I swerved from hitting a coyote last night,$3100 damage..

[mark1313]

I have swerved many times from rabbits out in Surprise AZ ,this time it was a coyote right on my street..
So I swerved which I have done a few times onto the sidewalk where I live, but this time I did it next to a drainage grate where there is a 2' piece of concrete sticking out,it puctured the tire and bent a few parts,($3100) worth...2 more inches to the left and I would of been ok..
I was thinking $500 at the most for repairs LOL...I have never been in a accident before so this is very shocking...
$3100 is close to 10% of the car brand new...$3100 for a few parts ? Leaf = $200.000 to fix each part of the Leaf...I do know a headlight cost $1000.00, mine had to be replaced under warranty..

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

I guess i should feel lucky when i had my accident i hit something in the roadway and swerved and back tire hit the curb causing two flats and front end alignment. Damages was under $400

 

[TomT]

Leafs have proven to be especially expensive to repair when there is collision damage...

$3100 is close to 10% of the car brand new...$3100 for a few parts ? Leaf = $200.000 to fix each part of the Leaf...I do know a headlight cost $1000.00, mine had to be replaced under warranty..

 

[davewill]

Might I suggest it's never worth swerving onto a sidewalk? Hit the damned rabbit, squirrel, or even coyote if you can't miss it without endangering yourself and others.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Might I suggest it's never worth swerving onto a sidewalk? Hit the damned rabbit, squirrel, or even coyote if you can't miss it without endangering yourself and others.

Sy to say in retrospect but hard to control the reflex to swerve. Trust me, i was there and there no time to mul over the options

 

[LEAFfan]

I have swerved many times from rabbits out in Surprise AZ ,this time it was a coyote right on my street..
So I swerved which I have done a few times onto the sidewalk where I live, but this time I did it next to a drainage grate where there is a 2' piece of concrete sticking out,it puctured the tire and bent a few parts,($3100) worth...2 more inches to the left and I would of been ok..
I was thinking $500 at the most for repairs LOL...I have never been in a accident before so this is very shocking...
$3100 is close to 10% of the car brand new...$3100 for a few parts ? Leaf = $200.000 to fix each part of the Leaf...I do know a headlight cost $1000.00, mine had to be replaced under warranty..

Sorry to hear that Mark. Glad you and Coyote are ok. I would have swerved too to save an animal.

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

"meep meep" from the leaf's horn didn't scare him off?

 

[Smidge204]

I have swerved many times from rabbits out in Surprise AZ ,this time it was a coyote right on my street..

I'm sorry, that's just the most apropos location for your story to take place in. :lol:
=Smidge=

 

[LakeLeaf]

Bummer Mark, sorry to hear it. And Ouch! that's an expensive hit.

We have a lot of coyotes around here and most are big enough you can't always tell at first glance if it's a coyote or a shepherd or other large dog of that coloring. I've swerved around quite a few, and a bear or two!

 

[downeykp]

Last month I actually hit a coyote on the way to work at 50 MPH. Coyote didn't make it. Car had $3000 damage. New bumper cover, outside temp sensor, ac condenser, front cover under the car. That was a bad day. It was worse for the coyote.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Last month I actually hit a coyote on the way to work at 50 MPH. Coyote didn't make it. Car had $3000 damage. New bumper cover, outside temp sensor, ac condenser, front cover under the car. That was a bad day. It was worse for the coyote.

ya, coyotes are not like Squirrels (like the Geico ad) they are more than big enough to cause some real damage

 

[dgpcolorado]

Collisions with wildlife, mostly mule deer, are the biggest cause of accidents around here. I try to train myself to not swerve because driving off the road is much more of a danger than hitting the deer. But it is hard to avoid that swerve reflex and I do it for suicidal bunnies, prairie dogs, squirrels, and the like when at slow neighborhood speeds.

My previous car to the LEAF was totaled by a deer collision. But I was blinded by oncoming headlights so I never saw it until I hit it. I now avoid driving at "deer-o'clock" as much as possible.

Week before last I had to brake suddenly because the car in front did a panic stop to avoid hitting a full grown bighorn ram crossing the road. As the ram saw the car approach rapidly he tried to speed up but his hooves slipped on the road for a couple of seconds before he was able to accelerate; it looked like one of those cartoons where the character is running in place for a time!

Coyotes aren't that common here, too many mountain lions snacking on them I think:

Dining room window picture.

 

[mkjayakumar]

Doesn't your auto insurance cover those expenses minus deductible ?

 

[QueenBee]

Collisions with wildlife, mostly mule deer, are the biggest cause of accidents around here. I try to train myself to not swerve because driving off the road is much more of a danger than hitting the deer. But it is hard to avoid that swerve reflex and I do it for suicidal bunnies, prairie dogs, squirrels, and the like when at slow neighborhood speeds.

That's why motorcyclists are trained to hit anything that is smaller than the radius of their tire. It'll likely be safer for the rider to hit say a raccoon than risk swerving around it possibly going off the road and then impacting something else.

Swerving is really a hard urge to fight and is often just rolling the dice since I know I've swerved and then realized I didn't even check the lane next to me first to see if anyone was in it.

It's actually one the reasons why some studies claim the benefits of ABS aren't as helpful as you might think. It allows the driver to brake hard AND still be able to swerve. So instead of rear ending that the car in front of you, the driver is able to swerve into say oncoming traffic or driving off the road.

Anyway, glad the OP is OK and I'll call it a win if it's "just" some suspension damage

 

[dgpcolorado]

That's why motorcyclists are trained to hit anything that is smaller than the radius of their tire. It'll likely be safer for the rider to hit say a raccoon than risk swerving around it possibly going off the road and then impacting something else..

Motorcycles scare me around here; riding one sure seems like a crapshoot. A couple of years ago an off-duty state patrolman rounded a curve on a motorcycle and saw a herd of elk on the highway. He rode off the road and was killed. Sometimes the motorcyclists survive the wildlife encounters with just injuries, sometimes they don't.

 

[kubel]

$3100? That's a little steep for a curb strike. What was replaced?

 

[JimSouCal]

Dining room window picture.

You have the coolest pet cat, ever... Is he housebroken? ;-)

 

[RonDawg]

Doesn't your auto insurance cover those expenses minus deductible ?

The resulting payout may be offset by future increases in your premium. If you can afford to pay the damages yourself, sometimes it's better to not involve your insurance, especially if you have a high deductible.

 

[mark1313]

Doesn't your auto insurance cover those expenses minus deductible ?

I have never been in any kind of accident before so I had $1000 deductible..

I need to replace those very expensive Leaf wheels and tires that may last 35k miles..I also need to get a spare tire..

By the way I hit 25500 miles...It took a year to go from 6.1 to 6.2M/KWH and I have loss close to 30 miles of charge ..They decided to go ahead and do the battery check while the car is there..If the battery check has any meaning at all, then tell me why I loss 2 bars in 40 days last summer..This will be my 3rd battery check..
I just read where Testla may show a profit this quarter...I see his solar-city trucks almost every day out here,I wonder why they are not electric powered..
Ecotality has gone from 0.37 to 0.95..They are projecting a profit @ the end of the year..

 

[mark1313]

$3100? That's a little steep for a curb strike. What was replaced?

Ill take a pic of the curb that I hit..It was like it grabbed it ..I was going 20-25 mph..It was just flukish to hit it there :twisted: ..I have a 1000 ft. of curbed sidewalk and I hit right @ the edge where it goes flat to curved..

I do not think that 2011 cars are built like 1960 cars..