Subscription based services in your vehicle becoming the norm

[Beretta.sixpack]

Future of Vehicle services via subscription

Read this over the weekend....wasn't really sure how I felt about it.....everything from heated seats to extra HP gonna be based on a monthly subscription...

 

[patdog]

Good thing I like my car. Cause I'm gonna be keeping it for a long, long time.

 

[thatsbaseball]

Good thing I like my car. Cause I'm gonna be keeping it for a long, long time.

We have a good car now with good value (I hope) and I'm looking to trade before the **** totally hits the fan. I'm looking to make my next one last a long long time.

 

[Hail State]

Fine by me. All this will do is stop me from paying for a premium model truck. I'll go back to buying base packages. All I need is Bluetooth. I have everything on my phone. Why pay the $10,000 upgrade for gps if you can't even use it unless you pay $25/month. My phone gps works just fine.

 

[Xenomorph]

Fine by me. All this will do is stop me from paying for a premium model truck. I'll go back to buying base packages. All I need is Bluetooth. I have everything on my phone. Why pay the $10,000 upgrade for gps if you can't even use it unless you pay $25/month. My phone gps works just fine.

That would be fine except they're not stopping with a subscription for your GPS... you're about to have to pony up every month to turn your heated seats on and to have 50 extra horsepower.

Next you'll have to subscribe to a PM plan that has to be carried out at an authorized dealer or your air conditioner won't turn on.

/...it's like we're all a bunch of farmers enslaved by JD.

 

[The Cooterpoot]

I can't even afford gas

 

[Hail State]

That would be fine except they're not stopping with a subscription for your GPS... you're about to have to pony up every month to turn your heated seats on and to have 50 extra horsepower.

Next you'll have to subscribe to a PM plan that has to be carried out at an authorized dealer or your air conditioner won't turn on.

/...it's like we're all a bunch of farmers enslaved by JD.

If I can pick what I want like Bluetooth, heating and air conditioning I believe I will come out ahead. That is if they come off the charge for the gps computer hardware. Which the greedy bastards probably won't.

 

[onewoof]

Fine by me. All this will do is stop me from paying for a premium model truck. I'll go back to buying base packages. All I need is Bluetooth. I have everything on my phone. Why pay the $10,000 upgrade for gps if you can't even use it unless you pay $25/month. My phone gps works just fine.

I have a Honda accord I bought for $6500 and its going to last until 2035 so I think I will keep changing the oil and using the aux cord.

 

[TrueMaroonGrind]

Subscription based models are insanely profitable. These companies will keep going that direction until we squeal.

 

[Shmuley]

Future of Vehicle services via subscription

Read this over the weekend....wasn't really sure how I felt about it.....everything from heated seats to extra HP gonna be based on a monthly subscription...

Campaign issue. Congress will get involved. So, I'm sure everything will work out just fine for the consumer.

 

[patdog]

Subscription based models are insanely profitable. These companies will keep going that direction until we squeal.

It will be interesting to see how strong the customer pushback from this will be and if it will be strong enough to hurt the manufacturers enough to give in. With cars lasting longer than ever, the push to total electric when there are significant problems there and you've already sold to the diehards, and this, I think we could see new car sales fall off a cliff over then next 10 years or so.

 

[TrueMaroonGrind]

It will be interesting to see how strong the customer pushback from this will be and if it will be strong enough to hurt the manufacturers enough to give in. With cars lasting longer than ever, the push to total electric when there are significant problems there and you've already sold to the diehards, and this, I think we could see new car sales fall off a cliff over then next 10 years or so.

It’s already happening. Over the last 2 years consumers have accepted driving older cars. I am one of them. My guess is consumers will react stronger to this than the insanity of the “Covid” shortages. It’s one thing when a global event causes insane prices. It’s entirely another when they are changing the pricing model for the sole reason of squeezing more money out of you after you own the car outright.

I would like a truck, but I’ll just buy a trailer. Consumers will adapt.

 

[mstateglfr]

Campaign issue. Congress will get involved. So, I'm sure everything will work out just fine for the consumer.

Curious to know what your definition of 'everything will work out just fine for the consumer' is.

And if Congress doesn't get involved, do you think everything will work out just fine for the consumer?

 

[T-TownDawgg]

17 these mother17ers with the incessant subscription bleed on your money

I’ll restore an ancient relic and drive it bluetoothing my phone through a JBL before ever signing over my manhood to another GD subscription for sound or vehicle performance

 

[UpTheMiddlex3Punt]

At least the satellite radio and OnStar stuff requires additional infrastructure that has to be maintained to still be useful, but heated seats and extra horsepower? You're still having to touch the physical button to turn the seat on.

Some hacker has probably already found a debug port in the vehicle that you can use to turn the seats on. So in a few years, heated seats will become even more expensive because they'll have to add processors and software to the seat hardware to support encrypted data links.

 

[T-TownDawgg]

I glossed over an article a few weeks ago that mentioned (I think it was Ford) vehicle features ALREADY INSTALLED IN/ON/WITH YOUR VEHICLE being disabled without a subscription. Another mentioned disabling vehicles when customers stop making payments on them.

On one hand I understand sticking it to deadbeat buyers. On the other hand, I see the imminent fleecing of the masses of decent folk.

Imagine this scenario: you buy a base model Explorer. You were promised a lifetime power train warranty. On your third oil change visit, the dealer informs you that Ford won't update your service records or allow any vehicle updates until you purchase the "Ford FukinOverFriends" subscription. Without it, your warranty will not be honored.

I could see a whole lot of lawsuits similar to the "Right to Repair" issues with John Deere. That case went all the way to SCOTUS. Wake up people.

ETA, DS, 17 these popups. No idea why it disables my mobile keyboard until I X out if it, then goes bold print and I can't turn it off. For 17s sake, probably a subscription issue

 

[Shmuley]

Curious to know what your definition of 'everything will work out just fine for the consumer' is.

And if Congress doesn't get involved, do you think everything will work out just fine for the consumer?

Dude, Jesus. Here’s a couple of asterisks just for you. **

 

[The Peeper]

Subscription based models are insanely profitable. These companies will keep going that direction until we squeal.

The thing that pi$$e$ me off about this type service is we the consumer pay for the equipment whether we subscribe to it or not.
Then the automakers make more money once someone does subscribe. It's like all of the bloatware crap cell phone carriers pack our phones with hoping we will use, they get paid by the app companies whether we use it or not.

They can keep their heated seats, I've got them in my SUV and I don't think the drivers side has ever been turned on, passenger side only when my wife gets in.

 

[mstateglfr]

Dude, Jesus. Here’s a couple of asterisks just for you. **

I know you werent serious- I figured your comment meant that because congress will get involved, it wont work out well for the consumer.

So I asked for you to actually say something of substance. You seem to think it wont work out well for the consumer if the government gets involved, so do you think it will work out well for the consumer if the government stays out?

 

[mstateglfr]

It'll be interesting to see what aftermarket options spring up from this.
Guarantee multiple Chinese companies will create workarounds. It'll just be a matter of if the workarounds are elegant or kludgy.

Thinking of the devices that turn wired apple CarPlay into wireless, for example. Yes, that's just creating a Bluetooth connection, but it's a created workaround.