BMW starts selling heated seat subscriptions for $18 a month

I don't know about you but I would never buy a car from a manufacturer that artificially "Locks" standard features of the car from your use unless you pay monthly fees.

I hope their sales suffer massively from this to deter other greedy automakers from pulling this crap. This is plain unnecessary greed. You are not paying for a service that is not already functioning on the car.


The auto industry is racing towards a future full of microtransactions

www.theverge.com...

BMW is now selling subscriptions for heated seats in a number of countries — the latest example of the company’s adoption of microtransactions for high-end car features.

A monthly subscription to heat your BMW’s front seats costs roughly $18, with options to subscribe for a year ($180), three years ($300), or pay for “unlimited” access for $415.

Since the company announced in 2020 that its cars’ operating system would allow for microtransactions on features like automatic high beams and adaptive cruise control, customers have decried the move as greedy and exploitative.

In the case of heated seats, for example, BMW owners already have all the necessary components, but BMW has simply placed a software block on their functionality that buyers then have to pay to remove.

I wouldn't pay that fee.

And what's next, $10 a month to unlock you steering wheel? Or perhaps a little extra for the ability to brake? Or disable your car if your a day late on your payment?

Ridiculous.

a reply to: infolurker

a reply to: infolurker

I would like to say Fk them but the Car industry is a cookie cutter Oligarch. It will only be a short time before the others start this crap.

I believe Tesla was already doing it with some features and started this crap that will surely be pushed down our throat.

Hopefully people shut this down with their wallet and don't buy a bmw , but very unlikely . There is always the idiot that can't see two feet ahead of them and must have the latest and greatest thing to show how awesome they are, because they have nothing else of significance to offer.


Remember the YOU WILL OWN NOTHING AND BE HAPPY. Most people thought that was only for housing. Nope. This will apply to most things. why would they only charge you once when they can charge you for life on everything.

originally posted by: MiddleInsite
I wouldn't pay that fee.

And what's next, $10 a month to unlock you steering wheel? Or perhaps a little extra for the ability to brake? Or disable your car if your a day late on your payment?

Ridiculous.

a reply to: infolurker

This is part of the 'you will own nothing and be happy'. It's been happening in the game/music/movie industry with all digital files , and soon your 'booster' shots will be provided to you as-a-service. Provided your 'social credit score' passes of course

I would never buy a POS car, from a POS company that charges a subscription..for anything..Ill stick with my old cars thank you.

a reply to: infolurker

And a speaker that plays cool engine sounds. You've bought the wrong BMW if you need a speaker that plays cool engine sounds.

originally posted by: vonclod
I would never buy a POS car, from a POS company that charges a subscription..for anything..Ill stick with my old cars thank you.

I agree , but you will only stick with the old cars for a little while.

When this doesn't become popular with the masses then they will claim those old cars are to harmful for the environment. You will be at first charged with large fines to keep those old cars until it becomes financially impossible to keep them.

originally posted by: interupt42

originally posted by: vonclod
I would never buy a POS car, from a POS company that charges a subscription..for anything..Ill stick with my old cars thank you.

I agree , but you will only stick with the old cars for a little while.

When this doesn't become popular with the masses then they will claim those old cars are to harmful for the environment. You will be at first charged with large fines to keep those old cars until it becomes financially impossible to keep them.

Ya, I know. We had aircare here for a couple decades, they shut it down probaly 8 years ago, by then most older vehicles were crushed. I still keep my 80s Buick Regal, and it's in decent tune, gets better milage than my 18yr newer vehicle

Just like I tell my kids when the complain about micros on the Xbox X and the PC. It is all about the marketing and it will not last.

I say it has about another 2 years and will be so saturated it will need another single parent guilt buy options for their games.

This is not to far from what Tesla does with opening features on their cars.

If you want to make money...learn how to hack em.

Good thing I have never met a cool BMW owner, or expect to.

originally posted by: ancientlight

originally posted by: MiddleInsite
I wouldn't pay that fee.

And what's next, $10 a month to unlock you steering wheel? Or perhaps a little extra for the ability to brake? Or disable your car if your a day late on your payment?

Ridiculous.

a reply to: infolurker

This is part of the 'you will own nothing and be happy'. It's been happening in the game/music/movie industry with all digital files , and soon your 'booster' shots will be provided to you as-a-service. Provided your 'social credit score' passes of course

Wait, it is not a Social Credit score... that is the evil Chinese.

Ours is the benevolent ESG score

www.abovetopsecret.com...

a reply to: infolurker

"What Code doth Giveth, Code hath Taketh Away!"

(But, the Righteous Hackers can Restore!)

a reply to: Mantiss2021
Maybe, that would be the appropriate response, BMWs response to that will be..voiding your warrantee. And sure as sh#t, they will know, because there is no privacy, everything is connected.

They can keep their garbage cars

originally posted by: tamusan
a reply to: infolurker

And a speaker that plays cool engine sounds. You've bought the wrong BMW if you need a speaker that plays cool engine sounds.

That is 100% accurate.

S14 with a DTM motor and CF air box is what BMW once was.

Now it’s what we see today, sadly. I gave up on them after 2006.

I read about this subscription thing coming a while ago but forgot about it. As I understand it, the premise is that you can standardize production of a model which leads to a material efficiency gain when thinking multi-years of a body style. Less waste, greater efficiency.

The car arrives at the dealer “blank” and they can program what ever the customer wants - and charge accordingly.

Let’s say heated seats are a $750 option. If that’s the case, but you really only need them for two months a year, and plan to own the car for 5 years, you’re better off spending $36/year for heated seats - you save materially over buying the option installed up front.

Recurring revenue is where it’s at if you want to increase the value of your business - and it allows more people more access to things because they don’t have to buy the whole thing any longer - which we’ve been doing with auto leases for ever.

The issue with this whole “own nothing” thing is that most people already own nothing. Think about it globally:

If you have just $4,210 to your name, you’re better off than half of people around the globe.

$4,210 can’t really do much.

But, if they can not worry about spending 1k on something, and instead spend $10/month for it, then you just made the un-wealthy as wealthy of those who could spend the 1k proportionately to someone with $421k.

Ownership will still exist for those who can own, but, I bet for many things people will do the math and subscribe.

Thus, your $18/month heated seats 😎

originally posted by: MiddleInsite
I wouldn't pay that fee.

And what's next, $10 a month to unlock you steering wheel? Or perhaps a little extra for the ability to brake? Or disable your car if your a day late on your payment?

Ridiculous.

a reply to: infolurker

O FFS! Move this to R.A.T.S. before other auto makers see this.


Next thing you know it will be like THAT MYSTERIOUS McDonald's ICE CREAM MACHINE hostage breaking conspiracy. Controlled from an App.

God only knows they will crank the heater in july!

Edit:
Does that come with extra geek squad coverage for additional $50 1 year woops I spilled my hot coffee on the heating coils?

Will they prorate the price of the vehicle?

Is a new model BMW with no heat seat subscription comparably in price to an old model BMW that did not have the heated seat hardware installed?

If so this would be a win win; the car manufacturer only has to manufacturer one model car with all the features installed, cutting down on the cost of customization in a assembly line; the customer than pays for the function they want, when they want.

I would pat $18 for two months out of the year I might use heated seats; rather than pay the full cost of having the feature year round.

The idea came from microsoft

Next theyll lock your toenail clippers unless you pay .01¢ a squeeze.

Life is already nothing but a series of micro transactions as it is

a reply to: infolurker
For me heated seats aren’t really a big issue.

The big issue here is starting with a basic add on.

This is obviously a ploy to gauge on how many would pay the full cost for heated seats versus subscription.

This will start with heated seats, then air conditioning, heating.

Your car will have a v8 fitted as standard, though you only paid for the four cylinder so you can only use four, paid for a six u get six
Paid for eight great.

Then at times you can pay a subscription to access more cylinders on and off.

Next it will be subscriptions for summer and winter tyres, which might be a good thing as I know in Europe tyres are expensive and maintains two sets ain’t cheap.