They $@!* You in the Drive-Thru!

[brian42]

Kudos for anyone who thought "Hmmm...a Lethal Weapon 4 reference; I'll check this out".

Just when you thought it was bad enough to take the hit on a new vehicle and walk away with $XXX/month in payments for XX years, now all those neat features are going to cost you more.

Regardless if it's something the auto maker pays for (heated seats) or doesn't (Apple CarPlay) it looks like it's not far from having some features be a subscription service vice a one-time premium included in the vehicle's price.

Purely conjecture on my part, but that can easily translate over time to non-essential functions being at a cost also.

It will start with telematics like Guardian - oh wait, that's already a pay service. Next will be NAV. It comes "free" when you pay for the NAV system from the factory. I can easily see the premium price for the equipment then a monthly/annual fee to have it active sometime down the road. Eventually that could reach down to the "basic" features. I paid for the Level 2 package that has heated seats and steering wheel and can see a day where newer trucks require a subscription for "extended comfort features" for the heat to actually work.

A couple of articles if you haven't seen this yet:

On-Demand Options: Automakers Move Toward Subscription Services

Carmakers are making buyers subscribers.

www.caranddriver.com

Why You Might Need to Subscribe to Get Certain Features on Your Next Car - Consumer Reports

Consumer Reports explains why you might need to subscribe to get certain features on your next car, noting that some automakers plan to charge fees for some features.

www.consumerreports.org

 

[Camelot]

That is already happening. I had a subscription for my nav and info in my 2012 Audi A6. Paid up my nose for monthly Nav updates for my Garmin's in my airplane as well

 

[LaxDfns15]

Nav is already a paid for subscription if you care about keeping up to date maps. Basically $100+/year I think was the cost of getting an update. For old maps.

 

[Raydar]

I think I would just install Waze on my phone, and then plug it in. (Been there. Done that.)
It's way more useful than my Garmon ever thought about being.

 

[brian42]

Nav is already a paid for subscription if you care about keeping up to date maps. Basically $100+/year I think was the cost of getting an update. For old maps.

I got the NAV for the features (including HD radio) more than the maps (plus the dash trim piece looks nicer ). I'm fine with the loaded maps as I seldom use it even though I've got the Travel Link but can use the NAV if I so desire since there's a map file. I'd say it's "free" but there was an extra $1000 or so to get the NAV unit. It's easier to stomach a one-and-done cost rather than nickel and dime every month.

I've had more than one salesman tell me "for only $20/month more you can have this nicer XXX over here". All those dollars add up and it's easier to make more when people don't do all the math. $XXX up front will almost always cost more than $X/month for XX years when all said and done.

The convenience of what I can get from SXM (radio) is worth the ~$70/year I pay. Other than that I've been cancelling my trials as they run out.

I don't mind paying for the "premium" stuff (SXM, Travel Link, etc.) but it's when they get down to in-vehicle functions (adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist, etc.) that's going to really bother me.

 

[Bigbags85]

The problem is going to come from both ends. Should they charge a subscription for heated seats or steering wheels? No. But they will because they know enough people won't care and they'll just pay for it. If there was no money to be made off of these things they wouldn't do it but there are always enough people who just won't care and eat the cost. On the flip side, I'm sure there will probably be a way to hack most of the subscription features haha.

 

[brian42]

I'm sure they'll include the subscription fees in the monthly payment guaranteeing a lengthy contract.

I read that Stellantis is estimating $22B/year in revenue from this when the process matures.