XM renewal??

[MDM]

I thought the 2009 Tech package models all included 1-year of XM. I believe they've dropped this to 3 months for 2010 though.

Although the window sticker says it is a 3 month trial, the Data System Quick Start Guide still says 12 month free trial if you have the Tech Package. My salesman also had said it was a 12 month trial.

When I was back at the dealership one month after purchase (rebadging), I broached this with another salesman (mine was off that day) and he called XM on my behalf. It helped that I had the XM renewal letter with me. Due to the information in the Quick Start Guide, XM extended my coverage for an additional 12 months, so 13 in all.

May work for you.

 

[meanderthal]

I also got my renewal letter today. You must have "sweet talked" Customer Service Agent. My renewal letter had these prices:

3-Month ------------------- $51.46
3-Month (+NavTraffic) ------ $65.22
1-Year ---------------------$188.71
1-Year (+NavTraffic) --------$243.73

Bob, I began the phone conversation citing the deals in the $70s that people on this forum said they'd gotten. The rep said no problem, you can re-up at half-price ($77). She did say it was "a special".

 

[scottdk]

I think the only feature of XM I would consider renewing (depending on price) is the NavTraffic. I like this feature, but don't care for the XM Radio's poor, flat, compressed quality. Technically, my XM subscription should be expired. Guess I'll find out more when I start driving the car again this spring.

got my renewal in the mail a few days ago, and after seeing the prices, I threw it away I will easily live without XM or the NavTraffic when looking at the prices they provided in the pamplet.

 

[MADDMOE]

wow i just got my renewal in the mail & i couldnt turn on my shredder machine quick enough, lets see my 4.6 genesis has am/fm a cd player & my ipod that has over 7000 (yes thats 3 zeros) songs on it & i have a portable sirius radio with a life time plan that i have had for over 3 years now, so in other words i guess i'll pass & to top it all off every time i get caught in traffic no matter where i am the navi doesnt inform me until i'm in the traffic jam, like man i wish i would have known so i could have gotten off the last exit before this traffic !!!

 

[scottdk]

wow i just got my renewal in the mail & i couldnt turn on my shredder machine quick enough, lets see my 4.6 genesis has am/fm a cd player & my ipod that has over 7000 (yes thats 3 zeros) songs on it & i have a portable sirius radio with a life time plan that i have had for over 3 years now, so in other words i guess i'll pass & to top it all off every time i get caught in traffic no matter where i am the navi doesnt inform me until i'm in the traffic jam, like man i wish i would have known so i could have gotten off the last exit before this traffic !!!

Thanks MOE I agree, and will NOT be renewing my XM subsn in the spring.

 

[Mark_888]

XM would have to pay me $100 per month to listen to their crap music (talking about quality of sound). I listen to my iPod about 85 percent of the time and sports radio the rest of time.

 

[scottdk]

XM would have to pay me $100 per month to listen to their crap music (talking about quality of sound).

I don't think this could be said better

 

[ASHDUMP]

All I have to say is, Sirius Patriot 144!!!

 

[mk1]

I just can't understand the resentment towards satellite radio here. Sure the sound quality isn't as good as the HD radio, but for those of us who's lives don't revolve around iPod's (can't be bothered), satellite is a godsend for the variety that you get. I'd shoot myself if I had to rely on an iPod for music in my car.

 

[scottdk]

I just can't understand the resentment towards satellite radio here. Sure the sound quality isn't as good as the HD radio, but for those of us who's lives don't revolve around iPod's (can't be bothered), satellite is a godsend for the variety that you get. I'd shoot myself if I had to rely on an iPod for music in my car.

Regarding the quality - Problem isn't that HD radio or CD, etc. is better.....It's because it's MUCH better, not just a little bit better.

Regarding the IPod - I couldn't agree MORE. I'll stick to my 40G hard drive with my flash drive plugged in with all my songs that sound excellent in regards to quality.

Good imput MK1

EDIT: I just received my 2nd mailing from XM Saying my trial period expires February 28, 2010.

1 year subscription is $174.92. With Nav Traffic added the total 1 year is $190.33

Considering that I only drive the car Spring, Summer, and Fall, it's not worth the extra cost for me. I'l call XM to haggle them to attempt to get a better, price. Maybe there is something for a person like myself who doesn't drive the car year round?? Doubt it.

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[Mark_888]

I just can't understand the resentment towards satellite radio here. Sure the sound quality isn't as good as the HD radio, but for those of us who's lives don't revolve around iPod's (can't be bothered), satellite is a godsend for the variety that you get. I'd shoot myself if I had to rely on an iPod for music in my car.

There is no resentment. It is just that the sound quality of XM Radio is poor. It is true that I already had a iPod and it already had about 300 albums on it (transferred with 256 kpbs or better sample rate) before I bought my Genesis, so using it is a no-brainer. MP3 on a memory stick is just as good (assuming adequate sampling rate). Obviously, CD's and DVD's (if you have Tech Package) are excellent.

Now, I suppose that if one buys XM radio to hear Howard Stern, or to listen to sports broadcasts, as opposed to music, that is another story. But if I am going to pay for Howard Stern, I would rather pay to see his simulcast on TV (uncensored).

 

[mikec]

I'll probably renew the XM as I do prefer it to regular broadcast radio. I wish it were better quality; like so many "digital" media things they're playing off the public's general misconception of what digital really means. Folks remember the great quality leap from LP's & magnetic tapes to CD. But CDs are not "compressed." XM, digital television, etc. are all digital data compressed using "lossy" compression (i.e. when uncompressed you get most, but not all, of the original digital information...) but the average consumer doesn't know that. They've been led to believe "digital means it's a perfect reproduction like CDs" no matter what. MP3s are another form of lossy compression; it's just that most folks making MP3s can choose the compression level to pick what's important to them: lots of compression resulting in small files but less playback quality vs. little compression yielding great playback quality but large data files... can't squeeze so many songs onto your memory stick or whatever.

I like the XM especially when making long drives to/from the folks house; I can listen to one sports game for the whole trip rather than try to find it over and over on what few AM or FM stations I can pick up at any point along the drive. And, here in SoCal, the regular FM broadcasts have tons of advertising content - in my other car (no XM radio) it's common to flip between all memory presets and get nothing but ads! For my short commute, there are times when ads are more than half the drive! Not so with XM.

Other than in the car, I rarely listen to music. I have a nice audio system at home that I rarely use... no iPod or other player, etc. Just not that important to me. So I don't have a 5000+ library, no big CD collection, etc.

I haven't decided about the XM Traffic though. As others have noted, it's often too delayed to be helpful. Most of my drives are short trips not on the freeways... so XM Traffic rarely applies anyway. And it doesn't work outside the home city (i.e. in Las Vegas as I'm passing through it on my way to/from the folks) unless you constantly change the home city in the nav system anyway. At least that how it seems to work for me.

mike c.

edit after seeing Mark_888s that got posted while I was typing: I wish I could NOT pay for Howard Stern and whatever channel he's on; I'd rather that be disabled instead of some of the "best of Sirius" channels that aren't in the basic Genesis XM package.

 

[ASHDUMP]

Here's the deal. SiriusXM provides a lot more content than anyone's particular ipod and if you want more content then you would have to subscribe to SiriusXM.

Good example is this: I listen and have a large volume of punk and metal albums but some days I want to chill out and listen to some blues or jazz. I'm not going to go buy 5 or six jazz albums because once a week I want to listen to it.

News: Where else can you get world news while driving in your car? I get most of my daily dose of national/world news when driving...

It can get pretty pricey to have SiriusXM but worth it to me. The traffic feature I could probably do without and I'm not even sure how much it costs.

 

[Matt Z]

If you want satellite radio, why not just buy the lifetime for 5 and change..........one time cost. If you keep the car for more than 3 years its a great deal!

 

[BacktoHyundaibychoice]

Here's the deal. SiriusXM provides a lot more content than anyone's particular ipod and if you want more content then you would have to subscribe to SiriusXM.

Good example is this: I listen and have a large volume of punk and metal albums but some days I want to chill out and listen to some blues or jazz. I'm not going to go buy 5 or six jazz albums because once a week I want to listen to it.

News: Where else can you get world news while driving in your car? I get most of my daily dose of national/world news when driving...

It can get pretty pricey to have SiriusXM but worth it to me. The traffic feature I could probably do without and I'm not even sure how much it costs.

I agree with everything you wrote, and there was a time when XM was VERY valuable to me for those reasons. The came the iPhone...

It gives me an iPod (never had/saw a need before) with ALL my music.
It gives me Pandora, for when I want to listen to a genre that isn't on my iPod.
It gives me WunderRadio with over 35,000 stations of all catagories/tastes (including news and police scanners).
It gives me MLB AtBat which streams EVERY baseball game with a choice of home or visiting announcers.

There's more, but you get the idea. I don't NEED XM like I used to.

Btw, back on topic, they finally called me 2 months after the free year ended. I immediately told them no thanks, they immediately offered it to me at $7/month for 6 months, $13/month (I think) after that.

 

[BacktoHyundaibychoice]

I agree with everything you wrote, and there was a time when XM was VERY valuable to me for those reasons. The came the iPhone...

It gives me an iPod (never had/saw a need before) with ALL my music.
It gives me Pandora, for when I want to listen to a genre that isn't on my iPod.
It gives me WunderRadio with over 35,000 stations of all catagories/tastes (including news and police scanners).
It gives me MLB AtBat which streams EVERY baseball game with a choice of home or visiting announcers.

There's more, but you get the idea. I don't NEED XM like I used to.

Btw, back on topic, they finally called me 2 months after the free year ended. I immediately told them no thanks, they immediately offered it to me at $7/month for 6 months, $13/month (I think) after that.

Forgot to mention:
All of the above is true, but 90% of the time I'm listening to DVD-A's on the superb Lexicon system. There just aren't enough hours in the day! Car!

 

[dataguy]

If you want satellite radio, why not just buy the lifetime for 5 and change..........one time cost. If you keep the car for more than 3 years its a great deal!

A few reasons:
First, it's not hard to get $88/yr by speaking to the retention department. That's less than a lifetime subscription.
Next, if your head-end unit ever needs to be replaced, you will probably have to hassle and pay for a transfer of the subscription to the new unit.
Finally, there's a chance that XM might go out of business.

 

[ASHDUMP]

Finally, there's a chance that XM might go out of business.

Oh, how our government would love for this to happen!

 

[Disaster]

Here's the deal. SiriusXM provides a lot more content than anyone's particular ipod and if you want more content then you would have to subscribe to SiriusXM.

Or if you have an Smartphone you can listen to Pandora or Slacker radio. Hours of free music content as long as you have cell reception.

 

[salu498]

Anybody have Sirius XM telephone number? Our 3 month trial ended 2/7/2010 but we have never had a contact suggesting we renew. No wonder they have problems. I would like to renew if I can get one of those $77 annual deals or something similar.