BMW introduce monthly subscription for heated seats.

Pique

https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/12/23204950/bmw-subscriptions-microtransactions-heated-seats-feature

Clareman

Just had a look at my BMW section, for €79 per year I can get Connected Booster, which appears to be just real time traffic updates for my car, for €109 per annum I can get Concierge Services which are

"Using Concierge Services, you can press a button to make a connection to the BMW Call Centre which will provide you with a “personal assistant” while on the move – 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Whether you are looking for a specific restaurant, wanting to book a hotel room or are trying to find the nearest on-duty pharmacist, your “personal assistant” is there at your service."

I'll stick to Google thanks lads 😁

Damien360

Looks like it will become the new normal. At what point does the industry manage to kill the golden goose ? When will there be a backlash?

https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/motors/car-buyers-could-end-up-paying-hundreds-more-in-subscriptions-1.4870474

Miscreant

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119327411#Comment_119327411

There should be backlash already TBH. People pay enough money for a car as it is, and the prices are only going one way. To add subscription services on top of it sounds like lunacy but it could be a way for manufacturers to standardise on 1 build for models and then just turn on and off certain features that were not paid for in the original configuration. At least they give you the option to buy "in perpetuity" for a price and not have a monthly/yearly subscription.

I think it is a measure that should be heavily resisted anyway. If cars were a new "invention" then I could understand the measure (similar to paying a subscription for services on your phone or the like), but they have been around longer than most people have been alive at this stage and charging a subscription for features that have been standard on some models for years is a bit rich.

From now on, choosing the right spec of car at the beginning will be all the more important unless you want to be paying extra down the line.

ohnonotgmail

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119327502#Comment_119327502

Subscription services for something like a concierge service or traffic updates I can understand but a subscription service to keep my arse warm in the winter is just a step too far.

10-10-20

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119327502#Comment_119327502

But "in perpetuality" linked to the owner or linked to the vehicle? Because that's some loss on resale value if you had all of the bells & whistles paid-for, but were not transferable at point of sale!!

Fr Tod Umptious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119327340#Comment_119327340

GM have had that for decades with OnStar.

lawred2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119327516#Comment_119327516

does anyone think of the rest of us plebs having to sit on plain old seats

wonski

All BMW's will be top spec in ads.

The sellers will easily forget to mention 2450 euro monthly charge for all :)

Greedy tactic. Pathetic, reminds me of some game companies.

If the for life charge doesn't transfer to the new owner they can stick those BMW Select cars up their...ars...

Vicxas

Wont be long until people are just modifying the software in their cars to work around this. Ridiculous

Jizique

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119327829#Comment_119327829

All OEMs have big targets for "software revenue" with 70% margins, this is the way the industry is going

wonski

We are so used to subscriptions plans these days that the next generation of buyers will probably see nothing wrong with it.

Even sky still charges extra for HD channels (which is standard across the rest of Europe) and their customers pay it so maybe that's the way the world is going to be...

Not the place I want to be in, but what can you do? They dictate the rules and prices anyway.

They could have just left it as it was and let the customer spec the car initially. It just shows that those specs don't cost as much as they want you to think if they are ready to install them on all cars. Their business is to make money so that's fine as long as they stop pretending it is about saving planet or any other bullshit.

wonski

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119327589#Comment_119327589

You get what you pay for :)

Hurrache

VW group, and I'm sure others, have been rolling out cars for years with Android Auto and Car Play in the head units but not always available to the owner. You have to pay for an unlock code to activate it but at least that then stays with the car from then on.

But paying a subscription to use hardware like heated seats already fitted is some money grab. It's not like you're paying for a 3rd party licence, the cost of the equipment has already been paid for, unless they try to imply you're getting a discount for every piece of equipment you don't want to use.

Del2005

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119327523#Comment_119327523

Tesla is dong well with this model, but IMO they are still in early adaptor mode so people are willing to put with a lot of issues from Tesla to say they have a Tesla.

Car manufactures know they are fecked in the next 10-20 years when we get L5 cars as very few people will own a car then. So they are trying to squeeze more money from their current customers to cover the fact that selling cars to consumers isn't a viable long term business plan.

The simple solution to stop this is not to buy from manufactures who do it, but unfortunately as Tesla is showing people will willing pay for vapourware (FSD for $12k!) so it's going to spread.

...

Ubbquittious

Phuq BMW. What an absolute pack of cnuts

Larbre34

I've driven the iX and i4, the UX is annoying, sterile and not as luxurious as before, for a BMW.

If it were me, I'd buy a 330e or an X5 45e and keep it for donkeys years.

Also, why would anyone brag about owning a Tesla? It shows the worst judgement of quality since Ratner's jewellers.

Sarn

I can see it now…”Collision imminent, would you like to subscribe for additional air bag activation?”

cuttingtimber22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119328566#Comment_119328566

Excuse my ignorance but what is L5?

lawred2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119328051#Comment_119328051

Appears that soon BMW owners won't get what they pay for

mikeecho

Just like updated sat nav maps can be downloaded, and an FSC either created or bought online relatively cheaply, I'm sure the same will happen with unlocking your heated seats.

As soon as the car is out of warranty, I can see people jail breaking their BMW.

New Volvo's are limited to 180km/h , but I've seen videos of them being unlocked to 250km/h

Shank Williams

Fully automated driving- no human attention required

the guy has been reading too many press releases - Nowhere near it- don’t believe the industry spoofing

Del2005

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119329468#Comment_119329468

L5 is fully autonomous vehicles.

https://www.aptiv.com/en/insights/article/what-are-the-levels-of-automated-driving

cruizer101

This is such bullshit.

The problem is it will creep in to more and more features if nothing is done about it.

This is the kind of thing EU needs to step up and say no. If a piece of equipment is in a car then the owner should has full access to use it. They can say it is on an environmental basis, its very wasteful to install equipment just for the sake of it in case the owner may want to subscribe.

Homer

Stuff sort of already exists with Apple car play in modern BMWs. I bought a G30 5 series a couple of years old and was told I would have to pay BmW €299 to get it re activated?

got an independent coder to sort of for €99 but still pi**ed me off as I wasn’t aware they de activate it after a set period.

Montage of Feck

Thanks a lot elon musk!

StrawbsM

It’s all a bit mental, isn’t it?

What happens if there’s a fault with the heated seats? Does the monthly subscription cover repairs?

bazz26

I don't really know what some people are getting so upset about. This type of business model has been used in other industries for ages. The car industry is only catching up now and probably induced by the likes of WLTP testing and the chip shortage as well as improvements in design. They are streamlining their products as well as their manufacturing tooling on assembly lines, not to mention speeding up production times by not having to deviate a vehicle into a different area of the assembly line just to have a certain feature fitted. That just over complicates the manufacturing process especially when you have so many markets with different standard features.

Standardising a build and then enabling/disabling certain features using software, for certain markets or customers makes perfect scense from their point of view. This allows the first owner of the car to choose or not choose what they want while also benefits future owners of that car if they want a feature enabled that previously they would have been at the mercy of what the first owner ordered. For example take heated seats, first owner may not have been bothered with them but the next owner might want them. Having a subscription service also allows you to unsubscribe during the warmer months when heated seats are not required.

cruizer101

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119330548#Comment_119330548

Subscription models are common for software but I can't think of other industries where a hardware feature is included but needs to be unlocked with a subscription. Love to hear where else this is common.

Whats next a 4 burner induction hob but only 2 burners enabled unless you subscribe. Washing machine with limited cycles. Headphones with subscription noise cancelling.

They have gone to the expense of installing the feature just let people use it, electric windows used to be a optional extra nowadays it basically standard why not do the same for heated seats. I would much rather the cost just be included in the base price.

bazz26

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119330728#Comment_119330728

The IT industry I've worked in for the last 25 years. Plenty of hardware not just software, features fitted but disabled unless you pony up and pay for them. The subscription service is big business and it's only natural that car industry is looking at this going forward now that there will be less moving parts to make money from with electrification taking hold.

And your example of a 4 burner induction hob is bit of a silly over dramatic and extreme example of something that won't happen in reality but I get it, you don't like the idea. And you say you prefer to include the cost of such features in the base price but people whing about the cost of new cars too. Everyone wants their bread buttered on both sides, they want cheaper new cars but want more standard features built into the base price. Howerver I'm not trying to change your mind, I'm simply stating that it's nothing new and is be here to stay.