Comment on Daily Discussion Thread: đ Wed 13 March 2024
bull@aussie.zone â¨9⊠â¨months⊠ago
I decided last night to finally get serious about getting my dashcam installed in my car. I found a well-reviewed service online and put an inquiry in using their online form.
How much money do you think someone would charge to run a couple of cables through a car and connect them up to 2 cameras and the battery? The cables, cameras and everything required already provided by me, the customer. If you guessed FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS then you might be interested in hiring this company. THE FUCKING DASHCAM (2 FRONT AND REAR) WAS $435 AND ITâS ONE OF THE BEST ONES YOU CAN BUY!
Itâs a job Iâd honestly almost try myself. A job which should likely take a professional maybe 45 minutes and Iâm padding that.
Anyways I wrote back to their email telling them their quote was insane and about $150 more than Iâd expect. Called AutoBarn out in Melton and theyâll do it for $270 no problem. I can swallow $270 knowing theyâll it well and do it right.
@bull @CEOofmyhouse56 $270 sounds pretty reasonable. Some of the cost is that the right tools make such a job *much* easier, and it's very hard to have employees skilled in things like this constantly busy.
Also they can charge high because it is such an annoying job for most people, so at a high cost people will still pay.
Honestly $150 is probably more reasonable for whatâs involved but I understand that everybody everywhere is overcharging for everything these days. A screwdriver and one of those plastic thingies to easily pop off the interior panels to stuff the cables inside.
@bull And a supply of 1000 different types of trim clip to replace the clips that get broken :)
Why replace the clips, just turn off the tunes and enjoy the buzzes and rattles! :D
Iâd pay for the fuse wiring, I donât know fuck about that and am terrifying of stuffing up the car. But if itâs just running the cables and powering it from the 12V socket I did that myself in the parking lot of the supercheap auto I bought my last one at. Didnât even have any tools
mysticgreg@aussie.zone â¨9⊠â¨months⊠ago
Iâve wired in a few now (in fact I just replaced my trusty old BlackVue a few weeks back when it finally met its maker), and to be honest it really is something you can do yourself if youâre so inclined.
Half the challenge is finding good sources of accessory-switched and permanent 12v power, preferably around the fuse box (please make sure everything is fused!). A plastic tool removal kit is handy but probably not essential depending on the car.
Just be sure to run any rear camera cabling through the car at floor level under the scuff plates/trim and not up high to avoid interfering with any curtain airbags that may be lurking.
The first one I ever did took a couple of hours. Latest replacement I did was about 30 minutes, but I was able to re-use the rear camera cable run because I stuck with the same brand and style of camera.