I've just got a new-ish car (1 year old) and a new sat-nav to go in it. Using the 12v power plug and its lead is a PITA, especially as the cable has to go from the middle of the dash, over the steering column and on to the right of the instrument pod. I've managed to thread most of it through a part of the dash, but it isn't pretty and it annoys me.

So now I'm looking at getting it hard-wired, but finding someone I trust to do a decent job is difficult. Halfords will do it for around £50, but I'm not sure that I trust them. This lot can do it for £40 according to their website, but I know nothing about them - anyone had any dealings?

Otherwise - does anyone in the South Suffolk / North Essex area (basically, Ipswich, Colchester or surrounding area) know a trustworthy installer? I don't want to do it myself, as I don't have the skills or experience in car interiors to do a decent job - I don't want to spoil the car.

It's usually not that difficult as long as you have a think about where it needs to go. I've wired in a camera twice now, one on a brand new Merc and then the same camera when it went into a Mondeo. In both cases a bit of exploration for where panels and holes fit together revealed a very tidy route.

For example, in both cases the cigarette lighter was in the centre column by the handbrake. The centre column sits on carpet, and gentle lifting of the edge allowed me to tuck the wire underneath. Once it gets to the back of the radio/ashtray, I was able to pull the radio out and then pass the wire up and around the air vent pipes. For me I then went across the passenger glovebox with a stiff piece of wire, but the same could apply on the drivers side.

That would be enough for you, but for me I needed to pull the A pillar trim away and hide the wire along with a whole bunch of others. Then I tucked the wire in the headlining until it got to the rear view mirror, and then dropped an inch or so down to the camera which sits behind my rear view mirror.

What I did do to make it easier was to buy a separate low profile USB power plug and a long USB wire. That meant the wire sits lower in the cigarette lighter, and the smaller connector was easier to fit through the dash.

Having said all that, it was about half hours work for each car, so the prices from that website just on an hourly rate seem quite reasonable.

I've used http://davewalliscaraudio.co.uk/ to fit a radio on a couple of occassions in the past and have been happy with their work, although it was 15 years ago the last time.