Mirror Guards Stolen (1 Viewer)

Jan 11, 2011
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Hi everyone
Having been a member for a year now thought its about time i made contact .
Friends of ours had mirror guards stolen off their van while parked on own driveway in a village location,have also heard of one person who had theres stolen while on a ferry.
We are about to change from a panel van to a Hobby low profile and have purchased a pair ready to fit when we take delivery.Has anyone stuck these on with Sikaflex or maybe this will cause more damage if someone tries to force them off .Any thoughts on this ?
ALI G
 

Abacist

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When I first heard about mirror guards being stolen I ripped mine off with ease, bought some new foam and then stuck them back on with Sikalfex all around the sides. Don't know about what damage might be caused if they tried to get them off now but they are on their for good I reckon!

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Abacist

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I am really stupid...

What is a "mirror guard"?

JJ :cool:

Take a look at the mirrors on my Fiat in this picture - they have mirror guards on them and an extra round reflector. Supposed to reduce the risk of getting your expensive mirrors broken in a clash.

View media item 11677
 
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DBK

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Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
Couldn't resist that. But I must confess, again, to being a bit sceptical. I am sure they work for a very slow speed impact but what happens if you hit another vehicle's wing mirrors at speed? Is all they do is keep your wing mirror in one bit as it goes bouncing down the road? Anyone got experience of these things? I don't mean fitting them, but actually whacking something?
 

Geo

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A very expensive plastic cover for placing over the original plastic mirror back, in the hope and belief that it will prevent damage to your mirror casing in the event of a collision or contact with an immovable object
In reality it may prevent scratching to the said mirror back to which it is atatched Circa £60 a pair thats why there nicked
PS i would buy them for there appearance rather that any protective function

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Movinon

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They look like Milenco mirror protectors (£50-£60) not Mirrorguards at £140. Neither product protects your mirror (£250-£350) from anything other than small scratches to the plastic surround. Mirrorguard are particularly a con given the outrageous claims of full protection on their website. At any reasonable speed, say above 10mph, if your mirror is hit by another vehicle or you hit a tree at the side of the road (a more likely scenario I reckon) then the force can smash your mirror to bits against the side of the van and the mirror protectors will not stop this. It is also possible that you can smash the indicator part (£25) without damaging the rest of the mirror as it sticks out beyond the protector.

To protect the mirror from such a scenario a cushion is needed between the mirror and the side of the van to soften the effect of hitting the van. The cheaper Milenco product does attach so that it is slightly proud of the mirror glass, the Mirrorguard product doesn't even offer that much.
 
OP
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ALI G
Jan 11, 2011
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Take a look at the mirrors on my Fiat in this picture - they have mirror guards on them and an extra round reflector. Supposed to reduce the risk of getting your expensive mirrors broken in a clash.

View media item 11677
When I first heard about mirror guards being stolen I ripped mine off with ease, bought some new foam and then stuck them back on with Sikalfex all around the sides. Don't know about what damage might be caused if they tried to get them off now but they are on their for good I reckon!

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OP
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ALI G
Jan 11, 2011
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As sikaflex is flexible it might act as a damper and reduce the risk of damage
 

Gorse Hill

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I have the mirror guards and luckily todate not had to test them, but prior to buying them did some research on line and found a number of post where people had been in a collision ( 30/40 mph) and found them to work
Hopefully I never get to find out if there shit
 

Movinon

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I had a Mirrorguard. I hit a branch sticking out at the side of the road- a stationary object - when travelling at less than 40mph. The Mirrorguard failed utterly to protect the mirror which was smashed to bits. It doesn't work.

If you are travelling at 30-40mph and your mirror is hit by another vehicle also travelling at the same speed you have a combined speed of 60-80mph. Mirrorguard claim that you will be protected in these circumstances. It's a lie. Mirrorguard is a ludicrously overpriced product which offers little except a false sense of security.

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Jim

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I had a Mirrorguard. I hit a branch sticking out at the side of the road- a stationary object - when travelling at less than 40mph. The Mirrorguard failed utterly to protect the mirror which was smashed to bits. It doesn't work.

If you are travelling at 30-40mph and your mirror is hit by another vehicle also travelling at the same speed you have a combined speed of 60-80mph. Mirrorguard claim that you will be protected in these circumstances. It's a lie. Mirrorguard is a ludicrously overpriced product which offers little except a false sense of security.

Hi Movinon. I'm in the middle of a review comparing and contrasting Mirrorguard and the New Milenco product. I have a set of each on my desk right now. I'd be interested to see the 30mph claim, as that was not claimed to me when I asked for literature. Clearly they are designed to protect from low speed knocks and scrapes when passing. My initial feelings are that he Mirroguard will do exactly that and the Millenco... well you'll have to wait for the review. :eek:

As for 30 or 40mph closing collisions. Most motorhomes would not survive the impact, let alone the glass!
 

Movinon

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Go to their website. They claim that their product offers "Full protection" and that by using it you will experience "No costly repair". It's there on their homepage. They do not suggest any limitations of use, no speed limit restrictions or any other qualifications. So my statement is valid, backed up by my own experience. And I have the Milenco product also now, as I was left with one white (Mirrorguarded) wing mirror and one black replacement wing mirror. At least the Milenco product was reasonably priced.

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Inthezone

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I Have them on my van because she said they look good and make the mirrors better to look at!!

Works for me(y)
 

Jim

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I did look and I can't see the outrageous claims you mention. Maybe you can point me to them.

I can understand your frustration, but for me, I would not expect any product to save a mirror when hitting an immovable object at over 30mph.

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Movinon

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So the consumer cannot rely on claims made by a manufacturer in your opinion - they must use their own judgement and expertise? It's always caveat emptor and claiming that something offers full protection when it doesn't is OK? It doesn't seem to me that the law would agree with you or why have any consumer protection legislation at all.
 
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I had my offside mirror broken by an oncoming motorhome deciding to pull out past a parked car. The indicator lens was smashed and the mirror casing badly cracked but the mirrors were not broken. The cheapest repair was to fit a pair of mirrorguards rather than a complete replacement wing mirror. I am now very wary of oncoming white vans, and motorhomes with big sticky out wing mirrors.:(
Not had a chance to test the mirrorguards and don't particularly want to.:D
 

Movinon

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I did look and I can't see the outrageous claims you mention. Maybe you can point me to them.

I can understand your frustration, but for me, I would not expect any product to save a mirror when hitting an immovable object at over 30mph.
Whilst we're on this lets consider what you have just said. You wouldn't expect the Mirrorguard product to offer protection if you are travelling at more than 15mph and you are hit by a vehicle coming the other way at no more than 15mph. That's a cumulative 30mph. So their product should only be expected to protect you at slow carpark speeds then. If you're in real world conditions out on the open road then no chance, but if you're in Tesco's carpark then you might be OK. But Mirrorguard don't say "full protection in supermarket carparks" do they. Based on your view perhaps they should.

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Jim

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So the consumer cannot rely on claims made by a manufacturer in your opinion -

Of course they can. I just asked you to point out to me the outrageous claims made by this manufacturer and you haven't. If they are there I'd like to mention them in my review.

Whilst we're on this lets consider what you have just said. You wouldn't expect the Mirrorguard product to offer protection if you are travelling at more than 15mph and you are hit by a vehicle coming the other way at no more than 15mph. That's a cumulative 30mph. So their product should only be expected to protect you at slow carpark speeds then. If you're in real world conditions out on the open road then no chance, but if you're in Tesco's carpark then you might be OK. But Mirrorguard don't say "full protection in supermarket carparks" do they. Based on your view perhaps they should.

Whether its 30mph closing speed or 30mph against something stationary I wouldn't expect anything but an aircraft black box to save piece of glass and even then it probably wouldn't :) The MirrorGuards are substantial, and the protective cushioning between it and the mirror housing would definitely offer additional protection but whether that is enough at 30 or 40mph I doubt it. Minimising the damage is I expect the best you could hope for.
 

DBK

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Bit short of testimonials on the mirrorguard site. There are only three and one of those is just about how pretty they are and the other two about impacts but are 3 years old. I am sure they offer some protection but they are pricey. They need to do some proper crash tests and put the videos on their website to be convincing.
 
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Jim, where is this review going to be published?

Would be very interested as we have looked at the MirrorGuard at various Rallies, but thought 120 was a bit much for what it was. Did not realise that Milenco did a similar thing, at half the price.

When this happened to me in an old Isuzu Trooper, it was passing on a narrow lane I was almost stationary as I could see there was a danger, the oncoming van was not over far enough did not stop and clipped my mirror casing , the mirror itself cracked and fell out, van carried on not stopping just hope his was smashed as well.

Only on topic point I would add would be that if you tried sticking the mirrorguard on more securely this would detract from the cushioning effect.

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Jim - The 'full protection' claim is in the second column of ticked boxes on the home page.

Unfortunately nowhere on the website (that I can find) does it specify what the full protection relates to, and without such information is pretty meaningless, which is one of the many reasons that I wouldn't buy them.

I suppose they would serve to cover up pre existing mirror casing damage where the rest of the mirror glass/electrics are still functioning.
 
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Jim

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Bit short of testimonials on the mirrorguard site. There are only three and one of those is just about how pretty they are and the other two about impacts but are 3 years old. I am sure they offer some protection but they are pricey. They need to do some proper crash tests and put the videos on their website to be convincing.

That would be good (y)

Jim, where is this review going to be published?

Would be very interested as we have looked at the MirrorGuard at various Rallies, but thought 120 was a bit much for what it was. Did not realise that Milenco did a similar thing, at half the price.
.

If we said that the Mirrorguard were priced reasonably (I've no idea if they are. I know from experience that initial production costs for things like this are horrendous and this investment can only be recouped through sales and of course I've no idea what they cost or what profit margins are involved) Then IMO a quality comparative price for the Milenco would be around £12. My daughter can stand on the Mirrorguard without it losing its shape, the Milenco product in contrast is floppy. I'd guess they'd both cover existing damage and do it well but the Mirrorguard would stand a much better chance at protecting your mirror from low impact knocks.

Jim - The 'full protection' claim is in the second column of ticked boxes on the home page.

Unfortunately nowhere on the website (that I can find) does it specify what the full protection relates to, and without such information is pretty meaningless, which is one of the many reasons that I wouln't buy them.

I suppose they would serve to cover up pre existing mirror casing damage where the rest of the mirror glass/electrics are still functioning.

Yes the full protection claim is vague I agree, it could mean anything.

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Movinon

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It's not just about strength though. Here's another point in the comparison of the two products. The Mirrorguard leaves the front of the mirror proud of the cover, so it's the first thing to hit the side of the van where the impact damage is done. The Milenco fits over the side and is proud of the front. This offers an extra (unquantifiable) degree of protection. There is also the matter of theft. The screw fitting of the Milenco cover can be superglued in place, making it hard to steal without damaging it. I added extra cushioning inside the Milenco cover and extra cushioning to the front as the Milenco wraparound side makes a good base for this.
 
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mentaliss

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They look like Milenco mirror protectors (£50-£60) not Mirrorguards at £140. Neither product protects your mirror (£250-£350) from anything other than small scratches to the plastic surround. Mirrorguard are particularly a con given the outrageous claims of full protection on their website. At any reasonable speed, say above 10mph, if your mirror is hit by another vehicle or you hit a tree at the side of the road (a more likely scenario I reckon) then the force can smash your mirror to bits against the side of the van and the mirror protectors will not stop this. It is also possible that you can smash the indicator part (£25) without damaging the rest of the mirror as it sticks out beyond the protector.

To protect the mirror from such a scenario a cushion is needed between the mirror and the side of the van to soften the effect of hitting the van. The cheaper Milenco product does attach so that it is slightly proud of the mirror glass, the Mirrorguard product doesn't even offer that much.
________________________________________________________
Sorry your wrong , my mirror guard did protect our mirror (N/S) 8-10 mph impact, only a hairline crack in the mirror guard which I fixed with plastic padding...unfortunately demolished the other persons Transit mirror...yes I did offer to pay for it !!!!
 
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It's just a fancy bit of kit, designed with your Fears in mind "will it won't it! Maybe! could this happen!" in mind!
Ever thought about BULL BARS!
Will it wont it , maybe, could it happen?????
Are they really needed? no!
It's just an extra precaution THEY WANT YOU TO THINK YOU NEED!

Think on! You wear underpants? Extra protection??DO YOU REALLY NEED IT ????? Going to wear a nappy then eh?

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