Car Companies going too far Subscription for Heated Seats

www.forbes.com...

But what has garnered the most attention in the 24 hours since journalists removed their VR headsets, is a complex new subscription model. BMW has dabbled with charging subscriptions for features before. But in the case of asking drivers to stump up $80 a year for Apple CarPlay (which is installed for free on their phone, don’t forget), the business model quickly performed a U-turn after customers complained.

This is just wrong, but I guess it goes along with the you will never truly “own” anything that’s coming.
So this silly subscription is for things like heated seats, light element, other tech features. Even after you pay off your car you’ll still have to pay the monthly subscription. This story is for BMW but many other brands are looking at it. We can also thank John Deere. They possibly started this trend.

I know heated seats are a luxury, but I don’t think I would be ok paying monthly for them! This is so wrong!

a reply to: JAGStorm

FFS a BMW already cost 80k .

a reply to: JAGStorm

This is going way too far.

Best heated seats I ever came across were in an old 1980's Volvo but even buying classic wont work out as they are looking to cut petroleum supplies with this forcing of people to buy electric vehicles.

Electric vehicles that may have an auto drive feature that can be controlled from a government office somewhere.

If it comes down to it look at alternatives, alcohol is a great alternative to petroleum and far less polluting so why are we not using that?.

Why do we have to have so many bloody nuclear power stations and why do we have to blight our landscape with wind farm's.

Yes petrol stink's, yes it causes cancer but so too do EM fields and electronic cars are going to be spewing them out along with being networked all the time so your every move can be monitored and tracked via microwave network's.

Take away people's mobility so they can be more easily controlled before you move in for the kill, is this there game.

originally posted by: just4fun
a reply to: JAGStorm

FFS a BMW already cost 80k .

And just like with apple products, the average BMW user won't mind.

Not like any of them would keep a car long enough to pay it off, those kinds of cars are junk in five years anyway

a reply to: JAGStorm

CAPITALISM, Baby!

Anywhere a dollar can be made must be exploited. Whatever, and to the greatest degree, the "market" (that's schulbs like you and me!) can, and will, bear.

After all, we're not commie socialists, wanting "all that free stuff", right?

/sarc

a reply to: JAGStorm

Not to surprised that things are headed this direction.
There has been a big stink in the last several years about the right to repair a vehicle. Which is a loaf of crap in my opinion.

www.autonews.com...


Kind of reminds me of refrigerators with water filters.
Some of the filters are brand sensitive and require the owner to buy the correct brand of filter. I think it's a security chip like in a car key.
That doesn't sound to terrible until you realize that the filters are $50 and need replaced every six months. That's $100 every year to use the fridge.

originally posted by: Mantiss2021
a reply to: JAGStorm

CAPITALISM, Baby!

Anywhere a dollar can be made must be exploited. Whatever, and to the greatest degree, the "market" (that's schulbs like you and me!) can, and will, bear.

After all, we're not commie socialists, wanting "all that free stuff", right?

/sarc

Who's talking about "free stuff"? You pay for the car you should own what's in it, not be forced to subscribe in order to access certain features. I know if they try it I will spare no time or expense figuring out how to bypass their little BS scheme. That is, if I would even buy their car at all.

a reply to: JAGStorm

I can see folks breaking that feature in the first week or two, especially those that don't care about warranty. Buy the car without any of the features, if it's only locked down rather than missing hardware someone will eventually get the features for free.

a reply to: JAGStorm

For people to pay willingly BMW should make it more exclusive: Butt Membrane Warmer.

Everything is a scam anymore, everything. Chincy cheap ass products, shinkflation, lowered quality ect...

It's the greedy corporations and their soulless, penny pinching damn shareholders. They ruin the quality of everything just for profits.
Everything you buy sucks nowadays and they want every penny of your disposable income either through cheap quality and subscription based products. Like the op said in the future it will be worse. You will not own anything, you will rent, lease or subscribe.

Yeah this is just wrong. No doubt. Seat heating by subscription goes too far.

I can understand like different sound exhaust profiles *puke* for subscription and the advanced, probably daily updated driving assistance system, I can understand that too.

But the heated seats, they must be joking! I will ask my BMW contact person that on Monday, what is up to this. Will report back.

That makes no sense. You are basically just paying for them to turn it ON for you.

You pay to have the hardware installed in your car. Once it is installed, then you should have it. Why the hell would you need them to turn it ON for you....



Isn't this really just more proof that they have always been ripping people off with the additional cost people have paid to get such features installed in their car. I mean clearly they can easily afford to have it installed in all cars, otherwise this subscription nonsense would not be a viable option.

In the last 2 years we have seen small businesses decimated and big business incorporating many of the smaller businesses. The cost of everything from rent to fuel to utilities and groceries continues to skyrocket, with no relief in sight. The middle class is rapidly disappearing. The price of cars has already eliminated a large portion of people from owning one, and even fewer are going to be able to afford the high price of an electric vehicle.

When you have a majority of a population who have to rely on government handouts for subsidies for food, housing, utilities, public transportation healthcare, child care, etc. while a small portion at the top live like royalty you are living under socialism.

Take an honest look at where we are today, and the policies that are being passed that keep inching us closer and closer to socialism. You'd have to be a blind fool not to see how close we are.

originally posted by: lordcomac
Not like any of them would keep a car long enough to pay it off, those kinds of cars are junk in five years anyway

My wife's 2010 keeps going and going and going.

It might have cost me a little more than a car payment for a part here and there that's worn out. Batteries are stoopid expensive.

Anyway ... we won't be buying more cars in our lifetime. I don't have a dog in this fight.

a reply to: Snarl

That's the spirit.

My '99 Toyota is getting long in the tooth but is still the longest running most reliable vehicle I've ever had. Wish I had bought a few of them and stored them!
Among others, I've scrapped a mini Cooper, an 04 Hyundai, an Oldsmobile, am Audi, and my 07 Chevy has been in the shop since August.

I was tempted to buy a brand new Toyota last year, before the prices double ... But I think I'm 2016 they mandated so many computers the new cars are junk right off the lot.

Goodness...seems they are borrowing the video game makers models. I remember buying a new computer game for $25 and it was expensive but reasonable for years of play.

Along came phone Apps which charge for moving your characters arm, computer games now sell costumes and super powers for characters. Additional content purchase is needed to actually finish some games.

It's rather crazy to believe the average person would pay a subscription for car seat warmers. And yes the average BMW owner may not blink, but how long will it be before other car companies consider charging a subscription for starting the car in addition to purchase ?

It seems the master plan is to eliminate private car ownership anyway except for the rich and famous. Taxes by the mile in several states already, toll roads between cities that are exorbitant and still bridges that fall down despite all these fees.

Make Science Fiction seem to be our future reality and perhaps sooner than we thought. Big Gov is only getting bigger and bolder...25 cents for seatbelts soon

a reply to: Bluntone22

It’s like air filters for your engine, I got a service done in the wife’s car, it was 75.00 Australian just for the air filter.

I knew that was a rip-off, so I just bought a k&n on sale for $95.00 already had s cleaning kit from my other car, I have ckeaned and serviced the filter at least 5 times, it paid for itself.

Another ripoff are on older cars you could just replace the wiper blades for about $20,00 for a car set front and back.

Now manufacturers are using proprietary in house all in one wiper assemblies, you can’t just change the blade, no it like $60.00 for each blade replacement, a $180 for a car set front and rear. They should not be this expensive.

Have any consumer or legal groups ever checked into how the "You don't actually own it" model works with vehicles?

Yes cell phone makers bury in their terms of use. And with Deere you can bring home a $1 million machine with little more than their invoice.

But with vehicles in the US, you get a government-issued title stating it's YOURS. Are there loopholes for "Well maybe not all of it"?

originally posted by: ThatDamnDuckAgain

But the heated seats, they must be joking! I will ask my BMW contact person that on Monday, what is up to this. Will report back.

I'll be interested as well.
The original story.....errrrrrr....excuse.....was that it was one less chip to use, thus saving chips for more needed features.

a reply to: robsmith

From what I've seen, those k&n filters are a joke for regular use. They keep the big chunks out, but are for people who rebuild their engines every few races.
Oem filters are restrictive for a reason.

In the US you "own" your equipment when it breaks- but if you want to USE it, it likely belongs to the bank.