[BigKutta]

So, as careful as a driver that I am, I did manage to bruise my car today

My initial thoughts when I got the F10 were that it is so loaded with technology that it is distracting. So while reversing out of the underground parking garage today, I was too busy hearing the beeps, looking at the camera, etc. that CRUNCH...I hit the driver’s side mirror on the concrete post....



Yikes!


View from the bottom, see how the black trim is not fitting like it was


Luckily the color coded trim is not scrathed


Any way I can just replace the black trim or does the whole housing need to be replaced? Oh well, first time in 13 years I did something foolish with my car, it was just my turn. I could have been worse

[WCH]

Bummer. I feel your pain.

Unfortunately the color coded part is the cheaper part. You probably have to replace the unit, which is the much more expensive part. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

[KinG12sKy]

OUCH!! get the M5 mirror as an upgrade!! think on the bright side!

[Tuesday]

http://realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?...98&hg=51&fg=07

Buy the part labeled 3 and with a little DIY skill you'll be good as new.

[Bimmernerd]

I feel your pain...I have had my car for 4 1/2 months and I have already had three incidents.

- The trunk was not closed properly and opened up when entering the garage...most of the scratches could be polished.
- Someone with a trolley hit the rear bumper resulting in some deeper scratches. Had to repaint part of the bumper.
- One of the front wheels (19" 351M) hit the curb, scratched. Had to be repaired/repainted.

Hmm...hopefully I have had my part of bad luck now!

[blueridger]

Originally Posted by KinG12sKy

OUCH!! get the M5 mirror as an upgrade!! think on the bright side!

Nice strategy!!

[hans_gregor]

I also find distracting all the gadgets while in reverse. I try to use them only really needed

[The X Men]

I think the self dimming mirror itself is like $400 just for the glass.

[gatoman39]

Originally Posted by WCH

Bummer. I feel your pain.

Unfortunately the color coded part is the cheaper part. You probably have to replace the unit, which is the much more expensive part. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

Correct, the outer shell is the easy part to replace. If everything still works, I would be inclined to add filler, sand it down and spray it. BMW will have you replacing the whole thing.

[dmz]

Wow! That si a lot of damage from a parking lot scrape. Doesn't the side mirror fold forward on tye F10s? Same thing happened to me while driving the wife's MDX and the mirror folded forward to cushion the impact and only got some slights scratches on the clear coat of the paint which I was able to buff off.

[BigKutta]

Originally Posted by itschase

http://realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?...98&hg=51&fg=07

Buy the part labeled 3 and with a little DIY skill you'll be good as new.

That is a great link, does show that only the trim piece 3 can be replaced. I am going to take it into a body shop and see what they say. DIY on that and I'll probably break more than I can fix. Thanks for the link

[BigKutta]

Originally Posted by dmz

Wow! That si a lot of damage from a parking lot scrape. Doesn't the side mirror fold forward on tye F10s? Same thing happened to me while driving the wife's MDX and the mirror folded forward to cushion the impact and only got some slights scratches on the clear coat of the paint which I was able to buff off.

It does fold forward but plastic is no match for concrete. Luckily it didn't have to fold forward too far so as to snap right off

[BigKutta]

Originally Posted by The X Men

I think the self dimming mirror itself is like $400 just for the glass.

Luckily the glass is fine and so is the plastic around it. Its the black trip in the housing that took all the hit

[vdubturbo]

Ouch! At least it wasn't a body panel!!

[BigKutta]

Originally Posted by itschase

http://realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?...98&hg=51&fg=07

Buy the part labeled 3 and with a little DIY skill you'll be good as new.

itschase - A big thanks for the link. I was able to print look up the parts and show it to the body shop this morning (he would have likely looked it up anyway, but its good to be a smart shopper).

Looks like it is $150 to replace the black trim piece. Will be an additional $100 to sand the edge of the color-matched outer cover and paint the whole outer cover. Not sure if I want to do repaint the outer cover for risk of mismatch. I don't think that it is that bad, so maybe I can just replace the black trim. What do you guys think?

[TheRox]

hmm...honestly if you bought the car, just replace the black trim for 150 and you'll be at peace - in a few months you won't even care. After some damage, most experience the "I've gotta fix it at any cost" impulse - that'll subside in a while.

Dings and dents happen, esp in busy cities.

[rhinosaur]

Originally Posted by TheRox

hmm...honestly if you bought the car, just replace the black trim for 150 and you'll be at peace - in a few months you won't even care. After some damage, most experience the "I've gotta fix it at any cost" impulse - that'll subside in a while.

Dings and dents happen, esp in busy cities.

I couldn't agree more!

[BigKutta]

Originally Posted by TheRox

hmm...honestly if you bought the car, just replace the black trim for 150 and you'll be at peace - in a few months you won't even care. After some damage, most experience the "I've gotta fix it at any cost" impulse - that'll subside in a while.

Dings and dents happen, esp in busy cities.

that's what I am thinking too, and once the trim is replaced, I won't even notice the slight grazing on the edge. I am going to replace the trim only

[blackberrycubed]

why don't you have have the black trim replaced and then the outer wrapped in some carbon fiber or high black gloss and contrast the mirrors? This way you keep the original paint and hide the light scuff and get a unique badass car.

Some thing like this:
http://f10.m5post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=678078

If you are a little handy, you could do the wrap yourself using a heatgun\hair dryer....

[BigKutta]

Finally found a couple of hours to get the trim replaced. Just wanted to post the result to let you know that the side mirrors break down into many parts that are available separately, so you no longer have to buy the whole side view mirror just to replace a scraped trim piece or a mirror glass crack. Thanks to itschase for providing the link above, which I was able to take to the body shop, and they confirmed the same. So, take the time to save the link above. Took all of ~1 hours for them to take my mirror apart and put in the new trim. Even the shop owner was surprised that they were able to do this on a BMW now. In the past they always had to replace the entire unit.

Good as new.

Damaged


Fixed

[positiveions]

good job on replacing that. Just get a quote on fixing that paint part, save money and have it fixed later.

[BigKutta]

Originally Posted by eatrach73

good job on replacing that. Just get a quote on fixing that paint part, save money and have it fixed later.

The cost wasn't the factor (it would only cost another $150-200 to sand, refinish, and repaint the mirror housing), however, the scuff is right on the edge and so minor that it wasn't worth the hassle to repaint the whole mirror housing, so I skipped it. With the trim replaced, the mirror housing looks good as new and I can hardly tell.