Stupid deer! (Smashed V)

[daan]

I was driving home from work this morning (1:30 AM)and saw a buck run out on the road. Just as I was thinking "nice rack" I hit the second one. It took out the grill, headlight, front fender, and both the doors on the driver's side. THe AC condenser emptied out, but the radiator is OK. Oh yeah, and one of my cheap hubcaps I took it to the body shop near my house and the estimate came in at $5500, unless more stuff is bent underneath. At least the air bags didn't go off... I work in a hospital and I see people come in after deer hits all the time, usually because they weren't wearing their belts, or they hit a big one and it came thru the windshield.
So... I really like my V and hope it isn't totalled, because I know the ins. isn't going to give me enough $ for it to buy another one. I only have a couple payments left on it, too.

[Encryptshun]

Glad you weren't hurt. What happened with the insurance?

[daan]

Well it took almost a week for the insurance adjuster to look at the car, so hopefully tomorrow they can start actually fixing it. I like my V and can't wait to have it back in one piece. IT's been a drag having to get in and out of the passenger side, since the driver's door won't open.

[daan]

OK I finally got the car to the shop and they're tearing into it now. And, the loaner I have while they're working on my car, is...a '10 Versa sedan. Cool. I definitely like the 6-speed better than the auto my loaner has, and it's easier to get the car seats in and out of my hatch than this sedan. Of course it's a loaded SL, so it's kinda fun having the toys in it but I'll definitely be glad to get my V back.

[daan]

OK so I got my Versa back. (Pix to follow when I'm not at work) It's all shiny and new looking again. I had the parking lot rash fixed on the rest of the car while they were fixing the deer hit damage. (Someone scraped up the back bumper, and a couple door dings as well.) My car hasn't looked this nice since I got it. I replaced the hubcaps with some cheapies from the auto parts store because my stockers were A: ugly B: kept falling off anyway and C: The dealer wanted almost as much for a new set of caps as a couple wheels from Tire Rack... anyway one of those came off right after the accident, and the body shop guys actually went and found me another hubcap so I have a full set again.
The loaner I had was actuallly a 2011 Versa sedan, and it already had over 20K on it. My car literally has 3 times the mileage, and the loaner sounded like it was twice as old as my car, rattly and clunky and the engine was REALLY loud, sounding like it was low on oil. (It wasn't). It didn't have the annoying wind leak that my car has on the driver's door though.
Do the SL's have different door seals than the S's do?
Also the loaner was an auto (not a CVT) and my 6-speed seems much quicker, like the auto drains a lot of power from the engine or something. I also easily get 360-370 miles to a tank, and the loaner never got more than 320. (I drive 60 miles each way to work 4 days a week so I put well over 1K on the loaner) I definitely missed my car and was excited to get it back, despite paying almost $1000 for the bodywork.

[vtyde]

Auto trans will suck power from the engine, that's just how they're designed. People call them "slushboxes" because it's filled with fluid, and the engine acts on the fluid instead of being directly connected to the drive shaft (check out auto transmissions on HowStuffWorks.com, they're actually pretty amazing). Not to mention that the auto transmission is heavier. The power loss is most noticeable with smaller engines.

My previous car was an auto Mazda 3 hatch and it was horrible. You'd think a 2.4 L would be zippy but the auto transmission made it bog like crazy, especially in 2nd gear. My experience with that car would have been completely different if it had been a manual.

Bottom line: auto transmission is heavier and less efficient.

Any idea if your loaner was a 1.6 or 1.8?

Anyway, glad to hear you got your V back, and that you weren't hurt by the deer. I've got the same car - white hatch, 6 spd and it absolutely kills the Mazda3 in almost every respect.

[daan]

Well it's been a couple weeks since I got the car back (and haven't had internet at home, sorry it's taken so long to reply)
So far, I have to take the car back to the body shop because the door won't shut right, the window crank won't stay attatched and the rubber on the rear passenger door comes off. It took so long to get the car to the shop with my stupid work schedule that I'm thinking of just fixing it myself instead of taking it back though.
As far as the rental, it was a 1.8. I had to check because it was so slow. And I understand about the auto being slower, I also have a Mazda 5. I tested one with a stick and it was awesome, but the wife won't learn how to drive stick so we got an auto instead. Totally different feel, it went from "sporty hatchback that looks like an minivan" feel to "small minivan" without the stickshift. Well that and paying $1000+extra to have a car that's not as fun to drive seems kinda dumb...

[veronicatheV]

Poor Versa, its like any car though once something has happened to it its never the same after the fix, as for the Nice rack the one that hit you musta been daddy cause that is sum major damage for a doe. Surprised your light is still on one piece too.

[boxcarbill]

The 6 speed manual only has 25% overdrive. The autos have more than 50% overdrive. The autos give better fuel economy at speeds over 55 mph, as well as less rpms which is good for longer engine life.
Wish I could modify my 6 speed to get the ratios that would make it a truly great car instead of the can't do highway speeds (without losing fuel economy) dog it is.