Poll of the Day > Automakers want to charge monthly fees for add-ons

(+) Yeah! (+)

So I guess the car folks want to nickel and dime people just as the telelcom, insurance, and every other business does by charging monthly fees for add-ons like heated seats.

https://www.yahoo.com/now/car-companies-stand-billions-charging-131000075.html

The Netflix of cars!

shadowsword87 posted...

The Netflix of cars!

That's one way of looking at it but this is ridiculous and I hope it doesn't see the light of day. Cars are already expensive as it is and for most working people, buying a new car isn't a reality because they have been priced out of the market much the way they have done with home buying.

Car leasing is a thing.

I could accept this for services like OnStar or remote phone unlocking, since those rely on external servers that need to be maintained, but for something like a seat warmer that's 100% self-contained and there are absolutely no costs to the manufacturer when the consumer uses them, this is bullshit. Everything about that has already been paid for when the car was purchased; the only justifiable ongoing costs are those associated with maintaining it.

If anything, the general impression I have is that consumers are increasingly pushing back against having unnecessary add-ons in their cars (the general attitude being "that's one more thing to go wrong," though in my experience add-ons tend to be fairly low-maintenance), and I would expect this to only drive that trend further.

This is the kind of disgustingly ruthless unbridled capitalism that we really need some government consumer protection bureau to step in and bitch slap the shit out of these fucking greedy companies.

I don't want "internet of things" in fucking ANYTHING I own, they better not try to force this shit on me when I get my next car.

Just one more step towards the corporate wet dream of, "you will own nothing, and be happy about it."

adjl posted...

consumers are increasingly pushing back against having unnecessary add-ons in their cars (the general attitude being "that's one more thing to go wrong,"

That, and also when the "base package" includes a bunch of add-on junk you don't need and you know it's driving up the cost it is...disappointing.

The South Park Future specials that just aired was pretty much making fun of this, saying everything will be sub based in the future

Thanks Musk.

You can just.. not get them, right?

Nichtcrawler X posted...

Car leasing is a thing.

Hot seat leasing is not a thing.

Nichtcrawler X posted...

Car leasing is a thing.

But is isn't mandatory. You can buy a car outright and never have another payment on it. This would make it so that no matter what you are always paying for something on the car even if it were otherwise payed off.

Just opening up the modding scene more. As is we can run all necessary car features on a standalone ECU, if they keep fucking around, people will make comprehensive feature sets for the interior too.

You keep showing them that you'll take their abuse. They will keep abusing you more and more until you stop or someone makes them stop.

Kyuubi4269 posted...

Just opening up the modding scene more. As is we can run all necessary car features on a standalone ECU, if they keep fucking around, people will make comprehensive feature sets for the interior too.

This was my assumption. The moment you introduce "timed" subscriptions for things that don't actually need to be maintained externally (like OnStar or Sirius/XM radio), you're just opening the door to jailbreaking becoming a thing for cars as well as phones.

If the hardware is there and only controlled by a software block, all you really need to do is bypass the software.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

This was my assumption. The moment you introduce "timed" subscriptions for things that don't actually need to be maintained externally (like OnStar or Sirius/XM radio), you're just opening the door to jailbreaking becoming a thing for cars as well as phones.

If the hardware is there and only controlled by a software block, all you really need to do is bypass the software.

That, or make your own hardware. If you want a heated seat, go buy a heat pad from your local drug store and a car plug adapter, cut your seat open, and stuff it in there.

Ok...

Would you rather pay a monthly subscription for new tires.... or a montly installment plan to pay for new tires.