Driving a dinky little Honda Civic instead of a good, solid American SUV probably resulted in the high repair costs...
$6,000 in car repairs? I'd investigate this.
Don't knock it till you've tried it. I was driving my '97 Ford F150 4x4 pickup southbound on I-84 just north of LaGrande OR. Hit a deer going 60MPh. $9,500 in damage, and one month in the body shop. (Insurance sure paid for itself!)
Suprizingly, there was no damage to the bumper at all. All the damage was on the drivers side grill, hood, fender, and door. Apparently, I hit the deer as it was leaping. I'm fairly certain that had I been driving a lesser vehicle such as a car, or the old Ford Ranger I used to have, I wouldn't be typing this right now. I probably would have been decapitated. But don't take my word for it...
The fact that both airbags went off added about $1000 to the repair bill. And another several hundred for the sensor. New radiator, housing for air filter, the obvious body repairs, paint, labor, it all adds up.
I now have four deer whistles on the front of my truck, and I drive a bit slower in forested areas. It sucks to drive around the sub-compact that the insurance gives you as a rental while your regular vehicle is in the shop.
One thing is for sure. I will NEVER, EVER, EVER purchase a low riding vehicle ever again! It's nothing but big vehicles with nice high driver positions from now on.