Date: Thu, 30 Oct 2003 23:45:14 -0800 From: Joe Gugliemino <jgoogsnopsamteme.charter.net> Subject: Looking for a LH wide-angle mirror
I bought a used 2000 9-3 SE a few months ago. Great car, I'm enjoying it a lot. One issue I have is that the drivers side (LH) rearview mirror does not angle out far enough to eliminate a blind spot. I've temporarily fixed the problem with a $0.99 fish-eye stick-on mirror from Wal-Mart. It looks lousy, but it does the job. I thought about ordering a UK passenger side mirror to replace my driver's side mirror. Then I'd have wide-angle mirrors on both doors. I went to a dealer (Acton Saab, Acton MA) and asked about getting a wide-angle mirror for the driver's side. The parts manager gave me a line about how the wide-angle mirrors not the same size/shape and that I'd have to order the whole housing assembly and it'd be $5-600 just for parts. Then to install it they'd have to take the door apart and it'd be a couple hundred more. At that point my $0.99 solution was looking pretty good, if a bit ugly. I dropped an email to saab.com and sent me a 1-line reply saying there's no difference in size. I wish they were a little more detailed, but I take that to mean that I can pop a wide-angle UK LH mirror into my US LH mirror housing. Has anybody else tried this? If you can swap them, then the next thing I need to do is order the part. I found PartsForSaabs on the web, and they have the mirror (Part Number 4818050: 9-3 98'-02' & NG900 94'-98' LH door mirror glass (Wide Angle)) for $84 + $10 shipping. That's still pretty steep. I'm wondering if anybody has a pointer to a less expensive parts supplier. I found a link for UK junkyards where I could post my request. I got another $100 quote and no other leads. So I'm wondering if anybody over in the UK might have alternative ways I can hunt down a mirror. Maybe I'm being unrealistic, but I'd like to keep it under $50, including shipping. Any help you could provide would be appreciated. -- - Joe (To respond directly, remove the 'deleteme' from my address)
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