Those who follow Coupe Cartel on Facebook or Instagram already know the bad news.
5:15 am last Tuesday, I was headed to SEMA in Las Vegas. My brother, his wife, and 10 week old son were in their Saab 9-3 behind me. It was still dark out about 45 minutes north of home, 13 miles outside of Wickenburg, AZ on US-93. Out of nowhere, a deer ran in front of my Coupe as I was cruising along at about 70mph. There was no time to react, other than quickly hitting the brakes, but it was too close. I looked in my rear view mirror just after it happened and my brother's car was swerving back and forth trying to correct from his reaction. Luckily they were unaffected. Thank God. The deer flew back into the southbound lane where it had come from. Dead, of course.
Highway patrol came, drug the deer off the freeway, and took a report. I called AAA and had my Coupe hauled home. Called insurance and made and claim, then picked up a rental car and got back on the road to Las Vegas.
SEMA was awesome! Wish I could have been there the full 4 days, but I only made it for a couple of hours the first day, and had to head home Thursday night for a wedding on Friday.
All in all, I should just be happy I'm safe. I know. Don't get me wrong, I am very happy that nobody but the stupid deer was injured. I'm really just pissed that my car is wrecked, though. While it certainly wasn't perfect, it was pretty great in my eyes. Now I'll have to fight with insurance to make sure they don't value it too low, and try to total it. I think it will probably be fine in the end. I just don't want to deal with all of this... They'll be out tomorrow to write up an estimate.
It's somewhat drivable, other than the bumper and fender liner rubbing on the tire. It took an 18 point turn to get it into the driveway, once the tow truck dropped it off. Bumper, headlight, hood, fender, and door are all shot. The fender support is bent down, and towards the engine. Not sure what it takes to repair that.
I had no idea there were deer so close to home. Time to take up deer hunting to serve as pest control along US-93. The officer told me he hit a deer, not far from where I did, in his patrol car just the previous week on the way to a call. Stupid deer.
Here are photos of the deer, for those who can stomach it.
Last photo of my Coupe while I fueled up before I got on the road that morning.
Last edited by Jeremy; 11-11-2013 at 02:59 PM.
Wow that's looks pretty bad. Thankfully nobody got hurt. Is your insurance going to fix it?
ouch!
glad everyone is ok though.
Damn Jeremy. Glad you are okay but sucks to see that. For 70 mph (maybe down to 50 for hard braking), that is not bad damage. Maybe LSB is some sort of aphrodisiac for deer, our coupes just seem to attract them...
BTW what is that green stuff on your door? Deer vomit? Also in that eBay post about LSB seats, the seller has a new driver's side view mirror for sale as well
Last edited by KBH22102; 11-11-2013 at 02:31 PM.
Kelvin
Totally fixable, shouldn't be anywhere near a total. Just insist on factory parts. Good luck!
I like the unicorns.
'99 Z3 Coupe - Jet Black/Black (1-of-114)
'99 M Coupe - Estoril Blue/Black (1-of-82)
'03 540iT - Sterling Gray/Black (1-of-24)
'16 Z4 sDrive35i - Estoril Blue/Walnut (1-of-8)
ouch!....
Sorry to see this. Best wishes on getting her back on the road.
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The deer pics are gnarly. Rest in pieces.
glad you're ok jeremy. damn deer.
___________________________________
Always looking for my next ///M Coupé...
Your damage is almost identical to mine after my deer vs. coupe encounter, except the door and mirror.
My insurance didn't cover, but that was my fault for lacking coverage.
Out of pocket for me was about 4k. I never had the courage to calculate the actual total.
I was lucky that my local BMW dealer cut their mark-up on the hood and front bumper cover.
Good luck.
Mine came out okay, but i still have to do some work to correct the gaps at the hood/fender/quarter area.
Sorry to hear and see this. Bloody deer are as thick as rats or flies, and THE most dangerous animal on earth, statistically. Hope they don't total this coupe, but it looks like some welded in fender stuff was bent. THe 1/4 panels , radiator support, hood, bumper, lights are all bolt in componenets. Not sure how they would handle the welded on support. Good luck , hold out for maximum $$$.
Suck, bang, blow - that's what it's all about.
2000 Z3, 2.3L Roadster, Blk / 2001 Z3 Coupe, 3.0 , Hell Rot II / 2000 Road Star 1.6L ( bike) Blk w/flames
'04 Suzuki Savage .65L Grey ( our loaner bike ) / '04 Astro ( HMS Hellion) Ship - see http://thebrigands.com for pics
/ '94 Brand H Del Sol
Somehow your coupe still looks amazing with a few knicks here and there
Glad you're ok, and am looking forward to seeing it back up and running 100% very soon.
Saw on instagram. Sorry to hear of this. Hope insurance plays nice and this doesn't turn into too big a hassle for you. Hoping it can get fixed and back on the road. Best of luck.
2002 M coupe - Imola/Imola, 18" BBS LM, Wilwood BBK, TC Kline S/A coilovers, Supersprint V2 stepped headers, SS Section 1 race cats, SS Section 2 X-pipe, SS Race exhaust, 3.73 differential, Sport mode, Dinan ECU
2008 M3 sedan - Melbourne/Black, 6MT, AA test pipes, Dinan exhaust, BPM Sport tune, Dinan intake, Swift springs
Damn sorry to read this. Hope you get the Coupe back together without too much difficulty from the insurance company.
So sorry to see this. Damn deer. I didn't even know AZ had deer, figured just antelope or something. Such a beautiful car.
You know it will never be the same again. It's damaged goods, complete crap now. You'll always hate it. So sell it to me.
Good luck on the repairs! It will be like new soon. Do you think it will receive a full respray?
Best,
Terry
Stuff. I got stuff.
Man, that sucks! I agree that the damage is light. New hood, radiator support clip, drivers mirror, drivers door, possibly drivers front fender.
Take lots of pics and document it thoroughly. Shouldn't hurt your value then either.
Ouch! Made one hell of a mess of the deer, luckily not so bad on the Coupe, I can't see them totalling that, but it will sure cost a bit
'97 Z3 2.8 - Montreal Blue, Beige
Mods - RD Fr. strut brace; Short antenna; Hifi LCD+AUX; BMW soft-top; TMS RSM; K&N air; Bilstein struts; H&R Springs; Pedders camber/toe; extra padded M stitched 3 spoke steering wheel ...
To Do - Interior overhaul; rear window; lightweight rims ...
'98 M Coupe - Cosmos Black, Imola
What a nightmare. I almost blasted a pair of deer the other night, luckily I was driving slowly. They are just the dumbest creatures.
Sorry to hear all this, but it looks totally repairable. Good luck with insurance.
Mmmm... deer juice.
DIY/Project Links:_TC Kline D/A & Suspension Refresh_|_Oil/Engine Cooling Options / Install_|_
Dinan/Fikse FM-5 Build_|_Stereo Install_|_HID Retrofit_|_
Jeremy, you will be back cleaner than ever!
Shouldn't be a difficult repair and you can bring her back sporting those nice fat lips in the back
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DIY/Project Links:_TC Kline D/A & Suspension Refresh_|_Oil/Engine Cooling Options / Install_|_
Dinan/Fikse FM-5 Build_|_Stereo Install_|_HID Retrofit_|_
That sucks Jeremy! At least your alright physically and that damage looks reparable.
Sorry to hear, but thankfully no one (other than the deer) was hurt. Must have been a horrible feeling just as you hit it.
The car looks easily fixable and at least you will get new paint for the (new) hood and bumper. Try and find the silver lining.
Thanks Rob for your comment on the he deer pics, I had to look. It was gross
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