Slow. 🐢

It's been on the lot waiting for me for a week, but I have a strange SNAFU with the title on my Kia. I refinanced through USAA for a lower rate shortly after getting it, and there was an error when they did the title work. The USAA lien was recorded, but the Kia one was never removed. So I have a screwed up situation where Kia is listed as a primary lienholder and USAA is secondary. I'm waiting for Kia to Fedex me a notarized lien release to clear this up, but they're not moving as fast as they'd hope. I have a bunch of positive equity and my trade value is good until 1/8, so it's a minor frustration in the grand scheme of things.

 

Subscription based features are nothing new, I guess if you haven't bought a new vehicle in the past 10 years one wouldn't know any better. For instance my 2013 truck came with 3 months free Sirus satellite radio programming, then you had to pay to keep it or not. I also have remote start using the key fob for free forever but if I wanted the up feature and use my cell phone I had to pay a yearly fee for that. Etc....

 

You are absolutely right sir, but the "new" subscription services being brought online from various manufacturers are things like heated seats, remote start, heated steering wheel, etc... Services like 4G connectivity or satellite radio and OnStar have been subscription based for quite a while.

As the article I linked about specifically talking about BMW charging for heated seats or a "lifetime" charge is something new as far as I knew. The article also mentioned that manufacturers like BMW opted not to institute these subscription based charges in the United States. I gave an example about Subaru in the previous post as well, but as you mentioned about the head unit, infotainment center, there are sometimes ways around what the manufacturer tries to do or charge for.

I believe these new subscription charges are being called "microtransactions" and a snip from the article I linked above it below. There are many, many more articles about this method of generating revenue from manufacturers and it doesn't surprise me. I am grateful this has not made it to the United States and it may never. Likely, by the time it does and I end up purchasing one of these cars used, there may be a legacy clause or something due to the age of the vehicle and the manufacturer just opening the accessories up.

 

Think about the other side of this.

I just went and played around in the build and price section of the BMW website. To get heated seats on an X3, you would need to spring for a $2,650 premium interior package. They're not offered as a standalone option. Heated seats in the 330i only come with the same premium package for $1,900.

Would you prefer to spend $15/month during the winter months, or shell out $2,600? I could heat my backside for 173 months for the cost of the upfront purchase. I wish BMW gave owners the option to subscribe to heated seats instead of buying the full package from the factory. That's 34 winters' worth of heated seat subscription fees.

 

If you have a wife like mine, the heated seats is a 365 day a year option requirement, even in the GA summer months.

I can see your point of view and "the other side", but it is a change from the norm and a change that may lead to other ideas. Like integrated garage door buttons for $5 a month, seat memory positions for $5 a month, dual zone climate control for $15 a month, etc... Who knows what goes through the minds of a marketing and accounting executive at these manufacturers.

It's all good though, they will either be successful in their microtransactions or fail. Most likely I will not have to worry about it for a few years to come and by then a teenager will have figured out how to hack the subscription module.

 

I resemble that remark! I use the heated seats year-round. Your wife has a good head on her shoulders.

I still don't understand the outrage. If it's that objectionable, why not just fork over and buy the feature from the jump like we've been doing for a century?

I could add HomeLink to my EV6 with a $215 accessory mirror, which was also available from the factory. Nah. No chance. But if you offered that to me for a few bucks a month instead...

 

Well... She married me... Which is usually a good choice...


I'm personally not outraged, just being aware of what may be coming down the road if the rest of the world signs up for the subscription based accessories and options. As I said earlier, I believe the articles are fear mongering or doomsday predicting a bit. Bad news sells a lot better than good news...

 

Those articles and online chatter are what I was referring to. And you're exactly right. People generally don't want to hear good or even neutral reporting, and it's rarely free.

 

I think the best play on any EV truck right now is to plan to wait, let the price and the quality issues level off and then find one.

Ford is playing a dangerous game right now in the sense that they aren't meeting supply demands. IMHO, they are purposely NOT meeting supply demands to hold the prices on everything that people want such as the Bronco, Maverick, Lightning, Mach E and superduty trucks.

The workforce is there, supply chain issues are becoming extinct though COVID has seen another flare up in the far East.

I just spent $300 on my 2011 truck to replace the transfer case shift motor. That's the first repair that I've had to make outside of coils, plugs and o2 sensors. Not bad for a job 1 ecoboost truck. At this rate, it'll be years before I'm remotely interested in buying anything.