Last weekend while my car was parked on the street somebody hit the drivers side side view mirror. They broke the plastic casing around the mirror but not the mirror itself. It is still attached to the car and I can still move it using the control in the car. My question is- should I get it fixed at the dealer or at a local mechanic?
First call around the salvage yards and see if you can get a used part. Any body shop can fix this, no need to go to a dealer for either labor or the new part if you can find a good used part.
Call auto recyclers and get a price on the part, and then call the Ford dealer. I say this because I was forced off the road and snapped off the right hand mirror (it was a power mirror that was also heated) on the 2000 Ford Windstar that I used to own. The dealer’s price was only $15 more than the lowest auto recycler. I had the dealer install the mirror and as I remember, it was only 1 hour labor charge. This was a small town Ford agency–things may be higher a a large city.
Wally, you don’t live in the Highlands section of Louisville, do you? I just passed a Focus with a driver’s side mirror dangling by a thread, LOL. Maybe they’re not attached securely enough???
I agree – there are times when new is only slightly more expensive than used. On the other hand, a good used part may be only 50% of new.
Call LKQ Star @ 800-362-9451 x6761/ No…its not me. You might be able to find one but it might be to new to find in a yard. They will show up eventually. They might even have NTO (new take offs) which are surplus parts the manufactures sell to salvage yards. Just as some others have posted there sometimes is not much of a price difference between OEM vs LKQ, be advised that sometimes new is cheaper than used.