What a fair price looks like
Condition on WishThrift is described by the seller against five grades, and nobody inspects it on your behalf — so the description and the photographs are what you are buying on.
| Condition | Typical | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| New with Tags | £90 (~$120) | Unused, tags or seals intact |
| Like New | £76 (~$102) | Barely used, no visible wear |
| Good | £58 (~$78) | Light signs of use, complete and working |
| Fair | £40 (~$54) | Heavily used, or a described fault or missing part |
| For Parts | £22 (~$30) | Not working or incomplete, sold as seen |
Sterling guide ranges with an approximate US dollar equivalent at £1 ≈ $1.33 (July 2026). Sellers set their own asking price; these are a starting point for judging an offer. All five grades explained.
The checklist before you pay
An account lock is the single biggest one — a device still signed in to an iCloud, Google or Microsoft account cannot be reset and is effectively unusable. After that, battery health and undisclosed third-party repairs.
Run through these before money changes hands — they are the things that decide whether a dash cam is worth what is being asked:
- Failed or degraded memory cards
- Missing mounts and power cables
- Overheated units with swollen batteries
- Very low resolution cameras
And the things worth paying more for, because they hold their value:
- Higher resolutions and good night performance
- Front and rear camera sets
- Hardwire kits and memory cards included
- Recognised brands with firmware support
Common faults and fakes
Outright counterfeits are rare outside accessories, where fake chargers and cables are a genuine fire risk. The commoner problem is a device described as working that has a fault the seller knows about.
Ask the seller to factory reset and remove their account BEFORE you pay, and to send a photograph of the settings screen showing it signed out. Ask for the exact model identifier and, on anything with a battery, the battery health figure.
WishThrift does not authenticate, inspect or grade anything, and no marketplace check replaces your own. If a seller will not answer a direct question about condition or origin, that is the answer.
Questions to ask the seller
These are the three that get asked most often about a dash cam, and the answers tell you most of what you need:
Format the card in the camera and confirm you have. Dash cam footage shows your home, your routes and your registration plate.
Say so and give the capacity and class. Dash cams need high-endurance cards and a standard one fails quickly under constant rewriting.
Record a clip after dark and describe it honestly. Night quality is where cheap dash cams disappoint and where buyers focus.
Also worth establishing before you commit:
- Record a test clip in daylight and at night
- Check the suction mount still holds
- Confirm the memory card and cables are included
Photographs to ask for
If the listing does not already show these, ask — a seller who has the item will send them in minutes:
- The camera whole, with its mount
- A still frame from actual footage it has recorded
- The mount, cable and any hardwire kit
- The model marking and card slot, plus any scratch on the lens
Details to confirm before you commit
- Brand, model, resolution and frame rate
- Whether it is front only or front and rear
- Features — GPS, parking mode, Wi-Fi
- What is included, and confirmation the card has been formatted and the device reset
Live dash cam listings
Nothing matching is listed at the moment. Browse electronics for what is live now, or everything on the site — stock changes daily and new listings are free to post, so it is worth checking back.
When to buy
Steady year round with a lift in autumn as conditions worsen. Front-and-rear kits and models with parking mode sell fastest.
Prices move against that cycle for a buyer: the cheapest time to buy is when sellers are listing most, not when demand peaks.
Paying and collecting safely
WishThrift does not process payments, hold funds or offer buyer protection — you agree the price and the method with the seller directly, which is what keeps the platform free on both sides. Meet somewhere public where you can, inspect before you pay, and keep the conversation on the site so there is a record of what was agreed. Be wary of any seller who wants to move the conversation elsewhere before you have agreed anything.
Selling one instead?
If you already have a dash cam sitting unused, it is free to list and there is no commission — the price you agree is the amount you keep. Read how to sell dash cam for what to photograph and how to price, or what dash cam is worth at each condition grade.
Frequently asked questions
What should I pay for a used dash cam?
Around £13 to £58 in good condition, more for barely-used examples and less for anything with a described fault. Compare against the seller’s photographs rather than the grade alone.
How do I check a dash cam before buying?
Ask the seller to factory reset and remove their account BEFORE you pay, and to send a photograph of the settings screen showing it signed out. Ask for the exact model identifier and, on anything with a battery, the battery health figure.
Is buying a dash cam second hand safe?
Yes, with the ordinary care any private sale needs. WishThrift does not authenticate, inspect or hold funds, so inspect before you pay where you can, meet somewhere public, and keep the conversation on the site. An account lock is the single biggest one — a device still signed in to an iCloud, Google or Microsoft account cannot be reset and is effectively unusable. After that, battery health and undisclosed third-party repairs.
See also: all buying guides · dash cam value guide · selling dash cam · Electronics · condition grades.