Lowlife snapped my Coupe E86 mirror when swivelled up

[Cakes]

Hi Z4'ers.

On Christmas eve some jealous w*nker snapped my Z4 Coupe mirror as it was parked on the street outside my house - unfortunately I was not awake to see this :x

I suspect a new BMW replacement is going to be in the £££'s, so as money is tight at this time of year I wanted to initially try a clean and adhesive fix (accepting it's not going to last forever & I won't be able to swivel it up). Separately I'm going to try and source a used/scrap unit but having found E86 examples I cannot find my colour anywhere (apparently this is a fairly rare 'stratus metallic' grey). My plastic coloured mirror covering is perfectly intact, but I'm guessing I could not easily pull that off and put it onto a replacement unit of a different colour? Or could I? Some other questions that I'd love to get some help on if anyone has an idea:

1 - Does anyone have an idea of how I might swivel 90% the base metal onto which the metal of the mirror attaches? What I mean is my mirror was folded upwards at the time it was snapped, so I need to rotate the base metal in order to try and glue the mirror so it sits outwards (see pic). Try as I might I cannot seem to rotate that at all! I've tried pliers, screwdrivers, anything to clamp, push it in the direction but it seems impossible to move (you can see I've given that a go on the indented foam surrounding the grey metal). If I don't do this I'll glue on a mirror which I'm guessing will snap the moment I try to swivel it out

2- Does anyone know a good place to look for sourcing different coloured used mirror units?

Any help/advice would be hugely appreciated! All the best.

How mirror hangs at present:



Alignment for adhesive:

 

[enuff_zed]

Welcome to the forum. Sorry it's for such a sad subject.
Hopefully over time you'll be able to join in with happier themes.
In the meantime, I'm hopeful that someone on here may be able to help you out with a replacement mirror. Got to be a better bet than bodging it.
Good luck.

 

[Ole gits rule]

Thats crap mate, I feel your pain.

Can't you source a different colour and get to sprayed - can't be that expensive t do a mirror

 

[enuff_zed]

Thats crap mate, I feel your pain.

Can't you source a different colour and get to sprayed - can't be that expensive t do a mirror

Don't the coloured shells pop off? Or is that knackered too?

 

[Ole gits rule]

No idea mate - thankfully no one has attached mine

 

[tomscott]

This is how to remove the cover

https://youtu.be/re0LJCtk2kU

I think that it will be a inside A pillar trim removal a couple of bolts and a replacement then put your cover back on. I would think the coupe and roadster has the same part number.

Really annoying but with a bit of google some perseverance and getting your hands dirty sure it can be done.

Z4s are often broken for parts on the Facebook page might be worth getting in touch with someone to buy a replacement.

 

[abzthemanc]

Sorry cant be of more help but I really feel your pain. ******

This happened on my first ever car years back, a trusty old Nissan Almera 1.4. Happened in a really nice area too when it was on the road instead of the drive. I was driving round with the mirror duck taped for months...

Hope you get it sorted as best you can.

 

[Cakes]

Welcome to the forum. Sorry it's for such a sad subject.
Hopefully over time you'll be able to join in with happier themes.
In the meantime, I'm hopeful that someone on here may be able to help you out with a replacement mirror. Got to be a better bet than bodging it.
Good luck.

Thanks for the welcome, abzthemanc. Yes ultimately i agree with you on a replacement...just wanted to be able to drive around until I get the permanent solution sorted.

 

[Cakes]

[ref]Ole gits rule[/ref], [ref]enuff_zed[/ref],[ref]tomscott[/ref], [ref]abzthemanc[/ref],

Thanks very much for your sympathies and suggestions. I think I'm just going to source a used one and either try and replace the outer shell or get a re-spray done. Temporary fix is just going to end up breaking after a while, and I may be waiting a lot longer to try and source my colour. Just need a solution for now so that I can drive my lovely Z4 again!!

Man it's so galling why people do this kind of thing. They can't be living happy lives, that's for sure, when breaking/damaging other folks loved possessions is a buzz to them. Just hope it's not a serial t*wat that lives near me and ends up doing it again.....

 

[Ole gits rule]

This is where a camera comes in handy - at least try to catch them in the act

 

[Jon2215]

Realoem seems to show the cover comes off so you could swap it over.

 

[Cakes]

Realoem seems to show the cover comes off so you could swap it over.

Brilliant, that's really helpful. Thanks Jon!

 

[bigwinn]

Cover does come off so you can salvage that

Are they motorised or standard?

First get the mirror off the car- take your tweeter pod off by prising it away- be careful not to damage tweeter wires- undo the blue connector

You can now see the back of the mirror 3 torx bolts but it’s highly likely you’ll need to pop the door card off to get the mirror loom unclipped

Simple enough- plenty of write ups on here- 4 torx in the door, 2 under the silver handle trim, one in the door open handle recess and one under the airbag trim

Once the mirror is off the car you can remove the glass- guides on here cover that and you’ll see a plethora of about 8 small torx screws holding the mirror cap on

Drop me a pm if you get stuck

 

[enuff_zed]

I love the English language!
'A plethora of about eight'!
Stu, you made my evening with that one, cheers mate

 

[Cakes]

Cover does come off so you can salvage that

Are they motorised or standard?

Bigwinn, it's non-motorised, manual fold up on the E86 coupe (at least my 2007 one).

Very much appreciate you sharing the instructions about the swap-over and the offer of further advice if I get stuck. That's most kind of you - and I'll keep that in the back pocket if I may

 

[Zedebee]

I love the English language!
'A plethora of about eight'!
Stu, you made my evening with that one, cheers mate

+1, made me laugh

 

[bigwinn]

Cover does come off so you can salvage that

Are they motorised or standard?

Bigwinn, it's non-motorised, manual fold up on the E86 coupe (at least my 2007 one).

Very much appreciate you sharing the instructions about the swap-over and the offer of further advice if I get stuck. That's most kind of you - and I'll keep that in the back pocket if I may

No dramas matey

Drop me a pm and if you are local I’ll gladly weigh in and help

 

[Mr Tidy]

Really sorry to read of your misfortune Cakes - there are some scumbags around. :evil:

As others have said once you have the glass out you can undo the plethora of Torx screws (size 25 I think) to get your plastic cover off. It isn't too difficult if you take your time - it can't be because I managed it last year!

I'm pretty sure power-fold mirrors have a different part number so if your car doesn't have the power-fold option you're much more likely to find a used mechanism somewhere. There are some BMW focussed breakers around - Quarry Motors spring to mind. Or you could post a Wanted advert on here but make it clear which side you need (I can't be sure from your photos).

Anyway good luck getting it sorted.

 

[bigwinn]

I love the English language!
'A plethora of about eight'!
Stu, you made my evening with that one, cheers mate

 

[MikeyH]

Welcome to the forum, sorry to hear your probs, there seem to be some real to*sers about.