Changing/replacing Golf MK4 door mirror - perleman
Thought I'd knowledge share on this to give the benefit of my struggles...

Had to change a door mirror, VW wanted £280 for parts & labour which seemed a bit steep as it represents 4% of the value of the car! So I bought a cheap non OEM part on Ebay for £30 and got the local dent van man to spray it for me for £30.

To get at it you have to remove the inner door card but really quite easy to do: prise off the plastic trim behind the grab handle on the door (where the electric window controlls are), remove electric window controlls and behind this are 3 screws -drove me mad trying to find these! THere are also 3 screws right at the bottom of the door and on inside the door-jam at the top. Once removed, lift the door skin off gently. There is one more plastic piece to remove (very obvious) before you can remove the massive bolt holding the wing mirror on and it's a simple swap from there. Remember to plug in the electric contacts for the heated elements directly into the mirror. Also note that when you replace the door you have to get the pop-up lock bit through the hole in the door - do not try to test it works with the door open as after 20 mins of frustration I remembered that the door doesn't lock unless it's closed! Ridiculous.

I'm just writting this in the hope that someone else reads it and decides to say 'no' to the ridiculous premiums that dealerships try to charge the public for basic work. It's a bit of a fiddle but really not that hard, takes about 40 mins and saved me £200.
Changing/replacing Golf MK4 door mirror - sydney the oz

Nearly 4 years has past since perleman post the info above, but shows the value of such info - it has saved us hours on a cold November afternoon. Thanks perleman.

Changing/replacing Golf MK4 door mirror - npcobbler

Excellent instuctions. Saved me £200 as well. For anyone with a small tool kit like myself - you will need a 150mm x T40 Start Screw Driver to get the main wing mirror bolt off.