Side Mirror Replacement Cost in Melbourne: 2026 Prices
By Duber, The Car Mirror Man · Car Mirrors Australia · Updated August 2026 · 14 min read
Short answer: in Melbourne, mirror glass on its own starts from $135 fitted. A cover is $150 to $300. A plain full unit is $200 to $350, a powered one $350 to $500, and a blind-spot or camera mirror $450 to $600 or more. What you pay depends entirely on which layer of the mirror actually failed — and on most jobs it is only the glass.
In Melbourne? We can price the exact job on your car at your home or work, anywhere across the metro — see our full Melbourne mirror service.
Almost every Melbourne driver who rings us has already been quoted for a whole mirror assembly. That quote is usually correct for what was asked, and usually wrong for what the car needs. The reason is that a side mirror is not one part. It is a stack of four, they fail independently, and the difference between replacing one of them and replacing all four is several hundred dollars.
What you are actually paying for
Before any price makes sense, it helps to see what is inside the housing on your door.
A dealer quoting a complete assembly is quoting all four at once, plus the labour to fit and, on many cars, the door trim removal that goes with it. That is why the number is high. It is also why it is usually avoidable.
Melbourne prices by part, 2026
These are our real fitted prices, mobile, at your home or your work anywhere across the Melbourne metro. There is no call-out fee on top.
| What broke | Fitted price | What that covers |
|---|---|---|
| Mirror glass only | from $135 | New glass cut and bonded to the existing backing plate, heating reconnected where fitted |
| Cover / housing | $150–$300 | New painted or textured cover clipped on, repeater transferred if it lives in the cover |
| Full unit, plain | $200–$350 | Manual or basic electric mirror, complete assembly, fitted and tested |
| Full unit, powered | $350–$500 | Electric adjust, power fold and indicator, complete assembly, fitted and tested |
| Blind-spot, camera or auto-dim | $450–$600+ | Driver-assist glass or assembly, fitted and function-checked |
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.
Every band above comes from our national price guide, which is the single source of truth for what we charge. The same prices apply in every city we cover — there is no Melbourne loading.
What it costs on the cars we see most in Melbourne
Melbourne's fleet skews the same way as the rest of the country — utes, small hatches and a heavy European presence through the inner east. Here is what those actually come to.
| Vehicle | Glass only | Full unit |
|---|---|---|
| Toyota Corolla, Mazda 3, Hyundai i30 | from $135 | $220–$420 |
| Toyota HiLux | from $145 | $260–$480 |
| Ford Ranger | from $145 | $280–$520 |
| VW Golf, Skoda | from $145 | $260–$490 |
| Toyota LandCruiser, Nissan Patrol | from $155 | $320–$580 |
| BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi | from $175 | $450–$800+ |
The spread inside each band is trim, not postcode. A base Ranger and a Wildtrak carry different mirrors, and the parts price follows. Wildtrak and Raptor trims sit at the top of the band.
Why the dealer number is usually so much higher
It is not a markup story. It is a different job being quoted.
A dealer parts system lists a complete mirror. Glass on its own often does not appear as a line item at all.
Genuine complete assemblies carry the manufacturer's margin on all four layers, including the three that still work.
Booked hours, a hoist and, on many cars, door trim removal to reach the connector.
Two trips across Melbourne traffic, plus whatever the day off costs you.
None of that is dishonest. It is simply the wrong shape of job for a mirror where the housing, the motor and the wiring are all still perfectly good.
How to tell which part you actually need
You can work this out in about a minute standing next to the car, and it will change the quote more than anything else you do.
Cracked, shattered, or fallen out? If the housing around it is intact, this is a glass job.
Firm and quiet means the mounting and internals are fine. Loose or rattling means more than glass.
If the glass still moves under power, the motor survived. That rules out the two most expensive bands.
If the repeater still flashes, the wiring loom is intact, and you are almost certainly in glass-or-cover territory.
Send us a photo with those four answers and we will give you a fixed price before we come out. Not a range, and not an estimate that changes on the day.
Insurance, excess and when it is worth claiming
For most mirror jobs, claiming costs more than paying. Comprehensive excesses in Australia commonly sit between several hundred and a thousand dollars [1], which is at or above the entire repair on everything except a driver-assist assembly.
A claim can also affect your no-claim standing for a repair you could have paid for outright. Check the excess figure on your certificate of currency before you ring anyone.
What mobile changes about the price
This is the part people underestimate. The fitted price is the whole price.
We come to your driveway, your work carpark or your street. There is no tow, no courtesy car, no second trip to collect it, and no day off. On a repair this size, those are not small numbers — they are frequently larger than the repair itself.
Where Melbourne drivers get caught
Four patterns we see week after week across the metro.
The first one is the expensive one, and it is entirely avoidable. If the housing is cracked, it is not a cosmetic decision once Melbourne's weather gets into it.
A realistic worked example
A Toyota Corolla clipped in a Chadstone carpark. Glass shattered, housing marked but intact, indicator still flashing, adjuster still working.
| Route | What gets replaced | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Dealer, complete assembly | Glass, cover, motor, wiring | $420 plus two trips |
| Us, mobile, glass only | Glass | from $135, fitted at your work |
Same car, same damage, and the difference is entirely in what was diagnosed before anything was ordered. That is the argument for a specialist rather than a generalist on a job this narrow.
Why glass alone is so much less than it sounds
The single biggest saving on a mirror job comes from one question: did the reflective panel break, or did the mirror break? They are not the same event, and they are not the same price.
Four reasons the same repair costs a quarter of what people expect, and all four disappear the moment you replace an assembly you did not need to.
What actually drives the price up
When a mirror job does come in higher, it is nearly always one of five things — and none of them is the postcode.
| Factor | Effect on price | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Driver-assist features | Largest | Blind-spot, camera and auto-dim modules are the expensive layer |
| Colour-matched cover | Moderate | Painted to your code, and a near-miss is very visible in sunlight |
| European make | Moderate | Parts pricing and availability, not labour |
| Power fold | Small to moderate | An extra motor and an extra connector inside the housing |
| Water damage inside | Variable | A cracked housing left through a wet month can take the motor with it |
Read that list backwards and it is also a list of what to avoid. The last row is the only one you have any control over, and it is the one that turns a $135 job into a $400 one.
Aftermarket, genuine, and where the distinction earns its money
This is the question people ask second, after the price. The honest answer is that it depends entirely on which part you are talking about.
A specialist telling you aftermarket is fine on one part and genuine is necessary on another is doing the job properly. A blanket answer either way is a sales position, not a diagnosis.
Getting an accurate quote in one message
Most quoting delay is caused by not having enough to go on. Here is everything we actually need.
Or a photo of the build plate in the door jamb, which is better.
Driver's or passenger's, and a photo of it.
Close enough to see whether the housing is cracked as well as the glass.
Press the adjuster switch and tell us. It rules the two expensive bands in or out.
An amber triangle or light in the corner of the glass. Say so if you see one.
Melbourne suburbs, and what mobile means in practice
We cover the metro properly, and that is not a marketing line — it is the reason the price works.
Inner-suburb streets in Fitzroy and Carlton are narrow, and a workshop visit there means finding parking twice. Out through Ringwood and Frankston the issue is distance. In both cases the fix is the same: we come to the car, wherever it is standing.
What a low quote from somewhere else usually leaves out
Worth checking against, because the fitted price is not always the whole price elsewhere.
Ask any quote three questions: is that fitted, is heating included, and what is the warranty in writing. The answers are usually more revealing than the number.
When replacing the whole unit genuinely is the right call
It is not always avoidable, and pretending otherwise would be dishonest. Four situations where the assembly is the correct answer.
The mounting base is damaged. Nothing smaller will fix that.
Two failures in one assembly. At that point the unit is the cheaper route.
Corrosion on the connector rarely responds to a partial repair.
A tidy complete assembly on a car going to market is worth more than a repair that looks like one.
On roughly one job in five, the assembly is right. The other four are where the money is saved, and the only way to know which you are in is to look at it before ordering anything.
The short version
If you take one thing from this, take the sequence rather than the numbers.
One minute at the kerb, four checks.
One message, and you get a fixed price rather than a range.
Fitted, heating included, warranty in writing.
A cracked housing is a deadline, not a cosmetic decision.
Done in that order, the great majority of Melbourne mirror jobs land at the bottom of the table rather than the top.
What Melbourne 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.
What you get for the price
Worth stating plainly, because a cheap fitted price with nothing behind it is not actually cheaper.
Every job is done by mirror specialists. It is the only thing we do, which is why the diagnosis is usually narrower — and the bill smaller — than a general workshop's.
Frequently asked questions
How much is a side mirror replacement in Melbourne?
Glass on its own starts from $135 fitted. A cover is $150 to $300, a plain full unit $200 to $350, a powered unit $350 to $500, and a blind-spot or camera mirror $450 to $600 or more. Send a photo and we will price your exact car.
Can you replace just the glass, or do I need the whole mirror?
In most cases just the glass. If the housing, motor, indicator and wiring are all still working, the glass is the only part that needs to change, and that is by far the lowest-cost route.
Do you charge a call-out fee anywhere in Melbourne?
No. The fitted price is the whole price, anywhere across the Melbourne metro, from Werribee through to Frankston and out to the Dandenongs.
How long does it take?
Most mirror jobs are 30 to 60 minutes at the kerb. Glass-only work is usually at the shorter end.
Is it worth claiming on insurance?
Usually not. Typical comprehensive excesses sit at or above the cost of everything except a driver-assist assembly, so most people pay outright. Check your excess before deciding.
Do you use genuine parts?
We use genuine where the car needs genuine and quality aftermarket where it does not. On a colour-matched cover or a driver-assist mirror that distinction matters, and we will tell you which applies to your car.
Will a broken mirror fail a roadworthy?
Yes. Victoria's roadworthiness requirements state the reflective surface must not be cracked or broken, so a damaged mirror is a fail [3].
Do you come to my work?
Yes, and most people prefer it. Driveway, street or work carpark — we only need access to the door.
More on Melbourne mirrors
Based in Melbourne? These cover the rest of it.
Sources
- Car insurance — excess, cover types and claims, Moneysmart (ASIC) — moneysmart.gov.au/car-insurance
- Consumer guarantees on goods and services, ACCC — www.accc.gov.au/consumers/buying-products-and-services/consumer-guarante
- VSI 26 Roadworthiness requirements, full text (PDF) — rear vision mirror clause — cdn-nrspp-s3-aus.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/site
- VSI 26 — Roadworthiness requirements, Transport Victoria — transport.vic.gov.au/road-and-active-transport/registration-and-licensin
- Australian Design Rule 14/02 — Rear Vision Mirrors, Federal Register of Legislation — www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2006L02663
- Motor Vehicle Census, Australia — latest release, Australian Bureau of Statistics — www.abs.gov.au/statistics/industry/tourism-and-transport/motor-vehicle-c
- Maintenance and repairs — your rights, Consumer Affairs Victoria — www.consumer.vic.gov.au/consumers-and-businesses/cars/maintenance-and-re
- Wing mirror — history, design and regulation, Wikipedia — en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wing_mirror
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.
