lol.. i also just posted this. Same issue i have.

is there a definitive year where the power folding mirrors were made standard? my 2000 doesnt have it and it would be a cool retrofit

I will happily swap you my motors for your manual mounts. The motors are a pain in the arse

Removing the outer cover
 

Here is a youtube video removing the cover without using a tool. for Xoutpost - YouTube

That was way too easy. The clips are probably already broken for the mirror cover to come off that easily.

My passenger side mirror started to act weird this morning, I heard a click/pop when that mirror folded out so after checking, I've noticed that there is a 1 or 2" of play in the movement. I guess having a pwr folding side mirrors are prone to break/malfunction often, had a similar issue on my previous e39 m5.