versa vs deer

[mrmont]

I ran into a deer a couple weeks ago out in the sticks of NY. The hood crumpled and ended up against the windshield, lots of plastic in the front end got smashed, the airbag went off and the seatbelt pretensioners fired. The seatbelt kept me back far enough that I don't think I even felt the airbag. Had a big red mark on my neck for a few days but otherwise ok.

I was surprised that there wasn't more serious damage done. I let the car run while I pulled plastic bits and pieces out of the engine compartment, and didn't see anything leaking, so I thought I'd keep going to my destination. Luckily I had a bunch of cat5 network cable with me, so I used that to wire the bumper section up and pull the hood down. There's a big meaty part of the frame there which protected the engine pretty well. The radiator and cooler were bent back a bit, but didn't leak. I crammed the airbag back in place and wrapped a bunch of electrical tape around the steering wheel to hold it down, but had to unhook the horns to keep them quiet.

So, while I'm happy that I didn't get hurt, and although I didn't think there was really all that much messed up besides body and cosmetic stuff, the body shop and insurance company felt differently: the repair estimate was $9000, so they totalled it. I'm happy with their settlement check, and would like to find another Versa, but maybe a few years newer. My poor 2008 had over 174,000 miles on it, although it looked and ran great before the accident. I put over 1000 miles on the car after the deer hit, so those Versas are tough little cars!

[frapjap]

Impressive! Glad that the car was so dependable for you while you owned it and performed correctly in your accident and saved you from any major injury!
Any photos? (shameless request!)

Good luck in your search for a new car.

[mrmont]

Sorry about the crappy quality, but here's the engine compartment:




and here's the airbag:



The front of the hood was curled under and the whole thing laid back onto the windshield. I pulled it back out as much as I could before tying it down. The plastic cover on the top of the engine was busted up, and the air intake tube was knocked off.

I got some scuffs on my wrists which I guess happened when the center of the steering wheel split apart for the airbag. There was sort of a cloud of white dust in the air from that, and I had to get the windows down quick for some fresh air.

[RedAlertV]

Glad you're ok. Looks like it was a tough one. And congrats on the decision to continue on with another versa

[08versailles]

Glad you're okay!
Nine grand for an old high mile Versa?!? Sweet
Newer Versas with CVTs have a planetary gearset to further reduce rpms and increase the mpgs.
Many happy reports of great real life fuel economy if that's the way you want to go.
Happy motoring

[jimversa]

Nine grand for an old high mile Versa?!? Sweet

He said the repair estimate was $9000, no way he got that for the settlement amount (which he did not say).
Glad to hear he's unhurt and happy with whatever he did get.

[lordthygod]

several years ago i also railed a deer in the suburbs of buffalo ny, i'll have to ask origanalwheel man to post the photo's quick, but i came off luckier than you. Around dusk heading home from wheelmans house i was going into a slight right hander with a truck riding my a**, ditch to the right and traffic to the left. The deer came from the left side of the road through traffic, so i looked behind me, looked the the right, and then to traffic coming other way and said to my self..."well i guess i should square up" hit the deer nice and even across the front of my car(deer was longer than my car is wide:P), it rolled up and over and kept running. With the truck behind me still tailgating i finished my turn with hazards on then finally was able to get over and inspect damage. Luckily the friend that was with me had a tow dolly, so called his father to bring it on his frontier pick up while the sheriffs pulled next to us to ask if were ok and if the deer was dead or alive. Said "naw it ran off" the sheriff got a smile and said
"cool i dont have to write a report, you getting towed home?" "no ma`am, im going to drive it back to friends house and wait for his dad with a dolly". "sounds good to me, just leave your hazards on and keep it under 30 so you dont get glass spraying in your face." I chuckled and said "thanks, have a good night ma`am." One head light on drives side where the deer's hip hit, and a windshield later i was on my way :P

[lordthygod]

forgot one important note, i was driving at approx 40-45
following are picks i took tonight. The deer didn't damage the bumper, it was my mother every time she borrowed my car would always pull over the dividers in parking lots and half the time popped bumper off mounts, but i guess that's why i always have zipties :P
It has been about 4 years since i hit that deer and car is still running strong aside from some some annoying fit and finish issues like my driver door handle falling off last month and the weather seals around the doors not being glue properly since the day i bought it with .3 miles on odo in 07 :P








also ignore the aluminum tap in fog light holes.... i used to take the time to 5-6 layer tap along the seems when i remounted it every time my mother screwed up my bumper for aero purposes (which actually made a noticeable difference in highway mpg and resistance to being blown about by changing winds or a truck passing close) but i said screw it after the 20th time or so lol

[mrmont]

update: I looked and looked for another used Versa for around what I got for the insurance payout of $6600. I wanted a hatchback instead of a sedan, and pretty much all I found had either really high mileage or was in a color I didn't want, so I eventually ended up with a Scion xB. Quite ugly, but it holds about as much with the rear seats down as my Versa did with the rear seats out altogether.

[frapjap]

Bummer that $6,600 was all you got out of the car.
However, the B should hold you over pretty well. They're decently made vehicles. Watch out for deer!

[trdmrk86]

Thanks for sharing. It's good to hear the Versa served you well and kept you safe.