OnStar prices lock out users

I let the service lapse after the first year that was free. I used it once for directions (before the turn by turn) and it was OK, used it once for traffic and it was useless finding an alternate route.

I just thought it was too much money for what you got. If the price was half I may have stuck with it for a few years.

Heck, you can buy a good GPS for that. Keeping a spare key handy solves the lock out problem. Having a cell phone covers virtually all other emergencies.

I recall discussing the marketing benefit of On Star in a case study in business school. At that time (mid 90's), On Star was a unique automotive service and was intended to give GM a marketing edge by giving its customers a "touchy/feely" personal service. Press the button and someone would be available to help you. It was like having Mr. Good Wrench at your beck and call.

I, for one, was not impressed with the actual service On Star provided when compared to alternate, available technologies. For example, you could press the On Star button and speak to an On Star representative (and no one else) or you could use your cell phone (which was an emerging technology in the mid 90's) and speak to anyone in the world who had a telephone. Both On Star and cell phone service cost about $30/month at that time.

On Star is a marketing gimmick.

You can also press the button on your OnStar and call anyone in the world, just like a cell phone. Also, OnStar is no more a gimmick then anything else. Some people like it, others don't.

I understand that some people like OnStar but you miss my point. OnStar was really intended to provide a marketing edge. It was intended to make the customer who purchased a car equipped with OnStar (which is to say a GM car) to feel special. The customer was empowered because they literally could press a button and have someone available to answer their car question. No other car company at that time had a similar button or could offer that level of personal service.

Separate from this feeling of customer empowerment was the collection of services made available after connecting to the OnStar Agent (help, directions, etc.) When OnStar was initially introduced (mid 90's), cell phones were around but not widely used and GPS, at the consumer level, did not exist as yet.

As mentioned elsewhere in this thread, now that cell phones, GPS, etc are widely available the uniqueness of the OnStar services is greatly reduced and there is little value hyping the value of the empowerment.

Those customers can still feel empowered, as no other car offers the OnStar service. Sure, you can use a cell phone and GPS, but like you said, when you press that OnStar button, you are able to talk to someone. Not a computer, not a recording, an actual person.

I would agree that OnStar services are reduced now, what with cell phones and GPS, but there are still features OnStar has that you can't get with either. How many cell phones automatically dial 911 if your air-bags deploy? How many cell phones can be used to unlock the car doors, or can be used to track the car if it were stolen? I don't have OnStar myself, as my current car doesn't have this feature, and I doubt I would pay for it if I did, but I know people who have it, and they are very happy with it. Many of them don't use cell phones, they only have the OnStar.

I would really challenge any claim that GM ever made stating that there is a profit to be made in ONSTAR. I suspect that given the significant cost to develop and support the system, that it has always lost significant amounts.

It is a communications and navigation service.

GM is/was a car making company.

DUH!

One major flaw in ONSTAR, as I see it, is their uncompromising stand on method of payment. This alone caused them to lose me as a customer.

The last thing you ever want to do is give a communications provider free access to your money, by giving them your credit card number.

When they offered me what looked like a reasonably-priced service for $20 for an additional 9 months after the initial 3 months free, I offered to pay by cash, debit card, by cheque, on invoice - any other way they could take it.

But oh no - the offer was simply a ruse to get my credit card number - they would not accept payment any other way.

And we all know what happens at automatic renewal time once they have your card number, don't we?

This is the only thing they managed to copy correctly from the other communication companies, hahahaha!

Rather than take it, I suggested they place their offer in a convenient bodily orifice, preferably their own.

GM would not undertake it if profit could not be made at some point. They are in business to make money, not help lost sould on the way to the mall.

Yes, they are but . . . . . Look back at the history of GM. They were in the aircraft business, the locomotive business, the electronics business, the data processing business, and others. Don't forget GMAC

All good services. I've never found them to be worth the money, but evidently, others do. They are selling peace of mind in a crash and that seems to be a big point. They also have diagnostics and service reminders.

My 2010 Lincoln MKZ uses MS's Sync to connect my Blue Tooth cell phone that allows me to make calls using voice commands. There is no monthly fee however. Sync is standard, or an available option, on all FLM vehicles

GM product has many more features, however. The fact GM offers it free is a plus. If you decided, after a year to buy the service, you can. Ford system is not free on lesser models. Ford offers satellite radio free for six months, after which one must pay $125 for a years service

Whenever I must give my CC# I use MasterCard's "Virtual Number" system to pay the amount due, not my actual number.

In addition once a year, or after anytime I have traveled outside of the US, I call the CC company and close my account and get a NEW number.

On Tue, 22 Sep 2009 05:50:28 -0400, Jim Higgins fired up the etcha-a-sketch and scratched out:

Funny!

I actually have On*, but mostly as an insurance in case something happens.

I don't even have locks in the doors anymore on my Avalanche. Not sure if my wife does on her Vue.

Oh yeah?

What business are "they" in now, hahahaha?