Subscription service for heated seats, auto high beam and more

Forums › Transport (cars, bikes and boats) › Subscription service for heated seats, auto high beam and more

LostBoyNZ

574 posts

Ultimate Geek

#298757 13-Jul-2022 20:11

This is a worrying concept to see, BMW NZ (and some other countries) unlock hardware in your car via a subscription service, including heated seats ($30 a month), high beam assistant ($20 a month) and more.

https://www.bmw.co.nz/en/shop/ls/cp/connected-drive

There's an "unlimited" option for some items but I wouldn't be too surprised to see they stop offering that to new customers one day.

Anything that relies on cloud computing or some form of online service like real time traffic ($120 a year), I can understand a subscription model. Like with Office 365, Adobe and such, you're paying for updates to the software.

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42 posts

Geek

#2941621 13-Jul-2022 20:29

I actually wonder if this is a way for manufacturers to get user the rebate threshold.. Buy it for 79,999 get your rebate and then another month later buy all the "extras" for 3k.

That is a very NZ specific example but it does give them the ability to fudge the numbers abit.

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Technofreak

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#2941640 13-Jul-2022 21:04

I'd be telling them, "If you want a sale either unlock it permanently or no sale, I'm not paying a monthly fee for some that's already part of the car."

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Journeyman

1178 posts

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#2941645 13-Jul-2022 21:19

Yeah this micro-transaction crap annoys the hell out of me. This is only the start. Soon they'll be charging for things like "regular indicators as standard, or pay $$$ for animated signal pattern DLC!!!" You'll have never fully paid for your car and the small amounts just add up in the background until you look at your bank transactions one day and realise you're pissing away a whole lot of money.

I just want to pay once for the thing and then I own it.

Linux

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#2941647 13-Jul-2022 21:23

Buy another make / model of car

cokemaster

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#2941649 13-Jul-2022 21:26

I have a question - is the launch date for this April 1st 2023?

Major step backwards in my opinion. My last two cars have had heated seats, adaptive cruise control, auto lights, apple play... no way in hell would I pay a sub for those.

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ezbee

2334 posts

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#2941654 13-Jul-2022 21:52

Its up to consumers to reject this kind of piracy.
Otherwise its a very long slippery slope.

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Journeyman

1178 posts

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#2941666 13-Jul-2022 22:21

Linux:

Buy another make / model of car

In time they'll all end up like that.

richms

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#2941673 13-Jul-2022 22:56

Im ok with this, because you will be able to get the aftermarket coding tools to override it and get the stuff without paying for it, like upgrading rigol oscilloscopes when its just a software lock.

Richard rich.ms

gzt

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#2941674 13-Jul-2022 23:06

Journeyman: I just want to pay once for the thing and then I own it.

I'm sure that will be an option.

michaelmurfy

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#2941675 13-Jul-2022 23:20

The Tesla has software unlocks like enhanced autopilot and full self driving along with a monthly subscription for unlimited data for premium connectivity (only $10.99/mo).

Yes enhanced autopilot for example is expensive at $5700 but I did buy this upgrade despite it only being a software update - it does add some “nice to have” features. You still get basic autopilot for free with newer cars that have hardware support (some older cars required an upgrade and thus autopilot was at a cost).

I know Tesla did do locked features (seat warmers) but it is nice to see these are now just all included when you get the car, not locked down behind software.

What BMW are doing here is a cash grab and even though I own a car that technically has a subscription service and paid software upgrades paying money for map upgrades as a single example should not be a thing these days. But also BMW’s subscription model is a joke with how many things they have locked away behind it.

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Bung

6323 posts

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#2941690 14-Jul-2022 05:59

When the required hardware developes a fault will they try and tell you that the service is no longer supported instead of fixing it?

sen8or

1758 posts

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#2941697 14-Jul-2022 08:26

Journeyman:

Yeah this micro-transaction crap annoys the hell out of me. This is only the start. Soon they'll be charging for things like "regular indicators as standard, or pay $$$ for animated signal pattern DLC!!!" You'll have never fully paid for your car and the small amounts just add up in the background until you look at your bank transactions one day and realise you're pissing away a whole lot of money.

I just want to pay once for the thing and then I own it.

BMW, Mercedes & Ford Ranger drivers don't use them now, whey would they pay extra for them?

Batman

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#2941698 14-Jul-2022 08:38

why is the brakes not working?

oh shee the credit card is at limit!

Senecio

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#2941700 14-Jul-2022 08:44

I’ll admit, I’m in minority here.

If you buy a new car and option it up it will cost you a fortune. It’s not uncommon for some European cars to have a base price of ~$80k but an options list of another $50k on top of base. When you sell that car or trade it in you never get any of that money back. You’ve just paid for the next owner to enjoy those luxuries you paid for. This way you can buy the base car, subscribe to only those services you want and when you move the car on you’ve only paid for those services while you were using them.

tehgerbil

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#2941726 14-Jul-2022 09:32

It's not just BMW here.

Toyota tried to make remote start subscription only last year!
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