BMW subscription features

[jcapriotti]

Looks like companies that sell physical products are trying to get in on the subscription bandwagon. And users ain't happy.

https://www.wired.com/story/bmw-heated- ... ing-hacks/

[matt]

My Jeep Grand Cherokee I bought 7 years ago came with several services that required subscription. SiriusXM was one I just couldn't live without, and I can use it away from the car on my phone. But they wanted me to pay for other services on the electronic/connected hardware. After a year of service, I couldn't get weather directly on the car screen anymore unless I paid for it. Now days it's the self-driving features that they want you to pay subscription for. The heated seats thing is just hubris, which you'd kind of expect from a company like BMW.

Just like my Ring doorbell. I was an early adopter of the Ring, and we got a couple of years where it actually worked as they sold it. But then they started demanding a monthly fee for it to work as advertised. We can still use it to see what's happening right now, but the automated features are not available. It would be one thing if they gave you the hardware for free, then I could see charging monthly to make it work. But if you buy the hardware, and then have to pay to make it work...

[zxys001]

Looks like companies that sell physical products are trying to get in on the subscription bandwagon. And users ain't happy.

https://www.wired.com/story/bmw-heated- ... ing-hacks/

Is there a limit to human greed?

[jcapriotti]

My Jeep Grand Cherokee I bought 7 years ago came with several services that required subscription. SiriusXM was one I just couldn't live without, and I can use it away from the car on my phone. But they wanted me to pay for other services on the electronic/connected hardware. After a year of service, I couldn't get weather directly on the car screen anymore unless I paid for it. Now days it's the self-driving features that they want you to pay subscription for. The heated seats thing is just hubris, which you'd kind of expect from a company like BMW.

Some things like Sirius I can understand, they are providing a service that requires hosting, programmers, etc. But just turning on hardware that is already there is pretty low. Imagine if bought a toaster but I need to pay to turn on the "bagel' feature that is already there.....or use the defrost option on my microwave.

Then leads to other questions like, is it illegal to hack the software to turn on these features? What happens if I sell the thing Does the new owner have to subscribe and do I have to go through some owner transfer process?

[SPerman]

Is there a limit to human greed?

[Frederick_Law]

I can see a fee to activate the feature but not a subscription.
Can I get pay as you go?
Only charge me what I used?
I mean there are features I paid for but never used.
And I get discount when I used over 1000 times.

I'll worry about hacker turning every thing off and demand ransom so you can use your car again.

[SPerman]

If I don't use my heated seats all summer, and then want to use them in the winter, do I have to pay for all the months I didn't use the feature?

[Frederick_Law]

Since the heated-seat announcement, BMW UK released a statement: “The ConnectedDrive Store in the UK offers customers the opportunity to add selected features which they did not order when the vehicle was built … This functionality is particularly useful for secondary owners, as they now have the opportunity to add features which the original owner did not choose … Drivers can also experiment with a feature by activating a short-term trial before committing to a full purchase.”

In the UK, BMW has priced heated seats at £15 ($18) a month, £150 a year, £250 for three years, or £350 “unlimited.”

If you need heated seat for 4 months, it'll be £60 a year. £300 for 5 years. You'll save £50 if you get a new car in 5 years.