Would you pay monthly for certain features

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White six four

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Found this when looking at ordering a new Toyota rav4 for the wife. The main thing she wants is remote start which is free for the first year then it's $8 a month. Needless to say we won't be ordering one since who knows what other features they will switch over and a person has to pay monthly.

"Stellantis (formerly Fiat Chrysler), Ford, and GM each aim to generate at least $20 billion in annual revenue from software services by 2030."
 

kurek

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I guess I'm alone in thinking remote start is a useless feature. I briefly had a Jeep with remote start, never used it. Maybe I'm a cave man but I just can't wrap my head around what's difficult sticking a key in a hole and turning it.

I'm sure as **** not going to pay a subscription for having a car that also depreciates and I need to maintain on my dime. It's one or the other, either I 100% own it or they 100% own it, none of this worst-of-both-worlds junk.
 

kurek

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On that topic when I momentarily owned a KL Cherokee (rubbish!!) one of the pieces of fine print in the uConnect system was that if I don't subscribe to the uConnect service monthly fee, after some initial period like the first 2 years they would also disable the use of the uConnect Pandora app even though that uses my cell phone's data.

In other words a lot of the uConnect services use the car's wireless data, I completely understand paying for that on a monthly basis if one wants that because it's an actual service provided at some expense by the manufacturer.

But the Pandora app uses my cell phone and my cell phone's wireless data to stream music. They have no reason to disable that ever because it's never costing the manufacturer anything. The only reason they would have to disable it is to punish me for not subscribing. That is some petty, vindictive bull poopie.
 
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White six four

White six four

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I guess I'm alone in thinking remote start is a useless feature. I briefly had a Jeep with remote start, never used it. Maybe I'm a cave man but I just can't wrap my head around what's difficult sticking a key in a hole and turning it.

I'm sure as **** not going to pay a subscription for having a car that also depreciates and I need to maintain on my dime. It's one or the other, either I 100% own it or they 100% own it, none of this worst-of-both-worlds junk.
I have it on my truck but I never use it. The wife would like it just to warm up the vehicle a little in the winter before she takes the kids to daycare, get on the bus etc.

I really hope people don't start paying monthly for this crap otherwise the manufacturers are just going to keep pushing the envelope to see what people will all pay for.
 

Docwagon1776

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I guess I'm alone in thinking remote start is a useless feature. I briefly had a Jeep with remote start, never used it. Maybe I'm a cave man but I just can't wrap my head around what's difficult sticking a key in a hole and turning it.

Nothing is difficult about it. Except you can't do it from your living room and your vehicle can be more easily stolen with the key in it. The use is the ability to run the HVAC system without having to go to the vehicle first and to allow the HVAC system to run without the risk of the vehicle being easily stolen by an opportunistic thief. Want to run in the convenient store but leave the AC on for the dog? Shut if off then remote start. Want to defrost your vehicle while you make your coffee? Remote start. If those don't appeal to you, then it's useless to you but it doesn't require much imagination to think of the utility others may find in it.
 

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Great! That'll be giving Toyota a nice black eye. I thought I read the public outcry on that Toyota subscription 'feature' was so severe they walked it back and 'temporarily' suspended the program? Or am I mistaken?

But for me, not only would I NOT pay for such a subscription, I probably wouldn't even buy a car by that company b/c just the mentality of charging a subscription for a feature that used to be free means they 'might' decide later on to implement such a subscription. Millennials and many people are very open to subscription services in this day and age of pay-as-you-go for ...um almost everything.

But listen here ...as soon as we get into another deep economic downturn, deep recession, or 2008-like 'great recession' ...economic downturns happen every so often. Anyway, you'll see how quick people rethink all the fees in their lives: Netflix, Prime, Streaming music, Cable ...and all the rest. Suddenly people can do without things that were important before. Man, I remember in '08-'11 how many people were cutting cable TV and other 'nice-to-have' membership services. You discovered real quick who was in debt up to their eyeballs and living check to check back, LOL. We had a guy at work who was a real blow-hard. He had a lot of co-workers bamboozled into thinking he was a high-roller (I sniffed him out as a major BS'er on day one!). About in 2010 he was selling his Harley's (2) his boat, ATV's, Snowmobiles, tools, all bought on credit. He was begging me to buy his stuff at pennies on the dollar! He would have lost his house had the gov't not helped him (he was anti-gov't BTW!). A real blow-hard dufus!! Well, I knew about 15 or 20 people who were like him, some who did loose their houses (Lot of others were BUYING properties cheap then!!). I had one customer tell me how he mailed his house keys to his mortgage company and transferring to an office in Puerto Rico (??).

That's a run-on story, but those days can (and will) happen again. So ...nope, I wouldn't pay for that or any other monthy feature for my car. The worst part is the OP had to search the fine print to uncover that language.
 
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kurek

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had the gov't not helped him (he was anti-gov't BTW!)

I take it for granted that anyone who is anti-gov't, anti-welfare, anti-federal aid, anti-healthcare, etc will be the very first person to put their hand out when they need help. There's nothing more reliable in the world than that.

On topic I get why people have remote start I just think it's kinda soft like the people in that movie Wall-E. I'm not gonna judge someone else for wanting to be pampered but it's not for me, seems we get used to shortcuts more and more until eventually it's all shortcuts. Keeping pets alive while shopping makes sense (though not as much sense as leaving them at home does.)
 

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I take it for granted that anyone who is anti-gov't, anti-welfare, anti-federal aid, anti-healthcare, etc will be the very first person to put their hand out when they need help. There's nothing more reliable in the world than that.

On topic I get why people have remote start I just think it's kinda soft like the people in that movie Wall-E. I'm not gonna judge someone else for wanting to be pampered but it's not for me, seems we get used to shortcuts more and more until eventually it's all shortcuts. Keeping pets alive while shopping makes sense (though not as much sense as leaving them at home does.)
 

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PoMansRam

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My spoiled *** bride loves the remote start in her Nissan pathfinder. Sometimes mashes it 2x before she finally gets out the door (it times out after ~10min). We do live in the Buffalo area, so winters are only about 6 months out of the year and her car sits outside, so it is nice to use for de-icing purposes. It is a horrific waste of fuel though and is why I'd never want remote start in my 2019 Ram 1500 classic hemi. I start it. Scrape / snow brush as needed and I move on. I've put basically no idle hours on my truck since I've owned it.
 

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I'm not anti-remote start or any features people want. But as was pointed out before, subscription services for otherwise common features is a slippery slope. Of course that's just how "I" feel about it ...YMMV. As I read about the Toyota service a month or two ago, the application of the subscription service included more features than just remote start (but that's what the media picked up on). The actual features, including remote start, might prove handy to some owners.

However, the more info all the auto mfgrs retain about owners and their cars is adding more layers of risk some owners might not be comfortable with. Esp how great large companies are at safeguarding personal data (and reporting hacks a year after they occurred). Plus of course a determined hacker could kill-switch yer car. Not to put a paranoid spin on things....

Regardless, there are probably some features that a monthly service we aren't even aware exist yet, which some owners might find useful. The new thing now is car ownership/sharing as as monthly service where multiple people pay a monthly service for car ownership. Something car companies are trying out now. Might be a worthwhile feature for people who don't drive a lot, live in densely populated areas with good public transportation and parking is expensive (Europe/Asia, NYC, SFO, etc).
 
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indept

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I really hope people don't start paying monthly for this crap otherwise the manufacturers are just going to keep pushing the envelope to see what people will all pay for.
^^^This^^^
The Mrs has a 2019 Rav 4 loaded and we refused to pay them for the remote start. Like said in this thread, why should we pay for something we already paid for. Cable TV is doing it more & more. They started out offering Hulu, Disney+ etc, and now espn is putting some live home team games on espn+ which is another subscription. Computer software is doing it too. Microsoft office 365 is a yearly subscription as is Norton & McAfee anti-virus. As long as people are willing to throw their money away on these subscriptions, companies will gladly take their money.
 

Jwithing

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Being nickeled and dimed to death for bs like that would be enough for me to consider a brand switch. Only non-mopar vehicle I've owned was a 91' Supra turbo that was a hand me down from my dad when I was 17 since I replaced that PITA egr valve and gasket tucked in the back of the engine right up on the firewall and got it running again. Wish I had that thing still. Wouldn't mind an excuse to get a new supra, those MFers are quick.
 

gt8684

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Well that makes sense. I mean it wasn't enough to pay 60K+ on a new vehicle, why not also pay 10$ a month for remote start, 10$ a month for use of the radio, 10$ a month to be able to put it in drive, of you have 4wd? that's 15$ a month sry...
 

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Only thing I’d entertain was self driving monthly subscription but I’d require some type of liability insurance from the provider that is different than mine.
 

Docwagon1776

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I take it for granted that anyone who is anti-gov't, anti-welfare, anti-federal aid, anti-healthcare, etc will be the very first person to put their hand out when they need help. There's nothing more reliable in the world than that.

On topic I get why people have remote start I just think it's kinda soft like the people in that movie Wall-E. I'm not gonna judge someone else for wanting to be pampered but it's not for me, seems we get used to shortcuts more and more until eventually it's all shortcuts. Keeping pets alive while shopping makes sense (though not as much sense as leaving them at home does.)

It's all been downhill since the electric starter.
 

grizzstang

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I absolutely hate the way everything is a monthly subscription now. I refuse to pay for crap like this whenever possible.

If they start doing this with vehicles I would look to the aftermarket to get around it.

Little wonder that many people are living on the edge of poverty when companies build garbage so you have to throw it away and replace it and seek ways to charge you for stuff that used to be free.

Remember when air used to be free at the gas station?
 
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