Kansas Whitetail

KantKwit · November 22, 2007

Can't wait to see what this costs.

mini1 · November 22, 2007

Oh boy! Are you reporting this to your insurance company or paying out of pocket for repairs?

KantKwit · November 22, 2007

I'll see what the damage is. I have a $500 deductible. I'll get it in tomorrow and find out.

Norman · November 22, 2007

It looks bad, but I have to say, after looking at it for more than 20 seconds, I think to myself, "That could have been a lot worse, especially if he was driving, say, a Japanese sedan."

The front end held up quite well, in my opinion. Gotta love trucks.

NathanL · November 22, 2007

I dunno I hit a bunch of deer - luckily I have a front end replacement. I got it after I hit one in a truck without one. Damage looked similar to what you have, it was just off to one side. $3500 was the total to get it done right and back to looking like factory.

People always tell me how stupid I am to have a $1000 deductable for insurance. I always tell them if it cost less than $1000 I probably can't even see it anyway and won't fix it with the cost on vehicles nowdays.

Truckin2003 · November 22, 2007

just dont let the insurance co. screw you. many of them are trying to force aftermarket OEM parts. Demand factory replacement parts for sure...

dietz4ibanez · November 22, 2007

That sucks man you had to kill it though!

cchupek · November 22, 2007

just dont let the insurance co. screw you. many of them are trying to force aftermarket OEM parts. Demand factory replacement parts for sure...

No such thing as aftermarket OEM parts. They are either OEM (Original GM) or they are aftermarket. Depending on your insurance carrier, your policy may state that they have the right to use the most cost-effective measures necessary to repair your truck. Some insurers will stipulate to their adjusters that if it is a current year model and/or under a certain mileage, perhaps 12K or 15K, they will allow all OEM parts. If not, you do have the option to pay the difference between what they allow and the price of the new part. One thing is for certain, as a body shop owner, we always want to install OEM parts. They fit right the first time they are installed, meet all OE specs and we do not have to hear the technician working on the vehicle gripe that they are not getting paid adequately to fool around with junk parts. Also, many of the shops that have a good relationship with the dealer parts department are now getting the dealer to "price match" the OE parts to meet the pricing of the aftermarket parts listed in the estimate so they can get the OE parts if the insurer will not allow them. The dealer essentially eats a few dollars of profit on the part, but they are still getting a piece of the parts sale instead of losing the entire sale to an aftermarket vendor. Good luck.

Zembonez · November 23, 2007

just dont let the insurance co. screw you. many of them are trying to force aftermarket OEM parts. Demand factory replacement parts for sure...

CONTRARY to popular belief... the insurance company is not out to screw you. On any vehicle, it simply depends on your insurance carrier and the fine print in your policy. Your company states in the policy you bought what they can and can not do. Most carriers do have the right to use aftermarket or LKQ parts. After an accident has occurred it is too late to change any of that.

One possible saving grace is that most companies will opt for OEM parts on current year and/or less than one year old vehicles. What is really in your favor here is the fact that there isn't much available aftermarket or used for GMT900 trucks yet. Because of this, I believe that you are pretty safe on this claim.

These are good details to know BEFORE the crash though.

EDIT: That's an EASY 1500.00 plus claim. The grille alone would blow your deductible.

Rolling · November 24, 2007

Not to sound like a jerk, I am glad nobody was hurt...but, thats all it did? How fast were you going? How big are the deer there?

I make a lot of money selling the parts to put back together moose damage, I have honestly never seen such little damage after animal impact.

LAGA · November 24, 2007

Slightly off topic. Do you have the right to demand OEM parts for a repair from an insurance company if you are in a accident and the other party is at fault?

cchupek · November 24, 2007

Slightly off topic. Do you have the right to demand OEM parts for a repair from an insurance company if you are in a accident and the other party is at fault?

Each insurance company has different views on how to handle the customer requests for OEM parts. Many companies will try to work with the claimant when their insured has hit them. Most will be fairly willing to help if they are not feeling pressured by the claimant to pay enormous, ridiculous amounts of money for things that are not related to the claim. Several insurers, though, do not give a rip about what they put on a claimant's vehicle because they are not trying to keep that person's money flowing in on policy renewal. Sucks, but it's true.

KantKwit · November 24, 2007

Not to sound like a jerk, I am glad nobody was hurt...but, thats all it did? How fast were you going? How big are the deer there?

I make a lot of money selling the parts to put back together moose damage, I have honestly never seen such little damage after animal impact.

Kansas Whitetail can run over 300 lbs. This was a good sized buck, probably 200 or so. I had the cruise set at 65. It was dark, around 7:30 pm. I saw him run onto the road out of the ditch. Just got my foot on the break at impact. Luckily, I knocked him down and ran over him, rather than launching him into the windshield. I am pretty impressed with the way the truck held up. There doesn't appear to be any damage underneath. I had it put on a front end machine and alignment checked out. Because of the Holiday, I haven't got the repair estimate yet. It looks like replacement of the bumper, upper and lower valences, bumper cap, grill, hood trim, and maybe transmission cooler. I've definately seen worse.

Rolling · November 26, 2007

Wow... I agree, your truck held up well.

Most times, a good moose hit will total your truck. An adult bull (alaskan moose) can weigh over 1500 pounds. I have seen them roll over the cab of lifted fullsize trucks and kill all the occupants and flatten the truck.

Again, I am glad your OK!