Hi All

When buying my L&K this weekend I was offered a dashcam deal - fully wired in etc.  Said if I did it myself it would void warranty etc.

 

Anybody had this done ?  Any thoughts ?

 

Think it was a nextbase dashcam.

Wanted £450 which felt expensive.

Thanks

 

Ridiculous amount of money, even if the dash cam being offered is a top of the Nextbase range. If you want one hard wired, buy one yourself and get a reputable auto electrician to do it. I guarantee that will be somewhat cheaper than what you're being offered.

If you don't need it hard wired, just buy the cam and run the cable behind your windscreen and dash trim and plug it into the cigar lighter socket - 10 minute job.

The main drawback with that method is that the socket is always live. I  bought an aftermarket plugin cigar lighter extension with an on/off switch and plugged the cam into that.

Unless it’s a gold plated cam, your dealer is taking the pee.

https://www.rrg-group.com/skoda/service-parts-offers/nextbase312gwdashcamgo/

Cheers everyone 

 

When it comes to warranty would it be voided if I did it via a third party?

46 minutes ago, dx4100 said:

Cheers everyone 

 

When it comes to warranty would it be voided if I did it via a third party?

 

No it won’t void your warranty, you or a third party will Connect it exactly the same way with a piggyback fuse as the dealer would do.

I’m sure there is a very good guide on fitting diy in the Kodiaq guide section, it’s not a hard task.

edit: found it...

 

Edited 13 January, 20206 yr by Kenny R

2 hours ago, dx4100 said:

Hi All

When buying my L&K this weekend I was offered a dashcam deal - fully wired in etc.  Said if I did it myself it would void warranty etc.

 

Anybody had this done ?  Any thoughts ?

 

Think it was a nextbase dashcam.

Wanted £450 which felt expensive.

Thanks

 

 

Care to tell us which dealer it is? I'm always looking to avoid crappy ones.

 

Ask massively over the odds for an installation, don't like the price? We'll feed you some **** and bull about it voiding the warranty to try and scare you into accepting their overinflated pricing.

 

I'm betting it is one of those dealers that recommends discs and pads at every opportunity, tells you to service your air conditioning every year and threatens their customers with a non-refundable diagnostics fee for warranty work.

How can it void the warranty?. Its a piggyback fuse and earth wire to a bolt by the fuse box. I purchased the nextbase 322 with rear window camera. £150 With hard wire kit and SD card. Fitted it myself in 20 minutes. The top of the range 522 was only around £50 more but I did not need Alexa. Halfords fit for under £40.

Thanks everyone  

Yeah I was pretty sure its was all sillyness.  I won't be going for it

I already have a blackvue dash cam from my old car I could use or just get it done more cheapily somewhere else. 

 

Thanks

6 hours ago, silver1011 said:

 

Care to tell us which dealer it is? I'm always looking to avoid crappy ones.

 

Ask massively over the odds for an installation, don't like the price? We'll feed you some **** and bull about it voiding the warranty to try and scare you into accepting their overinflated pricing.

 

I'm betting it is one of those dealers that recommends discs and pads at every opportunity, tells you to service your air conditioning every year and threatens their customers with a non-refundable diagnostics fee for warranty work.

 

Totally agree with you Silver

 

My local dealer hard wired my Dash Cam from my  Ex 16 plate Vrs into my 19 plate 245 Vrs all for free

 

First class service.

Interesting - my Edition now has a confirmed build date w/c 3rd Feb, somewhat earlier than anticipated, so I've recently been looking at dash cams (the one in my current car will be left in for the family member who's buying the vehicle)

 

Supplying dealer is quoting £429 for supply and install a Nextbase 522 front, 512 rear, including SD card. Local auto-electrician reckons this is 2 hours work at £60 per hour, so total would be about £400 inc SD card, not a big saving

 

Looking at the Kodiaq accessories brochure, the quoted price for supply and install a Nextbase 522, with 32Gb SD card (and carry case FWIW)  is £165, which looks pretty decent given that just the dashcam itself is currently selling at £150 at Halfords/Currys etc. Just waiting for confirmation that this price is indeed correct and that 'installation' includes hard-wiring to the fuze box

Yeah after looking into it more the 450 I got quoted is high but not obscene.   So I think I might go for it given it stops issues around warranty etc.

Edited 18 January, 20206 yr by dx4100

Do it yourself and save a few hundred quid. Your warranty is unaffected.

On 18/01/2020 at 13:54, SinglePointSafety said:

Interesting - my Edition now has a confirmed build date w/c 3rd Feb, somewhat earlier than anticipated, so I've recently been looking at dash cams (the one in my current car will be left in for the family member who's buying the vehicle)

 

Supplying dealer is quoting £429 for supply and install a Nextbase 522 front, 512 rear, including SD card. Local auto-electrician reckons this is 2 hours work at £60 per hour, so total would be about £400 inc SD card, not a big saving

 

Looking at the Kodiaq accessories brochure, the quoted price for supply and install a Nextbase 522, with 32Gb SD card (and carry case FWIW)  is £165, which looks pretty decent given that just the dashcam itself is currently selling at £150 at Halfords/Currys etc. Just waiting for confirmation that this price is indeed correct and that 'installation' includes hard-wiring to the fuze box

Dealer got back to me - the £165 price for Nextbase 522 front dash cam includes card but 'installation' is stick cam on windscreen, take supplied lead and plug in to 12V socket.

Seems very varied on the dealer responses. I know DM Keith had an offer for front and rear £299 and underwoods will supply camera for £165 for cam and £32 for the hardwire kit and install.

 

https://www.underwoodsmotorgroup.com/skoda/parts-accessories/dash-cams/

So I got similar quote from dealer.

Instead I bought the Nextbase 422 and rear window camera from Halfords for £140.

They then offer a hardwire fitting service £30 front, £20 rear. This includes the hardwire kit.

 

So class leading product fully hardwired by reputable company for £190.

 

Halfords a reputable company. Yes they have a reputation, but it ain’t good

Skoda had a reputation in the 70's and 80's that they managed to turn around.

 

Unfortunately, with all the reports of poor build quality, defects and so on that I'm seeing on here,  it would appear they are in the process of gaining another reputation....

28 minutes ago, FirstAndLastSkoda said:

Skoda had a reputation in the 70's and 80's that they managed to turn around.

 

Unfortunately, with all the reports of poor build quality, defects and so on that I'm seeing on here,  it would appear they are in the process of gaining another reputation....

Of course you will see bad reports on here, all car forums are the same. Not many people come on here to sing the praises of their car, they mostly come here with a problem. If it is really as bad as you say, it’s strange that Skoda always come out well in reliably surveys.

https://www.carbuyer.co.uk/news/163469/best-car-manufacturers-uk-driver-power-2019-results

https://www.motoringresearch.com/car-news/jd-power-uk-vehicle-dependability-2019/

https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/best-cars/driver-power/91289/best-car-manufacturers-2019

Halfords on the other hand

Edited 11 February, 20206 yr by Kenny R

On 11/02/2020 at 11:30, FirstAndLastSkoda said:

Skoda had a reputation in the 70's and 80's that they managed to turn around.

 

Unfortunately, with all the reports of poor build quality, defects and so on that I'm seeing on here,  it would appear they are in the process of gaining another reputation....

 

Given that your ID is FirstAndLastSkoda, if you tell us what make and model your next car will be, I'm sure someone will point you in the direction of that manufacturer's forum and you can read all the problems about your new purchase.

 

Listened to a mother who'd phoned in to Radio 5 Live last night saying her 8 year old daughter had asked if she ( the daugher ) was going to die young. Turns out she'd be listening to discussions about climate change and being a typical 8 year old, had concluded the world was about to end. That's what happens when you only listen to one point of view.

 

I'm not sure how many members there are on here but I reckon it could be about 0.0001% of Skoda owners in the UK. If Skoda was as bad as you think, they wouldn't be selling as many cars as they do, it's as simple as that.

 

PS - and if Halfords was as bad as people say they are, they wouldn't be on the high street either. Halfords have been no worse and no better than others. Actually when I say no better, thay are better...  they price price match, and if anything is wrong or I wish to return an item, they do so without any questions. I also have to say that unless you go to the expense of something like Snap-on, I think their socket sets / spanners / wrenches etc are the best quality for the home mechanic. 

Edited 12 February, 20206 yr by Guest

About 3.5 years ago I was in the throws of buying a new Audi A6 and, as I've done here, joined various forums to get insight and a view of possible failings down the road. 

There were an equal amount, if not more so, of negative comments. In fact, I would go as far as to say that I've never seen a community that was so positive about their vehicles and the service they have got. Sure, there will always be bad apples but these do seem less when compared to others.

 

As for halfords, they are just a well priced outlet for Which recommended dashcams. Cheapest price I could find. Skoda want to charge £400 to fit them, halfords just £50, which seems more reasonable for the work that can't be more than an hours work. 

When someone buys a new car, it is very natural to feel that any cost for accessories as an investment. 

 

I had already ordered a Viofo a129 Duo and a Hardwire-kit before I went to bring my Octavia L&K home. Therefore, I didn't know that the dealership had cameras. Even if I could install/wire both cams by removing panels and attach the camera by hardwiring, I also thought about the Warranty and the impacts on my insurance. First of all, I contacted the dealership to know if they could hardwire the cameras that I already have and if YES, what would be the cost. After managing to catch them somehow on the phone, I learnt that the labour cost for the installation would be GBP 200 and it would take 3 hours. I think it's fair as it wasn't a camera purchased from them but 3 hours seemed to be too much for me based on the other things that I had been occupied with. So I let my impulses to settle for a while and gave a second thought evaluating again

1. Why do I need both front & rear cameras?
2. Why did I think of getting it hard-wired?
3. What if I would have to uninstall them at some point?
4. Would all this money worth as I also pay for an insurance?
5. Are there flexible alternatives that doesn't require too much commitment?
6. What would my insurance would say now and how would their story change if something happens?

The insurance company confirmed over the phone that "Installing the dash-cams wouldn't impact the policy terms". I clearly mentioned that I am trying to "Hardwire" the dash-cams and if there would be any concerns in that. The person who talked to me said "No, there wouldn't be any issue as it's good for the insurance company". However, when I asked to confirm it in written on an email as there are no sources online or with policy documents support that, they still didn't bother to respond. 

 

I took a step back and evaluated my need. 

1. I returned my unopened package of the a129 Duo dash-cams (front & rear) and the hard-wire kit.
2. Re-ordered the front camera only version.
3. Learnt how to hide dash-cam cables neatly without having to remove a single panel in the car.
4. Also, ordered a USB-A (male) to USB-A (female) - Extension Cable Right Angle 90 Degree Adapter; because I don't want the cable from the cigarette lighter socket to point upwards.
5. There are cheap action cameras if I really need to record the rear-view and I have a bunch of small power-banks if I want to put the cam into parking mode at any point. (just have to pull the USB cable from the cigarette lighter socket and plug to the power-bank).

Nearly saved about GBP 250 by just controlling my impulse to fit all the cool tech in the world on my new car and eliminated any potential risks with the Warranty and the Insurance. I used the saved money to buy the best child car seat for my 2 years old daughter and the previous car seat seemed to be a bit uncomfortable once we removed the inserts as she grew up.

 

 

Can I add a note of caution to those who install, but not hardwire, a dashcam. I did this for my Nextbase (and even if I say so myself, made a real neat job of it). But the dashcam didn't really charge properly - never got above 1 bar on the battery indicator. And no, it wasn't the fault of the 12V to 5V USB adapter..... Soon realised what the problem was: the 'standard' lead I used had wire which was a bit thin, hence sufficiently high resistance to drop the voltage just enough to be marginal for charging. Aaargh! Removed, replaced with thicker gauge wire, much better. Lesson learned. Sigh.