So, I went to wash the wife's car yesterday, and (as always) struggled with unscrewing the roof antenna from its base. This time, however, the thing broke.
Now I'm thinking, is this something I can replace myself? How do I even get the broken antenna base off the roof (it must be fastened from/to the inside)?
FYI, the image below shows the location of the antenna base between the windshield and roof window.
Depending on how skillful you are with a drill, you may be able to drill a hole down the centre of the snapped off ariel that remains stuck in the base. Then you can use something like a stud extractor to remove it.
A stud extractor is essentially a reverse-threaded self tapping screw so as you turn it in an anti-clockwise direction it first screws into the hole you have drilled. It then "bites" and continuing to turn it removed the snapped of piece from the original threads.
The one risk you have here is that if you slip with the drill you may damage the paintwork on the roof of the car. I would advise using something like a cloth with a piece of wooden board resting on the roof to mitigate against this. If you inadvertently drill the antenna base at the wrong angle or drill too far, you will have to replace this part which is what you are looking at doing anyway so trying to extract the snapped off piece may be worthwhile provided the cost of a stud extractor kit is less than the replacement part plus your time to fit it.
Based on @Paulster2's comment it was an easy decision: let the pros handle it. It ended up costing far less than me wrecking the car and then letting the pros handle it...
