I'm a big fan of XM, and even though my trial period doesn't end for another two months, I called today to extend for 4 years ($369). Problem is, they tell me if I subscribe now, I get billed immediately and lose the free period. ........Huh?

This can't be right, you mean I've got to call back in 2 months if I want to take advantage of the free period? "Yes," she confirms.

Can anyone else confirm this??

 

I can't confirm it, but it sounds stupid enough to be true.

I guess you'll be calling back in two months.

 

If you cannot wait for 2 more months, call again and talk to another rep or supervisor?

 

Actually, yes. It is true. Why not simply wait until your free trial is over in 2 months? What's the rush to spend the $'s today?

 

I was told the same thing by the dealer when I bought the car... XM will start sending you letters to subscribe about 2 weeks prior to your trial period ending. Worse case you ignore them like I did (thought I would see if it really stopped working....). Well it did, 3 months and 12 days after I purchased the car... Called them on the cell phone that minute during my commute and instructed them to bill me, it was back on in less than 10 minutes.

Smitty

 

That's so stupid of them! Unbelievable!

 

Thats not what they told me, nor did, I signed up about 3 weeks before the deadline, they set it up to auto bill to my credit card on the day it expired.

Only problem was that they forgot to bill my credit card when the time expired, but XM continued to work after that.

 

That's not true.

I renewed my within my trial period, and they said they wouldn't charge me until the trial ends.

Sure enough, at the last day of March, I saw the charge on my credit card.

Are you sure about 4 years? I love XM as well, but after the latest dotcom bubble, maybe slightly cautious if XM goes under within 4 years...?

Keep in mind they are still not profitable...

 

Niether XM nor Sirius are going out of business anytime soon. Think "Cable TV" and you will get a better idea about the future of XM. 15 years ago people were saying things like "Why would anyone PAY for Tv when they can get it for free with an antenna". Well, the satelitte radio's are essentially cable for audio. Great fit IMHO. Annnndddd! Sirius is working on bringing the video into the car on the same signal! It works already in demos. They are just having a time with the FCC on the "fine print". In either case, get your children invested in (either or both) of the satelitte radios TODAY and you can thank me later when it's paid for their college, their first car and the wedding....

 

I have been think about this for a while. I just sent a message to my broker about it to get his opinion of XM as an investment.

I will let you know what he says....

 

Will they refund you the unused months if your car is totaled or stolen during the 4 yr period ?

 

My guess is XM will survive and swallow up Sirrus as Sirrus is way under target projections and far from critical mass. XM is closer and with deals like this with Honda/Acura will probably reach critical mass son enough.

 

Plus, GM announced that it will be increasing XM Satellite Radio availability to more than 50 cars and trucks in the 2005 model year - continuing one of the fastest-ever technology rollouts in company history. This was the news on 02/02/04.

 

At the same time Sirius is gaining momentum with DaimlerChrysler, BMW (7-series), and others. That's why their stock had such huge run up the last few days.

XMSR was a great buy last year, you would have made a handsome profit if you bought it a year ago at $3 to $5 dollars. It's at $30 today.

Anyway, I agree that Satellite radio is here to stay, and going forward it should continue to gain momentum. However, it's still early to predict who will be the winner down the road, and 4-years seems like a long time to bet on a single horse.

 

That could change literally overnight if Howard Stern signs with Sirius. Sirius' subscriber count would immediately catch up with XM's (and probably exceed it).

 

man i have had all kinds of problems with the people at XM. i also called about a month before my subscription was up to pay for it, that way i did'nt have a lapse it coverage (like its friggin insurance???ha) anyways one day i get in my car and the XM no longer works in my car,F@%k im thinking whats up with this, i call and they have no record of me, so i take another 20 min to setup my account again and they tell me i have to pay a 14.95 setup charge, i flip out on the lady and tell her i'll go and install sirius if i have to pay that and she says she can waive the fee, so basically dont let these people push you around, there business is still not profitable and remember the customer is always right, so you have all the power.

 

fuque... both XM and SIRIUS are still not profitable yet, neither has expected to be yet though. XM beat SIRIUS to the market with the boombox-car-home device by over a year which has helped them become the leader in satellite radio, but with clear channel radio being a large investor in it, and there ongoing problems with howard stern, there is a good chance he may move his radio show over to SIRIUS satellite radio and thus give them a little push towards the top.... well just my 2 cents on the possibilities.....

 

Anybody called and complained about XM's "invoice fee"? They try to charge you $2 to send you a bill in the mail. I called last night after receiving my bill and gave them an ear full. I told them printing and mailing bills is their cost of doing business and under no circumstances will I pay for it. They waived the fee on my bill and I had them switch my account to auto debit from the checking account. Don't pay them the invoice fee. It's a bunch of crap.

 

I've been an XM customer for 2 years (I have 3 XM radios in addition to the one in the TL). Shortly after purchasing my TL I got an email from XM "Welcoming me to XM". This email referenced account information different from my existing account. I contacted them and asked if they could simply consolidate the two accounts -- adding the radio in the TL to my existing account. They said this couldn't be done until the expiration of the free trial period. They further said they would notify me shortly before the free-tiral period expires and at that time I could add the TL's radio to my existing account.

On a related note, I read elsewhere in this forum that someone received a $5.99/month renewal rate offer (this is unconfirmed -- just echoing what someone else posted) from XM to keep their service going after the trial period. This is the same rate offered by XM in their "family plan", but I don't recall the poster saying this was an additional radio for them. It may be worthwhile to lookup the post, and PM the source to confirm the offer and try to get the same deal.

- Shemp

** edit ** here's the thread I referenced:
http://www.acura-tl.com/forums/showthread.php?t=75524