Pontiac Solstice Forum banner

Cat versus Solstice

3K views 18 replies 12 participants last post by  chickenwire 
#1 ·
Cat lost, but got his nine lives worth out of the car.

Impromptu road trip to the lakeshore had us taking some backroads we'd not traveled before. Just before a small town a cat decided to take the "long way home" across the two lanes into ours. I was doing 60-65 and got him with the right front. Was told early on in my driving career by my state cop father that the animal's life is not worth risking your own or others so I attempted to brake moderately but crossing the centerline was out of the question and going toward the shoulder was of marginal use - he was headed there anyway.

Apparently there isn't enough room between the tire and the fender liner for a cat corpse to fit because after the initial thud I heard a BANG and rattle from underneath. Checked the rear view mirror to see my fender well liner spinning out from the back of the car.

Stopped to examine the damage and found the side marker gone and the mount for the front fascia that's shared with the wheel liner was bent. Tired looked good, so I got in and went back to clear my debris from the road. Told the wife that when I stop for gas I'm opening the hood but she should look away in case there was a mangled kitty still under the hood.

No cat carcass so we finished our road trip. Insurance was cool and told me to take it to whatever shop I felt comfortable with and have them send photos and estimate and they'd take care of it.

Further review shows that about 5 of the front fascia mounts are split, the shared mounting bracket twisted, side marker gone and the mount on the panel by the battery behind the wheel well is bent.

Looks like I won't have to dress up the chips in the fascia any more. Will probably pay the shop to replace both fender well liners as long as they're doing one.

What's truly funny is the wife is absolutely PISSED about this and I'm just going with the flow!
 
See less See more
#3 ·
Glad everyone is okay (except the cat of course). The car can be fixed as soon as they are able to find the parts. They seem to be getting harder to find as time goes on.
 
#4 ·
car=parts.com is your friend. I was able to buy the whole front clip for my Solstice for 300 bucks. A lot of the parts are available through GM to, I would say most. I did not have any problems getting parts for my 2006 a few months ago.

Sorry to hear about the car.
 
#7 ·
Geese....and I felt bad for hitting a 2x4...LOL
 
#8 ·
I hit an alligator while leading a cruise and passing a truck on the freeway. Did $3k damage to the front bumper and hood. Not a great time. But the inner fenders were fine!
 
#9 ·
Awaiting estimate now. Told the wife I asked them to quote the option to paint the whole thing.

Five minutes later she said "Well you know I've always liked a deep metallic candy apple red."

"Oh HELL no! Not a color change! You know how much that would cost to do it right?"
 
#10 ·
#12 ·
I did almost the exact same thing one night back in 2012, Chickenwire, except my victim was a 'possum. I even had the same thoughts (don't cross the center, don't go to the shoulder).

The 'possum did about $1,800 damage, but insurance covered it all.

Yogi
 
#13 ·
We had a club member who had a run in with a rabbit on a narrow bridge. He tried to miss the rabbit and ended up hitting one side of the bridge with his front end and the other side with the rear end of the car. Was a painful event for his Mallet
 
#17 ·
Estimate comes in at just under $1,400.00. Dude started his review of the car with "I'll have to see if we can even get parts for this."

"You can find parts for it. They're starting to become rare, but you can find them."

"Well, I don't want to go aftermarket."

"Good! I don't want you to either!"

A couple of weeks out for the work, but the gears are turning.
 
#19 ·
An hour after dropping of the Solstice I get a call from the shop. Apparently GM's "56" pieces of nose cover in Ypsilanti Michigan was off a bit. The skin didn't show up as scheduled so now they're looking for one . . .
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top