Average Cost to Fix a Wing Mirror on a Car 2024

The side mirror, or ‘wing’ mirror (so called because they were mounted to the front wing of a car) is something that we give very little thought to, until it breaks. As with other car components, wing mirrors have developed from a rather simple solution & design into something more complex—and as a result they can cost around £270 to repair, depending on a number of factors.

Average Price of Wing Mirror Replacement

We’ve checked prices in three different geographic locations for prices to replace the whole wing mirror on a Ford Fiesta, a Mercedes A Class and an Audi A3. We found the average cost to repair a wing mirror ranges is around £230, including parts & labour—but prices vary widely.

The cost to repair a wing mirror depends on the vehicle, the geographic location and the type of repair shop. London is more expensive than other areas, not surprisingly. And independent repair shops are cheaper (£131 to £313 for our three cars) compared to franchised main dealers (£187 to £462 for our three cars). That means dealers cost around 45% more than independent repair shops.

While the Ford Fiesta is cheaper and more popular than the Audi A3, a wing mirror repair for the Fiesta costs around 25% more. The cost of the wing mirror repair for the Mercedes was around 1.5X the cost of the Audi repair.

It’s worth noting that this is for a complete replacement wing mirror, that’s finished in paint primer, ready to be colour coded.

Why are wing mirrors so expensive to replace?

Your typical wing mirror on a new car has the ability to automatically fold-in, along with heating up when it’s icy, electrically adjust for perfect vision angle, and of course, indicate to other motorists your intended direction of travel.

More recently, some car makers are using the wing mirror as part of their blind spot monitoring systems, which adds further cost and complexity. Long gone are the days of fixed mirrors using a single piece of glass.

DIY Repair

If you’ve searched for ‘DIY repair for wing mirror’, then we suspect the returned results have left you a little confused. Is it possible to repair or replace the wing mirror yourself? Yes. And no.

Our expert found new aftermarket parts for sale, ranging in price from £92.99 to £132.99; some need a ‘mirror cover’ (the plastic housing) at an additional expense of £18.99 (available in white or black), while others are a straight fit.

But, and here’s the problem – if your mirror is missing completely, this would work providing the electrics are OK, but if you’re looking to replace the mirror because the motor doesn’t work, there’s a 50/50 chance that it will cure the problem, unless of course, you’ve checked the wiring harness and know that it’s all OK.

Unfortunately, there is no simple answer as to a car wing mirror repair cost, or whether it’s viable for a DIY’er to complete the work; everything depends on the exact nature of the problem. Mirror glass can usually be replaced without too much trouble, or even a new glass placed on top of the shattered one, but for anything else, it’s likely that you’ll need specialised tools, and at least a little knowledge.

Wing Mirror Problems

“Wing mirror problems” isn’t an easy topic. Broken glass? Indicator stopped working? Not adjusting? Hanging loose? There are a myriad of problems that can be related to your ‘simple’ wing mirror, and identifying them is the first step – do you really need a factory diagnostic system for a wing mirror? In some cases, yes; a modern car’s electronic systems means that all components integrate with each, often needing to be able to ‘communicate’ with each or they register a fault. A a modern wing mirror is no different.

Broken Glass

Starting with the most obvious problem that we’re most likely to encounter: broken glass in your wing mirror. Now that most cars use some form of motor to adjust the mirror, more often than not, an adhesive foam pad is stuck to the rear of the glass to accommodate the mechanism for adjustment. This means that instead of just shattering and falling apart, the glass is more likely to remain in place, albeit cracked.

Even though the mirror is still in place, it’s worth getting repaired as soon as possible for two reasons: a cracked mirror can make it difficult to see what’s behind you, and there’s a chance that the glass and anything attached to the rear of it could fall out, usually while still attached to the vehicle’s wiring, which then leaves it dangling down the door and smashing into the paintwork.

Replacement glass is usually available, if not through the main dealer, through an automotive accessory shop.

Adjustment

If your wing mirror is no longer adjusting, the job of sorting it gets slightly more complicated: the fault could sit within the electrical motor, wiring harness (including the switch) or fuse, and any workshop (be that main dealer or independent) will need to establish just what the problem is before being able to fix it, and that can be expensive.

The best case scenario here, is that the fuse has blown; a new fuse and you’re on your way. However, tracing wiring problems and faults gets very expensive, very quickly. Research tells us that there really is no such thing as an average labour rate when it comes to cars—a survey back in 2017 revealed prices ranging from £36/hour right through to £234/hour, but typically, main dealers charge around 40% more than independents. The good news is that a wiring or harness problem is the least likely outcome.

FAQs