Man Gets His Car Back From the BMW Dealership. Then He Realizes They Unplugged His Dash Cam: 'This Is Not a Good Sign'

"Dash cam unplug is sketch."

Photo by: armanibudgets & Longfin Media

By: Stacy Fernandez

Apr 30, at 6:00pm ET

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Dash cams exist for a reason. Most of the time, the reason is other drivers, but sometimes it's helpful to monitor other things.

A BMW owner picked up his car after a service visit at the dealership and immediately noticed something off: his dash cam had been unplugged.

While some people are saying that the workers are well within their rights to do so—who wants to be monitored by a customer at work, after all?—others say it makes them think something sketchy is going on that they don’t want the car owner to see.

Mechanic Unplugs Dash Cam

In a TikTok with around 62,000 views, content creator Armani Budgets (@armani.budgets) shares what he found when he picked up his 2023 BMW M2 from a BMW dealership after a service appointment. The first thing he clocks isn't the inspection report or the bill, it's the dash cam.

"As soon as I got back into the car, I noticed that BMW unplugged my dash cam from the car," he says. "This is not a good sign. Not a fan of this. Not sure why it happened, hopefully we could pull the footage back and see who it [was]."

He doesn't make any accusations outright, but the implication is clear.

From there, he walks through the rest of the service visit. The inspection report came back mostly clean, with one exception: his front tires were flagged red in the dealership's system, meaning they need to be replaced soon. The price BMW quoted him for two new Pirelli tires was around $1,000.

"Honestly not the worst price," he says, "but we could definitely get way better tires than these Pirellis for less than a thousand bucks for two front tires."

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The service itself, though, cost him nothing. Because his M2 is a 2023 model with only 15,000 miles on it, it still falls under BMW Ultimate Care.

"I don't have to pay a single dime," he says. "And that is the best route and way to go when you buy a brand new BMW."

Why Do Dealerships Unplug Dash Cams?

Unplugging dash cams is more common than most car owners realize. According to Safe Drive Solutions, dealerships and auto mechanics often unplug customer dash cameras during service visits. The site notes that drivers are typically completely unaware it happened until they check later.

A dealership unplugging a dash cam doesn’t mean that they had nefarious intent. Some shops do it to avoid being recorded while working, others may cite privacy or liability concerns.

But if a dealership unplugs a dash cam, they're generally responsible for reconnecting it.

What Is BMW Ultimate Care?

Casey BMW describes BMW Ultimate Care as a complimentary maintenance program that comes standard on all new BMW models and covers scheduled maintenance for the first three years or 36,000 miles, whichever comes first.

That includes oil changes, full vehicle inspections, engine filter and spark plug replacements, brake fluid refills, and key fob battery changes. The base package also throws in four years of 24/7 roadside assistance with unlimited miles.

For owners who want to extend it, there are paid upgrade options. The Ultimate Care Scheduled package adds two more years or 39,000 miles of coverage, bringing the total to five years or 75,000 miles. BMW Ultimate Care+ goes even further, adding components like brake pads and wiper blades, with coverage extendable up to 7 years or 125,000 miles.

How Do People Feel About Mechanics Unplugging Dash Cams?

Commenters were divided about whether there was anything suspicious about the mechanic unplugging the BMW owner’s dash cam.

“Dash cam unplug is sketch. But the free maintenance is goated,” one person wrote.

“Most stores have a policy that you can’t record the technicians without their knowledge, I know the Hendrick store by me has it written on the RO. They probably just unplugged it in case it was recording,” another countered.

“Extremely common practice to unplug the dash cam. They should have plugged it back in when the car was finished though,” a second agreed.

Motor1 reached out to Armani Budgets for comment via email and TikTok direct message, to BMW via email, and to the dealership via voicemail. We'll be sure to update this if they respond.