the Cost of Side View Mirror Repair

I scrubbed the outside of my passenger side rear view mirror on a concrete post while parking one day. The paint was damaged as well as the texture of the mirror from the rough concrete. The body shop removed the mirror, sanded, patched and painted, then reinstalled the mirror.

The appearance of the mirror was exceptional. The body shop was sure to use clearcoat on the mirror so the glossiness would match the rest of the car. He also buffed it appropriately so that it would not be too glossy. However, the mirror failed to operate as before. The linkage that connects the mirror to the power-adjust inside the car had come undone and was not properly hooked back up. Upon adjustment by the body shop, it now works.

I considered taking the mirror off and bringing it to the body shop. This would have saved me $25 in the repair. The only catch was I'd have to reinstall it once painted. I also considered doing the entire thing myself. The sanding and repainting would have been easy with the help of an auto paint retailer. But, the clearcoat would not have matched as professional grade equipment is needed to apply a clearcoat successfully. This would have resulted in a slightly different shade of glossiness for the mirror in question.