Hello,
The driver side mirror on my 2016 E350 was shattered last week brushing against a traffic barrel.
Fortunately no one was hurt and the damage was mainly on the mirror.



When we take the car to the dealer's service department, the recommended service is to "replace left
side mirror folding mechanism and mirror glass" as the left side mirror is damaged. The quote is 1919.00
from parts + 50 shop supplies + tax. After 10% off, the total is $1903.33.

Needless to say, we would like to explore all our options before paying $1900.

So first I check Geico's webpage and find my policy has $500 deductible on both comprehensive and collision.
I don't know how much will this raise my premium, but it does look like a cheaper option.

Then I tried to do some researches on the internet on how to replace this side mirror on my own. I don't
have a lot of experience working on cars, but I wouldn't mind give it a try. Provided if I can find some
guidance here.

I find this video on how to remove the side mirror So I follow the step and get the mirror off the car.



During the process I notice that the motor seems to work fine, and I can move the mirror with the
control panel in car. This is surprising because the service center said that I need to replace the motor
mechanism behind the mirror as well. What further checks could I perform to make sure the motor is
working fine or should I look into replacing it as well?



The mirror is removed, and the part no. is A2128101521
At current time, there is one eBay listing for this part that's shipping from the US. Any other place
reputable that I should look?

Sorry for the long post, but I like to provide all the information I can think of. Please let me know
if I miss anything like what parts to buy and where, things to look up (service guide?) before
installing, etc. Any input will be appreciated, and thanks for reading my first post.

Vivian.

 

Best advice: pay deductible and have the professionals do it so if anything goes wrong downstream it's covered under warranty

A few hundred dollars here and there in life is no big deal

 

You may want to ask mods to move this to the W212 forum since that model applies to your 2016. This is the W213 forum for models starting in 2017.

Is there any damage to the mirror housing? Perhaps the dealer was suggesting replacing the entire thing because of cosmetic damage also. Plus there is really no way to know if problems may occur down the road due to this incident like early motor failure or perhaps it doesn't fully adjust like it did before. They are likely being cautious so you can't blame them later.

In regards to insurance, I am no expert but here is my take based on my experience. You hitting a barrel while driving is most likely collision. Someone hitting your mirror with their car would probably be uninsured motorist coverage since they drove off. Someone vandalizing your car like by hitting your mirror with a bat would be comprehensive. A collision claim would likely raise your rates. Not sure about uninsured motorist claim. However, often comprehensive claims do not increase rates.

There is a thread on the W212 forum about folks putting the euro convex mirror. You may get some good advice there. And if you are replacing the glass anyway - why not go for an upgrade?

 

If you go with insurance, it will be considered a collision damage with you being at fault, so it may affect your rates.

 

I changed my passenger side mirror, if someone finds my quickly put together video:

 

Vivian: Skip the insurance for this. You've already done 90% of the work. Buy a used piece of glass from eBay and you will be fine. You will need to remove the outer housing to replace the glass. I bought euro glass from a seller on eBay in Lithuania for $100 and have never looked back. Both pieces of glass were used but in pristine condition. Replacement took 15 minutes.

 

Vivian,
my recommendation is for you to buy the mirror from a Mercedes Dealer. I had a difficult time finding on eBay and elsewhere. Plus you get the original manufacturer part. I paid less than two hundred for the passenger one. The driver side one may be more expensive since it has an auto dimming function. I can recommend a dealer if you want to call them, they can ship it to you I am sure. I am not affiliated with them, but do recommended them. Let me know

 

There I fixed it for you

I too broke my passenger side mirror glass backing out of the garage and when researching its replacement cost learned what the drivers side costs. Needless to say I use the drivers side mirror as the guide when backing out of my garage now.

 

Buy these Euro Panoramic mirrors and be done with your problem for less then $200.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/OEM-10-15-Me...MAAOSwDNdV5xbi


I have bought from the seller above and service was phenomenal. OEM part that will not cost you thousands like the stealership.
Here is a thread about the Aspherical mirrors from Europe. https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...ror-glass.html

 

+1 on the euro mirrors. I have them and love them. Spend the $100 and leave the rest of the mirror alone... also, you don't have to remove the casing to put the mirror on... just pop it on the same way you popped the old one off. Oh, and make sure to plug in the connections for the heater/auto-dimming. Very easy. I swapped my puddle lights while I was in there and honestly the lights were harder to install than those mirrors.

 

Ummm. . . Did anyone actually look into which options the OP's car has? When my driver's side mirror was damaged in a vandalism situation, the glass alone was almost $1,100 from MB Parts. The auto-dim feature is only part of the high cost. If the car has Collision Prevention Assist, it also has sensors in the mirrors for that - and those guys really cost. In addition, IIRC, the shop had to use STAR to re-initialize the new mirror and the processor it communicates with.


So, if you have to replace a piece of heated glass, maybe a DIY. If you have the Collision Prevention Assist system, maybe not DIY.

 

OP didn't provide a VIN so we could investigate further... only going off the information given so far. But from the pictures, it looks like OP has the collision prevention assist, and the wire harness in there has more cables than mine (no CPA, only auto-dimming)... still, you can install it yourself (per shop manual, cue Konigstiger) and go to a dealer and get it calibrated afterwards... that bill will still be much less than $1900