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!
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!