shrpshtr

ill try that, thnx bb!

LiquidPlatg37S

I bought into the hype with my prev acura and still have a year left on my subsciption so i xfered it after my subscription is up i'm not gonna renew it too many option CD,Musicbox,USB,Bluetooth, oh and AM/FM...

jtla

Exactly my point. I am sure anyone who lives in Southern California will consider the $48/yr for nav traffic well spent. But at $125/yr ($77+$48), I am not so sure about it. I mean, at that price you can almost buy a Garmin with lifetime traffic info. (Yeah, I know, it would not be as convenient as the integrated unit.)

I was awed by the number and variety of XM channels when I first got it. But after a while you found yourself settled down at a handful of channels and the music of those channels repeating, too. So, the value of XM Radio is a lot less to me than the nav traffic. Unfortunately, XM makes you pay for it in order to get nav traffic.

G2Envy

iTrader: (1)

If you plan on keeping XM for a while you should consider their lifetime option. You could end up making your money back. I keep my cars for at least 10 years so after I found out how much I'd be paying on a yearly basis versus a lifetime, it was a no brainer.

CougarRed

Does the lifetime option apply to factory equipped XM ready stereos?

I thought I read where it only applied to separately purchased XM tuners, but I could be wrong.

CougarRed

OK so I called XM and here's what they told me.

There's 2 basic radio plans. The regular 170 channel plan, and the 180 channel plan that includes the 10 "Best of Sirius" channels spread out over the following content: Howard Stern, Playboy, NFL, NASCAR & Martha Stewart.

1. $77/yr for 180 channels is still available. She said it's a "one time offer" (yeah right!). Otherwise, 180 channels is $16.95/month, and 170 channels is $12.95/month.

2. Weather and/or Traffic is available without the Radio for $9.95/month each or $19.90/month combined. (News to me.) If you add Weather or Traffic to a Radio subscription, it's $3.99/month each. If you add both to a Radio subscription, it's $7/month combined.

3. Lifetime subscription to 180 channels is $599.99. Lifetime subscription to 170 channels is $499.99. These do not include the Weather/Traffic features. The subscription lasts as long as you own the car and cannot be transferred except:

A. If the car stereo is stolen, or
B. The car is totaled.

Under these circumstances, you can apply your lifetime subscription to the next radio.

If the $77 plan is available forever, you'd have to drive the car 7.8 years to break even on the 180 channel lifetime plan, or 6.5 years on the 170 channel lifetime plan.

If the $77 plan is only available for 1 year and you have to pay full price for radio after that, then you'd have to drive the car 3.6 years on the 180 channel plan to break even, and 3.7 years to break even on the 170 channel plan.

hispeed-lowdrag

iTrader: (7)

really?! that's awesome...I might call them and try to just get weather/traffic alone b/c that is the only part I would actually use

CougarRed

If you can get the $77/year deal for the radio, then $7/month more for Weather+Traffic, it's less than $19.90/month for Weather+Traffic stand alone.

Chekov

Considering that the many members on this forum often purchase mods that are cosmetic only that offer nothing tangible in return, I’m somewhat surprised that the few extra bucks needed to have XM is such an issue here. For example, a set of $4,000 aftermarket rims for a G that’s kept six years is $58 per month right there (72 months minus 3 free ones=69), and you can’t listen to your rims nor get traffic readouts from them.

hispeed-lowdrag

iTrader: (7)

For me it's paying for something I will NEVER use. I know that i wont listen to XM simply because I have 100+ GB of music on my iPod that I leave connected to the G. Whereas my $4000 wheels are always being used and I always get to see them and show them off. Big difference in the usefulness of mods (cosmetic or not) and XM radio

Chekov

Well, let’s play in your ballpark. Considering the time you cannot actually “see” your rims that includes when you’re sleeping, eating, working, other leisure time or actually driving the G, that should be around 20 hours per day. So let’s give you credit for 4 hours per day where you can actually see them which may include other people just admiring them. That may add to 2 months credit over the six years. That lowers your total rim cost to about $56 per month. A great bargain for sure.

jtla

If you are going to pay $10 x12 for traffic only, you might as well get the $77 + $48 a year deal. That's 5 bucks for the XM.


Hahaha, I was thinking about the same thing. I, however, happen to be one who enjoys (well, maybe accepts) the G just the way it is.

hispeed-lowdrag

iTrader: (7)

This is turning into a stupid back and forth, but when you are "sleeping, eating, working, other leisure time" you wont be listening to XM either...

I'm happy with the money I've spent on my mods and don't miss XM in any way. Like I said, 100+ GB of music is fine for me.

Yeah I did the math right after that and realized it was not really a deal. So wont be doing it obviously lol

xixonmn

5 years ago, it would make sense to pay $100-$200/yr for XM subscription if most radio stations in your area suck. I have it in my older car but I canceled the subscription and start streaming radio/music using my 3G smart phones.

Chekov

Well, to each his own I guess, as I understand there’s no point in having it if you’re not going to use it.
But after buying a $40K+ car, that bit of extra cost seems reasonable to me. Look at all the other such expenses that are normal for our lifestyles. In my case, and maybe for many others, I’m paying:

• $35/month for internet service
• $130/month for satellite TV
• $29/month for home security service
• $11/month for Netflix
• $83/month for auto insurance
• $300/month for homeowners insurance
• $24/month for LA Times subscription

There’s probably more I can’t think of right now. But another $11/month for XM/traffic doesn’t seem so bad for this convenience that I find so useful.