Dashcam Install - Dealer or Third Party?

weee on 28/01/2024 - 12:44
Last edited 28/01/2024 - 14:08 by 1 other user

We are buying a new car, want a dashcam to have peace of mind, have 3 options,

  1. Dealer suggests they take care of it with their expensive unknown 3rd party dashcam, it has parking mode running on a super capacitor, comes with 3 year warranty, when we pick up the car everything will be ready.

  2. Buying one ourselves and have it installed by a 3rd party installer.

  3. Buying one ourselves and install it in the 'easier way' aka plug-in, so no hard wiring, no parking mode.

We don't intend to hard wire it by ourselves if going with a more advanced dashcam, it's a brand new car, we do worry about messing something up on wiring (looks to us wiring it through isn't particularly trivial for this brand/model) hence voiding the warranty. We are aware that a hardwired dashcam isn't necessarily going to void the warranty according to law but there's still a chance if the failure is caused by the installation.

We also can't decide whether we need parking mode, it's a big car, we do have a bad experience with our current smaller car while parking on the street got front bumper damaged by some hit and run. Going with a parking mode capable dashcam excludes us from cheaper options and easier installation, and we don't like that. For the dealer 3rd party dashcam, there's no way of turning parking mode off. So even if it's running on some 'super capacitor', it would eventually drain the battery, if for some reason you can't attend to your car and forget to disconnect the battery. It just seems to be less flexible and introducing extra hassles.

We would like to hear some thoughts if you happen to go through a similar situation.

Automotive Dash Camera

Comments

  • Unorthodox on 28/01/2024 - 12:56
    +1

    What vehicle? Not sure why you bother to omit such a detail given people can actually look up the dashcam in question or provide their own experience.
    No price mentioned?

    You sound risk averse so just pay the extra and get the dealer option. You can also get someone to hardwire it too if you go down the other dashcam route.

    • lgacb08 on 29/01/2024 - 11:19

      Sound like an European by his way of being scared of draining battery and 3rd party using the wrong fuse causing all sort of electronic error.

    • HeWhoKnows on 29/01/2024 - 15:45

      Get a Navman "plug in" dashcam
      No installation required.
      Use suction mount to attach to screen behind mirrior
      Plug into a USB port or cigarette lighter
      All done!

      and they are TOP QUALTY!
      This one looks great and only $99 at Officeworks and BigW who include Free delivery

      https://www.navman.com.au/mivue100

  • cashless on 28/01/2024 - 12:56
    +7

    Option 2 is the way.
    Avoid option 1, stealership will give you old tech at high price.

  • DashCam AKA Rolts on 28/01/2024 - 12:58
    +4

    "I'd like to buy a capital letter please Burgo."

    Bonus - advices +1

    • Muzeeb on 28/01/2024 - 13:39
      +2

      @pegaxs will split his sides laughing at that one

      advices

      • pegaxs on 28/01/2024 - 14:20
        +2

        I'm just disappointed that it didn't start with;

        Dashcam Dilemma, Needing Advise…

        I'm looking for advise on…

  • randomusername2017 on 28/01/2024 - 13:25
    +1

    Ad vices

  • KangaDrew on 28/01/2024 - 13:34
    +7

    Option 1: you get a jacked-up price on some knock-off brand that's upsold (with a premium price point) as the best dashcam around and gives the dealer a nice fat profit margin. While the 3 year warranty from the dealer means something, ACL will always trump that limit.

    Option 2: you're in full control of your choice of dashcam and installer. Also, you sound like you have a desire to get something with parking mode, so trust your instincts and get what you think is best.

    Option 3: you stick with a budget job with wires hanging everywhere in a new car and not giving you the peace of mind with parking mode.

    Option 2 is the no-brainer here IMO.

  • ihfree on 28/01/2024 - 13:46
    +1

    Option 1: get more info - brand, cost, rear camera

    Option 2: fine a camera and get a quote from an installer

    Option 3: I wouldn't - hardwired is so much better

    I have Viofo Mini and you can configure the battery level of operates to, parking mode and duration. You can also unplug it. You're generally not going to need to disconnect the battery.

    Might be worth having a read of the manual of the camera you're looking at.

  • sumyungguy on 28/01/2024 - 14:03

    If you have electrical/automotive tech skills you could install yourself - and uninstall in due course. Otherwise consult a specialist dashcam supplier/installer.

  • Euphemistic on 28/01/2024 - 14:13
    -1

    Parking mode doesnt draw a lot of power. Unless you regularly leave your car parked longer than a week its unlikely to be an issue

  • weee on 28/01/2024 - 14:14

    its a Subaru, we don't like it's being their inhouse product (a meager manual, no info available online), just sounds rip-off left and right, the price (including installation) hits $1k, but it does give us peace of mind when serving the car down the road, if it was second hard, we wouldn't mind trying our own hands, but since its new, we don't want to satisfy our curiosity for something potentially risky on the warranty.

    • sumyungguy on 28/01/2024 - 14:23

      A Suburu owner advised on Whirlpool last June that AutoGold ANX DC2200 is rubbish.

      • weee on 28/01/2024 - 14:33

        yeah just read that, everything we expected, but we are still concerned when servicing at the dealer (at least for the first year), is it necessary to take down the dashcam installed by someone else than the dealer? we are not so sure about this part as we have never owned a dashcam on a new car.

        • ihfree on 28/01/2024 - 14:48

          They shouldn't need to touch the dash cam during servicing. I wouldn't be concerned about that aspect.

          If they do, it will likely just unclip from the windscreen mount.

          It wouldn't happen but on the off chance the install was undone during servicing, you'd still be able to pay to have it reinstalled and come out ahead.

          • weee on 28/01/2024 - 14:54

            @ihfree: if hard-wiring, the wire will be going through pillars where airbags reside in as well opening the cover where eyesight unit sits in, or maybe we are over thinking, they don't give half flying f? just be a bit apprehensive as buying a new car.

            • rba on 29/01/2024 - 09:17
              +1

              @weee: wiring can definately be channelled/secured to compleely avoid airbags. However, I have seen many dashcam installations doing it incorrectly by simply tucking it across the airbags or placing alongside the airbag with nothing securing it - dealers do this 99% of the time, third parties are a hit and miss, and as a consumer you most likely won’t double check their work, as you pay someone expecting to do it properly. However, you sound like you’ve done your research. Subarus are comparatively easier to work on (easily accessible fuse box, trim is fairly simple/forgiving to remove etc), so perhaps you can give it a go yourself - plenty of guides online.

              The module cover for the eyesight is ok to remove which will allow you to tuck the wires much more nicely, but not mandatory as you can just leave the wiring around it if you're not comfortable removing it. The eyesight sensors are a separate casing inside so won’t have any issues if you don’t touch the actual sensors itself.

              If you do find a third-party, take the opportunity to ask how they're wiring it, as it is so important to ensure all safety mechanisms are properly avoided - but installers get lazy because it takes extra time to carefully remove more trim to channel or secure the wiring correctly. I always make sure this is the no.1 priority when I install dash cams for customers.

            • munecito on 29/01/2024 - 11:11

              @weee: You can carefully route the wires if you install yourself, however if you have an incident which deployed the side airbags and the cable isn't routed behind the airbag, it will just simply be broken by the force of the airbag.

        • KangaDrew on 28/01/2024 - 15:27
          +2

          What most dealers will do is unplug the power cable from the dashcam so that it can't inadvertently record. But for peace of mind just unplug it yourself before you drop the car off for a service and then plug it back in when you pick it up. If they physically remove the dashcam, I'd be raising a complaint to the service centre manager because service technicians don't have any right to physically remove the dashcam - all they're allowed to do is unplug it.

          • bbinc on 29/01/2024 - 09:52

            @KangaDrew: I used a custom install auto electrician. $40 to remove my Thinkware dual cam from old car, and about $120 to reinstall in new car. Link: https://www.facebook.com/rynx.customs/ to give you some idea of what people who care can look like.
            Incidentally, at the free 1000km inspection at the dealer, no-one unplugged the cam (which has parking mode). I was able to see such shoddy work I’ll never go back there. The mechanic (?) didn’t hear the dash cam announcements, but the dash cam recorded his loud earphones. Car was not hoisted, so no underbody inspection or tightness testing, no road test, no listening to the mechanicals. Completed in just 10 minutes (listed as one hour), so I doubt that many of the checks were done. Bonus for me to know this. Also saw careless practices with the car on the hoist mine was parked directly under. It was being serviced at the same time. Not to mention the dirty, cluttered and overcrowded tin shed that passed as the workshop. It’s out of customer sight.
            Tip: leave the camera on!

            • KangaDrew on 29/01/2024 - 11:48

              @bbinc: Oh if you can leave the camera on, by all means do that! Most service centres at major dealerships have a policy to disconnect it though. But yeah, if you're getting work done through a third-party/non-dealer, definitely use parking mode and hope for the best.

  • Tily on 28/01/2024 - 14:29

    If it’s an in-house product, then I’d be weary of what they are offering especially at the $1k price point.

    We have Blackvue cameras with additional power packs and have been very happy with them. We have used AutoBarn to install 2 cars in the past. Price wise for the cameras, power pack and installation was about $1k. We have gotten the dealer offered Blackvue package recently as well, this was after talking to the auto electrician at Autobarn, who advised that the pricing was comparative and would save us the hassle of bringing the car into them.

    Best to do your research and you can weight it up on what is being offered by dealer and what you can get outside.

    • KangaDrew on 28/01/2024 - 15:29

      Second that for Blackvue. Mine is 6 months shy of 9 years old (after buying it new) and it's still working perfectly.

      • Sheila Dealer on 28/01/2024 - 17:24

        I have a BlackVue 750 2 channel that’s 6 years old. I checked it last week only to discover there are no video recordings since mid December. It tells me it’s recording and all the appropriate lights are on . Looking on the net this is not an unusual problem. I had changed the SD card to no effect. It was suggested to change the definition recording which I did but to no avail. I emailed BlackVue and they said I needed to send it to them in Perth for repairs.
        Time for a replacement. Do I wait until Easter when they are usually reduced considerably or just replace it now?

  • deme on 28/01/2024 - 14:40

    Either do it yourself or someone else, never dealership.

  • Deridas on 28/01/2024 - 23:02

    Option 2.

    Full control of what Dashcam you want (mine was from Autobarn Boxing Day % off), and full choice of who you want to install it with.

    I'm from Sydney too. On my research there's two really reputable (but expensive) installers, I recommend "expensive" option as it's for peace of mind, one with Whirlpool/?Ozbargain high recommendations with professional looking website, and the other with a huge, monster amount of positive reviews on Airtasker. In the end I went with the latter because I supplied my own dashcam (the former sounds like he prefers to supply the dashcam + install as a package). The install was fantastic and highly recommended. DM for details if you wish. (I sometimes don't get notified for DMs so just look for the guy on Airtasker with an absolutly crazy amount of positive reviews).

    Edit - See my comment here.

    • weee on 28/01/2024 - 23:58

      sent you a message

  • Rob-4x4 on 29/01/2024 - 10:39
    +1

    Stealership with likely just outsource to a 3rd party installer and charge you heaps for the privilege. So just find a good installer and talk to them directly .

  • WT on 29/01/2024 - 12:23

    diy these things are simple to install

    You can also buy a powered OBD cable so no wiring and its not taking up a USB port

  • Rockets84 on 29/01/2024 - 12:23

    IMO based on experience with various option 2 & 3's, option 2 is the best way to go. For option 1 the dealers have a big markup because most people just get it bundled in and finance it as part of the car. I had a couple of Blackvue 2 CH cameras installed recently. Speaking with the installer he was the guy that the dealer I bought the cars off used any way, so I got the exact same install at nearly at 60% of the dealer cost.

  • Ridiculous Panda on 29/01/2024 - 14:59

    Option 1 and 2 are exactly the same except you cut out the middleman and choose your own product and save money! Ridiculous question!!!
    And yeah don’t worry about voiding the warranty.. unless you are talking conditional extended warranty with their own T’s and C’s specifically mentioning this, then they can go f themselves.

  • Duckie2hh on 29/01/2024 - 15:48
    +1

    Was apprehensive at first but did it myself. Couldn't be happier with the result.

  • DardyMate on 30/01/2024 - 01:20

    I would bet the dealership will charge you much for it.
    Go for option 2. Hardwired.
    Get either BlackVue or ThinkWare.
    Should cost around $200-250 to install by shop (y)

  • billy72 on 30/01/2024 - 12:04

    either dealer, 3rd party installer or DIY, please remember NOT to run the cables in front of the curtain airbag and A-pillar airbag.

  • weee on 30/01/2024 - 22:48

    how does Viofo compare to BlackVue and ThinkWare, we like the price and recording quality better, but also have heard of some overheating problems albeit most seem to be related to 4k resolution, if go with 2k, considering the weather in Sydney (and surrounding area into the west or on the beach in a hot day), would overheat still be a concern for Viofo?

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