Aftermarket door mirrors- anyone try them?

[dishe]

So, I purchased a used 07 Mazda5 in black this passed week.
Today, only a few days later, a runaway shopping cart nearly took off my passenger mirror in a parking lot. I say nearly because it IS physically still attached, however the glass and whatever it is that the glass is attached to are just hanging out of the mirror cavity, just dangling there.

It would appear that we have to replace the entire mirror, as I'm not even sure anything could be reattached inside this one.

Has anyone looked at any of the aftermarket mirrors (ebay, etc)? They seem to be FAR cheaper than OE, but I don't want it to look inconsistent from the rest of the car. Do aftermarket mirrors generally clash with the vehicle? If I'm leaving the OE driver's side, will they be noticeably different?

Also, do I need to paint them if my vehicle is black (it seems most ship already black)?

Are there other options you guys recommend? Or better yet, does anyone have an OEM mirror lying around (maybe someone "upgraded" and still have their old mirror)? I'd buy it off you for a reasonable price! I just can't afford the list price from mazda right now...

 

[mazdadude]

Well, if your mirror is unrepairable, the cheapest solution would be to get a used one from a wrecking yard. www.car-part.com is such a site where you can search by your zip, car, and even paint code if you need a painted part.

For your year, the mirrors came in a body painted version for the touring, a body painted and heated version for the GT, and a black plastic version for the sport models.

However, the way the mirrors are snapped together, you might just need to snap it back together?

 

[dishe]

Well, if your mirror is unrepairable, the cheapest solution would be to get a used one from a wrecking yard. www.car-part.com is such a site where you can search by your zip, car, and even paint code if you need a painted part.

For your year, the mirrors came in a body painted version for the touring, a body painted and heated version for the GT, and a black plastic version for the sport models.

Honestly, I'm not even sure which model I have (bought it used only last week ), but from what I've read it seems to be a Touring edition (automatic trans, fog lights, fold out console in the middle seat, alloy wheels, sunroof, etc).

The color of the vehicle is BLACK, however. Is there a difference between body-painted black and the black plastic on the sport? Perhaps the level of glass?

However, the way the mirrors are snapped together, you might just need to snap it back together?

So, the glass is shattered and broken (some shards still attached), but it would appear that the frame might in fact snap back into place. I covered it in the mean time with an adhesive mirror piece I picked up at autozone, but it looks pretty messy. I guess I could just replace the glass, but there is a little crack on the outside of the housing of the mirror as well.
Its nothing major really, but very depressing to have on a car I *just* purchased, and in otherwise perfect condition.

 

[A1an]

Some jackarse sideswiped my wife's '04 Mazda 4 and destroyed the driver side mirror. They wrote to replace it with LKQ (salvage parts). We were able to source the mirror assembly and color matched cap (not sure if this is still the case....Mazda mirror caps come pre painted) for less than the cost of the LKQ part.

What did they quote you from the dealership? There are a few online Mazda parts dealers who could probably get those parts for you a little cheaper.

 

[thaxman]

'04 Mazda 4.

(scratch)

I need a picture.

 

[mountjonas]

i used ebay when my wife took off her pasenger mirror coming out of the garage on her old altima. the fitment was pretty much perfect. luckily, the color cap on the broken mirror was fine and i popped out the unpainted black part on the new mirror. not sure if it helps.

 

[dishe]

Some jackarse sideswiped my wife's '04 Mazda 4 and destroyed the driver side mirror. They wrote to replace it with LKQ (salvage parts). We were able to source the mirror assembly and color matched cap (not sure if this is still the case....Mazda mirror caps come pre painted) for less than the cost of the LKQ part.

What did they quote you from the dealership? There are a few online Mazda parts dealers who could probably get those parts for you a little cheaper.

Got any in particular I should contact? I actually didnt bother contacting a dealership because car-parts.com showed me junkyard prices of $80+. Figured from the dealer it would be even more!

Thats why I started considering the aftermarket ones on ebay. But I'm not too excited about having to paint it.
I'm wondering now, if my vehicle is black does it really need to be painted? Do you think the unpainted mirror (looks like unpainted color is black matte) would be noticeable?

 

[A1an]

(scratch)

I need a picture.

Doh! She had a 3.


Dishe...definitely give your local Mazda dealer a call. We were shocked the unit was cheaper than used. This was maybe 4-5 years ago though.

 

[A1an]

onlinemazdaparts.com has the entire assembly for right under $130. Doesn't say what it includes but I would assume "assembly" is inclusive of everything (glass, painted cover, etc):

http://www.trademotion.com/partloca...ZDA5&year=2006&catalogid=2&displayCatalogid=0