Glass and mirrors are a category shaped less by wear and more by crime and stone chips. Side mirrors get stolen or clipped off, windows get broken in smash-and-grabs, and windscreens collect chips from gravel trucks on the N-roads. The good news is that donor cars almost always have intact glass somewhere, so supply is decent. The trick is knowing when used glass makes sense and when it doesn't.
When used makes sense, and when new wins
Side mirrors are the clearest case for buying used: a complete electric mirror from the agents can cost several thousand rand, and a used one is a fraction of that. Door glass, quarter glass and rear screens are also good used buys, because they're tempered glass: it's either intact or it's in a thousand pieces, with little in between. Windscreens are the exception. For common cars, new aftermarket windscreens are competitively priced fitted, and a used windscreen has to survive careful removal, transport and refitting of a large laminated panel. The saving often isn't worth the risk of it arriving cracked. Where used windscreens earn their place is on older or rarer models where new glass is discontinued or absurdly priced.
What's actually available
Mirrors for Polo, Vivo, Corolla, Hilux, Ranger, NP200 and Quantum are the fastest movers. Mirror theft is a fact of life in South African parking lots, and taxis lose mirrors to tight gaps daily. Door glass and rear screens for the same models are steady stock. Rear screens with working demister elements, and tailgate glass for hatchbacks and bakkie canopies, are worth specifically asking for.
What it costs
A basic manual mirror runs R150 to R600 used. Electric mirrors go for R500 to R1,500, and late-model units with indicators, folding motors or blind-spot sensors run R1,500 to R3,500, still well under new. Door glass runs R300 to R1,000 a pane, and rear screens R800 to R2,500 depending on the car and whether the demister works.
What to check before you buy
- **On mirrors, decide whether you need the glass, the assembly, or both.** Often only the mirror glass is cracked and the housing is fine, so replacement glass alone is much cheaper. If the whole unit was knocked off, you need the full assembly, and check the mounting base for cracks and the wiring plug for cut wires. - **Match the mirror's features exactly.** Heated, electric-fold, indicator, auto-dim: the same car shipped with several versions, and the plugs differ. Count the pins on your old plug and match them. Housing caps are usually colour-coded, so budget for a spray if the colour's wrong. - **On any glass, check the edges, not just the face.** Chips at the edge of a pane are where cracks start. Tempered glass with an edge chip can let go from a door slam. Run a fingernail around the perimeter. - **On rear screens, test the demister** or at least inspect the element lines for scratched-through breaks. Ask the seller to power it if the donor car still runs. - **Confirm the glass markings.** The etched logo on each pane shows the maker and standard. Door glass also differs between manual and electric-window cars on some models, since the regulator holes sit differently. - **On tinted or smash-and-grab-filmed glass**, know that old film usually can't be transferred cleanly. Price the pane as bare glass and plan to re-film it.
Transport is half the battle
More second-hand glass dies in transit than in fitment. If you're collecting a pane yourself, carry it on edge, padded, never flat. A rear screen laid flat on a bakkie bed rarely survives the first corrugation. When we source glass for you, we confirm with the yard how it will be packed before you pay.