[cars4enjoying]

That is a concern to be sure @gsxrian there's already precedent to that with BMW charging a subscription for heated seats which is disgusting, its hardware built in and there is no excuse to charge for access to something that already exists.

There's a right and a wrong way to provide features as a service and the example above is absolutely the wrong way. The right way is for items which add value and have a clear cost to provide. If I saw a manufacture trying to charge me to unlock a hardware feature the car already had simply wouldn't buy from them on principle as that's a slippery slope to you not owning the item you paid for and have in your possession.

 

[invisiblewave]

That is a concern to be sure @gsxrian there's already precedent to that with BMW charging a subscription for heated seats which is disgusting, its hardware built in and there is no excuse to charge for access to something that already exists.

There's a right and a wrong way to provide features as a service and the example above is absolutely the wrong way. The right way is for items which add value and have a clear cost to provide. If I saw a manufacture trying to charge me to unlock a hardware feature the car already had simply wouldn't buy from them on principle as that's a slippery slope to you not owning the item you paid for and have in your possession.

I'm not sure what the big deal is here. It's really no different than leasing a car, for example, or renting any other sort of equipment. It's probably more cost-effective for the manufacturer to make all cars the same, then add options using software switches at the time of purchase, maybe give the buyer the choice of buying the option outright, or renting it to spread the cost.

 

[cars4enjoying]

I'm not sure what the big deal is here. It's really no different than leasing a car, for example, or renting any other sort of equipment. It's probably more cost-effective for the manufacturer to make all cars the same, then add options using software switches at the time of purchase, maybe give the buyer the choice of buying the option outright, or renting it to spread the cost.

I can definitely understand that perspective, the option to buy outright or spread the cost definitely has it's merits for some. I must admit I didn't spot the Unlimited option when I last looked, possibly it's changed based on customer feedback.

I do however wonder if it's a way to try and make more money from customers in what could be seen as underhand way. I would also wonder if these types of services include extra warrantee. For example the heated seats if a customer is paying for that option monthly and they fail but is out of standard warrantee does the subscription extend that component so you still get a free repair?

 

[invisiblewave]

I can definitely understand that perspective, the option to buy outright or spread the cost definitely has it's merits for some. I must admit I didn't spot the Unlimited option when I last looked, possibly it's changed based on customer feedback.

I do however wonder if it's a way to try and make more money from customers in what could be seen as underhand way. I would also wonder if these types of services include extra warrantee. For example the heated seats if a customer is paying for that option monthly and they fail but is out of standard warrantee does the subscription extend that component so you still get a free repair?

I have no idea what the specifics of the BMW deal are, or the warrantY situation, I'm just speculating on how this relatively new arrangement might develop.

 

[skilly]

McLaren does it right. Being a slave to the Apple CarPlay API is more a benefit to Apple than anything else (they want your streaming business among other things!). With most car setups its invasive in taking over the entire interface so if you want to access anything about the car you are toggling back and forth. Bluetooth connectivity and treating the device as a slave to the MCL interface is more than enough!

 

[skilly]

That is a concern to be sure @gsxrian there's already precedent to that with BMW charging a subscription for heated seats which is disgusting, its hardware built in and there is no excuse to charge for access to something that already exists.

There's a right and a wrong way to provide features as a service and the example above is absolutely the wrong way. The right way is for items which add value and have a clear cost to provide. If I saw a manufacture trying to charge me to unlock a hardware feature the car already had simply wouldn't buy from them on principle as that's a slippery slope to you not owning the item you paid for and have in your possession.

Couldnt agree more! Id say Tesla was the first in the industry to do this with their self driving options, and pay to play performance options. BMW did this CarPlay thing but it took about 10 min for the aftermarket shops to offer a workaround for permanent access to CarPlay.