Annual Sirius XM Dance

[SumDay]

Just got off the phone with "Rick" at Sirius XM after I noticed my monthly rate jumped from $6.95 to $21.95. He assured me I was talking to the right person and he was well equipped to help me with my problem.

We have two vehicles with Sirius subscriptions, and I got my rate down to $125 for the entire year, which covers both vehicles. I can live with that. I've earned my keep for the day.

We have a friend who claims he was able to get them to give him a $5 a month rate (single vehicle) FOR LIFE so he doesn't have to go through this yearly exercise. Rick wasn't able to secure that for me, but I'm gathering ammo so I can try again next year. Anyone tried this? It's kind of entertaining talking to them, but that's 30 minutes of my life I won't get back. But hey, I'm retired - what else do I have to do?

 

[statsman]

At the rate they're going, the quoted price in Sirius XM is going to be half of the actual cost given the constant spiking of the royalty fees. Well, not quite, but it just seems that way.

I was ready to drop them over the summer, much to the disagreement of my wife. But we ended up with a $60/yr (+fees) contract in August. Like with TV services, I am getting tired of the yearly battle.

This would be a lot simpler if our 2015 Buick Enclave's Infotainment system performed better with music from a USB thumb drive. Damn system's volume is off by quite a bit when playing back from USB (or iPod or Bluetooth) compared to the radio stations (XM/FM/AM). Switching from one of those devices to a radio station without first turning down the volume *A LOT* results in sound blasting through the speakers. Ugh. /rant off

 

[Cassius King]

Yep, have a reminder in Outlook to do my annual cancellation and resubscribe dance. Very annoying to have to do this every year.

 

[Car-Guy]

In my experience I've found the discount amount is directly related to how much time you are willing to spend on the phone with them, up to a point. It's only takes 4 or 5 minutes in total to get the bill cut in half. (Step 1) About 60 seconds to call and get to a live person, identify yourself and tell them you want a discount. (Step 2) Another 60 seconds for them to look up your account and tell you "what they can do for you". (Step 3) Another 2 to 3 minutes for them to update your account and read the new T&C's to you. You can get another 10 to 15% off if you'll dance a little more during "Step'2" (called the Two Step ) Anymore than 8 to 10 mins and you are starting to waste your time.

I've been doing this for years and to be honest, it has become a boring game.

 

[Squirrel]

agree. agree. agree.

I got ours down to $60 + $12.95 royalty fees.

But DH enjoys Sirius on his 10-minute commute, so I do the dance.

 

[Squirrel]

In my experience I've found the discount is directly related to how much time you are willing to spend on the phone with them. It's only takes 4 or 5 minutes in total to get the bill cut in half. (Step 1) About 60 seconds to call and get to a live person, identify yourself and tell them you want a discount. (Step 2) Another 60 seconds for them to look up your account and tell you "what they can do for you". (Step 3) Another 2 to 3 minutes for them to update your account and read the new T&C's to you. You can get another 10 to 15% off if you'll dance a little more during "Step'2" (called the Two Step )



I've been doing this for years and to be honest, it has become a boring game.

I'm gonna try your dance next year ... I tried online chat first, and that was a big waste of time.

 

[RockyMtn]

Do you have the streaming service for the $125?

 

[Aerides]

how do you guys get a year? the most they ever give me is 6 months. I do need at least the select package though.

at least that includes the app for free now so I can listen at the gym.

 

[MichaelB]

We have SiriusXM All Access, which includes all their programming plus internet streaming, for $156 per year. Our last 2 renewals were very quick. On the anniversary date, and not a day before, I call to cancel. When they ask what I want, I just say “the same price as last year or I’ll cancel, and please don’t waste my time”. Last two years were resolved politely and quickly.

The reason for doing it in th anniversary date is, when bargaining with them, they offer a discount but insist the effective date is that same day. Even if it’s only a week, that’s already a 2% hidden increase.

 

[bloom2708]

I got off the dance floor. Both cars, no subscription. Just not worth the dance.

With a phone and bluetooth the world is your oyster. I'm not giving Sirius anymore $.

 

[Big_Hitter]

i hate doing this myself - what's up with siriusxm anyway? do they count on people not calling annually?

 

[ncbill]

Only have a couple of vehicles with sat radio...only listen to it a few weeks out of the year.

When I want it in a particular vehicle I call up my relative who is a used car dealer and have him activate it for free (3 months at a time)

 

[RockyMtn]

agree. agree. agree.

I got ours down to $60 + $12.95 royalty fees.

But DH enjoys Sirius on his 10-minute commute, so I do the dance.

Just got the same deal along with the streaming which we use quite a bit. Other car comes off free trial in April so will have to do the dance again or may just stream from phone to car given I don't use it in that car all that much.

 

[audreyh1]

I dumped Sirius X years ago. Between podcasts and tons of music of our own we no longer needed it.

 

[Jerry1]

I used to have it because I got new vehicles often and the extra to have it until my lease end was pretty cheap. Now, I just don't see the point. I pug in my phone and use Apple Play to pull up Pandora and I have good music in my car for the small price of listening to some ads. Not a bad deal at all. Kind of like what FM radio used to be.

My biggest gripe is the OnStar dance. I'd give that up, but I like the fact that in an emergency, someone will (most likely) be able to send help without me having to be capable enough to use my phone. I like the other options too like remote start from my phone, but I'd really prefer a cheap emergency response only price. They're a little smarter than Sirius and they have a safety feature versus just a nice to have (music).

Oh well, one dance or another, we're all dancing - XM, OnStar, Cable . . .

 

[PJHawk]

Just did the dance last week. Their first "renewal" offer was $265 for my first car.... after 15 minutes on the phone...my 3 cars All-Access for less than $300. I hate to dance, but I have to.

 

[statsman]

I used to have it because I got new vehicles often and the extra to have it until my lease end was pretty cheap. Now, I just don't see the point. I pug in my phone and use Apple Play to pull up Pandora and I have good music in my car for the small price of listening to some ads. Not a bad deal at all. Kind of like what FM radio used to be.

I would love to be able to do that with our main vehicle. As I mentioned earlier, Buick's sound system has serious volume flaws with non-radio music sources unless you like blowing out your vehicle's speakers and/or your ear drums.

What we experience with our 2015 model still exists at least through 2018 (and I thought I read someone having the same issue with their 2019 model). If you value playing music back in your vehicle from USB, Bluetooth, iPod, or Apple Play/Android sources, avoid Buick like the plague (I should note that other than this, we have had no complaints with the vehicle).

 

[ziggy29]

Yup, I have to do it again in April. I hate these games, but I'm not going to be a sucker. It's worth $5 a month to me, but not $20.

 

[Katsmeow]

We have SiriusXM All Access, which includes all their programming plus internet streaming, for $156 per year. Our last 2 renewals were very quick. On the anniversary date, and not a day before, I call to cancel. When they ask what I want, I just say “the same price as last year or I’ll cancel, and please don’t waste my time”. Last two years were resolved politely and quickly.

What do you consider the anniversary date. We have a plan that it says online that the last payment date was 1/24/2019 and the next payment due date is 1/24/2020. It shows the plan end date as 1/24/2020.

Is that the date I should call or should I call on 1/23? We have a good rate for All Access (first year we had this car) and am not sure I will get that but would like to get it as low as possible.

 

[Jerry1]

I would love to be able to do that with our main vehicle. As I mentioned earlier, Buick's sound system has serious volume flaws with non-radio music sources unless you like blowing out your vehicle's speakers and/or your ear drums.

What we experience with our 2015 model still exists at least through 2018 (and I thought I read someone having the same issue with their 2019 model). If you value playing music back in your vehicle from USB, Bluetooth, iPod, or Apple Play/Android sources, avoid Buick like the plague (I should note that other than this, we have had no complaints with the vehicle).

Buick has a technology division that handles these types of things. Have you notified them? I used to drive Buicks when I leased and I only had one problem with my infotainment system. They were not able to help me, but they confirmed the problem and when Apple did their next update, it was corrected.

On a simple note, I noticed in one car that if you were using BT the volume was different than if you were plugged in. When using BT I had to have the phone all the way up (using the volume button on the phone). I forget what happened when it was plugged in as I mostly used BT but I think it was less tied to the volume on the phone.

Anyway, a 2018 is still under warranty unless you've driven 50K miles. Make them fix it.

 

[MichaelB]

What do you consider the anniversary date. We have a plan that it says online that the last payment date was 1/24/2019 and the next payment due date is 1/24/2020. It shows the plan end date as 1/24/2020.

Is that the date I should call or should I call on 1/23? We have a good rate for All Access (first year we had this car) and am not sure I will get that but would like to get it as low as possible.

In our case it would be 1/24. They begin sending renewal notices before then and last year charged the full renewal price before I called. I simply say “please cancel” and when they ask, “I’m happy to renew at the same price as last year”. It has worked so far. I am prepared to cancel if they don’t agree.

 

[Dtail]

I was paying 158 for a year for 1 car and was ready to do the dance.
However with no negotiating, they stated their new deal is for $7.78 charge each month which translates to ~$94 yearly.
I am not sure why they just offered this deal upfront, but nevertheless took the deal with no dancing.
Works for me.

 

[COcheesehead]

I have a 4 hour drive 4 times a month and I was really enjoying the year long free trial. I listened to music a bit, but spent most of the time on the financial or medical stations. When it ended I wondered if I should renew, instead I went in search of an alternative and found it … for free.
I use the Apple Podcast app and have downloaded dozens of podcasts on the subjects I enjoy. When I tire of them, I switch to music on my iPhone.
Problem solved.

 

[kyzymurgist]

Anyone else opt for the lifetime subscription? If I remember correctly, the cost was $600 in 2005. At the time it seemed like it would pay off in 5 years.

But I didn't anticipate the huge discounts that would soon be available as XM started struggling. I had some regrets when my friends were paying $49/year and it looked like they might go under.

But 14 years later and still driving the same car, it worked out OK. At least I avoided the dreaded renegotiations every 6 or 12 months.

 

[Dtail]

I was paying 158 for a year for 1 car and was ready to do the dance.
However with no negotiating, they stated their new deal is for $7.78 charge each month which translates to ~$94 yearly.
I am not sure why they just offered this deal upfront, but nevertheless took the deal with no dancing.
Works for me.

So thought I was good, then see a $30 monthly charge.
Called them up and obliterated them and stated I have them on a recorded line that they agreed to a 7.78 monthly charge.
A senior manager got on the line and offered an even better $82 for the year paid in one shot.
Accepted the offer. Done.