Side mirror swivel angle

[atann]

The driver's side mirror in my 1999 323i does not swivel out far enough for me to see cars in a passing lane. Before I swing out into a passing lane I have to swivel my head to the left to make sure no other car is too close to where I want to move. The driver's seat is positioned well within its normal range. I have tried using a little circular mirror attached to the side mirror but distortion is too great. I can physically push the entire mirror assembly forward, but it snaps back at high speeds. My dealer, in whom I normally have confidence, says that nothing can be done. I am unwilling to accept that advice. Has anyone else experienced a side mirror swivel angle problem? Any solutions? Thanks.

[Bear]

Have you tried manually moving the mirror glass outward by, 1. moving the glass as far as it will go outboard with the switch, and then 2. GENTLY putting your finger on the outward edge of the glass and using light pressure moving or forcing the glass further outboard. I have had a similar problem from time to time and the manual method worked for me. The good thing was the mirror remained controllable by the switch and would move to where I had manually positioned it.