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03 cts vs deer. help me please

64K views 31 replies 23 participants last post by  Longsnapper52 
#1 ·
hey guys havent been on in a while but to make a long story short. i hit a deer coming outta work last night. i paniced and left. now if ur from jersey i drove from parsippany to paterson. about 16 miles.once i got on the main highway i got the message 'check coolent level' there goes my radiator. im gonna try to put pics up but for the most part i just need to figure out how im gonna repair this. im gonna do most of the work myself. insurance dont cover this. where can i get a drawing or info on the front end? is it bolted on?welded? the nose is caved in and the right fender frame? well thats a little bent. ill try to post pics asap. although it hurts to even look at it :( any advice is highly appreciated. also if any knows a respectable autobody shop let me know.
 

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#2 ·
Holy 5hit man...At least your not injured. I hope you are a certified machanic as well as body man...From the looks of that impact, you are going to be digging a lot deeper than the radiator brother, sorry to bring you down. One route might be to get a detailed estimate from a body shop listing everything they would replace to at least get an idea of what you are up against - then, start turning wrenches....I hit one in Jackson 2 years ago in the drivers side front also, it was a BMW 3 series, but the visual damage looked less than yours, $4,800 later I was back on the road with numerous parts above and beyond the body panels replaced....Again, at least your not injured.
 
#3 ·
Man, that kinda shit sucks major. But, like Scattilac said, atleast you're ok. And I second what Scattilac said about the estimate. That way you'll get a list of all the parts that need to be changed. Then you can decide whether or not you'll be able to do it all
 
#4 ·
Man! Sorry to see that, glad you're OK. This is why I carry FULL COVERAGE insurance on my Cadillacs. Do what everyone has said, get an estimate on repair and use that for reference.
 
#5 ·
Wow, what was your speed at impact? Since you drove home, 16 miles right? I assume the air bags didn't deploy huh? Why won't the insurance pay, unless you have liability only?

When I hit truck and have almost the same exact damage. It cost about $9,500 or so. But this was at a body shop that is a little over priced.

KOT
 
#6 ·
That was either a REALLY big deer or you were going pretty fast when it jumped in front of you, or both :) I hit a small deer in my Seville at about 50mph and it shattered the headlight assembly and misaligned the hood slightly on the passenger side. That car is a TANK!
 
#10 ·
may be fixable for less than you think... just be sure to get the cheapest used parts possible.

you need a headlight, bumper cover, hood and probably a rad. grill you can probably find for under $100 or free on here if the right person pops up saying they want it gone.

next you will need to do a assessment of the rad support and A/C components, this is what may drive the price up.
new rad support wont be cheap, but one out of a CTS that has been smashed in the rear you can probably snag for a fair price.
the bumper is bolted to a short rod/bracket that is designed to compress on impact, you may need to replace 1 bracket if its pushed in..but i dont think it is.

how is your fender? bent?
lets get some more pics of different angles and if you can pop the hood and get some snap shots of it...then maybe do a better assessment of the damage.
 
#11 ·
Retail price on that is close to $10,000. Hood is about $1,000. A front cap (with hood and fenders is about $3500. If that is metallic paint, plan on $500 for paint. Plus headlights, labor, condensor, radiator, radiator support, metal ac lines, new hoses, etc.

Airbags did not go off because deer did not hit bumper. (Sensors are behind bumper.)

Since your vehicle is an 03, and since body is the same up until 07, you might get lucky and locate a front cap for under $2500. Find a junk yard with 2 or 3 front caps. Remind mgr that one of his fork lifts will eventually crush one of those caps the longer that it sits there. He might buy into that idea. It worked for me with a SDV.
 
#14 ·
Like everyone has said, be thankful you are alive. In this province, we have moose and Id estimate that half of the accidents result in a death or more. Its shitty luck, but shitty things happen to everyone at some point. Get the car fixed and get back to enjoying your CTS. Posts like this always remind me to give a big hug to those close to me every time I see them...
 
#16 ·
That sucks man. I remember how I felt a few months ago when I totaled mine. CTS vs brickwall.
I have a stock grill sitting in my basement...it's yours if you want. PM me your addy and I'll send it to you.
every little bit helps right?

When I was younger, my dad had a one of those big K5 4x4 blazers. He hit a dear in MI going about 40 and caved in the whole passenger side hood, bumper and fender(much like yours). Dear popped up and ran off like he just tripped. Just curious, what happened to your dear?
 
#21 ·
I hit a deer while driving from my home in FL going through Texas on my way to San Diego to visit my sons during Christmas (runting season for deer). Luckily I suffered no major structural or mechanical damage and was able to continue driving the remaining 900 plus miles to my destination. Stopped in Fort Stockton for that night. Happened approximately 9:45 PM. I saw the deer enter the highway I-10 going from my right to left and figured PHEW he'll be gone by the time I get to his position and began slowing from 65mph in order to leave more space between the two of us. Suddenly the goof ball reverses course now running back across the highway from left to right and stops dead center in my lane just as I am closing on him. I thought for sure I had enough room to stop since I had already begun hitting the breaks. So I begin to swerve into the left hand lane trying to go behind him and he reverses course yet again! making impact a certainty. All I could think of was that was like some NFL running back making cuts trying to get through the line and yet... Wham! at first I thought I had stopped just in time but knew when I heard the thud there would be some damage. And of course the deer gets up looks back at me and bounds off as if to say "That's all you got?!!" LOL

When I arrived in SD my insurance co paid for the repairs which cost a grand total of 4366.23. Big ticket items in the repair New hood - 1052.12, new front bumper cover - 602.86, new grille - 428.48, and some molding strips - 152.65 hood latch - 129.00. They had to actually pull the driver side front metal radiator support forward as it had been bent slightly backwards.



Land vehicle Vehicle Car Luxury vehicle Bumper
Land vehicle Vehicle Car Bumper Luxury vehicle
Land vehicle Vehicle Car Headlamp Automotive lighting
Land vehicle Vehicle Car Luxury vehicle Hood
 
#27 ·
@ Redcaddy83... Message me... I live in Clifton and am not an autobody guy but saved some money because parts I get a discount... I had a similar issue with my caddy and bought a bunch of parts at discount...

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Also call Lacey Auto in Newark, they had a few caddy's on their lot when I was getting parts... They don't have the caddy's anymore but they stock many parts... If they have anything you need let me know and I can get the price brought down with the one guy I dealt with...
 
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