Group Buy: Drivers Side Heated Mirrors

Yes, They have the correct P/N PPG mirror # B471186 for $24.05 plus shipping.
Seems to be an excellent price.
They also have listed some used OEM mirror assemblies for over $100.00.
Need to call to confirm if they are heated and tinted. Description is vague.
888-251-1209
Good find Burt and thanks Derek for bringing this topic up. Did not know we had options other than used unobtanium before.

I've already received an email from this company offering a discounted shipping fee for the PPG mirror.
I didn't solicit it. I only filled out my info so as to determine the total cost of the mirror with shipping then exited the site without putting any credit card info in..
A couple of minutes later i got the email offering a discount.
Total price with shipping to me is $31.49.
If only I had a working drivers side heated mirror to put on the car.!!!!!

I have found mirror's with heat grids on EBay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/SMALL-BURCO-REDI-HEAT-UNIVERSAL-MIRROR-GLASS-HEAT-GRID_W0QQitemZ360182524836QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item53dc8d2ba4&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14.l1262

The above is the small heat grid and the same vendor has mirrors also.
Heat grid (universal fit) is only $24.99 and mirror (Custom fit for Riv) is less than $20.00.
I think I'll order up one of each and be the test mule on this one.

From the heated mirror page go back to "search results" and enter Riviera Mirror and find 95-99 mirror on that page.
I am going to try and talk to someone there tomorrow and find out how the heating element will work with one of their mirrors. It also mentions that the heating element can be cut to fit. Not quite sure how you can cut an electric heating element without it frying itself. Hopefully it will become more clear after I talk to someone. They also sell hubcaps so anyone needing a center cap might want to inquire about that also.
I just want to be sure I can sandwich a heating element in between the existing broken mirror and a new mirror from them. Wiring shouldn't be an issue as we already have the 2 wires right where we need them.
Shipping is Free so that makes this a very affordable repair.
This possibly could be the solution to our problem for less than $50.00.!!!!!!!
Another question i have that is not clear to me is: Does the heated grid come with glass / mirror. The pictures on the site are a bit confusing. If they come with glass to fit then this repair is cheaper still.

Hmph. I received the mirror yesterday. It is a simple piece of mirror plate with some stick-on pads. Why it is listed separately for the electrochromatic tinting is a mystery to me, it can only be to jack the price for suckers IMO. It has no wires and does not tint.

I'm returning this one as it does nothing for me.

sorry to hear your disappointment derek, but thanks for being the tester of mirrors!

I found my broken OEM heated mirrors and decided to try the least expensive of the Place Over mirrors that i could find. My goal is to just say the heck with the electrochromatic part of the mirror and just use a known good heated mirror, which i have two of.
Anyway i ordered from a company that sells on Ebay Motors for $20.00 shipped. It arrived today and sounds exactly like what Derek got.
I'll keep mine for $20.00 and stick over the heated mirror and see how it works this winter.
The Ebay seller is hubcaps_plus, it's a Buy It Now ad with multiples for sale.
They also sell a heating grid with a two wire hook up that looks like it would work with our mirror housings just fine. So if you have both a broken tint and the heater inop you can get both of those fixed by stacking these components on top of each other, maybe with some success. The heating elements are inexpensive also.
I think for the money it will be worth it if the heat will transfer from old mirror through to the new. We will see.
The last used mirror I bought from Morad's was $80.00 and i don't feel like paying that again and I can live without the Auto-Dimming feature.

I bought one from these guys:
http://market.autopartsfair.com/buick-exterior_parts/riviera-1999-mirrors-b471186.html
I think it was $31.49 shipped.

Installation was a breeze. It took longer to get it out of the box than it did to install it. Its just a very thin piece of mirror that is very precisely cut to the exact measurements as the original so that it fits neatly inside the "gasket"

If the rubber adhesive pads that are supplied with the mirror are used I doubt the heat transfer will be sufficient to melt any ice but if you were to use some glue to attach the mirror then it would probably work just fine.

The wife gave the repair two thumbs up, she was just concerned with the ugliness of the discolored mirror glass that is now hid behind the new mirror glass.

Bert

yeah, that's exactly the piece I bought. I suppose some glue might work... I'll have to give that some though. It would be nice to fix it the 'right' way, though.

Either way, I'm returning this so I can buy it elsewhere at a much cheaper price. And don't bother with the ones that say they are for "electrochromatic tinting", because that's completely irrelevant other than a price markup.

Yes, i was looking at those mounting pads and figuring I would find some appropriate adhesive that will glue glass to glass.
Maybe some of that rear view mirror adhesive, IDK
Maybe Albert has some ideas on this. He's the resident expert on chemicals and such.
And BTW, the mirror I bought also said it was electrochromatic, but for much less money. $20.00 shipped and cut to fit precisely is about as cheap as your going to get. Even if you went to a local glass place to have a piece of mirror glass cut to fit would probably be more $$. This one carry's a lifetime guarantee for what ever that's worth.

Go To www.Hubcapsplus.com and buy right from the on line store.
Price is 19.99 with free shipping
They also have replacement mirror's with the heating elements as well for direct fit or at least the manufacturer of the mirrors; Burco Inc makes them. Trying to find out if this vendor sells them.
www.brokencarmirror.com or 800-253-2593 for the manufacturer.

Yep, I know I can get them cheaper, that's for sure. I'm still going to pursue getting them 'the right way' though. I'll see how far I can get.

I'm guessing a thin glue backing will allow the heat transfer to work, maybe not as well, but it should still work, and the only thing lost is the tinting. But I'd love to see what it would cost to get it done right. It's one of those cool features that's just cool when it works. How much is that worth? Not sure, but I'll find out how much it will cost first...

Derek,
What exactly do you mean when you say get them done right.
An exact replacement with the Auto Dimming feature and Heated.
I would like to find replacements new as well. But for now this "Place Over" mirror will do for $20.00.
If you need any help researching this let me know or steer me in some direction and I'll follow up on it.

Yes rick, I'm talking about an exact replacement. That's why I am trying to find a manufacturer.

This company, Burco,Inc is a US manufacturer and makes exact replacement mirrors for a shit load of cars.
They make them plain, just place over (what i bought) they also have them with built in heater grids P/N with and H on the end.
"HA" = Heat Grid with with electrical terminals encased as an assembly. Black plastic edge.
"HSEA" = Heat Grid, terminals, built in turn signals and is encased in an assembly with black plastic edge.
"HRSG" = Heat grid, terminals and a motor mount encased in an assembly.
"HS" = Heat grid, terminals and built in turn signal.
The only problem is they don't currently make one of the "optioned" mirrors for the Riviera but they are capable .
It might be worth pursuing this company as they are based in the US and supposedly make everything here in the US (mine is etched with "Made in the US") and are familiar with making all these mirrors for a lot of vehicles to match what came from the OEM.
The P/N for our car is #2864. Then we just need them to get interested in making this mirror with the suffix's we want.
I personally would like to add the turn signal chevron's to the existing options our car came with. But I guess we should start with the necessities. As opposed to the niceties.

I already chunked the box but it said it was "electrochromic" and it was made by Burco even though the part listing said PPG.(see below)

Description: MIRROR GLASS, DRIVER SIDE
7-1/16 in. x 3-3/8 in. diagonally; Electrochromic fit over type; A high quality mirror glass.
Fits: 1999 Buick Riviera
1998 Buick Riviera
1997 Buick Riviera
1996 Buick Riviera
1995 Buick Riviera
Fit Notes: Base: 6Cyl 3.8L;
FITS DRIVER SIDE, 7-1/16 X 3-3/8
Brand: PPG Auto Glass
Part Number: B471186

Retail Price: $30.06
Discount Price: $24.05

That is evidently just semantics they are using to define that it is the correct size for the "electrochromic" type mirror as opposed to a regular mirror.

Although I did not use a thermometer to verify my findings I tested it with my hand the other day and could not really feel much heat transfer at all.
Another reason to use glue to attach the part instead of the adhesive pads is that the thickness of the pads causes the replacement glass to protrude ever so slightly past the "gasket".

But I must reiterate at this point it looks just fine. My wife is very pleased with the repair. Thanks again to deekster_caddy for starting this thread!

Bert

Sounds good, thanks RIck I'll try to contact them.

Mine is packaged direct from Burco. That's how i got their website, from the packaging.
I wonder if they are THE manufacturer for the OEM's ?

Anyone ordering from them off their site is warned to look for another P/N that is listed for our car but has different dimensions. I don't know what that fit's but the dimensions are completely different.
If you are going to order just the basic "Place Over" mirror replacement it is Burco P/N 2864 or better yet wait for a while and see if Derek can get the them to mfg a fully optioned mirror for us. The larger the order the better the chance that they will do it.

Anyone have a recommendation on what type of glue to use that would be best for heat transfer? Some type of contact cement? If it has adhesive pads for mounting, I would imagine they are not removable as doing so may peel the silver off the back thereby ruining the new mirror. Any thoughts on that?

The new mirror glass doesn't have the adhesive pads installed yet. You get to apply them. So you can glue the mirror without any worry about removing these pads.
They make it easy for you to do what you wish with it.

Rickw wrote:

The new mirror glass doesn't have the adhesive pads installed yet. You get to apply them. So you can glue the mirror without any worry about removing these pads.
They make it easy for you to do what you wish with it.

That's good. Any recommendations on glue?

dont use contact cement. it will turn hard over time with the heat feature. and the mirror will fall off. use a 2 part clear epoxy. u dont have to smear it on. just a couple nice size dollops around the back ...

robotennis61 wrote:

dont use contact cement. it will turn hard over time with the heat feature. and the mirror will fall off. use a 2 part clear epoxy. u dont have to smear it on. just a couple nice size dollops around the back ...

Thank You.

no prob. when you go buy the epoxy make sure the epoxy is elastic when dry as opposed to rock hard. its an epoxy made for glass.the expansion and contraction of the glass and the surrounding components requires this.

How does this kind of epoxy compare to rearview mirror adhesive, which I think is kind of like superglue...