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> For someone who only occasionally needs heated seats, this is value adding. No, for someone who only has a 3 year lease on a BMW, this may be value adding (o

by rsj_hn 5y ago

> For someone who only occasionally needs heated seats, this is value adding. No, for someone who only has a 3 year lease on a BMW, this may be value adding (or value subtracting). The money you save by not paying for heated seats when you buy the BMW does not go into your pocket when you sell the BMW without heated seats, as whoever buys the BMW from you will pay less for a BMW in which heated seats are free than one in which heated seats cost $100/year. For a car with a 20 year life, you'd profit if 1 year of heated seat rental costs less than 1/20 the price of heated seats if bought up front. This is true whether you own the car for 1 year or 3 years or 20 years. It does not matter how long you personally plan on owning the car.

hef19898 5y ago
As most new cars are leased, at least Europe for premium brands, anyway, I think that won't be an issue. BMW will sell your on, not you.
- rsj_hn 5y ago
  > BMW will sell your on, not you. It does not matter who sells the car. What matters is whether: (the price of used car with heated seats that must be paid for) - (the money already made from renting out heated seats) > (price of a used car with heated seats that are free) The identity of the seller does not alter this equation at all, nor can it flip a loss to a gain.
  - hef19898 5y ago
    The seats are in, as a leased car it never belonged to you, but rather BMW. Now, it is up to BMW how they price the seats for you. And how they price them when selling the car of after you returned upon leasing end.
    - rsj_hn 5y ago
      Yes, that is true for any seller. But they must find a buyer. E.g. sell those seats at market prices to some willing buyer who has a choice of buying a cheaper BMW with no heated seats or a more expensive BMW with heated seats that do not require a subscription or even another luxury car with a different heated seat pricing model. This is a crowded market. And BMW will sell the car at the market clearing price or it will hang onto excess inventory, so it matters very much whether the value obtained from heated seats without a subscription is greater or less than the price of the subcription over the useful life of the car, regardless of how long a particular owner holds the asset. That will affect the selling price of the car regardless of whether BMW or someone else is selling the car.
PeterisP 5y ago
On the other hand, the fact that you paid for the heated seats does not necessarily mean that the next owner won't need to pay for them - the manufacturer can tie that subscription and 'unlocked features' to the owner; I seem to recall reading an article here on HN some months ago about some resold car which got the "unlockable extras" disabled for the new owner.

by rsj_hn 5y ago

hef19898 5y ago

As most new cars are leased, at least Europe for premium brands, anyway, I think that won't be an issue. BMW will sell your on, not you.

rsj_hn 5y ago
> BMW will sell your on, not you. It does not matter who sells the car. What matters is whether: (the price of used car with heated seats that must be paid for) - (the money already made from renting out heated seats) > (price of a used car with heated seats that are free) The identity of the seller does not alter this equation at all, nor can it flip a loss to a gain.
- hef19898 5y ago
  The seats are in, as a leased car it never belonged to you, but rather BMW. Now, it is up to BMW how they price the seats for you. And how they price them when selling the car of after you returned upon leasing end.
  - rsj_hn 5y ago
    Yes, that is true for any seller. But they must find a buyer. E.g. sell those seats at market prices to some willing buyer who has a choice of buying a cheaper BMW with no heated seats or a more expensive BMW with heated seats that do not require a subscription or even another luxury car with a different heated seat pricing model. This is a crowded market. And BMW will sell the car at the market clearing price or it will hang onto excess inventory, so it matters very much whether the value obtained from heated seats without a subscription is greater or less than the price of the subcription over the useful life of the car, regardless of how long a particular owner holds the asset. That will affect the selling price of the car regardless of whether BMW or someone else is selling the car.

PeterisP 5y ago

On the other hand, the fact that you paid for the heated seats does not necessarily mean that the next owner won't need to pay for them - the manufacturer can tie that subscription and 'unlocked features' to the owner; I seem to recall reading an article here on HN some months ago about some resold car which got the "unlockable extras" disabled for the new owner.