XM lifetime for $399. Worth it?

[Caretaker]

I'm a bit concerned about the company going under and taking my $400 with them. I have received 4 "panic" calls from XM in the past 3 weeks reminding me that my free trial service is about to expire. I have tried to work my negotiation magic, getting them to take $300 and getting my friend to sign up as well, but have not gotten any bites. I do know that if the radio goes bad or is stolen, that the service conveys to the new radio in my car. What do you all think?

[ou.grizzly]

Nothing is lifetime as everything has an end Captain. Do I sound like Spock? Month-by-month service may be a better option at this point.

[kunkstyle]

Pays for itself in about 3 years.

[ColonelPanic]

Are you sure the service is transferable to a new radio? Isn't worth it if it is not. I don't know if that changed when Sirius took them over.With Sirius, it really sucks because it's lifetime for the RADIO and not the subscription. (at least it used to be that way.) Which sadly "lifetime" has meant a month or so for certain models of their tuners, like this POS Sportster Replay I've had two of and they've both been crap. Man that would be a ripoff. If you can have a radio last long enough to make it through the point where it pays for itself then it's a sweet deal.I'd hope a factory installed radio would hopefully be a tad more reliable. And I doubt you'd have to worry about someone stealing a factory system.

[jake75]

1. I don't spend that much time in my car.2. When I am in my car, I rarely listen to anything but local news anyway.3. If I want to listen to music, I have many many CD's.4. A lifetiime subscription to Howard Stern is worth perhaps $12 to me.

[ColonelPanic]

lol, I wouldn't take a lifetime sub for stern for free!

[zionzr2]

You can listen online for free with a subscription. even if your radio doesnt work anymore.

[NibCrom]

How long are you planning to live?

[ned23]

NOTE: The basic X-M subscription does not include Howard Stern or the full Sirius sports/talk package. You have to pay extra for that. Also, does the lifetime sub allow you to change receivers or cars? If not, than it's not really a lifetime subscription. It sounds like it's limited to that particular vehicle and the OEM head unit. Can it be transferred to a Plug-n-Play (PnP) receiver? That said, I bought a Sirius lifetime subscription many years ago. It has definitely paid for itself. I think it's 6 or 7 years now. It let me change the receiver 2 times for a total of 3 receivers. changed it once, however, they've now merged with X-M and I do not think X-M honors the lifetime Sirius Subs...

[Caretaker]

Here's the skinny. $399 gets you:XM service to your radio ID. If the radio fails or needs to be replaced, no harm, no foul; service will be swapped one for one.XM service for up to two more vehicles. So, if you sell your vehicle, you can switch it in to the new car up to two times more in a "lifetime". Since I keep my cars 10+ years, that should keep me listening into old age.Up to 4 subordinate user accounts. I can add up to 4 more units/accounts at $6.99 per month per account.Free on-line XM listening by simply logging in. I guess I'll be bringing my laptop out to the basketball court and plugging in some external speakers. The only wild card is that XM is not in great financial shape. If it goes under, I'll take a $399 tax credit for donating to that historical institution known as radio.

[ned23]

Quote, originally posted by maxx4me »Here's the skinny. $399 gets you:XM service to your radio ID. If the radio fails or needs to be replaced, no harm, no foul; service will be swapped one for one.XM service for up to two more vehicles. So, if you sell your vehicle, you can switch it in to the new car up to two times more in a "lifetime". Since I keep my cars 10+ years, that should keep me listening into old age.Up to 4 subordinate user accounts. I can add up to 4 more units/accounts at $6.99 per month per account.Free on-line XM listening by simply logging in. I guess I'll be bringing my laptop out to the basketball court and plugging in some external speakers. The only wild card is that XM is not in great financial shape. If it goes under, I'll take a $399 tax credit for donating to that historical institution known as radio. Thanks very much for that update. It does sound like it's tied to your car, and cannot be transferred to a PnP / Portable unit. I was thinking of buying the 3-year subscription for my new X-M but I think I'll wait. I've still got my Clarion Sirius PnP unit and the Sirius satellites have higher bandwidth and better sound quality and reception than X-M. The X-M radio in my car was designed before the merger so it still uses the hughes satellites down by the equator.

[Caretaker]

The equator eh? Hmmm, a road trip to Ecuador might just be in order!!! I'll do that trip after I drive up to Dog River! It seems like Sirius pricing is seperate from XM, though I don't know why. I'm listening to my 80's rock on the internet as I type. One day down.....an XM lifetime still to go. Feel free to call them and ask about your transfer question. Since you already own the mobile unit and are a Sirius subscriber, I don't want to impress you with what I don't know. They'll know the answer.

[ned23]

Quote, originally posted by maxx4me »The equator eh? Hmmm, a road trip to Ecuador might just be in order!!! I'll do that trip after I drive up to Dog River! It seems like Sirius pricing is seperate from XM, though I don't know why. I'm listening to my 80's rock on the internet as I type. One day down.....an XM lifetime still to go. It is. It's probably because they still have separate contracts with various entities like Howard Stern and the NFL and so forth. Those will have to be re-negitiated but for the time being, the money from the subscription with the contract goes to the contractee (i.e. Sirius subscription money goes to Stern).Yes, the Huges satelites are geostational down by the equator. X-M uses a lot more repeaters, particularly in northern latitudes. Sirius satellites use a different kind of orbit that gives them the appearance (from somone standing on Earth) of doing figure-8's over the middle of the US centered somewhere above South Dakota. The orbits are actually patented. there's always a satellite within a few hundred miles of the center. Here's a link to a site with a graphic:Sirius:X-M plans to adopt the same patent, now:http://www.orbitcast.com/archi....html

[Caretaker]

OK, now today, XM calls me to ensure that I was the one who called to order the lifetime package. Sounds like good security I guess. Then, I asked again about the "transfer to two more vehicles statement" and the guy says: "No, what the other operator meant to say is that it was transferable if you used the mobile unit, not the built into your radio unit." Well, I'm still a bit confused and I told him that XM knew it was going into my car radio (fixed) since that was where my 3 month trial service was to. As such, the idiot should not have been talking about mobile units when I never mentioned anything about them. In the end, my "lifetime" plan is good for my 09 Vibe. Since I just got the car and keep cars forever (unless GM dealerships decide to try to kill me with their crackerjack repair work), I will have the XM for a very long time to come. I'm so glad they hired 21 year olds off the beach to sell these policies and have no clue to what it is they are selling. I guess it is only slightly better than talking to India.

[ned23]

Quote, originally posted by maxx4me »OK, now today, XM calls me to ensure that I was the one who called to order the lifetime package. Sounds like good security I guess. Then, I asked again about the "transfer to two more vehicles statement" and the guy says: "No, what the other operator meant to say is that it was transferable if you used the mobile unit, not the built into your radio unit." Well, I'm still a bit confused and I told him that XM knew it was going into my car radio (fixed) since that was where my 3 month trial service was to. As such, the idiot should not have been talking about mobile units when I never mentioned anything about them. In the end, my "lifetime" plan is good for my 09 Vibe. Since I just got the car and keep cars forever (unless GM dealerships decide to try to kill me with their crackerjack repair work), I will have the XM for a very long time to come. I'm so glad they hired 21 year olds off the beach to sell these policies and have no clue to what it is they are selling. I guess it is only slightly better than talking to India. Could you have told him then that "no that's not what I ordered?" Is there a clause that lets you out before a certain amount of time has passed? On the bright side you only paid $399, right? That's only about $35 more than the 3-year subscription, which according to the mailer they sent me was asking something like $362.60 ("8 months free") for 3 years. So, if you use it for at least 3 and a half years, you're still ahead of the game!

[Caretaker]

You are correct on all points. I figure that since I own this Corolla, it should stay in the family for much more than 10 years. I'll definitely get my money's worth as long as XM stays in business. If there was some kind of competition to choose from, I may have told the guy to keep his $399. But since there isn't, and as you pointed out ned, after just shy of 4 years, I have a positive return on my investment.

[ned23]

Quote, originally posted by maxx4me »You are correct on all points. I figure that since I own this Corolla, it should stay in the family for much more than 10 years. I'll definitely get my money's worth as long as XM stays in business. If there was some kind of competition to choose from, I may have told the guy to keep his $399. But since there isn't, and as you pointed out ned, after just shy of 4 years, I have a positive return on my investment. You break even at about 3 years and 4 months. I'm willing to bet that some market actuary actually sat down and calculated that the average "lifetime subscription holder" uses the service for 3 years and 6 months, +/- 2 months and told the top brass that: "Well, we can on average charge them $399 for a lifetime and still make money!"