[Steve Neul]

Someone was just telling me about the heated seats subscription deal the other day. What a freaking ripoff!! It's bad enough that we get rooked into an extended warranty because of all the fancy sensors and cameras that'll go out of whack if you hit a pothole just wrong, and now this. The only thing I see working is a massive--and I do mean massive--consumer boycott or they'll just keep nickel-and-diming us to death. I admit that I choose to subscribe to satellite radio, but it's much more of a luxury than heated seats. But if want to update my navigation maps, it's $100+ to get the SD card. Just wait 'til they make us have a subscription so the A/C will work. That's when the general uprising will begin. Sure glad I've got a convertible.

It's all built into the system. I have a customer which owns a car dealership and she told me they make far more money off the service department than selling cars. Anyway all the gadgets they put on cars today especially the electronics running the car is why I boycott vehicles made in the 21st century. They have cars to a point where there is only a handfull of people in the world which are capable of working on them. It's like the shade-tree mechanic used to be guessing which part to replace until they accidentally replace the bad part.

 

[Joel_The_Mole]

Generally speaking I feel you should either pay the cost up front OR a smaller subscription fee, not both. Paying a subscription to turn things on for a $50k car I paid for outright seems insane.

The exception would be things that cost them, but those should be very limited. Charging for over the air updates or remote start via a mobile connection rather than connecting your car to your wifi or direct connection for example.

That being said I don't have as much of a problem with one time cost upgrades that come pre installed in all the vehicles if there is a cost benefit that comes down to the consumer.

For instance, let's say we have a economic base engine and premium engine upgrade option: the upgrade revs higher, makes more power, is less fuel efficient, and comes without some of the tax breaks the more economical engine would have. If you can make the performance engine run like the economy engine via tuning, and making all the cars with the higher performance engine saves costs in design and manufacturing, and is reflected a lower MSRP, I don't have any real problem with charging for an "upgrade" that is little more than turning on the performance settings in the engine computer.

The idea of charging for premium engine tuning as if it were an upgraded engine makes sense to me as the customer is getting the same service they previously received, especially if it is at an equal or lower cost.

 

[rdorud]

The 2023 KTM 890 Adventure has electronic packages you can buy for cruise control, rally mode and other things. If it is a monthly subscription, I'm out. Pay once? OK, I can live with that, except all of it is already on the bike. A monthly service, no thanks. Stuff your bike. I think BMW bikes will be going this way. I think they started it with their cars already.