Portable Dashcam for Car Rentals/Courtesy Cars?

[primetime]

Hey guys,

I was just curious if anyone here has a dashcam like the Mobius (with suction mount) or something portable that they use when they are using a rental car or a courtesy car that is provided when your car is in for repairs.

The thought just occurred to me because I was talking to one of my co-workers who got into an accident with a courtesy car because he had his car in for service. He is now having a hard time with the insurance company to get compensation because the insurance company wants him to admit that he was partly at fault (25%).

I figured if he had some sort of dash cam in his courtesy car, it would've helped him avoid all this trouble.

So, do you have a small, portable, extra dash cam lying around for those times when you don't have your usual car?

 

[russ331]

I took one of my two Mobius cams with me on a fly-drive holiday to the USA last September.

I simply affixed it to the dash with adhesive pads & ran a short power cable across the dash to the accessory socket.

When parked unattended, I just covered the camera & cable with a magazine or similar, to hide it from view.

 

[Dashmellow]

Last year from July through September I drove a series of rentals provided by my car dealership while my vehicle was in the shop for a major recall.

I used suction cup mounts both front and rear. While this wasn't quite as discreet or elegant as my usual dash cam mounting scheme, it was fine for the duration.

During this time, like @russ331 I also used a Mobius attached to the dashboard on one of the vehicles using Blu-Tack, which works beautifully for this purpose as a secure, temporary, non-destructive mounting adhesive.

 

[niko]

I am using a Mobius with a special low profile 3x suction mount from Cobra radar detector when traveling abroad and renting a car.
As I remember @Mtz also uses or had same idea of radar detector mount.

U can also use a standard suction mount for Mobius but it will not be as discrete.

 

[jokiin]

Discrete isn't such a problem if it's just a rental or temp install

 

[niko]

Discrete isn't such a problem if it's just a rental or temp install

Depends if u leave or remove a dashcam each time while u park a rented car overnight or even for 10-15min while shopping.
Better to spend extra 10-15usd on discrete mount than later have to sort out insurance things with rental company, calling out police, paperworks, time etc.

 

[jokiin]

Depends on the circumstances of course

 

[CheckYourLights]

So, do you have a small, portable, extra dash cam lying around for those times when you don't have your usual car?

I don't know about the small or portable part because to me most cameras are small and portable. I have even used my TF2 Plus Prim in a pinch (Because my 0806 and G90 are in use in the cars I am in often) Most of you know that not many cameras get bigger then the older TF2

My personal rule is to never get into a car without a camera running.
I don't care if it is my personal car, a family members car, a rental car, or even a test drive of a new or used car.
If I am in the car so is a camera.

 

[Gibson99]

don't forget you can always use your smartphone as a dashcam in a pinch. before i ever bought a real dashcam, i used dailyroads voyager on my android - there are probably more and different DC apps by now, since that was well over a year ago.. while not ideal (very narrow fov, somewhat shaky mount, makes phone get hot), it's better than nothing. just be sure you have it plugged into a charger - running the camera for prolonged periods like that will chew up the battery in no time, even if you have an extended battery.

 

[road_rascal]

I've been bringing my G1W-H with me whenever I need to get a rental car. Caught a few boneheads on my last trip to Colorado. Next trip is in April to fire school in Massachusetts. I figure if anything happens I can show the rental car company the footage.

 

[jokiin]

I figure if anything happens I can show the rental car company the footage.

good to cover yourself considering how they always like to blame the renter and charge ridiculous amounts of money for anything that happens

 

[niko]

good to cover yourself considering how they always like to blame the renter and charge ridiculous amounts of money for anything that happens

I like Murphy's law.
9/10 cases when I was renting a car, I always had dashcam installed and nothing happened. Once ( that silly 1/10 ) I forgot dashcam and, bang ... minor "scratch accident" happened ( not my fault but I could not prove it ), - lost my deposite. Lesson learned !

 

[jokiin]

big rort we have here in Australia is the advertised rental price to get the customer includes a ridiculous excess

eg; I was in South Australia this week to do dealer training, picked up our rental car at the airport, $65 a day for a Toyota Corolla, if you take it like that the insurance excess is $2800 for any claim, or pay $30 extra to have that reduced to a $340 excess on any claim, even if you're in the right they still bill you the excess until it gets sorted and you have to chase it up

 

[niko]

big rort we have here in Australia is the advertised rental price to get the customer includes a ridiculous excess

eg; I was in South Australia this week to do dealer training, picked up our rental car at the airport, $65 a day for a Toyota Corolla, if you take it like that the insurance excess is $2800 for any claim, or pay $30 extra to have that reduced to a $340 excess on any claim, even if you're in the right they still bill you the excess until it gets sorted and you have to chase it up

"House always wins"

 

[russ331]

The last car I rented was at Newark Airport. I'd never used Budget before, & was alarmed to find that the car allocated to me had scuffs, scratches & dents on almost every panel.

I rejected it, & the second & third cars I was offered. The fourth had minor cosmetic damage on several panels. Budget refused to give me a damage sheet marked with the defects, so I took photos as evidence before driving the Chevy away.

When I returned the car, I was sure Budget would try to screw me over, & assert that some of the damage happened while it was in my custody.

To my surprise, they gave it a cursory glance & signed it off. Relief!

 

[Deleted member 46308]

The last car I rented was at Newark Airport. I'd never used Budget before, & was alarmed to find that the car allocated to me had scuffs, scratches & dents on almost every panel.

I rejected it, & the second & third cars I was offered. The fourth had minor cosmetic damage on several panels. Budget refused to give me a damage sheet marked with the defects, so I took photos as evidence before driving the Chevy away.

When I returned the car, I was sure Budget would try to screw me over, & assert that some of the damage happened while it was in my custody.

To my surprise, they gave it a cursory glance & signed it off. Relief!

That has always been my experience as well. You are a brave guy to drive in that area for sure.

 

[M---]

In recent years, I've pulled out my phone to do a video walk-around when I pick up *AND* when I drop off rentals. I've heard horror stories from people who have lost their deposits, and the local Budgets have been in the news... http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...reveal-ripoffs-at-budget-rent-a-car-1.1130148

A year ago, when I picked up a rental, I pulled out the phone and did a video walkaround. The agent said "Oh, that's a great idea! You've just made my job easy!" and wrote on the condition form "see customer video". When I returned the car, there was nobody around to inspect the car, and I didn't feel like waiting, so I did a video walkaround, grabbed my stuff, and went to the front desk. I told the lady there was nobody out at the lot, and showed her my drop-off video, and the drop-off inspection form that said "see customer video". She was surprised, but said OK, and signed off on it. Worked out great!

 

[road_rascal]

A year ago, when I picked up a rental, I pulled out the phone and did a video walkaround. The agent said "Oh, that's a great idea! You've just made my job easy!" and wrote on the condition form "see customer video". When I returned the car, there was nobody around to inspect the car, and I didn't feel like waiting, so I did a video walkaround, grabbed my stuff, and went to the front desk. I told the lady there was nobody out at the lot, and showed her my drop-off video, and the drop-off inspection form that said "see customer video". She was surprised, but said OK, and signed off on it. Worked out great!

I'll remember to do that the next time I rent a car. Never thought about that before (duh).

 

[unni]

For a temporary and easily removable setup, this is also good: 1/4"-20 Visor Clip Camera Mount By Novotm

I used it for a few months. It stays firmly.

 

[Hillbilly]

Buy some Duallock tape from 3M and use that.

I have a Blackvue camera and took it on holiday to USA and Canada. Just stuck a piece on the screen and attached camera Had 4 different cars and the same piece stripped off ok to use in the next one. using this allows you to remove camera easily at night if required.