1998 C280 Rear View Mirror- One-of-a-kind, Rare Part?

[agplate]

Hello,

While replacing the windshield of my '98 C280, the tech broke the black plastic surround of the rear view mirror, leaving me to buy a whole new mirror complete. While searching for the part, Mercedes says that the '98 C280 mirror is a one off and there's only one in the United States currently (and $350). I also have a '98 C230 with what appears to be the same mirror. Would anybody know more about this and if this is in fact such a rare and exclusive part? Seems very odd to me. Thank you in advance!

[mpolli]

If you think that is bad, price out the side view mirror! That is even worse! Anyway, I cannot speak authoritatively but my opinion is this: The 1998 C230 and 1998 C280 should use the same mirror. I would think that the plastic part at least should be the same for 1998 through 2000. I think the trouble has more to do with the guts of it since starting in 1998 they used CAN bus and I think there is a circuit board in the base of it. There are lots on eBay. You just need to find the right color. Do not trust the listers as far as what years the part fits, since there is a lot of confusion on the C class between 96 and 00. Make sure it looks right in the photo. Also there are lots of junk yards that might have one. You can search on www.auto-part.com. Maybe about 1 out of 10 places will answer the phone but I found a good place in MA once. As I recall it was this place: http://www.usejack.com/about_us.php Good luck.