Motor Vehicle Maintenance & Repair Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for mechanics and DIY enthusiast owners of cars, trucks, and motorcycles. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
I have cloudy light housings from lots of miles on my car (2003 325i with glass housings). Has anyone who has ever had to replace any lighting housing, front or rear, knows how much they cost?
Where is the best place to find these kind of parts online and cheaply?
The cheapest option would be to polish the current light housings. You can get a kit at Wal-Mart or at any auto parts store that will allow you to turn foggy (but in otherwise good condition) headlights into much, much clearer lenses. The kits cost $15 to $20, and basically require you to use your drill, some paste, and possibly some water to wet sand the plastic lenses. You'll probably have to polish them twice with a coarse and fine grit paste, but two lenses shouldn't take more that 15 minutes. Quick, easy, and cheap!
Ebay can be a great source for parts inexpensively. Of course, it can also be a source of questionable products and sellers, so if you are unfamiliar with it, you mean want to learn how the feedback system works and how to avoid common scams.
For example: I've had very good luck over the years, with only a few "clinkers". I have been able to get a set of 4 OEM rims for an old car for $100, where the dealer wanted $500 each. Of the 4, 2 were usable. On the other hand, I only really needed one. I've also found a variety of other parts at good prices.
You might also want to check places like Rock Auto - they have the front lights for my car, for example, for about $130 each - much better than the $400 the dealer wants.
