Sclass: I had the same problem with my e36 headlamps, the glass was stone chipped beyond repair. To buy new oem headlights were just out of the question, and i was abit sceptical about pirate headlamps. I was worried about the quality of the glass of the pirate headlamps and how they would react to stone chips, and didnt want to just throw money down the drain.
I even approached hella south africa, cos on their website they offer the genuine hella glass and frame as a replacement part for the headlamp, which is really, really easy to replace(Just clip off and clip on). Unfortunately they did not have stock, and would have to order from germany as a special request, the cost of this was R959.00 each.
At the time, i was a bit cash strapped, so i eventually decided to replace the lenses only with Mr. Lens poly carb lenses. It was one hell of a mission to fit on, and sealing must be done properly.The total cost was R600 for the lenses (pair) and a tube of silicone, as well as quite a bit of time and patience.
I Have had them on for 10 months now, with no problems what so ever.