Onstar free?

[River_Rat]

My salesman really got on my nerves with the whole "push the Onstar button" thing. I understand its just part of his job, but seriously, I had had enough. I never did push that damn button. A couple months later, Onstar called me while I was driving! I was annoyed and hung up. They still send me junkmail every so often which goes directly in the trash.

Onstar should be a complimentary service. They always try to get you with that, "what if you're unconscious or can't reach your phone?" nonsense. I'll tell you what, I'm waiting for the day that someone gets into a serious accident with no one else around. Onstar knows about it because they are constantly monitoring your vehicle anyway, but they don't alert the authorities because you didn't pay extra for the service (nevermind the thousands spent on the vehicle). The driver's injuries could have been easily treated, but since nobody responded they just up and die.

Probably wouldn't make it past a judge, but I'd take the case.

 

[OnStar Advisor]

muniorbust -

OnStar has two plans available for your vehicle - Safe & Sound and Directions & Connections.

The Safe & Sound plan includes all of OnStar's emergency and security services; - Automatic Crash Response, Roadside Assistance, Hands-Free Calling, Remote Door Unlock, Vehicle Diagnostics, and Stolen Vehicle Assistance.

The Directions & Connections plan includes all of the services from the Safe & Sound plan, as well as unlimited Turn-by-Turn Navigation.

As Swordsmith said, OnStar Hands-Free calling requires an active OnStar subscription to use, but if you pair your cellphone with whatever bluetooth hardware may be installed in your vehicle, you can easily use that without an OnStar subscription. I hope this clarifies things for you! Let me know if you have any more questions.

-Sara, OnStar Advisor,
Social Media Team

 

[OnStar Advisor]

River_Rat -

I just wanted to provide a little clarification. Even if your vehicle was previously activated, if the subscription expires or you choose to cancel it, your OnStar system will be deactivated and your two way connection will be disabled. All services will be inactive and OnStar can not connect to the vehicle without a keypress from the mirror to be reestablished. I hope this answers your question.

-Sara, OnStar Advisor
Social Media Team

 

[laborsmith]

Although it does not show on your Window Sticker, Chevrolet allocated $695 of the MSRP to OnStar, of which about $70 of the dealer profit is built in. In addition, the dealer gets another $100 (+ or -) when the program is activated.

Using elementary mathematics, I determine 3/4 or about $400 goes to OnStar just as a few hundred goes to whomever makes the braking system or several hundred goes to whomever makes the seats.

OnStar is a separate GM division and shows a huge profit to GM every year. In fact, OnStar is considered to be one of the most profitable GM divisions.

Since I am a GM Fanboy, is it any wonder I am such a huge proponent of the OnStar service? (Insert sarcastic icon here if appropriate)


Laborsmith

 

[River_Rat]

River_Rat -

I just wanted to provide a little clarification. Even if your vehicle was previously activated, if the subscription expires or you choose to cancel it, your OnStar system will be deactivated and your two way connection will be disabled. All services will be inactive and OnStar can not connect to the vehicle without a keypress from the mirror to be reestablished. I hope this answers your question.

-Sara, OnStar Advisor
Social Media Team

1) I was being at least a little bit facetious.
2) I did not actually have any questions, but thanks anyway.

 

[BSD]

River_Rat -

I just wanted to provide a little clarification. Even if your vehicle was previously activated, if the subscription expires or you choose to cancel it, your OnStar system will be deactivated and your two way connection will be disabled. All services will be inactive and OnStar can not connect to the vehicle without a keypress from the mirror to be reestablished. I hope this answers your question.

-Sara, OnStar Advisor
Social Media Team

Call me a conspiracy nut, but I find this hard to believe. It would take more money to implement such a system then just programming the server side software to ignore any incoming data from non-subscribers. I'm inclined to believe onstar would choose the cheaper option.

Although it does not show on your Window Sticker, Chevrolet allocated $695 of the MSRP to OnStar, of which about $70 of the dealer profit is built in. In addition, the dealer gets another $100 (+ or -) when the program is activated.
Laborsmith

$695 for some piece of crap I never wanted in the first place and can't even remove?! FUUUUU......


Lucky for me cell service sucks in the dealer parking lot, so they were never able to get mine activated. Pulled the fuse a few weeks later, just wish I could remove the whole thing.....

 

[Crazzyboy]

Yes they will let you die if you deactivate it. My cop brother has gotten calls about it. Most notably onstar refusing to unlock a car which a child has been accidentally locked in and parents locked out. Two lessons learned there 1 shlulda kept onstar 2 they are idiots

 

[laborsmith]

The $695 is based on what appeared on my window stickers when OnStar was an option. Yes, there was a time when I volunteered to be an OnStar subscriber. OnStar was so happy to have me they made sure I never wanted anything to do with them again in the future.


Laborsmith

 

[ss2000slp]

Laborsmith, you REALLY seem to love Onstar.

Did they get you to pay the $285 when they did the mandatory "upgrade" to digital back in the mid 2000s?

 

[OnStar Advisor]

Crazzyboy -

I assure you, it is certainly not that we are refusing service in emergency situations. If the OnStar system is deactivated, it cannot send or receive remote signals, including door unlock signals or automatic crash notifications.

Think of it like any other computer - if the computer is shut off, we will not be able to send or receive data from it. Turning it back on requires one to press the OnStar button inside the vehicle, so we can reconnect with it.

I hope this answers your questions

-Sara, OnStar Advisor,
Social Media Team

 

[muniorbust]

Turning it back on requires one to press the OnStar button inside the vehicle, so we can reconnect with it.

At which point an operator comes on and talks to the driver, right?
If not, then how does it work?

If so, then the driver says, "I need immediate medical help!".
And the operator does what? Nothing?

At a minimum, at that point it's one human talking to another. If I were the operator I'd help and would not hang up on someone who needed help.

FYI, I'm not interested in breaking OnStar's business model. But if I'm ever stuck/injured in the middle of nowhere with no working cell phone, I'm likely going to push the button fairly earlier in my attempts to seek help.

 

[Swordsmith]

At which point an operator comes on and talks to the driver, right?
If not, then how does it work?

If so, then the driver says, "I need immediate medical help!".
And the operator does what? Nothing?

At a minimum, at that point it's one human talking to another. If I were the operator I'd help and would not hang up on someone who needed help.

FYI, I'm not interested in breaking OnStar's business model. But if I'm ever stuck/injured in the middle of nowhere with no working cell phone, I'm likely going to push the button fairly earlier in my attempts to seek help.

This question was asked by me, in this thread, and I got an answer:

Yes, you talk to a human, yes, they will help in an emergency as best they can, even though you aren't a subscriber. However, no, there are things they can't do, not because they wouldn't, one human to another, but because your connection is disabled and it takes ten minutes or so to reconnect it.

So to answer your question more directly, yes, an operator picks up, you say I need immediate medical help, they say.... where are you located sir, your GPS signal is not working. You give your best guess, they route someone to you as best they can. If your service had been active, they would have known you crashed before you did, would have already had someone on the way to your exact position, would be actively contacting you to determine your status and so forth... but they can't do any of that, not because they are unwilling, but because there is no connection until you push that button, and even when you do, half your crap isn't sending, they are just a simple cellphone-to-operator connection.

I continue to maintain that I would happily pay a nominal fee, say $2 or so per month, for exactly this level of service, however, there is no room currently in their business plan for that, they will provide one of their more robust tiers for a fee I don't consider nominal, or they will provide this one, but won't take my money.

 

[rodslinger]

T.... If your service had been active, they would have known you crashed before you did, would have already had someone on the way to your exact position, ...
I continue to maintain that I would happily pay a nominal fee, say $2 or so per month, for exactly this level of service, ....

Same here. I have NO interest in the other features and feel all current offerings from On-Star have little value to me.

 

[Crazzyboy]

Crazzyboy -

I assure you, it is certainly not that we are refusing service in emergency situations. If the OnStar system is deactivated, it cannot send or receive remote signals, including door unlock signals or automatic crash notifications.

Think of it like any other computer - if the computer is shut off, we will not be able to send or receive data from it. Turning it back on requires one to press the OnStar button inside the vehicle, so we can reconnect with it.

I hope this answers your questions

-Sara, OnStar Advisor,
Social Media Team

well I guess that makes sense

 

[muniorbust]

I continue to maintain that I would happily pay a nominal fee, say $2 or so per month, for exactly this level of service, however, there is no room currently in their business plan for that, they will provide one of their more robust tiers for a fee I don't consider nominal, or they will provide this one, but won't take my money.

Thanks for explaining it again. I probably should have read this thread through more carefully.

I too would be likely to pay something like $2 for the service you describe, or a higher pay per use fee.

 

[Swordsmith]

I too would be likely to pay something like $2 for the service you describe, or a higher pay per use fee.

Oh yeah, I forgot to say I'd be happy to pay $2 per month and $200 per use... because my bet is I will never use it, and if I do, I won't give a damn how much I'm being charged.

People of a less gambling nature could pay more for the normal service, and laugh at my Grasshopper ways.

 

[laborsmith]

Laborsmith, you REALLY seem to love Onstar.

Did they get you to pay the $285 when they did the mandatory "upgrade" to digital back in the mid 2000s?

Ah, the crux of my love. The OnStar system put in my 2005 Corvette (a state of the art car per all advertising from that era) was so outdated that it could not be updated, not for $100, not for $285 and not for $1000.

The system was analog only and defies common sense that it was still used.


Laborsmith