Benz-O-Rama

Coming home from work, in my subdivision, I whacked a deer at about 20mph. She bounced off of my right front and did very minor damage. My bumper has a small 2" crack and now the fender doesn't line up 100% with my headlight and bumper. It's been about 15 years since I made an insurance claim so I'm not even sure if it's worth it. I know this isn't an E55/AMG specific question but I know a few of you guys have had some recent issues with accidents and insurance so I thought I'd get the best advice here. My questions are these:

1. Is my insurance guranteed to go up if I make a claim? I haven't had a claim in at least 15 years so my record is good
2. Since the front bumper is plastic, it would be replaced not repaired, correct?
3. If they're replacing the bumper, would most body shops allow me to convert to the 2007+ front end or would they be forced to put the same year parts on?

After I stopped, the deer was behind my car on it's side. I got out and went to go kick it in it's teeth because I was so mad. As I neared, it popped up and trotted off without even a limp. Stupid deer.

Pics to come...

joshd

If you do make a claim, make sure you say that the deer hit you, not the other way around. ;-) As in he just ran into your car, nothing you could do ...

This happened to me once and I also had a large piece of scrap metal fly at my car on the highway and rip apart the bumper and hood. Neither incident caused my insurance to go up.

blackbenzz

damn that sucks!!!

Benz-O-Rama

It's funny, because the deer really did run into me at full gallop. I never even saw it before, during or after the impact.

Here are the pics. Like I said, very minor damage.

Yacht Master

Too bad, Be thankful it was not worse (tommy boy).The insurance should not go up in this situation, (+1 deer hit you)
I say go for the 07 front cap.



Group buy?
http://www.deerwhistle.com/

PaulX608

Wow, that sucks! Didn't you hit one last year, too? Or was that someone else in the area?

Benz-O-Rama

That was WayneE, if I'm not mistaken. His damage was alot worse. He even got out and shot the deer!

But yeah, same area.

PaulX608

Yeah, WayneE, I just found the thread. I knew it was someone up in Fredneck. Sorry yours got away. Yet another reason I always have either my .45 or .38 with me, but I guess that's not kosher in MD.

way2evil

clean up the hair and slap a sticker on it. make sure you get the mechanics of the car checked out because even though it seemed like a small impact you never know
btw, glad to hear you are ok

User110

dont look to bad, but at least you can make out on teh good side with a new bumper?



He SHOT the dear, damn that would be sweeeeet




ALi

tommy25000

i would say if it has been 15 years don't claim it... save it for something worse. I am also a firm believer in not claiming anything unless its BIG. I think it will help you in the long run.

User110

thats true, if you have a 500 dollar deductible, this claim is worthless.

buy the bumper and paint it your self, unless it costs a stack just for a bumper of course lol



ALi

trinitony

Sorry to hear, but it could've been a lot worse. What part of Merryland..as cold as it is today Babi still out and about

This guy on another forum wasn't so lucky.

€

Benz-O-Rama

Frederick, Maryland area. Lake Linganore to be exact.

That Porsche is jacked up, man. I used to think deer were cute until I moved to Fredneck. I hate those little F'ers now. It's only a matter of time until one smacks my wife in her R500 with my children in the back seat.

trinitony

ck

k..further norht....I'm in Gaithersburg and from time to time I've seen them around - even in my backyard. Just haven't seen any recently with the cold spell; that's why I asked. lol..Fredneck...wait till I drop that line on my sis-in-law...

blackbenzz

I also live in Gaithersburg and see alot of them around NIST. I hit a raccoon once on 270 and it shattered my front bumper

inocnt1

I'm an insurance broker in Ontario. I've got to assume that your auto policy is similar to ours, in which case hitting an animal is considered a comprehensive loss. You pay the deductible, but because it's a comp loss, there is no increase in your insurance. But consider if you do have another loss for whatever reason, now you have a frequency and they could give you a hard time (increased rates, non-renewal).
My own personal thresh hold is $5000. Anything less than that and I'm dealing with it myself.
Good luck.

tommy25000

Well put.. mine is more like 10k as my insurance is already

Benz-O-Rama

Hey Ahmad,

Know any good body shops in our area that do good work and specialize in MBs? Also, maybe they would be friendly to upgrading me to a 2007+ front clip?

AMGfan

Benzo...I'm just glad you weren't injured. Hitting deer at a higher speed could have been serious, not just to the car but you also. I agree with most of the guys here...take the hit yourself and not even involve the insurance company. The hassle of the claim and any subsequent repercussions down the road with regard to further claims or renewals isn't worth it, especially if the damage is as minor as it looks.

I've seen repair jobs (vs. replacement) on minor damage like that look pretty good (i.e. you can't notice it after the repair). Good luck.

Benz-O-Rama

I think I'm gonna leave the hair in there as long as possible as a battle scar.

Stupid deer.

kwaobus

Agree, no claim either way. Agree, for anything less than $5000 you are just creating a claim hstory that will hurt you later on. I assume that anyone that can afford this car is NOT going to have a $500 deductible, it doesn't make sense to have it that low I.M.H.O.

W211 Ryda

Glad you weren't hurt and your family wasn't with you. Damage looks minimal. I'd pay it out of my pocket and not have insurance involved. Your car looks like it has whiskers now.

RJC

Glad neither you nor the deer were hurt.

aleksandar1099

LOVE that the hair is still in the bumper...lol