amg,
Like you, I was very nervous about doing this on my 96 - This being the nicest vehicle I've ever had and such. It was very simple though, and while purists may say that my way is not the way to do it, it sure was easy, 100% effective, and completely unnoticable.
You can remove the old mirror by simply pushing down (towards the hood, parrallel to the direction of the glass) You may have to push harder then you feel totally comforatble with - don't worry, once you do it once, you'll feel better about it.
Now, at this point, you could open up the overhead console, dig out the wiring and such, but I chose (IMHO) a Better way.
Cut the wires close to the mirror - as close as you can so you have some room to work. You should probably disconnect the battery or the fuse before you do this, since you are going to be cutting through 3 wires at once.
Once you cut that, move the old mirror out of the way, and then get the new mirror - cut the wires on that one, near to the plug, giving yourself as much wire to use as you feel comfortable with - don't worry we can hide the excess later.
so now strip about 1.5 to 2 inches of the black insulation off of both the new mirror and the wires from the roof. be careful not to cut the wires underneath.
once youve done that, strip about a quarter inch of each of the wires you have before you (3 on each) - then connect each wire to it's approriate color, one at a time, then wrap with electric tape, being as neat and tight as possible. once you've connected all 3 and made sure you've completely insulated each wire, then wrap the whole exposed wiring in the black tape.
you might as well turn the key now and test that the little green light on the mirror comes on, and the map lights if the mirror you got has those (mine did).
If all is well, then simply route the wire you have through the groove in the mirror mount and slide the mirror on, using the opposite method as when you removed it. You'll likely now have about 2 or 3 inches of extra wire in a loop. you could just leave that hanging there or simply tuck it up under the headliner. I was able to tuck the wiring up so that it was just as invisible as it was when it came from the factory.
You're done.
I'm sure someone is going to say it's easier just to take down the console and find the plug, and do it that way - In my case it certainly was not - first off I couldnt possibly imagine passing something as large as the plug on the mirror under the headliner without pulling it down far enough to possibly pull it off the roof, then I'd have a saggy headliner to worry about.
Anyway, good luck - and if you need more help feel free to email me, or if for some strange chance you are in the same part of the world as me (Connecticut) Stop by and I'd be glad to help you do this.,