[jeff311omaha]

I just called Subaru of America and they told me to take a hike. No promos. No loyalty. No ability to JUST have remote start (most egregious offense). No love.

I told them I would not be renewing. He said that was my choice.

I hung up.

I immediately renewed. Too damn hot in the spring (let alone summer) around here to hop into a boiling car.

Jerks.

 

[jeff311omaha]

Please post if you have walked into a store, e.g., grocery, big box, clothing, picked up an item priced at $49.99, take it to the cashier and say, "I'll give you $45 for this." expecting them to respond, "Deal"?

Paying to use hardware that is already built into a car you purchased is and will always be bogus. Same thing for paying to enable the heated seats in a BMW.

Also, intentionally making someone pay $100 for "safety features" they don't care about to have "the ability" to then pay $50 for the remote start function that they DO care about is what I'm truly mad at.

Nothing about Starlink is done with the customer's happiness prioritized. It's a money grab.

 

[jeff311omaha]

While I agree it's overpriced, it is fair for them to ask some cost as you need to pay for the cellular data plan to stay connected. You don't expect your cell phone provider to give you fee service do you?

I would happily pay the fair market price for the 30 MEGABYTES of cellular data per year that remote start requires.

I would probably happily pay $100 a year for a plan that was remote start only.

To be forced to pay for the $100 bogus safety package just to have the opportunity to then add on the only useful feature for "only" $50 more is just plain RUDE. I bet the conversion rate on that extra $50 is close to 99%.

Starlink is a service, not a device or hardware. An optional one, at that.

I believe there are aftermarket remote starters that are purely hardware based.

Ok, then if it's a service, the least they could do is use the SiriusXM method where everyone cancels it and then goes back and forth with their customer service department 7 times and eventually ends up resubscribing for 1/4 the initial asking price. We've been groomed to think this way!

 

[jeff311omaha]

Personally for me it's a hard sell to pay $150.00 a year ($99.95 + $49.95) for what use to cost $75 for 3 years ....

It's that Subaru drug dealer mentality. "The first one is on the house (or super cheap), bruuuhhhh."

Everything about it is aggravating to me. I'm not the only person who feels this way and we're not being irrational.

I saw another forum user joke about wondering if and when they will start charging to use the backup camera. I know it's not the same, but I still chuckled.

 

[jeff311omaha]

Agreed ... I do not see a reason for the 6-fold increase in price.

I just hope more & more refuse to pay the high price in the hopes it becomes more reasonable. According to this study pasted below, I'm not the only one that thinks this way ... seems that the study found "that 75% of consumers are not willing to subscribe to most vehicle features. " That could explain the reason for the 6-fold increase in price - to make up for the losses for those who will not pay.

Car companies want to make billions by charging monthly fees for features like heated seats, but buyers won't pay up

How would you feel about paying $10, $20, or $100 per month to access features already built into your car? Some buyers are calling foul.

www.businessinsider.com

Car Buyers Balk at Paying Monthly Fees for Features and Services - Cox Automotive Inc.

Automakers have announced ambitious plans to generate billions in revenue by charging car buyers extra on an annual or monthly subscription basis for some in-car features, services and upgrades. Their plans beg the question: Are customers willing to pay? The answer is not all good news for the...

www.coxautoinc.com

I've always run so damned hot that getting into a hot car in the summer is a day-defining event. Once the sweat starts, it's all over. Once you're hot and sweaty... you're going to be gross until you shower. I basically NEED to get into a car that isn't a million degrees to not look like I just got out of a pool all day. If they bump it up to $500 a year I'll pay it until I sell the car. I'm going to complain every time.

As far as all the safety crap is concerned, if I get into a crash and am incapacitated and die on the side of the road because I didn't pay Subaru $100 for the safety features, I will float down to hell with a smile on my face if I wasn't sweaty when I died.

 

[jeff311omaha]

I agree with you about the pricing, it's way too much. Was just pointing out that you're not paying for something built into the car, you're paying for the data connection.

Those cars are phoning home to some extent already. There are plenty of "free" data transfers occurring all the time.

Or, as I've seen a few other people mention, just let me spend a few hundred bucks on a keyfob ONCE and be done with it. I don't need to start my car from a hundred miles away. The one and only specific option they allow is the literal worst (and least customer-friendly) one imaginable.

I don't just take massive dumps on Subaru. My car is essentially top-notch for the price I paid. Aside from the suspension being almost dangerously clumsy during spirited driving, the soulless CVT that likes to try to kill you every couple weeks, the maxed-out stereo you can drown out by speaking mildly loudly, and the first 3 bad years of the now-fixed head unit, it's an incredibly excellent value! No sarcasm. It's a very reliable modern car with AWD that starts up EVERY TIME you tell it to and gets you to where you want to go in a very boring and effective manner.