Dash Cam - Is It Worth It?

Bargain-er on 12/09/2024 - 08:28
Last edited 12/09/2024 - 10:10 by 1 other user

Hi brain trusts, thinking to install dash cams (4K res front, 2K res rear) and would like to hear your opinions/experiences.

Some YouTube reviewers mentioned it's better to use GoPro for image quality but much less convenience (and no parking recording due to risk of getting stolen) + overheat (?). Thinking to get Viofo A229 pro, but not sure if it can make up licence plate well (moving cars or lowlight).

What's your experience? I have insta 360 x3 and probably will test it how it goes but X3 tends to overheat after some time. Just not sure spending $800 installed will worth it.

TIA.

Automotive Dash Camera

Comments

    • paullovesbargains on 24/10/2024 - 11:47
      +1

      There is a simple solution for that. Take photos at the time. The person will need to prove the marks/damage on their car is not from your car. And yes they might quickly repair it, but new parts on a car are easy to identify too aren't they. Then it becomes a crime.

  • divaznuyena on 14/09/2024 - 14:09
    +2

    dash cam helped me twice within 5 years, driver did an illegal uturn and hit me and caught someone that reversed into me when it was parked so yeah it was definitely worth it for me

    • Bargain-er on 14/09/2024 - 14:17

      Thanks for the feedback. Are you in NSW? Apparently, according to @curlcurl'comment above:

      It is illegal in every Australian state bar NSW.

      Did you send the footage to police/insurance? Thanks

  • Davo1111 on 14/09/2024 - 15:54

    What actual benefit does a dashcam provide? Even in a not at fault accident you're still out the excess

    • Bargain-er on 14/09/2024 - 18:20

      Read above n below, u ll get your answer.

  • Peza on 14/09/2024 - 15:57

    Same as many.. got a VIOFO dual camera ($250 odd) .. 2 incidents in the last 2 years of cars backing into mine whilst parked (decent whacks).. Both drivers got out, saw the damage and then left the scene.. but dashcam caught the events..

    • Bargain-er on 14/09/2024 - 15:59

      Could you do anything fr the footage? License plate? And this is the controversial someone said above it s unlawful to record while parking in Australia except NSW. So confusing.

      • Peza on 14/09/2024 - 18:01
        +1

        Sorry posted a new comment below - should of been a reply here

  • Peza on 14/09/2024 - 18:00
    +1

    I am in NSW, and as a precursor, i hadnt claimed or needed insurance in the past 20yrs driving..

    First incident - it was a 2 car parallel spot.. i was backed well into the rear spot with enough room for a small truck.. some guy in a tiny getz backed into me so hard number plate protector was shattered, bumper displaced.. he got out, walked around the to the front of the car, looked at the damage (like close up/bending over etc).. then just walked away.. came back 10-15m later and drove off..
    The next day I saw my number plate shattered all over the road and checked my footage.. I call the police to report it which they passed my details to him.. He initially wanted it done without insurance which i was ok with.. went and got a quote for around $800 for a local repairer.. he then cam up with a story that he wanted me to go to 'his guy' that was about 10km away in the middle of the industrial area.. basically drop it off an it will be fixed.. After thinking about it for a night, I called him back as said I would lose a day work etc, no replacement car and had concerns about any issues arising re: warranty, so i said ill just go through insurance as it been a few weeks and i dont have time to play games.. he started threatening lawyers so which i simply said.. do what you want, i have the footage of you hitting me, getting out looking at the damage, and then driving off without leaving info.. call ended, i called insurance lodged the claim.. process was quick and simple
    I uploaded the footage to youtube (private link) and sent the link to insurance officer

    Second incident was in May.. Parallel parked on the street at son's soccer training.. as i came back to the car, someone approached me and said the car in front hit me while backing in.. it was not very well lit.. took my phone light out.. saw the dumper displaced again, some small parts on the bumper fallen off.. As i didnt have time to hang around and didnt know the car, i took some photos of the scene and drove home, took my memory card out and played in back to on the computer… again a decent hit.. footage showed driver got out and popped their rear door (Small SUV).. basically fiddling around and kept looking at my car trying to inspect the damage.. ended up closing their boot with nothing removed
    This time i just lodged a claim that night.. didnt bother making contact.. took about 6 weeks for insurance to get approved

    I noted I had the footage in my claim, but insurance never asked for it..

    • Bargain-er on 14/09/2024 - 18:19

      Good on you! And yea, ur in NSW n those events are legal to be recorded. I just need to find out from Vic law. Thanks for sharing.

  • Sammywn on 14/09/2024 - 19:05

    Have you considered repurposing an old phone? I upgraded from a OnePlus 7t that I'd had for years to a pixel 7a recently and was in the market for a dash cam at the same time. Did a fair bit of research and everything I researched was how overpriced and terrible dash cams were. Using my old phone was a piece of cake. Installed an app, set it to record constantly, deleted everything else off the phone so all the storage space is just the recordings, changed a setting so it would always turn on automatically, it records even after the car is off until it drains, then when the car turns on and it gets charge again it boots up and starts recording again.

    • Bargain-er on 14/09/2024 - 19:09

      That's another idea. May i know what app do you use? The only down side is rear camera gonna be a tough one :)

      • Sammywn on 14/09/2024 - 19:17

        Ah, I already had a rear camera so didn't bother with a rear dashcam. Its called droid dashcam. I needed to do something weird to get my phone to automatically turn on when it was charging but if you look it up on google/YouTube you should find a tutorial.

        • Bargain-er on 14/09/2024 - 19:22

          Yeah my consideration is my old phone s camera is not great. Would be pretty grainy at night. What cam do you use for rear? Thanks.

          There are some cheap ish $130 red tiger brand or xiaomi. Dunno how good tho.

          • Sammywn on 14/09/2024 - 19:36

            @Bargain-er: Ah k, OnePlus 7t had a pretty good camera so I'm lucky there. My car has a rear camera built in (newer model).

    • Mistredo on 15/09/2024 - 15:40
      +1

      Not a great idea in the Australian climate, most dashcams come with supercapacitors instead of batteries in order to survive heat.

      • Sammywn on 15/09/2024 - 18:12

        I heard about that when I was researching but so far so good. Probably depends on the phone and the app a little? Mines be on the dash cooking in the sun and no issues.

  • Yorkshire-Man on 14/09/2024 - 20:09

    The only problem with rear dash cams is they kill your DAB radio signal. I've tried them on my last 3 cars, same issue each time.

    • 2025 on 16/09/2024 - 22:06

      Not always, I have a Viofo hard wired and I concealed my rear cord (the optional longer version) just inside the roof liner across to the A Pillar where it’s tied down to the factory wiring harness behind the A pillar airbags, going down to beside the dashboard and along under the trim of the lower edge of the door opening/floor (I didn’t want to interfere with the top airbags, sunroof etc as they were hard to see properly without popping the liner out) and back up the rear through the factory grommet in the tailgate and DAB is fine. Not sure if my DAB antenna is in the fin on top or the top section of the rear window but yeah, not a problem.

    • Captain Kremmen on 17/09/2024 - 19:25

      Techmoan had the same issue & put it down to the type of cable required for a greater than 1080p rear camera.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVc0n0_WrXw

  • Aleigh123 on 15/09/2024 - 01:08

    Dewit

  • NirajSS on 15/09/2024 - 22:18
    +2

    https://www.viofo.com.au/product/viofo-a229-pro-3ch/ come with cpl for front cam, get hardwire kit, sandisk extreme pro micro sd currently on $79.33 in amazon AU, professional installed, see if there is any update, make necessary changes on settings like hevc recording, motion detection sensor sensitivity, get a minimum of 2ch but 3ch is good as well if you want to record inside your car $20 more than 2ch.

    • 2025 on 16/09/2024 - 22:17

      And the little Viofo Bluetooth button is handy for those moments you don’t want them to know you’ve saved the recording…

  • pom on 16/09/2024 - 04:34
    +1

    My dashcam actually made someone come back to me and apologise for their behaviour after they'd got out of the car and started shouting and being aggressive towards me.

    Apart from all the other reasons to own one, I guess sometimes it can act as a reminder to be people not to act like fools because they know they might end up famous for the wrong reasons.

  • connorlo on 16/09/2024 - 09:13
    +1

    I purchased mine years ago and have never had an accident. Still 100% worth it.

    • Bargain-er on 16/09/2024 - 09:19

      Perfect real life example

    • 2025 on 16/09/2024 - 22:15

      100% I experienced something similar when I got my first dashcam. I was seeing crazy stuff every day on the road, the minute I got the dashcam nothing was happening anymore, my good/bad luck lasted about 5 years before I had something worth saving aha

  • sticky8anana on 17/09/2024 - 11:16

    i have front & back Blackvue 750s cams installed by the dealer when I bought my car brand new 5 years ago and it's still working well.
    Last year I had to send it back to Blackvue due to an overheating problem supposedly and they sent me back a brand new set. Now it always has wrong date & time in recordings which is annoying but apart from that no issues

    • kerfuffle on 22/09/2024 - 10:17

      Now it always has wrong date & time in recordings which is annoying but apart from that no issues

      Can't you change that on your laptop or using the BlackVue app? I have mine set so it's the same time as GPS (but I think I manually change it when it's Daylight Saving time)

  • Bargain-er on 06/10/2024 - 22:29

    Ok, finally decided on Viofo A229 pro with hardwired kit. Now… Due to reading too much internet, I read some ppl said hardwiring dash cam may void warranty since it "modifies" the car… 🤔😒 Pretty sure it's incorrect but any opinions abt this? TIA

    • geekcohen on 07/10/2024 - 03:19

      Don’t know about that. That would mean that adding a two way radio would also be a car modification or adding driving lights.

      I had no issues with my insurance after hitting a kangaroo with driving lights or radios. Don’t have a hard wired dashcam, but do have a dash cam which caught the whole thing.

  • groggycat on 27/10/2024 - 11:43

    Definitely a must have these days on the road. I think some insurance companies give you a slight discount if you mention that you have dashcam. I know NRMA and Shannons did for me.

    • kerfuffle on 29/10/2024 - 07:57

      OK I’m trying this with NRMA when it’s time to renew my comprehensive insurance next year …

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