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In theory they much better align expenses with revenue. If you need to maintain servers and pay for LTE plans in perpetuity to make this functionality work, the

In theory they much better align expenses with revenue. If you need to maintain servers and pay for LTE plans in perpetuity to make this functionality work, then a subscription makes more sense than bundling it with the purchase price. People are just tired of paying for this kind of thing though, every aspect of human existence is being loaded into a subscription service.

Justsignedup 2y ago
The problem is value add: The old remote start system worked just fine. I click a button, a remote signal is sent to my car. Boom. Was it perfect? No. But it was local. Now we replaced a local system with a worse one. I tried using the mazda start and the delay could be 10 minutes because it depends on network coverage OR just how frequently the car wakes up to check the network. Edit: What would I pay for? - Remote start service that will automatically start my car 45 minutes after my alarm goes off if the external temperature in my area is below 40 degrees F. That's additive, and many would want this in say wisconsin, but its not a feature many would need, so the market is reduced.
- AdamJacobMuller 2y ago
  There is lots of value to LTE-based start. It works even if you're too far from the car for the RF signal to reach. I park just below my office window because if I'm too far away, my RF-based remote start won't work. Also being able to remotely adjust climate settings would be nice. I do fully disagree with their implementation of this, especially with regards to a $10 subscription fee.
  - paxys 2y ago
    And what about if you don't have good cell service in your parking lot or garage?
  - Justsignedup 2y ago
    The problem is the trade-off. We don't get to decide "I like remote-start, but I want to be able to start it from inside the store while the car is in the parking lot" -- That's a $10 a month gain that I'd pay. I don't care about that? Well I can use short-range radios. If that was the feature? It would be hailed as awesome. This is the pushback. Mazda turns off a bunch of features unless I pay $10 and the old version was working just fine for me.
AdamJacobMuller 2y ago
For a feature like remote start, this makes some sense, but companies are trying to charge subscription-based fees for things which have no ongoing expense. For example, BMW offering heated seats as a monthly subscription. Regardless, ongoing costs for an LTE data connection which can handle things like remote start costs fractions of a dollar per month at the scale of Mazda.

Justsignedup 2y ago

The problem is value add: The old remote start system worked just fine. I click a button, a remote signal is sent to my car. Boom. Was it perfect? No. But it was local. Now we replaced a local system with a worse one. I tried using the mazda start and the delay could be 10 minutes because it depends on network coverage OR just how frequently the car wakes up to check the network. Edit: What would I pay for? - Remote start service that will automatically start my car 45 minutes after my alarm goes off if the external temperature in my area is below 40 degrees F. That's additive, and many would want this in say wisconsin, but its not a feature many would need, so the market is reduced.

AdamJacobMuller 2y ago
There is lots of value to LTE-based start. It works even if you're too far from the car for the RF signal to reach. I park just below my office window because if I'm too far away, my RF-based remote start won't work. Also being able to remotely adjust climate settings would be nice. I do fully disagree with their implementation of this, especially with regards to a $10 subscription fee.
- paxys 2y ago
  And what about if you don't have good cell service in your parking lot or garage?
- Justsignedup 2y ago
  The problem is the trade-off. We don't get to decide "I like remote-start, but I want to be able to start it from inside the store while the car is in the parking lot" -- That's a $10 a month gain that I'd pay. I don't care about that? Well I can use short-range radios. If that was the feature? It would be hailed as awesome. This is the pushback. Mazda turns off a bunch of features unless I pay $10 and the old version was working just fine for me.

AdamJacobMuller 2y ago

For a feature like remote start, this makes some sense, but companies are trying to charge subscription-based fees for things which have no ongoing expense. For example, BMW offering heated seats as a monthly subscription. Regardless, ongoing costs for an LTE data connection which can handle things like remote start costs fractions of a dollar per month at the scale of Mazda.