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spudfan

Member Since: 10 Sep 2007
Location: Co Donegal
Posts: 4722

BMW Is Now Apparently Selling Heated Seat Subscriptions In I

https://www.msn.com/en-ie/money/technology...7ee8be6996 1982 88" 2.25 diesel
1992 110 200tdi csw -Zikali
2008 110 2.4 tdci csw-Zulu
2011 110 2.4 tdci csw-Masai

14th Jul 2022 3:15pm

Mr Fox

Member Since: 10 Sep 2011
Location: green & pleasant land
Posts: 1038

2015 Defender 90 Puma 2.2 HT Keswick Green

Makes total sense to me.

It is much cheaper to produce one version of a part (in the case of this article: seats and steering wheels) and either enable the element or not, based on what the customer has paid for.

The sensational slant of the article is that BMW are selling ‘subscriptions’ for seat/wheel heating by monthly payments. However, less sensationally, they also mention that people can pay a one off fee (£200 iirc) to enable the seats permanently.

To my mind, this is a non-story.

When I bought a Volvo a few years back, it was missing a few options I wanted. The dealer was honest and said, the system is in place, just not enabled; therefore, we can activate them but need to purchase the code to do so from Volvo. I paid up, which was the same cost as the options, had I had the chance to spec the new car from the factory.

To my mind, it allows car makers to sell ‘base’ cars to those who don’t want all the options but also allows buyers who purchase second hand to add some options easily, should they want them.

After all, how many owners have added heated seats to their Defenders, aftermarket? If we could have done it with a phone call / app payment, wouldn’t that have been a positive?

14th Jul 2022 4:00pm

discomog

Member Since: 09 May 2015
Location: Notts/Lincs Border
Posts: 2531

2015 Defender 90 Puma 2.2 XS CSW Santorini Black

Yes instead of buying options and having your car built to your spec the car already has the options built in from the manufacturer and you pay a subscription to switch them on. When you trade your car in, the dealer simply turns off the options and then when he resells it as an approved used car he then offers the options to the next purchaser. If the original buyer sells his car privately then the options will switch off when the subscription ends - private buyer then has to visit dealer at vast expense to have them switch them on again.

(Mr Fox seems to have beaten me to it). Defender 90XS SW
Mini Countryman Cooper S
Morgan Plus 8

14th Jul 2022 4:03pm

spudfan

Member Since: 10 Sep 2007
Location: Co Donegal
Posts: 4722

Probably makes for easier/quicker assembly times as every vehicle is the same. 1982 88" 2.25 diesel
1992 110 200tdi csw -Zikali
2008 110 2.4 tdci csw-Zulu
2011 110 2.4 tdci csw-Masai

14th Jul 2022 5:04pm

Mossberg

Member Since: 29 Feb 2020
Location: Lancs
Posts: 553

1993 Defender 90 300 Tdi HT Aintree Green

Well I am going to be the odd one out here. I believe that when you purchase a product you pay a price based on how much it costs and a % is added. That to me is how it works. It's how every manufacturing company I have ever worked for has worked.

This seems a different concept. It seems the product costs relatively little to make and the company charges the customer for whatever they feel they can fleece them for. To me that isn't great. It s virtually exploitation. It may be the world you want to live in, but not me.

How would you feel if you bought a 4 bedroom house where everything is finished and paid for but you can only use two of the bedrooms. As you go on through life and you get a larger salary, if you pay them more money they will allow you to use the other rooms. When you sell the house you can only ask for a price that relates to the two bedrooms. The next family can upgrade to four bedrooms by paying more money to the original builder.

It's like everything you own is not fully yours.

When you currently upgrade your defender with heated seats, when you sell it on, your defender holds residual value in those and you can recoup some of your outlay.

I don't want to be a minion for big corporations. Unless of course I should "know my place ".

14th Jul 2022 8:18pm

kenzle8a

Member Since: 12 Feb 2020
Location: None
Posts: 1074

If anyone’s not read Ubik, it seems this was predicted a while ago.

14th Jul 2022 9:35pm

spudfan

Member Since: 10 Sep 2007
Location: Co Donegal
Posts: 4722

I suppose JLR could adopt this policy with the current Defender/Discovery/Range Rover models. You could pay a base price then option in 4wd, low range, reversing camera etc. Everything is there already just that the brain needs to be told to switch it on! 1982 88" 2.25 diesel
1992 110 200tdi csw -Zikali
2008 110 2.4 tdci csw-Zulu
2011 110 2.4 tdci csw-Masai

14th Jul 2022 10:03pm

MichaelE

Member Since: 18 Jan 2020
Location: Crawley West Sussex
Posts: 155

It will come to the NHS one day. You get your new bionic heart, kidney, arm or whatever. Then pay a monthly fee to keep it running. Fall behind............click.........

14th Jul 2022 11:07pm

Hendrix

Member Since: 04 Oct 2016
Location: North Notts
Posts: 103

2013 Defender 110 Puma 2.2 USW Santorini Black

So what happens if there is a fault on any part of a system you havent purchased that causes a problem with your car? Andy

1996 300TDI 110 SW
2013 TDCI 110 Utility

15th Jul 2022 4:12am

markb110

Member Since: 22 May 2010
Location: Guildford
Posts: 2647

Upside down with the battery pack about to go volcanic and then you discover that you don’t have the door opening subscription……

15th Jul 2022 6:35am

blackwolf

Member Since: 03 Nov 2009
Location: South West England
Posts: 17479

2007 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 DCPU Stornoway Grey

It's an interesting cost model, not one I like. Arguably the end of life as we know it!

How long before we're charged on a per-use basis- engage low range and pay for the engagement!

15th Jul 2022 7:10am

Lodelaner

Member Since: 04 Feb 2010
Location: Lambourn
Posts: 633

1988 Defender 90 V8 Petrol ST Shire Blue

I've worked for a number of car manufacturers during my 'career'. 20yrs ago I was a product manager at at Volkswagen UK, and was charging £1200 for a set of 18" alloys over the standard set of 16". The factory gate wholesale price cost from VWAG €80.

A friend in Renault product marketing was charging £1600 for a set of big alloys on an Espace, his wholesale price was €20.

Perceived value is innate within us, and I get that there are plenty of folk who reject it. However as much as we hate it the numbers suggest that that 75% of customers will pay for subscription/telematic/switchable services. As a commercial organisation why wouldn't you exploit this?

Subscription models are the future - so they say - but I personally don't buy into it either as I hate being mugged off.

(sent ironically from my iPhone) JB

@Lodelaner Instagram

Youtube greenlaning and other LR related content

15th Jul 2022 8:48am

pjm-84

Member Since: 12 Apr 2021
Location: Hampshire
Posts: 662

Hence I have standard alloys on the BMW.

On my BMW the only APP /download option I have is activation of the Adaptive Cruise Control at £750. Not worth it to me but may appeal to others.

15th Jul 2022 9:10am

The Zee

Member Since: 26 May 2019
Location: Salisbury
Posts: 289

2014 Defender 110 Puma 2.2 USW Indus Silver

Lodelaner wrote:

Subscription models are the future - so they say - but I personally don't buy into it either as I hate being mugged off.

The subscription model has been introduced in software/apps look at Adobe

: you can't buy a licence you rent/subscribe one, once you have used the application to do some work, and saved it in the unique format your perminatly locked into that eco system - Microsoft

have done the same with Office.

BMW have started, and it will spread industry wide : it's a way of making money on something you had sold, and come the time BMW want to retire a model so they don't have to support it with spares or service, they will just hit the kill switch and "brick" your vehicle by remote: It just will not start.

Welcome progress, welcome to the future!

Zaid-M
www.DefencePhotos.com
2014 Defender 110 Utility, 2.2 Puma, Indus Silver
Not just transport more like a religion

15th Jul 2022 10:27am

markb110

Member Since: 22 May 2010
Location: Guildford
Posts: 2647

blackwolf wrote:
It's an interesting cost model, not one I like. Arguably the end of life as we know it!

How long before we're charged on a per-use basis- engage low range and pay for the engagement!

It’s called marriage, and has been like that for decades…….

15th Jul 2022 11:21am

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