You know how it is. Those simple little jobs always turn out to be rather more complicated than you first anticipated. Take my little problem with the Renault Clio the other day for example. The wind mirror had obviously come off worse for wear in some parking manoeuvre and wouldn’t clip back into position. Consequently the driver had a very good view of the passenger side door but had great difficulty in locating nearby cars.

As always with cars it seemed that the obvious solution was to replace it (the wing mirror, not the car). So Sally went down to the nearest Renault dealer to locate one. Yes, they had one in stock (now that was a surprise) and it only cost £55.61…plus VAT. Her shock at the cost was so theatrically performed (a part in the next cabaret beckons) that, when she asked if it was possible to get one cheaper, the man at the spare parts service counter took pity on her. “If you go to ‘Topmark Renault’ on the Airfield Industrial Estate in Long Marston, they may be able to locate one for you,” he said.

A visit to Long Marston duly took place. Sally drove down what can at best be described as a track and came across a pile of wrecked cars. On alighting from her vehicle she was confronted by two large vicious Alsatian dogs, which were sensing that dinner had arrived. However a stern call of “Down Turbo” (yes, honest) brought them to heel. A Clio of suitable age was located and its wing mirror, after some considerable effort, removed. It was well worth it as it only cost £25.

On Sunday afternoon, I was presented with the mirror and instructed to fit it. I removed the trim to expose the fixing screws. But my Philips screwdriver was no use and I didn’t seem to have the correct size Allen Key. Not to be defeated I went to see Andy Bystra. If any one in Aston Abbotts had the correct tool it must be Andy. We sorted through two boxes of Allen Keys, carefully measured them and decided that the best fit was the same size as the one I already had and that didn’t work. A visit to Halfords loomed, well at least they were still open.

I searched through socket sets and screwdrivers and my eyes alighted on a strange looking type of screwdriver that I had never seen before. The ‘Stardriver’ and sure enough it seemed to fit the rather odd screw I had brought with me. So I purchased the cheapest one I could find at the cost of £2.99. I drove home and removed the three fixing screws with my ‘Stardriver’ to reveal three recessed bolts. But I was on a winner now. My smallest socket set bit (10mm) fitted perfectly so I had the old mirror removed and the new one fitted in a jiffy.

Not one to throw away things that could come in useful, I decided to try to remove the mirror glass from the broken fitting. This proved to be quite difficult and, as I struggled with it, there was a sudden snap and the mirror clipped back to its usual position! ……….So, if anyone needs a new left hand wing mirror for a Renault Clio, vintage ‘95-’98, going cheap, they know where to come.

~ Nigel Palmer