Yeedercar · Foshan, Guangdong · Bench notes
A car mirror is the part of the car that gets hit and never gets fixed. The housing survives, the cover takes the scuff, and you look at that scuff from the driver’s seat for the next four years. A carbon cover is the cheapest way to stop looking at it — 122 of them for 21 makes, $95 to $700.
Part one
Only the cover changes
The cover is the painted shell clipped over the outside of the mirror. That is the one part we make. The glass, the motor, the heater and the lane-assist camera all stay exactly as they were, and if you keep the originals the car goes back to standard the day you sell it.
There is nothing to feel from the driver’s seat. What you are buying is a surface that still looks right after four summers outside — black plastic goes chalky, and no polish brings it back.
| The factory cover | Our carbon cover | |
|---|---|---|
| Four summers outside | Chalky and water-spotted | Holds its colour; the clear coat is what ages, and it can be redone |
| Fitting | Clips onto the housing | Tapes over it, fifteen minutes a side, no tools |
| What it costs | Whatever the dealer wants | $95 to $700, made after you order |
Part two
Two things decide if a pair fits
Lane assist. A blind-spot camera in the mirror means the housing has a cut-out, and a cap shaped for the plain housing sits wrong over it. The Audi A3, TT and Q8 each come as two different parts.
The build year. A facelift changes the housing while the body stays the same. The Golf ran through five different mirror housings from the Mk4 to the Mk8, and each takes its own set — a late Mk7 and an early Mk7.5 are not the same mirror.
Part three
Six of the 122 on the rack
Audi A6 / A7 C8$95
Audi TT 8S$250
BMW G20 / G22$95
Golf 8 GTI$300
Land Rover Defender$115
Lamborghini Urus$700
The $700 cap and the $95 cap come off the same bench. What changes is the size of the mould and how many of them sell.
All our own photography, nothing a supplier render. See all 122 car mirror caps →