they have not replaced the styrofoam bumper absorber saying it is ok and the damage where clips took out the odd chunk are superficial.......the car is on a option to purchase lease so they are obviously happy, painful to pay over 820 euro mind!

 

I'm glad the repairs look good. Sorry you have to return to get the camera re-calibrated, but once done, your mishap with a deer can hopefully be put behind you........