But having heated seats is nice....when your back is killing you on the commute home from work ... OR keeping the takeout pizza warm
Since the company announced in 2020 that its cars’ operating system would allow for microtransactions on features like automatic high beams and adaptive cruise control, customers have decried the move as greedy and exploitative.
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There is only one way for consumers to halt this sort of exploitation by a company; stop buying their products. This of course assumes a marketplace where competition offers an alternative at a lower price.
And precisely how will this service be turned on and off by BMW? WiFi? Cell phone data lines? Not sure I believe this one.
We react with outrage, but the next generation will accept this a bit more and the next generation will totally accept this because this is how software and other tech works....if you want a feature turned on, you pay for it.
This is just the auto companies making the transition because they know they can.
“or pay for “unlimited” access for $415.”
So, that’s what the option costs.
At some point in heating circuit, it becomes a simple heater coil. Send some juice into it, and you’ll heat the seat. A few things to watch out for:
1. Will you get arrested if the dealer sees the ‘tampering’?
2. Be sure to get the voltage right - probably 12V, but could be less.
3. Make sure it doesn’t get stuck on, possibly melting the seat and the part of women’s anatomy one often sees in rap videos. A timer-switch works well for that task.
Not a lot different than buying ONSTAR or other such devices on American cars & then pay a subscription for using it. Just another way to make the customer the loser. If you have children,you have to buy a special seat for each child you carry in the car & they have to be appropriate for size & weight of the child. Discriminatory is the best way to describe it. I lived through childhood without them completely & never once had an injury.
Wait until car manufacturers (or the federal, state and local governments) start to charge driving by the mile, with rates depending on where you are driving. And if you disconnect the car from the internet, the car won’t operate.
Another internet connected device, your car. We have an internet connected thermostat in our house. Sometimes it works, sometimes it takes awhile to work and sometimes it doesn’t work at all. I suppose the server or the internet are just slow sometimes.
I can see it now, you want heat on for your car seat? Sorry, the server is busy or not functioning or whatever...
Lulz!
The nickel-and-diming is real.
It’s free in my 2014 Regal GS. No ‘subscription’ required. Push button, adjust temp, good to go.
Wow! Never realized that my 2015 Chrysler Town and Country was so far on the leading edge of technology. It has driver and front-passenger heated seats and a heated steering wheel to boot—all in the initial price. This BMW tactic is as crazy as the “extended warranty” offers on most everything that has moving parts and a lot of items that do not have moving parts. P.T. Barnum said a suckers are born ever minute.
You will own nothing and like it.
But having heated seats is nice....when your back is killing you on the commute home from work ... OR keeping the takeout pizza warm
GEEZE the damn cars run $60,000.00 and they can’t give you heated seats REALLY??
Never owned a BMW, now I surely won’t.
My backside heats my seat ,LOL
What’s the fee for working breaks?
Does BMW charge for blinker fluid too? Their owners don’t use much of it.
Might be a good investment to buy a bunch of older new cars without the stupid money they fees, and sell them if this crsp ever becomes mandatory for new vehicles. The demand for older cars Wil. Be massive.
Even if you pay cash for the car, processing and taxes, you have to argue your way through all the monthly payment add-ons the dealer has to try and rope you into. Satellite radio, On-Star or like connection service. If they can figure out a way to charge by each use for AC, heat, defrost, wipers, radio, bluetooth connections, milage information, navigation, tire pressure, or anything else they can turn off wirelessly, they will eventually do it.
Another reason to never buy a BMW.
This is why prices for used cars are going sky high.