I hit a deer with my 95 Ram and did need a new bumper and a park light replaced. The insurance people called and wanted to write off my truck at $3500.00 . they said because the repair bill was $1399.00 that was to high for the value of my truck. I told her to call any Dodge dealership and ask them what my 5.9 Diesel is worth . They decided it was worth more but with out a appraisal for more than the $3500.00 they would not pay . So I found a 1500 truck that was smashed in the rear and bought the parts to fix my truck. It will go in the paint shop next week to repair some rust around the door mirror brackets on both doors and then off to the Appraiser and get something on paper for a value. I don`t know how you guys do it that you don`t get burned when your truck is damaged ??? but I have learned a big $$$ lesson. IF I had smashed it bad then I would have gotten nothing for it I see.

 

Sorry to hear about the deer, I have hit deer on two occasions and many near misses once so close it left deer hair in the badge on the side, lots of other wild life too, a snowy owl makes a big dent and scares the daylights out of you.
One time in a snow storm around 3am on a back road there was what I thought was a deer, somehow I managed to brake to a stop as it stood right in the middle of the road, it was a young girl and guy under a blanket walking down the center of the road without looking because of the -30c wind and snow, they were trying to get to a farm yard light they could see about a mile away. I gave them a ride home as their car had got stuck in a field but it sure made me really look at "deer" differently.

 

Did insurance pay you some money. Do you have full coverage? I would just take check from them and fix it myself. It's not worth it though cause they might try raising your deductible, etc. and which will screw you in the end.

 

I don't carry collision on anything unless I'm forced to, ie the bank owns it. I just figure replacing mushy grill parts is part of owning an old truck in deer country.

Last one I got in the head with the bumper. The butt end of the fast moving doe caved in the box in front of the gas cap and blew the rear part of the running board off the left side. She's (the doe) hanging in the woodshed now.

One good thing about these big old beasts is that they can take quite a bit of punishment and suffer only cosmetic damage.

 

the 99 in my sig has hit 5 deer in the last 10 years and it has never been worse than a box side, drivers door and a couple front bumpers, I forget which incident was which body parts but they take a lickin and keep on ticking don't they

 

I have full coverage but the kicker was they would not insure it with me again . GGRRR ; I said I`ll buy it back and repair it and they said no . I will have the appraisal done and give a copy to my local agent after they signs for it. The guy I bought the truck from six years ago (second owner) had a big laugh and said come to the house and I will write you a check for what I sold it to you for. That is NOT gona happen.

 

Boss runs Fab Fours bumper/grill guards. 500 gallons of fuel in a pick-up box trailer can go airborne without hurting the truck.

 

This sounds a lot like something I went through. I gather theres a couple ways around it.. regular appraisals, or insure for a stated value.
Some body shops are good at dealing with these guys.. you might want to find one that knows the ins and outs and have them do it next time.

Deer are bad enough.. imagine hitting a moose at highway speeds. Now thats a total.

 

That's why I just carry the minimum required insurance on my old '95s.
Figure the money saved in just a couple years is enough to pay for most repairs that the insurance company wouldn't want to pay for anyways.

 

The insurance companies always work that way. They have their own idea of what something is worth. They give you just enough so that if you take it to court, it isn't worth it (actually it has to be a 'big ticket' item to be worth going to court for-the lawyers are worse at promising you a result, and then saying "Oh well, I tried!"
Sorry to hear about the accident.

 

Well we did settle. They gave me some cash and I did find a great bumper off an 1500 . just had to remove the brackets off my 2500 to install the used bumper. seems a 3500 bumper is the same except for the mounting brackets. good to know. I had a aftermarket starter put on my truck three years ago and kept my old starter. I found out my old starter was not the issue I was having . Christmas morning my truck just rolls over very slow and won`t start . I`am gona hate going under my truck in the snow to replace the starter again.