Turkey Attack -- mirror damaged -- what to do?

[Mathias]

Learned friends:My wife called me the other day at work, and she's a little upset cuz she got hit by a wild turkey. Really.I console her, tell her it's no big deal, we'll fix it, don't worry about it... 5 minutes into the conversation, I come to find out we're talking about *my* car, not hers! Here's what the mirror looks like:http://www.msu.edu/~steine13/wldt2.jpgMy question to the experts: What do I need, and where should I get it?I've read the threads on heated/broken mirrors etc. and I think I understand what's going on... but I don't know if I need the whole mirror assembly or whether I can just get the mirror, backing plate, the mating part to the backing plate, and the blue connectors.The quarterpanel also got nailed:http://www.msu.edu/~steine13/wldt1.jpg. Argh.Looks like the paint is intact, so I could leave it (bad). I could try paintless dent removal, which will almost certainly crack the paint (bad), or I could just go ahead and get a new $500 quarter panel (bad).I love choices.Thanks in advance for information and insights -- or just commiseration.Cheers, -Mathias

[Kamikaze]

what about insurance? or is there a deductable?I remember 12-13 years ago I hit a racoon, did $1800 worth of damage to the front of my car (bumper, fog lights, AC condenser, new radiator... (I hit it at 120mph+) I told the insurance company I was on the highway at 60mph, if I would have swerved to avoide it I probably would have gone into the ditch, possilby role the car, they covered it with no deductable maybe I'm just lucky? They told me it was better that I hit it, than to try and avoid it.... again this was years ago so things might have changed...

[Houston]

The entire mirror unit was knocked off my driver's side door a couple or three years ago. The dealer charged $164 to replace it with a new one. If yours only needs the glass replaced, your charge may be less.

[WaveAction]

junk yards are the way to go for the mirror if you need to replace the full thing..as for the fender..any dent place can fix it im sure..doesnt look like any paint has cracked and peeled away, which is always good

[moongdss]

Wow, you just can't make this stuff up!! I agree with the others, call your insurance company. Most policies have a low deductible on the comprehensive (if any at all) and it should not affect your rate. Always ask before you make a claim though just to be on the safe side

[Herb]

Regarding the fender, couldn't hurt to have a PDR guy look at it. In most cases if there isn't a crease in the metal they can coax it back.From the photo it looks like it might be a borderline decision so it's best to let them tell you if they can or can't.

[Raven]

My wife had a very close call with a turkey just the other day. There was 6 or 8 walking across the road and they all ran for the ditch except one. She took off in the other direction and then circled back in front of the car and her wing brushed the windshield and roof. It was so close it was easy to tell it was a she and not a he. NOO not that, the males have a long beard and the females don't. Five years ago wild turkeys were extremely rare here having just been reintroduced. Now you see them a couple of times a week.

[Sputnik]

Funny, my mom told me just the other night she was having lunch on the deck, and a wild turkey strolled by.

[darcmater]

hmm kinda interesting I just saw a dead turkey on the side of the road the other day, wonder if it was hers. I thought it was odd to see a turkey this time of year

[ToolGuy]

(removed)!!! For the mirror, it looks like it poped out of its sockets when the bird hit is with its beek I assume. There are usually three pins on the back of the mirror that go into the appropriate holes in the motor. You may be able to buy the mirror and the pins and snap it back into place. See a dealer and they can bring up the entire parts pic of the mirror. In your pic you have one pin still in the motor hole, it is the blue peg thing... Does she have what is left of the old mirror? For the dent, I would remove the fender and try and push the dent back out. It looks large enough to do so. Oh and I went to K-Zoo over the weekend and must have seen about 6 turkeys on the road. One dead one...

[darcmater]

You should go to http://www.turkeyville.com/ and exact some revenge on them : ) Man I haven't been there since I was little