Not necessarily. It doesn’t have to be.
I would recommend reaching out to Bob @ Bob’s Automotive. I’ve worked with him for years and mirrors are all he does. He has just about all of them available.
He has an eBay store, but I strongly suggest that you contact him by email (
rearviewmirrors@csinet.net) and mention my screen name and you’ll get a better price than anything you would find searching on your own (he and his company are not affiliated with me, I do not profit from his sales, and I don’t get anything free or steeply discounted). The only reason you’d want to mention me is so he knows what type of wiring harness you have.
If you like the Rostra, Subaru, or any other mirror, just mention it and he’ll have it pinned to our connector for easy PNP.
The Rostra mirror is $119 shipped — the last time I checked.
The Subaru mirror with the red compass is $149 shipped — last time I checked.
The mirror that I have GENK85A, which is $299, but can be found for around $240. It’s quite a bit more than the other two.
Bob will tell you a lot of useful information in his email exchanges and would probably start by him asking your familiarity with what you’re buying. If he knows you plan on putting the mirror in a different car (i.e., Subaru going into the Stinger) he will advise you of the differences in harness connectors and functionality that may be lost, that Subaru often changes model numbers on their mirrors, that mirrors have differ slightly, etc.
The difference among the mirrors are:
- Rostra, edge room edge glass, auto-dim, green compass, Homelink v5 (no LEDs to indicate door successfully opening/closing), slightly smaller than stock.
- Subaru, black slim bezel, auto-dim, red compass, backlit Homelink buttons, Homelink v5 (Directional LEDs to indicate door opening/closing), about the same as stock
- GENK85A, edge to edge glass, auto-dim, green compass, backlit Homelink buttons, Homelink v5 (Directional LEDs to indicate door opening/closing), slightly larger than stock coupled with edge to edge allows for greater visibility out of the rear.