BMW introduces new heated seat subscription in UK

[Gollom]

BMW introduces new heated seat subscription in UK

The mind boggles! Appears they already offer a heated steering wheel subscription for £10!!!!

I used to make my kids pop out to turn the heated seats on...... (I'd probably get jailed for that now!)

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

£200 one time charge for the steering whee seems reasonable. Just shows how little it costs to add heating elements if they’re fitting them without being specified at order.

The saving associated with not having to have two versions - one with, one without - combined with economies of scale must offset some of the cost.

Whilst completely counter intuitive, I recall reading many years ago that it could cost car manufacturers more to make a car without some specific options than with them.

 

[SpikyMikey]

Only a matter of time before someone finds a way round the software block surely?

 

[ChipChop]

Do BMW also have a subscription they can switch on so the timing chain does not snap. That would be handy.

 

[kam09]

Bmw have confirmed use of indicators will remain 100% free for all owners

 

[Ted]

The glass roof option on the slk/slc was fitted to all cars but had a head lining to obscure it on cars that had not specified it.
People would remove the headlining, fit a new trim around it and voilà glass roof option at massively reduced cost.
Mercedes got wise to this and fitted the ‘non’ transparent roofs with a non removable foil to prevent this being done.
So it was more expensive to make the opaque roof than the cost option transparent roof.

 

[Dryce]

This sets up potential downstream issues:

- resale of car with subscription
- realiability of subscription management

My observation is that car makers have generally been cr*p at managing this sort of things so far (apart maybe from Tesla).

I have an 8 year old VW and updating the satnav is a mystery to many dealers according to the internet forums dioscussing it.

I had a connected BMW some years back and had an interesting chat with the 'genius' in the showroom who tried to tell me my car had a feature that I knew were not actually enabled in UK spec. Duhhhhh. The car also had remotely activated features taht involved a proximity check that took minutes to activate at remote locations because the app used couldn't triangulate its AGPS setup quickly enought with only one mast in range. Duhhhhhh. And then there was the resale - the car was still accessible to me for almost 3 months after I handed it back to the lease company. Duhhhhhhh.

I think software or feature by subscription to retail should be subject to strict consumer law:

1. Monthly charged software or features should by law have the option to cancel or suspend monthly. So as an example at end of winter if it is a heated seat you can suspend the subscription until the following winter if you want. Or if you go on holiday and leave the car for month with the feature unused you can suspend the subscription for that month.
2. The supplier should be obliged to keep the service available for say 20 years minimum subject to RPI maximum increases and an obligation to premanently enable the features or service to all if they decide to terminate the subscription management.
3. If the feature stops working then the subscription should be refunded.
4. There should be a clear and standardised means of checking the vehicle or product for feature subscrptions so that a prospective buyer is left in no doubt what features are additional cost.

I note that there was news of Hive suspending some products in the not to distant future:

Hive to end support for variety of smart home gizmos in 2025

Countdown begins on cameras, sensors no longer working

www.theregister.com

And further back in time people might remember Sony had a music store for their players - that is now gone.

And I recall an article about Tesla switching off a feature in a resold car:

Tesla remotely disables Autopilot on used Model S after it was sold

Tesla claims it can yank features from even used cars

www.theverge.com

 

[SpikyMikey]

Bmw have confirmed use of indicators will remain 100% free for all owners

Just as well. No self-respecting Beemer driver is going to pay extra for something they never use

 

[G7Wagen]

Just as well. No self-respecting Beemer driver is going to pay extra for something they never use

Mirrors optional then ?

 

[SpikyMikey]

Mirrors optional then ?

Nope. They still need those:

 

[MCFastybloke]

Subscription price for first keeper only, dearer for next or am i being cynical

 

[E55BOF]

The glass roof option on the slk/slc was fitted to all cars but had a head lining to obscure it on cars that had not specified it.
People would remove the headlining, fit a new trim around it and voilà glass roof option at massively reduced cost.
Mercedes got wise to this and fitted the ‘non’ transparent roofs with a non removable foil to prevent this being done.
So it was more expensive to make the opaque roof than the cost option transparent roof.

When you say 'non-transparent', that's not entirely accurate. I have a glass roof panel on my SLK, but not the 'Magic Sky' cost option roof, which can be darkened or lightened at will. Mine has the U91 Roof Interior Trim Black Foil option but it is still transparent; tinted from inside, and looks almost black from outside.

 

[G7Wagen]

BMW introduces new heated seat subscription in UK

The mind boggles! Appears they already offer a heated steering wheel subscription for £10!!!!

I used to make my kids pop out to turn the heated seats on...... (I'd probably get jailed for that now!)

another reason to not by a BMW

 

[Ted]

When you say 'non-transparent', that's not entirely accurate. I have a glass roof panel on my SLK, but not the 'Magic Sky' cost option roof, which can be darkened or lightened at will. Mine has the U91 Roof Interior Trim Black Foil option but it is still transparent; tinted from inside, and looks almost black from outside.

Certainly by the slc, the foil was opaque and was not possible to remove as that was on mine.

 

[Piff]

I have a 17 plate BMW
My on line subscription for real time traffic info has expired. If I want to renew it I have to buy a bundle which includes 2 other features. Those other 2 features only work on 18 plate onwards cars - so they want me to pay for 3 features of which only 1 will work

 

[G7Wagen]

They seem to be following the same business model as Apple..
as your device ages, it becomes less able to receive updates for the apps... until they no longer work.. forcing you to buy a new one.

They design this obsolesence to force you to buy a newer model... with updates that don't improve your device.. but actually remove its ability to function..

 

[SpikyMikey]

They seem to be following the same business model as Apple..
as your device ages, it becomes less able to receive updates for the apps... until they no longer work.. forcing you to buy a new one.

They design this obsolesence to force you to buy a newer model... with updates that don't improve your device.. but actually remove its ability to function..

Not just (Cr)Apple - Microsoft, TomTom etc all do the same

 

[G7Wagen]

Yes agreed... BMW are following the trend... the more "connected" Your vehicle... the more you are tethered the manufacturer, who can switch off features at will.
I believe MB are doing this after reading some threads on park assist.... it used to be you had to have your car serviced by a main dealer or your warranty would not be honoured.. I do not think this particular 'new' route is for the benefit of the customer.

 

[ToeKnee]

When you say 'non-transparent', that's not entirely accurate. I have a glass roof panel on my SLK, but not the 'Magic Sky' cost option roof, which can be darkened or lightened at will. Mine has the U91 Roof Interior Trim Black Foil option but it is still transparent; tinted from inside, and looks almost black from outside.

So that's what option U91 means, I did wonder.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

With this type of subscription there is the option to buy as well as subscribe. So if the subscription option was dropped in future then owners could choose to buy if they wanted to. If they choose not to then the car will roll back to how it left the factory, ie heating elements are fitted but cannot be activated.

With true connected services then it’s not reasonable to expect that a connected service to exist forever. At some point it will become unsustainable, first by the provider’s appetite to continue, secondly by cost, and finally by technical limitations such as security vulnerabilities, platform obsolescence, etc.

Even then, the worst that can happen is that remote features will no longer function, but the car will still function. It might be irritating but in practice the impact is unlikely to be significant.