BMW starts selling heated seat subscriptions - $18 per month

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not thrilled about the idea that someone else has remote access to anything in the operation of my vehicle such that they can turn it on or off at will from afar. What could co wrong?

Well I have news for you.... they already have this.

Can this be marketed as a security feature? That if your car is stolen, they can manage it so that it can't be started? Maybe insurance goes down?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not thrilled about the idea that someone else has remote access to anything in the operation of my vehicle such that they can turn it on or off at will from afar. What could co wrong?

Well I have news for you.... they already have this.

Can this be marketed as a security feature? That if your car is stolen, they can manage it so that it can't be started? Maybe insurance goes down?

I think cars with onstar already have this feature.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well Lexus charges a subscription fee for the remote start feature on my car. And I assume other employ similar crappy tactics. It's one reason why my next car won't be another Lexus. I think it's a really low ball move.

Here's the thing - I only really want remote start during the coldest parts of the winter. So maybe 4 months per year. At $8/month, that's $32 per year. Assuming I have my car for 10 years, that's $320.

Remote start as an option on most new cars starts at $500.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How weird. I have heating and cooling seats but a subscription to make them work seems very odd.

This is how I feel about my phone. It's my damn phone. I bought it. It belongs to me. Why do I have to give them all my personal info and sign in with google etc???

The old ways were better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not thrilled about the idea that someone else has remote access to anything in the operation of my vehicle such that they can turn it on or off at will from afar. What could co wrong?

This. So the components are there, but you don't get to control when and how you use it without paying extra? So STUPID. If everyone refuses it'll stop.

Cars depreciate so fast too. This seems like a bad idea.

[Anonymous]

The rest...

It’s no surprise that BMW isn’t trumpeting the news, though. 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.

Carmakers have always charged customers more money for high-end features, of course, but the dynamic is very different when software, rather than hardware, is the limiting factor.

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. For some software features that might lead to ongoing expenses for the carmaker (like automated traffic camera alerts, for example), charging a subscription seems more reasonable. But that’s not an issue for heated seats.

Other features that BMW is locking behind subscriptions (as per the company’s digital UK store) include heated steering wheels, from $12 a month; the option to record footage from your car’s cameras, priced at $235 for “unlimited” use; and the “IconicSounds Sport package,” which lets you play engine sounds in your car for a one-time fee of $117.

I really wonder how this will go over the US is they expand it. Will people be able to hack their cars to circumvent the BMW programming and make their features work? Will that be a nice hacker gig?

[Anonymous]

Long term I think it’s a mistake. I once had to pay $18 for WiFi access at a Ritz hotel and I’ve never looked at the brand the same way since.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Long term I think it’s a mistake. I once had to pay $18 for WiFi access at a Ritz hotel and I’ve never looked at the brand the same way since.

+1 BMW is selling luxury (at least that's what their marketing is trying to do). Being nickled and dimed is the opposite of a premium experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The rest...

It’s no surprise that BMW isn’t trumpeting the news, though. 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.

Carmakers have always charged customers more money for high-end features, of course, but the dynamic is very different when software, rather than hardware, is the limiting factor.

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. For some software features that might lead to ongoing expenses for the carmaker (like automated traffic camera alerts, for example), charging a subscription seems more reasonable. But that’s not an issue for heated seats.

Other features that BMW is locking behind subscriptions (as per the company’s digital UK store) include heated steering wheels, from $12 a month; the option to record footage from your car’s cameras, priced at $235 for “unlimited” use; and the “IconicSounds Sport package,” which lets you play engine sounds in your car for a one-time fee of $117.

I really wonder how this will go over the US is they expand it. Will people be able to hack their cars to circumvent the BMW programming and make their features work? Will that be a nice hacker gig?

Hacking it would probably void all warranties on the car.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The rest...

It’s no surprise that BMW isn’t trumpeting the news, though. 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.

Carmakers have always charged customers more money for high-end features, of course, but the dynamic is very different when software, rather than hardware, is the limiting factor.

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. For some software features that might lead to ongoing expenses for the carmaker (like automated traffic camera alerts, for example), charging a subscription seems more reasonable. But that’s not an issue for heated seats.

Other features that BMW is locking behind subscriptions (as per the company’s digital UK store) include heated steering wheels, from $12 a month; the option to record footage from your car’s cameras, priced at $235 for “unlimited” use; and the “IconicSounds Sport package,” which lets you play engine sounds in your car for a one-time fee of $117.

I really wonder how this will go over the US is they expand it. Will people be able to hack their cars to circumvent the BMW programming and make their features work? Will that be a nice hacker gig?

In a few years, it will be the norm. Tesla already does it re the extended range; BMW was just ahead of its time. The younger generation is becoming accustomed to microtransactions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well Lexus charges a subscription fee for the remote start feature on my car. And I assume other employ similar crappy tactics. It's one reason why my next car won't be another Lexus. I think it's a really low ball move.

Here's the thing - I only really want remote start during the coldest parts of the winter. So maybe 4 months per year. At $8/month, that's $32 per year. Assuming I have my car for 10 years, that's $320.

Remote start as an option on most new cars starts at $500.

If you can buy a subscription on a month-to-month basis, and aren’t forced into an annual subscription.

[Anonymous]

Screw that. I'm buying a bicycle

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The rest...

It’s no surprise that BMW isn’t trumpeting the news, though. 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.

Carmakers have always charged customers more money for high-end features, of course, but the dynamic is very different when software, rather than hardware, is the limiting factor.

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. For some software features that might lead to ongoing expenses for the carmaker (like automated traffic camera alerts, for example), charging a subscription seems more reasonable. But that’s not an issue for heated seats.

Other features that BMW is locking behind subscriptions (as per the company’s digital UK store) include heated steering wheels, from $12 a month; the option to record footage from your car’s cameras, priced at $235 for “unlimited” use; and the “IconicSounds Sport package,” which lets you play engine sounds in your car for a one-time fee of $117.

I really wonder how this will go over the US is they expand it. Will people be able to hack their cars to circumvent the BMW programming and make their features work? Will that be a nice hacker gig?

Hacking it would probably void all warranties on the car.

That would be very illegal in the US. If they want to prewire the car, the consumer is going to own those wires and is free to connect them to a switch. Unless that switch is the point of failure, it can't void a warranty.

[Anonymous]

Millenials and their dang subscription models are killing the world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Millenials and their dang subscription models are killing the world.

+1