Help! The handlebar of an errant moped punched a hole in the clear plastic cover of my driver's side tail light on my '08 Mini S. Of course, you can't just replace the clear plastic; the entire assembly needs to be replaced, my dealer tells me. My deductible is too high for it to make sense to file an insurance claim, so I'd like to replace the assembly myself. Anyone done this job before? Any instructions out there or advice? I'm assuming it's pretty straightforward, but I'm also worried there are hidden issues lurking. Any help would be greatly appreciated! -Aaron.

 

There are three torx that hold the taillight onto the body of the car but before you get to those you need to remove the chrome trim ring. To remove the chrome (plastic) trim ring, if you look carefully in between the chrome trim and the body of the car you will see the actual slots where the tabs that hold the trim ring on push into. Take a piece of electrical tape and put it over the tip of a skinny flat head screwdriver. This keeps from chipping the paint and the plastichrome. Place the screwdriver between two of the slots (top center of the trim is the first on I would do) then CAREFULLY start prying. You will hear a click when it starts to pop off. Do the same all the way around. After that's off there are three torx screws that hold the taillight to the body of the car. You can get to the torx through the cutouts in the boot. After the torx are off, there is still a little bit of wiggling to do to get the tailling out. JUST BE PATIENT and remember, these things are made of plastic and will break if you rush or try to force it.

Hope this helps

 

You can usually find OEM replacements on ebay for around 60 or 70 bucks. I don't know what the dealer would charge, but I would guess a lot more than that.

 

VERY, very helpful. Many thanks!!!

 

Yes, the dealer charges a lot more. With tax in New York, it's about $173, not including the labor to install the new assembly, of course. That's another $100, at least.