'99 Ovtavia TDi....stone through the driver's side headlight cover....plastic all cracked, but lamps themselves OK.

Quick trip to local dealer "yes, we can replace the cover...." (note that phrase..."the cover")

A 90 minute wait later...185 quid. "New cover? No, all bonded together, we have to replace the entire headlight unit".

Is this legit, or have I got handles sprouting from the side of my head? I know there are gazillions of examples of having to replace massive bits when only tiny bits fail "because it's all one unit", but is this one of them?

Convince me I wasn't ripped-off and I'll walk around town in a "I'm a moaning old git" sandwich-board.

Are you refering to a separate cover that goes over the glass headlamp. The cover that simply clips over the headlamp itself.

Think he means the plastic lens, these are bonded on.

£185? this is what scrap yards r for...

did they not confim price with you b 4 they started job? :confused:

Headlamps are sealed units, they all come as one.

£185 sounds reasonable considering they have to drop the bumper off to replace it.

Headlamps are sealed units, they all come as one.

£185 sounds reasonable considering they have to drop the bumper off to replace it.

Didn't need to drop it on the MK I as far as I was aware... Either way i do believe they are all sealed units.

Unfortunately they're all in one units so it's worth investing in some plastic clip on covers to prevent this problem in future

Chris

Just thinking the older ones are not the clear lense plastic ones, but focal lenses from glass IIRC..

In this case, yes some covers would be a good idea.

Thanks for the replies. It is a Mk1, but they did have to drop the bumber (well, "shift it to one side" is what they said).

OK, the consensus seems to be that I wasn't ripped off. And that I could buy protective covers.

Looks like I better make myself a sandwich board!