GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Sound familiar?Yeah. November 2, 2003, I hit a deer with the Vibe. Refer here: http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=6823October 22, 2005, a deer runs head first into the side of my G6, not even 2 full days old, and does significant damage. I never even had a chance to take pictures of the car since I got it, because of the rain. So the first DECENT pictures you get to see are those with significant body damage. Heading home from work around 4:30 am, minding my own damn business. Going down a pretty major highway...during the day is packed, at night even has significant traffic. All of a sudden, from the center of the median, is a deer head. I hear myself scream "OH F***!" and I slam on the brakes. Not sure why. Might have actually saved the car if I floored it...but who knows. I heard the crunch of steel. I knew something happened. Car was driving fine, but I pull over. I get out and inspect. Massive dents in the rear quarter panel. I couldn't believe it. I wasn't even emotional or anything like the last time. I think because I was in shock it had actually happened again. I activated OnStar (thank GOD for that!). I tell them what happened, they're like "is everyone ok, were you able to safely pull off the road." I tell them I'm fine...except for the emotional distress of having had an accident in a car that is so new, the dealer hasn't even cashed the fricken check yet. We laugh. Sort of. They pinpoint my location in seconds and call the police for me. About 5 minutes later, they arrive. I get out and look with them. Mostly rear quarter panel. Mirror is gone. That's all we could see on the side of the road with a flashlight. They take my info, and one of the two police guys even starts asking me about it...he liked it. Was like "this is a really nice car, what'd you pay?" "I tell him...and then go..."it WAS a really nice car." They then tell me that I was the third reported deer hit of the night on that stretch of road.After that...start my drive home. About 20 minutes away at this point...terrified to go anything over 45 or so (keeping in mind route 9 is a 55+ road). About 20 minutes later...I'm driving down a different road...and up ahead...I SEE ANOTHER DEER move near the road...I got all over the horn and slowed down almost to a stop...I didn't care there were houses around. I was so freaked out, I didnt' move until he was far away from the road...kept going...and get to my road eventually..and yes...again...several deer hanging out by the road. I couldn't believe it. Get home, pull it in the garage. Surveyed the damage. Was worse then I could tell. Rear quarter panel. Door panel. A pillar steel is damaged. Mirror is annihilated. Door seals is messed up. It's pretty screwed up. I finally realized the significance of the damage, and kinda lost a hold of my emotions...but yeah...here are initial pics...in these, we've managed to remove the remnants of the mirror...but you can get an idea of what kinda damage there is on the side...Going to the dealer Monday for an estimate and to make sure more damage wasn't done...I sit here wondering, if I HAD managed to find a car with side airbags...would they have deployed? I seriously wonder...Oh...and wanna know the kicker? I wasn't supposed to work tonight. But they had to do a schedule swap because of a seminar I have to go to this week...and they said I work tonight, and get off Monday.I'll report back with more info as it becomes available... This WAS my mirror...

HOW SAD !!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh man, you have the worst luck.

oh man how sad.

stupid deer!!!!was he even dead at the scene?i won't say it was bad cause it could've been really bad. you could've hit him head on. those dam deers can some damge to cars.

the deer have organized. they are retaliating for the hunting

Oh man, that seriously sucks... It more than sucks actually. But I'm not sure what word to use.I don't know why deer like you so much, but I wish they didn't.

You should attach some of those deer whistles to your car to scare them away. I don't know if they actually work... my dad had some and refused to put them on his truck, then hit a deer with his truck causing $6000 damage.

Unreal! It seem as if it was destined to happen.

What a bummer.That's the side of deer hits you usually don't hear about. Those where they run into the car. Even as bad as it is though, it looks like it should be a pretty straight forward fix for a skilled body shop, granted it's always a little hard to tell from photos.

Joat 10:23 And the Lord spake unto Michael, as from on high, and sayeth "Verrily, thou hast glee from the goods of the earth, and that thou shall suffer humility I shall loose the beasts of the wood that they shall smite thy chariot"sucks man, hang in there, they'll get it fixed up so you can't tell anything ever happened.

Christ Mike, move outta NJ. I haven't even SEEN a deer down here.

Man, almost hit a deer last nite. Was driving some people from my roommate's wedding to a hotel and there was one sittin in the middle of the road. If it hadn't been for my special brakes/tires and my professional driving skill, the vibe would have a taken a hit and if the deer wouldn't have been dead, you would read a heading on a newspaper that says "Enraged Driver Strangles Deer"

The irony of it all. Only 21 more to go!Sorry to hear about your bad luck... that really sucks. Glad you're alright though... the G6 passed (no injuries to you) it's first Raging Safety Test.Good luck with everything.

Attached files

Yeah..that's true..it could've been much worse, or your airbags could've gone off and completely hosed you (if you'd gotten them..)I won't say some of the obvious things that one could.. but just know that yes..it sucks...

Damn that is bad luck. And you didn't get any back straps from the deer. You would have had some satisfaction if you could at least eat the deer. On the other hand, it might be your good luck charm for the new car. It did happen to the Vibe, and you had a good run with it.At least the damage seems to be skin deep. Not to bad. My brothers Baja took some real bamage when he hit a suicidal deeer.

Quote, originally posted by Sputnik »You should attach some of those deer whistles to your car to scare them away. I don't know if they actually work... my dad had some and refused to put them on his truck, then hit a deer with his truck causing $6000 damage.We have a lot of deers, racoons, skunks up here where I live. I always hit something every month (just smaler ones). And than I bought a pair of these whistles. It's been almost 4 years now than I didn't hit anything. So I am pretty sure they work.So Mike just buy a pair of those and put it on your lower grill. It is very unnoticable.AND THEY WORK!!!

OH NO!!! That is horrible. I hope she feels better soon. A couple of days in the shop and you will never know it happened. Good luck with the repairs Mike.

Oh my... Mike, I'm so sorry to hear this. You've worked so hard for this and have wanted this for so long, and look what happens. Truly unfortunate. Tis the right time of the year for this crap. I spotted probably 15 or so of those suckers off to the side of the interstate on the way home the other night. They are everywhere.I hope you can get things worked out with your insurance and all... I think I blame this one on Emily... She's pissed that you traded her in. These Vibes can be good as most here would probably say, or in your case and my case, they are demon spawn and aren't afraid to place a curse on you. Bad luck for all things automotive from this point on! It wouldn't surprise me that once I trade Sir Knocksalot in, something happens to the new car right off the bat. Eek!Hang in there man, and if you need anything at all, well - you know where we are at.

Sorry to hear that. Glad you are ok though. It's getting "that time of year" again when they're moving around here also. I've had many close calls, but have actually only hit one deer in my years of driving.....going about 75mph, hit a buck dead on in my 94 Cavalier. Put dents in the roof as it went over. I feel lucky though because a lady I worked with had one come through her windshield and cut her up pretty bad. There shouldn't be a "deer season" for hunters...it should be "open season" all year long.

Dammage does not look too bad, I am up to 4 deer now, one hit me in the side 5 years ago. I could not open either side door on the drivers side. It destroyed the fender , tore of the mirror, dented both doors, and smashed the rear quarter pannel. I was only going 45 and didnt even know what happened till I seen the beast flopping on the pavement. I hope never to hit one in my GTO, but know that it will probably happen.

That sucks man... I'm real sorry. Good luck with the repairs.

That really, really sucks! Hope that's the last one!

sorry to hear about your G6 raginfish...My mom trashed my truck a couple of years ago, in I-29 going about 70 mph an hour. she saw a deer and swervered to try to avoid it but ended up hitting up with the rear left tire, which flipped her 3 times. I was glad that she wasn't injured, but i have a feeling that if she had just hit the deer straight on nothing would have happened. I had welded a 3" 1/4 thick round pipe into a very very strong grill guard. and i had a brush guard on the bottom. That truck was a tank in the front. oh well. i really am glad that she wasn't injured.

Man that really sucks. You shouldn't post those damaged pics until after you get in back from the shop and post good photos!First impressions and all... Anyway - could have been worse, glad you weren't hurt.

Mike, it is to bad that I am laid up. I would go get some pay back for you, but, the doc won't let me hunt. I'll have my brother get one for ya.

Oh boy,sorry to hear.I feel your frustration,you worked so hard to get it,taking the time to choose the right one,the colour,...And,the first picture taken,a deer hited car.

That really sucks. I would be pissed as when my Vibe (like a week old) got hit by some kind of board flying over the freeway median concrete divider as I was travelling about 85mph! A whole new front end later! Yep, I was a little, shall we say, irked!

Quote, originally posted by gargoyle »The irony of it all. Only 21 more to go!I think he has hit *edit* 2 deer so its only 18 to go.I was going to mention that trash can but......

Thanks all for your support and ummm...condolences? Kinda not the word I wanted, but whatever.Thankfully, one of the nice things about having a dealer that's a family friend is connections. My dad called the owner at home today to let him know what happened...supposedly HE was 3 times as upset as I was over it...but they told me to bring it down tomorrow for evaluation and they'll take care of everything. Makes me feel a lot better knowing I'll get that extra-special treatment. I hope I can get it fixed fast...driving without a left side mirror is VERY hard in this car, and very terrifying...especially given the extremely limited rear-view of the coupe...My co-workers couldn't believe it. One of my other managers almost broke into tears! She felt so bad for me...she couldn't believe it.Supposedly there is some superstition and/or tradition that says you throw change into the back seat of someone's car when it's new, as a token of good luck to come. Two of my managers insisted on doing that...I asked them today if they made sure to supply the minimum total necessary to yield good luck...In all seriousness though, yes, it could've been worse, and I honestly don't know if the hit could've deployed side airbags, had they been equipped. I'm going to ask them tomorrow...On a side note -- I see similar posts as I did in my post a few years ago regarding the hit in my Vibe. Just for the record folks, overall, I am a true animal lover -- all shapes and sizes. I don't condone or like hunting, or in any fashion, cruelty or murder of animals. That being said, I'd ask future posts to NOT make reference to hunting, eating, or in any other way dismembering an animal. Thanks in advance.Gargoyle: you made me laugh with the garbage can pic. I wonder if my street name is a freakin omen!!! And for the record, I've only had two deer collisions. *knock on wood* I pray last night is the last one.

Mike, I can tell you now, side airbags wouldn't have gone off. The angle of the impact is wrong, and doesn't go deep enough.

Quote, originally posted by tnpartsguy »Mike, I can tell you now, side airbags wouldn't have gone off. The angle of the impact is wrong, and doesn't go deep enough.Just curious, where are the sensors for those?

damn! mike, you must have a moving target on your cars! lol. and how lame to have that happen right after you got your new car!

Someone on G6OwnersClub was kind enough to point out to me the following disturbing "coincidence:"My street name begins with Deer ...my house number 23...and I had a collision with a deer on the 23rd...Now I'm starting to get concerned! Maybe this WAS some sort of twisted sign...

don't go anywhere on the 23rd! lol

Sux2bU!It's gotta be those 'Animal Friendly' NJ license plates you have! It just give all God's furry little creatures such a warm-fuzzy feeling that they want to get close to you, even at speed.Maybe 'Emily' had a sister named 'Christine' who was a '57 Plymouth??? (In the interest of 'squeaky clean Millster-approved postings', I'll substitute underscores here. Feel free to substitute your own invective! 'Charming', 'Delightful', 'Pleasant', and 'Courteous' don't count!)One of my new cars (1980 VW) was damaged by the ____ dealership shortly after taking delivery. --> http://forums.genvibe.com/zero...age=2Sincerely hope you have better luck, Mike!

Attached files

Hah. We can't blame the plates this time, they stayed on the Vibe. I'll be getting new plates for the G6...Good theory though.

Quote, originally posted by trdvibe »don't go anywhere on the 23rd! lolUm, kinda late for that. Mike, maybe you should consult one of those numerologists. Maybe that is your unlucky number. I have a few unlucky numbers myself, 0 through infinity.Better luck to you in the future. It sounds like the dealer may actually care about ya, so I think you are going to be just fine.

Quote, originally posted by ragingfish »Supposedly there is some superstition and/or tradition that says you throw change into the back seat of someone's car when it's new, as a token of good luck to come. Two of my managers insisted on doing that...I asked them today if they made sure to supply the minimum total necessary to yield good luck...My next door neighbor did that when I got the Vibe. It definitely brought good luck!Partially because I had to get down and find it one time when I was coming back to NJ and had to pay the toll on I-95 through Delaware.

Lower inner door structure, just below the armrest. The door will have to get quite a bit of impact to set them off.

Mike I think it's time to move out of Jersey boy what bad you luck you've had with those suicidial deers lolSeriously sorry to hear about that though....

Holy crap! How horrible! Well at least you were not hurt, it is only metal and plastic. New metal and plastic but still. Get a great body shop to do the work...

Quote, originally posted by MiVibe-ToolGuy »Holy crap! How horrible! Well at least you were not hurt, it is only metal and plastic. New metal and plastic but still. Get a great body shop to do the work... Sorry to hear about the mishap. And I second the comment about getting a good bodyshop to do the work...A Toyota that I once owned had similar damage. Not from a deer, but from an old lady in an oldsmobile. The dealership did the repairs on it, and they did a lousy job. They didn't even try to replace any panels or even pound out the dents before they reached for the bondo...15 minutes after I dropped the car off, I came back unannounced to get something out of the car that I had forgotten, and found that the bondo was already all over the door and rear quarter panel...no prep work AT ALL. I complained, saying that the insurance company was paying for a new door skin...the bodyshop manager said he'd take care of it...when I got the car back, the panel was the same one that was on there from the factory, but with lots of bondo on it. Less than a year after the incident, the paint was peeling up.So even if they say they'll take good care of it, I'd absolutely make a couple of unannounced visits to the repair shop.

Well, the initial estimate, assuming no further damage will be found under the sheet metal, is anywhere between $3000 - $4000. Repair time is 3 weeks or more. Because I'm not willing to give up a car I've had for less then a week for another month, I told them to order me a mirror, since I'm having a hard time driving without that, and the body work will have to wait until I'm ready to deal with it.

That sucks man. But you'll be ok though, things will work out somehow!What are they going to do about the quarter panel? Do they think they will be able to smooth out the damage that is there, or will they have to replace the whole shebang?

Wow 3 weeks? That seems like a long time for the damage thats in your pics...

Mike,Can't they just order the stuff and call you when it is all in?? That way you are only without the car for a couple days for them to do the work?? That is what I had to do when I needed a new rear hatch on my vibe.Sorry to hear about the bad luck. Sweet ride though!! that is the same color as my wife's 4 dr G6 GT. Maybe I will get a G6 when my lease is up... 3 more years though... Good thing I love my Vibe!!

Don't wait, Mike. Let them fix it. You want to walk out in the morning to see a brand new car, not a damaged car.

I agree with Bozack. Get it fixed. I would think it would only be depressing to come out to a damaged car each morning, until you are 'ready' to have it fixed. Have them order the parts and call you when they are ready, then take the car in. I'll bet they'd even give you Emily back to drive until the G6 is finished. So, have you named the G6 yet? I suppose Bambi isn't an option, huh?

Quote, originally posted by spoonman »Mike,Can't they just order the stuff and call you when it is all in?? That way you are only without the car for a couple days for them to do the work?? That is what I had to do when I needed a new rear hatch on my vibe.Sorry to hear about the bad luck. Sweet ride though!! that is the same color as my wife's 4 dr G6 GT. Maybe I will get a G6 when my lease is up... 3 more years though... Good thing I love my Vibe!! They are talking 3 weeks after the parts come in. I don't know why myself. They have to do panel splitting, welding, etc. etc. The dealership isn't doing the work, an actual collision repair center is because my dealership doesn't have the equipment necessary to do it.I filed the claim with insurance today, but told them I can't turn over the car for the work for a few weeks. Quote, originally posted by rebbierae »I'll bet they'd even give you Emily back to drive until the G6 is finished.So, have you named the G6 yet? I suppose Bambi isn't an option, huh?The Vibe wasn't kept by the dealership, they sold it to a wholesaler. Too much work needed to be done on it to bring it back to life and make it sellable. Yeah, it took me a while, but I think this one is Erica. The whole "E" thing is coincidental. I just went through a bunch of names in my head until one felt right...