[Colmsport]

Hit a crow today at about 55mph on an A road, frustratingly doing a good deed for someone.

Thought I’d gotten away with any damage but on closer inspection the headlight lens for the passenger headlight is cracked. Really gutted.

Just had a look on eBay & surprised at the cost of them second hand. My lights were mint, not a single mark ‘pre crow’ so am reluctant to risk a scratched / chipped / pitted second hand unit.

Any ideas where best to buy? Anything I need to look out for when installing a new unit? Do they need aligning afterwards etc?

Any advice gratefully received…

It’s a 2015 LCI in case that makes a difference.

Cheers.

[Abzynthe]

You could always try replacing the lense.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/145530667...iLUpqDX4hJkw32

[Leeg1633]

Seen these guys on Instagram do alot of lens replacements but they are London based, so you may need to remove and post

https://homeofheadlights.co.uk/?fbcl...IQhsHHAeGPInho

[Colmsport]

Originally Posted by Abzynthe

You could always try replacing the lense.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/145530667...iLUpqDX4hJkw32

Originally Posted by Leeg1633

Seen these guys on Instagram do alot of lens replacements but they are London based, so you may need to remove and post

https://homeofheadlights.co.uk/?fbcl...IQhsHHAeGPInho

Thanks Chaps.

I’ve looked at a few YouTube vids regarding the lens replacement & if I were to go this way I’d have to get someone involved who knows what they’re doing, I wouldn’t feel too confident in doing it myself to be honest.

I’m a bit worried about potential issues further down the line with just getting the lens replaced, such as water ingress / discolouration etc.

But equally, if I were to source a second hand headlamp then I wouldn’t know if it’s had a replacement lens anyway…

This company also do lens replacment & seem to have good reviews https://www.keepyourcarsafe.co.uk/ , would be good to have some feedback from someone who has first hand experience.

[YODI]

save the part number in an ebay search, when one comes up you will know.

Also, often BMW opt in to the ebay sales of up to 20% so could get a saving that way

[TurboWeasel]

Yes the lights need coding etc.

The options are used, new genuine or Hella aftermarket. Only the BMW supplied units have "BMW LED" written on them.

I had a non adaptive LED one replaced last year and the bodyshop said it was around £1500 from the stealer.

Obviously the new headlight looks noticeably brighter/clearer than the 8 year old one on the other side, which is something to bear in mind.

It is annoying having our cars damaged by nature though. A pheasant took out one of my kidney grilles a few months back.

[Colmsport]

Bit of an update for anyone interested…

BMW quoted £1724 for a new bare headlamp unit I really can’t understand how they can arrive at that price, it’s outrageous!

EBay a bit of a minefield in terms of condition & prices, plus I wasn’t overly optimistic about receiving a headlamp that didn’t look like it had been through a cement mixer.

I’ve booked it in to a place called KYCS, who are going to fit a new headlamp lens. They do a lot of custom work on BMW headlamps so am sure they will do a decent job. Having it repaired will ensure that I don’t have to have any coding done etc.

Removing the headlight was a complete pain in the arse though, took me over 2 hours to remove the 2 bolts on the underside of the headlight - there’s some kind of captive nut assembly, with difficult access & it just kept spinning when 8 was trying to undo it, didn’t help that BMW thought wise to use thread lock either.

I’ll report back when the work is done, in case anyone else has a similar issue, state of our roads it’s surprising that this isn’t more common!