Rearview Mirror with Compass
The auto-dimming rearview mirror with an integrated compass is one of those small upgrades that you notice every single time you get in the car. The compass display is subtle — integrated into the mirror glass itself — and adds a level of usefulness that the stock mirror simply doesn't have.
BMW offered this as a factory option on European-market E39s. Getting one fitted to a US-spec car requires sourcing the correct mirror and wiring it into the existing auto-dim circuit. The result looks factory because it essentially is.
Euro Aspheric Side Mirrors
US-market E39s came with flat side mirrors — a regulatory requirement that BMW's US division never fought particularly hard. European-market cars got aspheric mirrors instead: a lens ground with a slight curve that dramatically widens the field of view and eliminates the blind spot that the flat US mirrors leave.
These were never offered as an option or accessory in the United States. Sourcing them means going to a European BMW parts supplier or finding someone parting out a Euro-spec car. They bolt on directly — same mounting points, same wiring — and once fitted the difference in rearward visibility is immediately obvious. The kind of upgrade that makes you wonder why the US spec ever existed.
