Dash cams - speak to me like I’m an idiot

[HermioneWeasley]

I’ve decided to get one, but am baffled by the range and choice and what I need and how to install it.

I had assumed it would be like a sat nav- whack it on the screen and use my USB port to charge it, but it seems more complex than that. Halfords charge £50 for installation, so I’m guessing it’s quite tricky and not something a technological incomplete like myself could manage.

do you have a simple (and hopefully cheap!) one you would recommend?

what do I need to look for?

thanks!

To fit a dash cam, you just need to spend time pulling back the plastic round the car to hide the wire. You will need to get it from the camera all the way to your 12v charging point and obv you don't want a wire trailing down your windscreen. You might not have noticed but there are seals all round the car which peel back and allow you to push the cable in. It's not a quick job, but it's doable yourself.

I have the Halfords Nextbase midrange dash cam, I also paid for the fitting as its wired in so no loose wires, you will also need to purchase an sd card which are also available at Halfords, I paid £150 all in for mine last year. So far I have recorded 2 accidents, 1 involving a car and the other a bicycle none of which I was involved in. It also can bring your insurance down, not by much though.

Thanks both

Ours is Nextbase and is front and back. It’s also wired in. There’s a chap locally who is less expensive than Halfords. You might find someone similar.

Be careful with Nextbase. Their customer service is appalling.

Mine failed within a year, they wouldn’t replace it and wanted to charge me to replace the battery even though it was in warranty and was obviously faulty.

My next one is going to be Garmin!

I got a Nextbase front and rear set. And installed it myself via car 12v socket. Obviously, I tucked all wires in under seal and took off the nearside passenger A pillar in order to secure cables behind airbag so it doesn't cause injury in the event of an accident.

Really easy hiding for the rear too - above head and in seals there rather than at foot. A passenger took mine out with their foot, so I put it above.

All in all, takes about 20 mins to do yourself!

Plugging in to my 12v works very well. Got myself a diamond hanger in rear window warning others I've a front and rear dash cam. No-one tailgates now!

Same. Went to Halfords. All good. Until I realised that the back one was interfering with my dab radio in my car. So had to have the back one taken out.

Hope you don't mind me jumping in on this as I don't understand these very well either.

My sister bought me a front dash cam a few years ago which is great, not needed it but captures lots of idiotic things. I would also like to have a rear one particularly after being rear ended and having people aggressively tailgate. Do I need to get a set and replace the front one?

IIRC, you'd need to find a rear one that's compatible with your existing front one.