Paying for damage to car- my fault?

Even if you just contact your insurer to ask advice they may load your premium next time. I rang our home insurance to seek advice, 4 years later when changing provider they wanted to load my premium as by asking for advice it was suggested that I might make a claim!

Wing mirrors are expensive to have fitted because of the labour costs, the mirror itself is probably only half that - though it can cost up to over £1000 for mirrors to be fitted to the top of the range cars

i would go through my insurance company every time.
and, when you renew, ask if you've got protected no claims bonus - it costs just a little bit extra but it's worth it.

Sorry this has happened to you and good on you for doing the right thing. I would certainly ask for more quotes, but as MOMB says, it is the electronics that make it expensive - our latest car has the sort of sensors that J52 refers to. Heaven only knows how much they would cost to replace. I hope I never have to find out, but my record is not good!

Have you contacted your insurance company to ask for advice?

I know when I knocked off our wing mirror a couple of years ago (bad reverse driving out of our garage!!) it cost us £180. It was linked to the electric system in the car so was more expensive to replace.

We have no claims protection with our insurance so as J52 says I'd check that out first.

£500 does seem rather excessive and could well be linked to the dealership rather than a local garage. Hope you find the cheapest and easiest way. xx

I would ask him to get two or three written quotes and even maybe contact a garage yourself and give the car registration - they can look them up on a computer now and find out all the details they need for parts etc.
I wish you luck with it all and a not too large a bill!

I'd always go through my insurance, that's what it's for. There are scammers and chancers out there and the insurance protects you from them. Check you policy you may have protected bonus and won't lose your NCB. If you don't, for a small claim, you don't usually lose all the bonus.
Anyway, I'd ask for 3 quotes to makes sure they are all similar. Many wing mirrors are linked to the electronic system of the car so that they heat up, have indicator lights, move and in some cases alert you to close overtaking cars. So they would be expensive to replace.

Was it a posh car? Our wing mirror unit cost about £250 on a VW golf two years ago. The electrics make it expensive. Bad luck.