Hey guys and girls,

Im after a bit of sympathy here, as ive been sulking around the house for a week and the missus is sick of hearing about it.

Last weekend I drove upto Brisbane via the New England Highway, and was making good time. At about 10pm i saw something out of the corner of my eye, hit the brakes, but couldnt slow down enough to miss what was a massive RED KANGAROO! Fortunately, he only hit me side on, and missed all vital parts of my 8, (oil cooler etc), but the damage is spread over 3 panels, including the bumper, wheel well, and a few dents on the passenger side door. The bad news continues, as being under 25 (how dare I), my insurance excess is ridiculous ($2300), so if anybody in Sydney has an honest panelbeater they can recommend, please feel free.

As for now, I'm sulking back to the garage to look at the damage again, and maybe cry some more.

Thanks for letting me get this whinge off my chest, i feel better already.

Ash.

 

Sorry to hear that Ash.

But the main thing is the damage to both you and the car could have been much worse, so look on the bright side of things.

Hope you get it fixed up okay...

 

Ohh the sucks.

Sorry, hope you get it fixed soon for a decent price.

 

You have my sympathy Ash.

I still cannot remove all the wombat pieces from my car until 2 months ago when I do a real overhaul of the bottom of my car...

 

You can try Cars Autohaus in Thornleigh..
I think Mark is the pannel beater there, youngish guy but takes pride in his work.
Only gotcha is his/their colour matching may not be spot on the first time. but they're happy to fix if you're not 100% happy.
katia at reception is very nice also ;-)

 

2300 Excess??!!! ****. Not too much damage though - good luck getting it fixed.

Here's the damage from a medium-sized roo on my old XR6T:

 

Whoa, that was close, and those red kangaroos are big ones too!

The damage could've been a lot worse if things were slightly different, but you have my sympathy too!

 

poor roos !!!!!

 

Who cares about the kangaroos? They're dangerous ffs!

 

Thanks LJ, ill give Cars Auto Haus a go.
Thanks also for the sympathy guys, I do realise that it could have been much, much worse, both to the car and my wife and I. Hmmm, funny u said "poor roos" Brettus, that was the first thing my other half said, but i was too busy swearing and looking for a stick to hit it with. (joking) Being as bloody huge as the roo was, and the minimal impact, Im sure it hopped off to live happily ever after! (Didnt exchange insurance details with me though.....)
Missy, I am with Just Car, but like you, am seriously considering Shannons for next year.
Dont think ill be driving through country areas at night again.

 

So, whatever happened to the Kangaroo?

 

It probably hopped away to live another day and destroy someone else's car!

 

I feel for you Ash - its happened to me as well. Your idea of a bullbar is a good one, but unfortunately the law is against us.

The states have cracked down on sharp protrusions on the front of cars, (and on bullbars), which are illegal under the Australian Design Rules. This includes lights, antennas, winches, fishing-rod holders etc which could increase a pedestrian's chance of injury. Not only that but they have the potential to compromise the triggering of airbags, and the front crumple zone.

What a crock...the Kangaroo is going to be a beneficiary of new safety laws!

You may be more relieved to hear that kangaroos account for almost 60 percent of "animal collision" claims, and dogs are the next most likely animal with about 12 percent. With about 20,000 kangaroo-vehicle collisions a year, you're definately not alone...!

 

With the one I hit, we had to put it out of its misery... couldn't do it myself though.