Side Mirror Replacement Cost in Brisbane: 2026 Prices
By Duber, The Car Mirror Man · Car Mirrors Australia · Updated September 2026 · 15 min read
Short answer: in Brisbane, mirror glass on its own starts from $135 fitted. A cover is $150 to $300. A plain assembly is $200 to $350, a powered one $350 to $500. Anything with blind-spot monitoring, a camera or auto-dimming is quoted per vehicle, because the part price is what moves.
In Brisbane? We can price the exact job on your car at your home or work, anywhere across the metro — see our full Brisbane mirror service.
Almost every Brisbane driver who rings us has already been quoted for a whole mirror assembly. That quote is usually for a part they do not need. A side mirror is four separate components, and a clipped mirror in a Toowong carpark has usually broken exactly one of them. This guide walks through what each part costs, why the same car can be a $135 job or a $480 job, and how to tell which one you are looking at before anyone quotes you.
The four parts, and what each one costs
A side mirror is four separate components. Which one broke is what decides the price — not the badge on the car.
What you are actually paying for
Before any price makes sense it helps to see what is inside the housing. Four parts, and they fail independently of each other.
The glass is a flat or convex panel clipped onto a backing plate. The cover is the painted shell. The assembly is everything bolted to the door, increasingly carrying its own integrated turn signal and electric fold as standard on newer cars [1]. The motor is the small unit that tilts the glass. A knock in a carpark usually takes the glass or the cover and leaves the rest untouched.
Brisbane prices, part by part
| What broke | What it costs | Typical time |
|---|---|---|
| Mirror glass only | From $135 fitted | 20-30 minutes |
| Painted cover | $150 to $300 | 30-45 minutes |
| Plain assembly, no electrics | $200 to $350 | 45 minutes |
| Powered assembly | $350 to $500 | 45-60 minutes |
| Blind-spot, camera or auto-dim | Quoted per vehicle | Depends on the part |
Every band above comes from our national price guide, which is the single source of truth for what we charge. If you want the full breakdown by part and by vehicle, read our side mirror replacement cost guide.
Those bands are the same across every city we cover. Brisbane is not dearer for the same part, and anyone quoting a premium for the postcode is quoting for something else. Whatever the price, the replacement glass itself is built to the same national rear-vision mirror standard as the part it's replacing [2] — a cheaper fix is never a lesser one.
Why the same car gives two different prices
Two Hilux owners ring on the same morning. One pays $135, the other is quoted $460. Same model, same year. The difference is which part took the hit.
What actually drives the number
Labour is broadly the same on any mirror. The part price is what moves, and it moves a lot.
An unpainted cover is cheaper. A colour-matched one has to be sprayed to your code.
Heating, blind-spot warning icons and auto-dimming all sit inside the glass itself.
A camera in the housing is a different part and a different price.
Paying out of pocket versus claiming on insurance
For a glass-only job most people simply pay out of pocket — from $135, it's usually well under a typical comprehensive excess, so a claim would cost more in the long run than it saves — that trade-off between the excess and the repair cost is exactly what a comprehensive policy is built around [3]. For a full assembly with electronics built in, the number can move the other way, and it's worth checking your excess before deciding either way.
If you do claim, keep our invoice — it's itemised by part, which is what most insurers ask for and matches the standard a repair is expected to meet under Australian consumer law [4].
The quote you were given is probably for the whole assembly
Almost every Brisbane driver who rings us opens with a number somebody else gave them, and that number is nearly always for a complete mirror assembly. It is the fastest thing for a workshop to quote, because it is one part number and one line on an invoice. It is also, most of the time, the most expensive way to fix the car.
A dealer parts desk is not trying to overcharge you. They are quoting the part they are set up to sell, and the part they are set up to sell is the whole mirror. Nobody at the counter is going to ask whether only the glass is broken, because they cannot see the car and it is not their job to pull the assembly apart.
| What broke | Common quote you get | What it usually needs |
|---|---|---|
| Cracked glass, housing intact | Whole assembly | Glass only |
| Scuffed or torn cover | Whole assembly | Cover only, painted |
| Will not fold or grinds | Whole assembly | Folding motor |
| Sheared off the door | Whole assembly | Whole assembly — correct |
Only the last row is a case where the whole assembly is genuinely the right call. The other three are the ones worth a second look before you commit.
Why blind-spot and camera mirrors are quoted per car
On an older car, a mirror is glass, a cover, a folding motor and a housing. On anything built in the last decade or so it can also carry a blind-spot warning light in the glass, a camera feeding the reversing display, a puddle lamp, a heating element, an indicator repeater, and auto-dimming. Each of those is a different part number and a different price.
That is why we will not put a flat figure on a full mirror unit. It would either be wrong for a base model or wrong for a loaded one, and either way you would find out on the day. What we do instead is price the exact car once we can see it.
The rule of thumb: the more the mirror does, the more the price follows the car rather than the job. The labour barely changes. The part is what moves.
What a Brisbane job actually looks like on the day
We are mobile, and that is not a convenience feature bolted onto a workshop. There is no workshop. The van carries the stock, the tools and the paint, and it comes to wherever the car is sitting.
A clear shot of the broken mirror and one of the car's badge. That is enough to identify the part on most vehicles.
Not a band, not a range. The number for your car, before anyone commits.
Your driveway, your work car park, the street. Brisbane metro, most jobs the same day or the next.
Every function checked before we leave — fold, adjust, heat, indicator, blind-spot light if it has one.
The thing most people are surprised by is how little of it involves them. You do not drive anywhere, you do not wait in a lounge, and you do not lose half a day to it.
Where the Brisbane metro ends
We cover the Brisbane metro. North to Caboolture, south to Beenleigh, west through Ipswich and out to Redland Bay in the east. Inside that, mobile, no call-out fee.
We do not travel to the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba or regional Queensland. It is not that we would not like to — it is that a mobile service only works when the drive between jobs is short, and stretching it would mean charging you for the travel.
Aftermarket, genuine, and which one you actually want
There is a genuine part, made by or for the manufacturer and carrying their badge, and there is an aftermarket part made to the same shape by somebody else. Both fit. The difference is price, and sometimes finish.
| Genuine | Quality aftermarket | |
|---|---|---|
| Fit | Exact | Exact on common models |
| Finish | Factory | Very close, painted to code |
| Electronics | All functions | All functions on the parts we use |
| Price | Highest | Typically 30–50% less |
| Availability | Order in | Usually on the van |
We carry quality aftermarket as standard because on the overwhelming majority of cars it is indistinguishable once fitted and it saves you real money. If you want genuine, say so and we will price it. On a lease return or a car under a manufacturer warranty claim, genuine is sometimes the right answer and we will tell you when it is.
What we will not do is fit a cheap part and call it a saving. A mirror that rattles at highway speed or a cover that fades out of match in a Queensland summer is not a saving, it is the same job twice.
What the mirror has to do to be legal in Queensland
Queensland's light vehicle rules require a car to have a driver's-side mirror and either a passenger-side or an interior mirror, giving a clear view of the road behind. A car with a smashed or missing driver's mirror is not roadworthy, and it will fail a safety certificate inspection.
That matters more than most people expect, because a safety certificate is required to sell a registered car in Queensland. A broken mirror is one of the cheapest possible reasons to fail an inspection, and one of the fastest to fix.
When it is worth claiming on insurance
Most mirror jobs cost less than a comprehensive excess, which on a typical Queensland policy sits somewhere around the $700 mark. If the mirror is the only damage, claiming usually costs you more than paying for it, and it puts a claim on your record for nothing.
Where a claim makes sense is when the mirror is part of something bigger — a side swipe that also took the door and the guard, or a break-in where the mirror was one of several things damaged. Then the mirror is a line item on a claim you were making anyway.
| Situation | Usually worth claiming? |
|---|---|
| Glass only, everything else fine | No — well under any excess |
| Whole mirror off, no other damage | Usually not — compare to your excess first |
| Mirror plus door or guard damage | Yes |
| Vandalism across several panels | Yes |
| Third party at fault and identified | Yes — their insurer, not yours |
What it costs to leave it
A mirror is not a part that gets worse quietly. Once the glass is out, the housing fills with water every time it rains, and in Brisbane that is not a hypothetical. Water in the housing reaches the adjuster motor and the heating connections, and a job that was glass-only becomes a job that needs the motor as well.
The same is true of a cover that has been torn off. The mechanism underneath is not designed to be exposed, and a few months of sun and rain will do what a few months of sun and rain do.
The gap between those first two numbers is the whole argument for not leaving it.
What Brisbane drivers tell us
Price is what people ring about. Speed is what they mention afterwards.
Every review quoted on this site is a real, verified customer review. We do not write them and we do not edit them.
Send a photo before anyone quotes you
The fastest way to a real number is a photo of the damage. We can tell from a picture whether you are looking at glass, a cover or an assembly, and quote the actual part rather than the worst case.
We come to you in five cities
Every job is mobile. We drive to your home, your work or the car park the car is sitting in, and the mirror is fitted and tested before we leave.
Frequently asked questions
How much is a side mirror replacement in Brisbane?
Glass on its own starts from $135 fitted. A cover is $150 to $300, a plain assembly $200 to $350, and a powered assembly $350 to $500. Blind-spot, camera and auto-dimming mirrors are quoted per vehicle because the part price varies so much.
Can you replace just the glass?
In most cases yes. If the housing is intact and the mirror still folds, tilts and indicates, the glass is the only part that needs replacing, and that is by far the cheapest outcome.
Do you come to me?
Yes. We are mobile across Brisbane and fit at your home or workplace. There is no call-out fee.
How long does it take?
Glass is 20 to 30 minutes. A cover is 30 to 45. A full assembly is around an hour.
Is a genuine part dearer than aftermarket?
Usually, yes. We quote both where both exist and let you choose. On a colour-matched cover the difference is often smaller than people expect.
Do you charge a call-out fee?
No. $0 call-out anywhere we service in Brisbane.
What warranty do I get?
Mirror glass carries an unlimited warranty. The assembly carries three years, and an individual part carries twelve months — in line with the standard any repair is expected to meet [4].
Should I pay out of pocket or claim on insurance?
For a glass-only job, most people pay out of pocket because the repair usually costs less than a typical comprehensive excess [3]. For a full assembly job it can be worth checking your excess before deciding.
Do you cover my suburb?
We cover the Brisbane metro, north and south of the river. If you are outside it, we can often ship the correct part to you instead.
Will a replacement mirror pass a Safety Certificate or roadworthy check?
Yes — the pricing here is the same whether the job is a routine repair or something you need cleared for a Queensland Safety Certificate before a sale or transfer [6]. Tell us up front if it's for an inspection and we'll make sure the fix matches exactly what's been flagged.
More on Brisbane mirrors
Based in Brisbane? These cover the rest of it.
Sources
- Wing mirror, Wikipedia — integrated turn signal repeaters and electric folding as standard housing features — en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wing_mirror
- Australian Design Rule 14/02 — Rear Vision Mirrors, Federal Register of Legislation — www.legislation.gov.au/F2006L02663/latest/text
- Car insurance — excess, cover types and claims, Moneysmart (ASIC) — moneysmart.gov.au/car-insurance
- Consumer guarantees and remedies, ACCC — the standard a repair is expected to meet — www.accc.gov.au/consumers/buying-products-and-services/consumer-guarante
- Getting quotes and signing contracts, Queensland Government — why a fixed, written quote before work starts protects you — www.qld.gov.au/community/fair-trading/consumer-rights-complaints-and-sca
- Vehicle standards — Safety Certificates, Queensland Government — www.qld.gov.au/transport/registration/roadworthy
Prices and information in this article are indicative only and reflect real quoted jobs at the time of publication. Costs vary with vehicle, part availability and features. Send a photo for an exact fixed price.
