Deer - 1, Marauder - 0; Deer dead, Marauder ALIVE!

[lwblumjr]

Hi all,

My wife was on the way from Pensacola to her mother's home in Panama City, FL late Friday afternoon. At around 5:30 PM on Hwy. 81 Southbound a big doe came zipping across the highway. My wife first sees it as it is crossing the opposing lane. Unfortunately, the deer's timing was excellent and it impacted the front of my Marauder about dead center. It took out all the grille/headlight surround/headlights and the right side light as well as crumpling the hood. The bumper cover appears to be Ok but the A/C condenser as well as the radiator and radiator support have seen better days. There may also be a damaged power steering line. The good news is that my wife is just fine since she was driving my Marauder versus her '98 Mustang Convertible. The bad news is she was driving my Marauder versus her '98 Mustang Convertible. :( The Marauder did its job well as my wife did not receive a scratch or even a sore neck/back. Hopefully the insurance adjuster will have pitty and not total Black Beauty out. It doesn't look like enough damage to total but you never know until the adjuster speaks. I wanted to collect my Marauder Saturday morning but, of course, the tow/recovery business was closed for the weekend. I did pick it up this morning and brought it home (about an hour and a half drive away) but I sure got ***** by the tow service. They towed the car about 15 miles and it cost me almost $240. (Thought I was gonna die!) I'm told my insurance company will pick up that tab as the deer was not insured. I sure hope so. Anyway, hopefully the adjuster will be by soon and I can take her to a body shop and get her put back right. She will still run and drive (but of course not far with that bad radiator.) :) Hopefully Black Beauty is down but not out!

http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm233/lwblumjr/Marauder/marauder_wreck.jpg

http://i297.photobucket.com/albums/mm233/lwblumjr/Marauder/marauder_wreck2.jpg

Update! Sorry this took so long to post but Black Beauty has been repaired and looks as good or better than ever since I have owned her.

http://falconclub.0catch.com/images/marauder_fixed1.jpg

http://falconclub.0catch.com/images/marauder_fixed.jpg

[TiTo35]

You should have took the deer with you as a trophy!
Glad your wife was not harmed.
Hopefully the car is repairable.

[TAKEDOWN]

Don't worry, she'll make her come back soon enough! More important I'm glad your wife is okay.

[lwblumjr]

You should have took the deer with you as a trophy!
Glad your wife was not harmed.
Hopefully the car is repairable.
TiTo35,

Unfortunately, the LEO that called for the tow truck called another guy to come pick up the deer. They were both gone before my step-son could pick my wife up (coming from Panama City about an hours drive away.)

[TiTo35]

TiTo35,

Unfortunately, the LEO that called for the tow truck called another guy to come pick up the deer. They were both gone before my step-son could pick my wife up (coming from Panama City about an hours drive away.)

Hmmm...would it have been that simple to request taking the deer?

[lwblumjr]

Hmmm...would it have been that simple to request taking the deer?
TiTo35,

My wife would have never even have thought to ask. I was more concerned with her condition and did not worry about the deer as it was an hour and a half drive away. Now, if it had been near my dad's house things would probably have been different. ;)

[TiTo35]

TiTo35,

My wife would have never even have thought to ask. I was more concerned with her condition and did not worry about the deer as it was an hour and a half drive away. Now, if it had been near my dad's house things would probably have been different. ;)


I understand...

[Newt]

That sucks.
Nearly happened to me as well.

[Cobra25]

I'm glad your wife is fine. Sorry to hear that happened.

[Bluerauder]

Glad to hear that your wife is fine. Sorry to hear about the damage to the Marauder. :(

[bobsawyer7]

Glad to hear your wife is OK although I bet she feels terrible about your Marauder.
Hit a deer with my '89 Grand Marquis a few years back. Not fun.

[RoyLPita]

Larry,
Glad to hear that your wife is okafter this. Keep us posted on anything new.

[FordNut]

Sorry to hear of another one crsahed. For towing, I joined AAA so if I have an accident or breakdown I don't get *****.

[rayjay]

Sorry to hear about the accident. Glad your wife was not injured. The damage sounds almost identical to mine when I hit a horned forest rat enroute to the Carlisle Show back in June. I was able to drive mine from the scene. IIRC damage was about $3600 to repair. Do go to a shop you trust. I went with Geico's shop and had several problems. :mad2: These cars will take a good hit and you don't feel it.

[Stranger in the Black Sedan]

I don't know who your insurance company is. If it's Geico I would recommend NOT going with one of their all-in-one express repair shops. I did and they are set up to do volume work at a passable quality level, which is not what an enthusiast is going to be happy with. I brought my car back twice after the repair to have it re done and the manager told me that they are only given enough shop time by Geico to do a mediocre job, and the insurance company writes the lowest estimate they can get away with and expects the shop to figure out how to get it out the door and still look okay. I would find a shop you know does good work and then deal w/ the insurance company reimbursing.

[GordonB]

Larry,
Glad your wife is OK. The car can be replaced; your wife may not be replaceable!
FWIW: Insurance note: COMPREHENSIVE -- always keep on EVERY car. Covers deer, fire and theft.
Note on Hood or new hood: old hood reused MUST be stripped of all paint to get a good finish.
GordonB

[lwblumjr]

Sorry to hear of another one crsahed. For towing, I joined AAA so if I have an accident or breakdown I don't get *****.
FordNut,

Yeah, I have a roadside assistance plan but my wife did not call it. :( That's why I got *****! She was a little shook up at the time.

[Black_Noise]

even if it was dead i would kick the crap out of the deer.


Nows the time to go custom hood right?

[CRUZTAKER]

Nice kill!

I hear the deer down there are tender and tasty.

I hope you brought the kill home with you.;)

Sorry about damage however....it appears repairable.
Look at it this way. It could have been a Camary at 70mph and a dead stop.:eek:

[Stranger in the Black Sedan]

I can't believe you towed the car on that trailer!!!!!

[Mest30]

The way I see it, it's Marauder - 1 and Deer - 0. The deer is dead and the marauder, albeit damaged, protected your wife from harms way. Glad she is ok and looking forward to seeing Black Beauty all fixed up.

[RoyLPita]

Larry, PM Mills Marauder. He is in Crawfordville and has done wonders with a few MM's down here, including his own.

[lwblumjr]

Hi all,

The insurance company adjuster came out today and had a look at Black Beauty. He added up $5665.24 in damages less my $250.00 deductable which I basically took care of when I paid the towing company. My Marauder is at the local Ford dealer's body shop. I have heard good things about them so I am hoping for the best. The adjuster and the body shop manager both seemed to appreciate the significance of the Marauder compared to your run-of-the-mill Crown Vic or Grand Marquis. Of course, the estimate does not include a complete repaint but I have asked about an estimate for that, too. We'll see. I'll keep everyone here posted.

[lwblumjr]

I can't believe you towed the car on that trailer!!!!!
VicsEvilBrother,

It would have been nice if the trailer was three or four inches wider but it is more heavy duty than it looks. My dad and I have hauled many a load and quite a few cars, trucks, and tractors on that trailer.

[rayjay]

Hi all,

The insurance company adjuster came out today and had a look at Black Beauty. He added up $5665.24 My Marauder is at the local Ford dealer's body shop. I have heard good things about

Ouch, your damage looks very similiar to mine only your hood is more crumpled. I should have had mine repaired at NYE Ford's body shop instead of Geico's preferred shop. When I was T Boned 2 years ago they did an outstanding job, good as new. When I had a paint problem they fixed it, free, no hassle, their fault.

[SID210SA]

Geico had their reccomened shops...but I took it to North Park Body Shop and I am glad I did....the body shop and my service writer went above and beyond....they made sure the Marauder was perfect I did have to take her back for warranty work on the paint but they took care of me and made it right and even gave me a free loaner while it was in for warranty work..

Here is mine if it helps you with yours: http://mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=33332

[Shora]

Larry, PM Mills Marauder. He is in Crawfordville and has done wonders with a few MM's down here, including his own.


If I were you, I would take it to JJ (Mills Maraider). He just finished my car and I had similar damage to yours. I waited over 2 months and drove over 8 hours one way just to make sure that it was he who made her look like new. He made it 10X better than she ever was AND the level of service was off the charts. He is really good at what he does and enjoys his profession.

I cannot explain how satisfied I am with dealing with JJ.

Here are my two threads on the subject.

The damage:

http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=46700

The Surgery:

http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=49042

[ctrlraven]

Sorry to hear of another one crsahed. For towing, I joined AAA so if I have an accident or breakdown I don't get *****.
I pay $62 a year for my AAA membership, first 5 tows up to 100 miles are free and then 6th or more is $35 per tow with same mileage limits. Really can't beat it.

Sorry to hear about your car, glad that your wife is ok and I'm sure she felt bad cause it happened in your car but I'm sure it will be fixed and be like new again.

[CentralMaRobit]

Glad your wife is ok. PETA will be giving you a call to complain about killing the deer. Also, Fish and Game says you can't kill a deer without a tag..

I saw a Black on Lemmon Free.com that had strictly rear end damage if you are interested. .

[CentralMaRobit]

I hit a deer once. I-84 in PA, 10pm doing 65mph. Unfortunately I was on my Yamaha Venture. It has not affected me though. I am...I am..what were we talking about?

[FrankJAG]

Very glad to hear your Wife is ok!
Very sad to see your baby in that state, hopefully she'll be back in action in no time.

[lwblumjr]

Bump, bump!

[Egon Spengler]

You get your car fixed?

[O's Fan Rich]

Thank goodness most "big" deer in Florida are the size of dog's here in PA.......
Car looks good!

[a_d_a_m]

Congrats on getting her back up and running!

[lwblumjr]

You get your car fixed?
TJ,

Yeah, I picked it up in late January and took a couple of pictures but lost them somehow and kept forgetting to get new pictures. They replaced all the front clip except the fenders (they only needed slight attention) and painted said clip. It would have cost me an extra $1800 to get the remainder of the car painted on top of the $6000 plus the insurance company paid to fix it. I had it done at the local Ford dealer and they did a pretty good job. :)

[rayjay]

TJ,

Yeah, I picked it up in late January and took a couple of pictures but lost them somehow and kept forgetting to get new pictures. They replaced all the front clip except the fenders (they only needed slight attention) and painted said clip. It would have cost me an extra $1800 to get the remainder of the car painted on top of the $6000 plus the insurance company paid to fix it. I had it done at the local Ford dealer and they did a pretty good job. :)

Looking good sir :beer: I wish I had taken my DTR to the dealer I bought it from body shop when I hit a deer last June. I'm sure it would have been done right. They did the repair when some jackass drove into the side of me in 06. You would never know the car was hit.

[W4LTD]

How about a Go Rhino for the Marauder?