Oh Deer...

[hazman]

Gutted; just as I'd got the car as I wanted it, a deer has gone and comitted suicide by running into my NSX while I was doing about 50mph on a NSL road. It was at night, and came from nowhere.Luckily damage is nowhere near as bad as it could have been, but it has managed to remove the passenger wing-mirror, taking a thumbsized chunk of paint out of the door in the process. Also, a small dent in the rear quarter panel and cracked back bumper. Any advice re. dealing with the insurance co? Parts alone will be £2,200 (mirror and bumper), but as they're coloured plastic parts, do they come 'blank' and get painted at the bodyshop? Not convinced at most bodyshops' abilities to paint plastic, or is it possible to do a good job? Also, painting the chip on the ally -a specialist job? Last dealings I had with an 'insurance co approved' bodyshop was not good & am running scared!!! Any advice welcome.Sorry, won't let me post photos as files are too big?... suspect site problem, will try again later...I know it's only metal/plastic, and it could have been a LOT worse, but I'm still gutted!:(

[NSXGB]

Resize your photos to something like 800 x 600 pixels, that should be ok to post.

Most insurance companies let you choose where you take the car.

If you Post your location, someone may be able to suggest a decent body shop.

Venison for Christmas dinner?

[Hagasan]

The parts diagrams shows the plastic parts as being ordered based on colour. See www.lings.com (http://www.lings.com)

Insurance companies in the UK anyway cannot legally force you to use their approved garages. You are free to have your car repaired at a garage of your choice but you'll probably forfeit courtesy cars etc. Are you in the UK, you quote the parts price in £ sterling....


Resize your photos to something like 800 x 600 pixels, that should be ok to post.

Most insurance companies let you choose where you take the car.

If you Post your location, someone may be able to suggest a decent body shop.

Venison for Christmas dinner?

[NZNick]

This happened to me in my first crx - a 1988 1.6i (pre-vtec). Needed a new bumper cover, some brackets, and work on the bonnet front and radiator connectors if I am remembering correctly. The deer was launched clean over the car, only clipping the extended 45 degree aerial. I was doing 'about' 70 on the A31 between Farnham and Alton. When I stopped and looked round the deer had gone, either launched into the undergrowth or, as I like to think, run off to live another day.....
Repairs came to around 750 quid - this was back in '93 or so.
Sure was scary at the time, and could have been curtains for all involved if things had been very slightly different.
Glad that you lived to tell the tale, and that your NSX is likely to be ok too.

[WhyOne?]

You have my sincere sympathies - a deer hit me last week. First thing I knew about it was the thump and clatter as it hit the side of the car. Had I been going a bit slower it would have been much worse as it would have gone under ( or over) the bonnet - speed is good!

Mercifully I was driving my Aygo, but I was still hacked off and did think 'what if I had been driving the NSX'.

I had two fairly complex dents but no paint damage. A local paint-less repair chap came and did a remarkable job fixing them. I spoke to him at length, and found he has plenty of experience working with dented aluminium - a useful contact for anyone in the SE.

None of which helps with your immediate problems I know - sorry and good luck with the repairs.

PS. The deer trotted away, apparently none the worse from the experience.

[m666 edd]

Had I been going a bit slower it would have been much worse as it would have gone under ( or over) the bonnet - speed is good!

Mercifully I was driving my Aygo, but I was still hacked off and did think 'what if I had been driving the NSX'.

Well clearly you would have missed it completely :laugh:

[havoc]

You can choose to have the car repaired wherever you want - your insurer will then 'haggle' with the bodyshop over the cost of the repair (mainly their labour rates), but that's their problem, and they DO sort it out.

The only caveat here is that if the bodyshop YOU choose doesn't get it right, it's YOUR problem (not entirely, but practically) to get them to put it right...so my advice would be to inspect carefully before signing to collect the car. If it's the insurer's bodyshop then it's THEIR problem, but they can also send one of their guys in who CAN decide "yeah, that'll do".

So given how cheaply most 'tied' bodyshops work, I'd still be picking my own, but I would be hunting around carefully first. I've done this the last two times I've needed repairs and both times a well-respected and recommended bodyshop has still tried to palm me off with clearly sub-standard work - I've come to the conclusion that they're all schysters who'll try it on!


Bumper comes unpainted - and yes, paint-matching can be a real problem. In reality it's often not the paint, but the lacquer - even clear lacquers can have an impact on the shade the eye perceives, and I'm sure someone on here said the NSX was originally painted with a tinted lacquer, complicating things further...

Find a top-notch place!

[Nick Graves]

Sorry to hear it.

I hit a deer in the MX doing about 60 & thought the same. It didn't even mark the front bumper clip.

A client hit a white hart in a Trafic & squashed the front corner. He might as well have driven into a pub for the damage it did.

You certainly don't want them through the screen of an NSX, that's for sure. Sounds like a result, really.

Although it sounds like your mirror did most of it...


If it's the rear wing, cannot it be unbolted, warmed & re-shaped? You can repair ally with an air gun & care not to burn the paint.

Good luck with it; yellow can be a bugger to match.

[markc]

... the NSX was originally painted with a tinted lacquer, complicating things further...

So don't you just tint the lacquer used in the repair? It can't be that difficult, or are paint shops just lazy/incompetent/useless :P

Cheers

Mark

[Nick Graves]

It's variables; no two sprayers spray quite the same.

IIRC, one also has to add a knife of green to a fresh pot of yellow, to adjust of the fading of old paint.

It's an art, as much as a science.

[havoc]

IIRC, one also has to add a knife of green to a fresh pot of yellow, to adjust of the fading of old paint.

It's an art, as much as a science.
The first is correct - first time around my bumper came out with a distinct green tint as he'd got the mix wrong (or was it the lacquer?!? ;o) ).

The second is also spot-on - paint-fade is a bugger, even if it's more subtle than the problems Milano Red cars suffer (go look at ANY red/pink DC2...)

[hazman]

Thanks for the tip on re-sizing the photos - hopefully they're attached now. Sorry about the quality, but you can see the damage...rest of the car looks OK, though haven't had a proper look in daylight yet. Insurance co have pointed me in the direction of a nationwide co called 'Solus' who have an operation in ultra glamorous Kidderminster, nearby. Am checking them out on Friday & have been recommended a place in Shrewsbury by the chap that detailed my car a few months ago. Any other recommendations in the Shropshire area would be appreciated...
It's Charlotte Green BTW, in case you can't tell from the photos!

[Nick Graves]

The first is correct - first time around my bumper came out with a distinct green tint as he'd got the mix wrong (or was it the lacquer?!? ;o) ).

The second is also spot-on - paint-fade is a bugger, even if it's more subtle than the problems Milano Red cars suffer (go look at ANY red/pink DC2...)

Red is the most sensitive to fading. But the truth is, all NSX colours (probably bar blue or black or solid white) are a bloody nightmare to match.

Most sprayers hate silver too, because it's the most technique-sensitive and terrible to get the metalflake to match.

As for the lovely later pearlescents LBBP & NIOP; might as well hang yourself as scratch it!

[WhyOne?]

Most sprayers hate silver too, because it's the most technique-sensitive and terrible to get the metalflake to match.



I had a Gen. 4 Prelude, finished in Sebring Silver (wonderful car). A minor misfortune meant a small area of paintwork to the front bumper.......which spread to the front wing....and the door....and the rear wing before a sensible colour match was achieved. Credit to the paint shop for sticking with it!

Circuit Blue Pearl on the other hand seems no problem to match. The rear bumper, nearside wing mirror and bonnet/ headlight light covers have all been resprayed on Y1 to rectify minor blemishes over the tenure of my ownership.

[nobby]

the re spray on my NSX (Yellow) was a nitemate for me an ALL concerned; all because of a stone chip on the bonnet which got gradually worse :(

spray job documented on this forum

hopefully you get sorted, sorry to hear about what thankfully appears to be a minor shunt

[Nick Graves]

Thanks for the tip on re-sizing the photos - hopefully they're attached now. Sorry about the quality, but you can see the damage...rest of the car looks OK, though haven't had a proper look in daylight yet. Insurance co have pointed me in the direction of a nationwide co called 'Solus' who have an operation in ultra glamorous Kidderminster, nearby. Am checking them out on Friday & have been recommended a place in Shrewsbury by the chap that detailed my car a few months ago. Any other recommendations in the Shropshire area would be appreciated...
It's Charlotte Green BTW, in case you can't tell from the photos!

The guy your valeter recommended sounds best.

Charlotte Green ought not be too bad to match; it's not that 'metallic' & quite dark IIRC. A spoon ful of yellow ought to adjust for fade.

I'm sure that rear wing can be pulled.

[NSXGB]

Circuit Blue Pearl on the other hand seems no problem to match. The rear bumper, nearside wing mirror and bonnet/ headlight light covers have all been resprayed on Y1 to rectify minor blemishes over the tenure of my ownership.

Hi Ian, can I ask who you used for your paintwork?

[WhyOne?]

Yes of course Simon - Geo Collins Honda. Talk to Peter Collins first - he's the service manager and knowledgable about all things bodywork related.

[NSXGB]

Thanks Ian. Y1's paint always looks exceptional so worth bearing in mind.