Not only does a broken side mirror look terrible and lowers the value of your vehicle, it can also be dangerous if you’re not able to see cars to the side of you.
It’s important to get a broken side mirror repaired for your safety and the safety of all other drivers around you.
Vision Obstruction
Both of your side mirrors are in place as a safety feature allowing you to see traffic behind and on the sides of your vehicle while driving.
The job of side mirrors is to help you safely merge into traffic, switch lanes and watch what surrounding vehicles are doing. If one of the mirrors is broken or missing, it significantly reduces your ability to see traffic and what’s going on around you.
While side mirrors don’t eliminate those blind spots, you’d be surprised at how much you rely on them to see and watch traffic every time you’re on the road.
Traffic Violation
Depending on which state you’re driving in, it’s possible to get pulled over and issued a citation for damaged or missing side view mirror – especially on the drivers side.
Because it’s just that dangerous to drive without fully operational side mirrors, the police may pull you over and at best, warn you to get damaged side mirrors repaired.
Broken Glass
If your side mirror has even what looks like an insignificant crack, it not only prevents you from seeing properly but potentially, the glass could shatter completely.
All it takes is a hard slam of the vehicle door and you could find yourself with a lot of broken shards of glass. Cleaning up all the glass is bad enough, but at that point, you’re left without any use of the side mirror.
Vehicle Damage
With a broken or faulty side mirror that goes unrepaired, the side mirror housing may become damaged over time.
Once the housing becomes damaged, the side mirror may get stuck in one position and unable to move. It also means a more involved and costly repair for both the side mirror and housing.
Lowers Vehicle Value
Anything on a vehicle that is broken or not maintained automatically lowers its value.
A broken side mirror might reduce your vehicle’s trade-in value or sale price.
Conclusion
Repairing or replacing a damaged side mirror can significantly reduce your odds of being involved in a serious collision.
Call Downtown Collision in Santa Rosa today to repair a broken side mirror or any other damage that puts your driving safety at risk.