Mirror unit thefts

[219]

i take on board your comment about wanting to hit the mirror rather than a wing , but with the current price of mirrors ( £500+ ) one often thinks a wing might be significantly cheaper to "ding" .

Electric folding mirrors may cost £500 , manual ones (new) probably about £100 ..... or £25 from the scrappy. That to me is another very good reason to stick with fixed ones.

 

[Rose Chap]

Money saving idea Pontoneer, but not sure how many owners of new S-Classes want to go to a scrap dealer to buy replacement parts.

 

[SilverSaloon]

Money saving idea Pontoneer, but not sure how many owners of new S-Classes want to go to a scrap dealer to buy replacement parts.

they would be hard to find anyway, and price wouldnt be far off the price new i would imagine, even from a scrapped car of value such as a new S class.

mine had a scrape on it when i purchased it. Recenetly had it resprayed. Looks good as new.

 

[Satch]

Money saving idea Pontoneer, but not sure how many owners of new S-Classes want to go to a scrap dealer to buy replacement parts.

Who knows, with a bit of luck you might be able to buy your own mirrors back

 

[fuzzer]

Electric folding mirrors may cost £500 , manual ones (new) probably about £100 ..... or £25 from the scrappy. That to me is another very good reason to stick with fixed ones.

Mercedes wing mirror assemblies have never been £100. Try close to £200 for the basic mirror. At very least

 

[com]

GF's been using my car while I've been out of town and said last week that she returned to the car to find the driver side mirror hanging off, she's sure she had definately folded them due to it being a packed car park. I figured someone had managed to hit or she caught someone else. Had the gf take it to my regular specialist who sorted it said it didn't need replacing and only charged for labout which I put down to the sturdy mirror which I was happy about, but this makes a bit more sense ! Could have been someone trying it on and got disturbed, thanks for the heads up

 

[219]

Mercedes wing mirror assemblies have never been £100. Try close to £200 for the basic mirror. At very least

Door mirror to suit 124 or 201 series , part no 124.020 102.922 £67.45

Previously I have bought passenger mirrors for 114 and 123 series as the cars came with only RH mirror and they were a similar price .

I would not entertain paying more for a mirror than I can get a complete car for.

For newish models being broken , try Mercman in Southampton http://www.mercman.net/ , Boss Parts in Leeds or Dronsfields in the North of England - all specialist Merc breakers .

Oh , and Mercedes-Benz will also sell you secondhand parts through their 'Used Parts Centre' :- http://www.mb-atc.de/englisch

"M-B atc sell only genuine Mercedes-Benz parts which have been carefully dismantled from end-of-life vehicles and which have been stringently tested to ensure they still meet Mercedes-Benz specifications . These parts come with a warranty at a cost saving over new parts."

 

[Flash]

Mercedes wing mirror assemblies have never been £100. Try close to £200 for the basic mirror. At very least

PLUS labour on top to fit/replace them as well...

 

[219]

PLUS labour on top to fit/replace them as well...

Remove plastic knob from inside adjustment lever , pull off triangular trim piece from inside of door quarter , unplug connector for glass heating element (if fitted) , undo 3 screws , remove mirror assembly from outside of door . Reverse process to fit new mirror .

All in all , 5 minutes work ; tool required - 1 screwdriver

An easier job than changing a wheel .

 

[Flash]

Nice write up and useful too...

 

[Dieselman]

Nice write up and useful too...

Only is't not the case for anything newer than a W202. All later mirrors screw on from the outside which is why they are so aesy to steal.

 

[Flash]

I know - its about 3 screws fitted on the outside I think BUT if the thieves (a$$holes) cause any damage in the removal process than fitting a replacement unit would require a bit more work/expense too. But Pontoneer's post was very useful advising everyone how its done on the previous generation Mercs and was precise too...

 

[Alps]

bad design by MB definately, however, the M3 mirror units used to have 3 screws inside, but as a safety feature the mirro was held to the base by 3 blugs, so would snap off safely when hit hard, so you would only have to snap it back on, theives used this to their advantage and were snapping them off and ripping the wires out, hence you see many novas and such like "boy racer" cars in the 90`s with M3 mirror units bolted on (with no proper mirror base!), cost owners like me £300 per mirror to replace!

 

[219]

All later mirrors screw on from the outside which is why they are so aesy to steal.

"Stupid is as Stupid does"

Bad job , Mr Designer.

 

[racall]

Can I recommend anybody with electric folding mirrors to swap the screws for torx / security torx bolts ... won't stop them from being stolen, but will deter the opportunist thief with philips screwdriver !

S.

Any idea where i can buy torx screws?

 

[fuzzer]

Any idea where i can buy torx screws?

i dunno if id go for torx screws. those security screws from RS sound like the best way for you to go.

 

[Dieselman]

Go to a local fixings and fastenings supplier and see what they have.

 

[prprandall51]

Screwfix sell security screws and the drivers to fit them:
www.screwfix.com.

Philip

 

[fuzzer]

does fitting these mean the mirrors will just be ripped off the car?

 

[prprandall51]

I can't see why. The security screws would mean that the mirror won't come without being damaged - rendering it useless for the preson removing it.

If they cannot get it off then they will simply find another car where the screws are easy to remove.

Of course, they may damage the unit trying or even damage it out of spite - but then, you were going to lose it entirely without the screws.

As far as I can see, you can only benefit from fitting security screws.

Philip