CarPlay BMW Wants You to Pay an Annual Fee to Access Apple CarPlay

[ingik]

So now BMW will charge extra $80 a year for the privilege of using such a premium feature as Carplay is.
At the same time cheeper cars include it for free...

https://jalopnik.com/bmw-wants-you-to-pay-an-annual-fee-to-access-apple-carp-1836647703

 

[Breezygirl]

Not cool at all especially since they don’t even have Android Auto and other car makers offer it included.

 

[AZhappyjack]

So now BMW will charge extra $80 a year for the privilege of using such a premium feature as Carplay is.
At the same time cheeper cars include it for free...

https://jalopnik.com/bmw-wants-you-to-pay-an-annual-fee-to-access-apple-carp-1836647703

Not new. BMW has been at it for a while. Ridiculous, and a money grab. A few months back something went amok with the process and those schmucks who had paid BWM for the ability to use CarPlay were shut out for a few days while BMW sorted it all out.

 

[Itinj24]

Glad I switched to Audi after many years with BMW. It’s not even an exclusive brand anymore. It’s been so diluted and now they have the nerve to nickel and dime their customers. You can’t spit without hitting one on the road these days. Enjoy my Audi so much more and that Quattro system is second to none. Shame on you BMW. CarPlay should in no way shape or form be a subscription service and it’s probably because now nobody wants to pay for their ridiculously priced premium navigation upgrade that sucks anyway. Apple should step in and regulate this before this becomes a precedent.

(Yes, I know, all the premium German brands have been diluted).

 

[mtneer]

How is this different from Apple starting with 16GB iPhones a few years ago or 128GB laptops or spinning HDD's now when their competition starts off with more? Simple answer - because they can...

 

[CTHarrryH]

Not only the fee but you have to have options such as navigation purchased and installed. I use CarPlay mostly for navigation so why bother. I've had about 10 BMW's in my life but won't buy another because of things such as this.

 

[bigjnyc]

Not only the fee but you have to have options such as navigation purchased and installed. I use CarPlay mostly for navigation so why bother. I've had about 10 BMW's in my life but won't buy another because of things such as this.

Yeah I think thats the most egregious part of this whole thing. I don't mind paying $80 a year if they didn't force me to get the $4,000 i-drive upgrade with navigation in order to have carplay in the first place.

 

[BaracksPhallusPalace]

BMW's are glorified s***boxes these days... ugly, unreliable, bland & uninspired interior designs, and they charge a fortune for even a base model 3 series. Audi and Benz are the way to go if you want a quality German car.

 

[LiveM]

Benz? Really? Hard to find one that is reliable and demonstrates any actual technological advantage these days. Just made with off-the-shelf parts.

 

[GDF]

BMW's are glorified s***boxes these days... ugly, unreliable, bland & uninspired interior designs, and they charge a fortune for even a base model 3 series. Audi and Benz are the way to go if you want a quality German car.

Really got rid of our Benz. Worst tech in the industry. BMW is far and away best tech. Who else has wireless carplay and a better hud system? No one. Audi - glorified VW.... BMW is a German is it gets!

 

[Conutz]

If they maintain that fee, my next car won’t be another BMW...

 

[MisterSavage]

When I was car shopping I wouldn't consider any models that didn't support CarPlay. Now I'll make that requirement free CarPlay.

 

[GDF]

If they maintain that fee, my next car won’t be another BMW...

Why? They already charged for Carplay. This is not different. Just pay for the one time fee and be done with it. If you can't afford $300, then not sure why you are buying a luxury car?

$300 to me is totally worth it for wireless Carplay. No other mfg has it. Rented a Ford Fusion and felt like I was stepping back in the stone ages having to plug a cord in to get Carplay. Also, wireless Carplay sounds so much better too.

 

[Conutz]

Why? They already charged for Carplay. This is not different. Just pay for the one time fee and be done with it. If you can't afford $300, then not sure why you are buying a luxury car?

Be careful of not understanding the difference between “affording” and what perceived value is. Firstly, I have no issue with an up-front payment - added value = added cost. Secondly, by the same token, why must BMW be petty and charge these “rats and mice” figures annually? Over 5 years, $400 of car costing around $50k (<1%)!? By that time, I’m lining up to buy a new BMW...or not. BMW should grow a set and absorb the cost, if they are levied this fee, thereby retaining me as a client. It is the petty little things such as these that result in clients looking elsewhere. I think the bean counters are running BMW...

$300 to me is totally worth it for wireless Carplay. No other mfg has it. Rented a Ford Fusion and felt like I was stepping back in the stone ages having to plug a cord in to get Carplay. Also, wireless Carplay sounds so much better too.

As I said, $300 as an up-front is fine, an option. We recently bought a Fiat 500C, comes standard with wired CarPlay. And I must pay three times the price of the 500C for the luxury of an additional $80/year? Ummm...no.

 

[bransoj]

Why? They already charged for Carplay. This is not different. Just pay for the one time fee and be done with it. If you can't afford $300, then not sure why you are buying a luxury car?

$300 to me is totally worth it for wireless Carplay. No other mfg has it. Rented a Ford Fusion and felt like I was stepping back in the stone ages having to plug a cord in to get Carplay. Also, wireless Carplay sounds so much better too.

I think its just a case of how this comes across from a customers point of view, lots of manufacturers seem to be capable of including as part of the standard offering the majority of which will be seen to be lesser brands than BMW. Just comes across as very tight fisted and i can see why it would put many people off buying a BMW when weighing things up overall.

For what its worth i have wired carplay and dont find it to be that much of a hassle at all. It takes all of a few seconds if that to plug the phone in.

 

[bigjnyc]

BMW's are glorified s***boxes these days... ugly, unreliable, bland & uninspired interior designs, and they charge a fortune for even a base model 3 series. Audi and Benz are the way to go if you want a quality German car.

Funny I feel the same way about Benz. Every Benz I drove handled like a school bus compared to even a base BMW. Can't really opine on Audi because I don't have much experience with them, but they look like upgraded VW's to me.

 

[LiveM]

Wireless CarPlay is obviously going to be in every CarPlay car sooner or later, so why do these idiots at BMW think that renting it to owners is a viable option that won’t cost them more than including it?

Has anyone at BMW actually thought this through? The moment they stop charging, as they inevitably will, they will have to deal with all the irate owners who just paid another annual fee and now want a pro rata refund, not to mention the loss of goodwill and the number of owners looking at alternative brands without even knowing that CarPlay will be free if they stay with BMW.

 

[bigjnyc]

Wireless CarPlay is obviously going to be in every CarPlay car sooner or later, so why do these idiots at BMW think that renting it to owners is a viable option that won’t cost them more than including it?

Has anyone at BMW actually thought this through? The moment they stop charging, as they inevitably will, they will have to deal with all the irate owners who just paid another annual fee and now want a pro rata refund, not to mention the loss of goodwill and the number of owners looking at alternative brands without even knowing that CarPlay will be free if they stay with BMW.

I don't think an $80 annual fee is going to have people looking at other brands. Most folks who can afford a BMW are not going to bat an eye at $80 for a year.... and most are average consumers who are not that invested in carplay to be honest.

 

[MistrSynistr]

Wait until you have a Drivetrain Malfunction in your BMW and switch to Lexus.

Like I did.

 

[Bazooka-joe]

Wait until you have a Drivetrain Malfunction in your BMW and switch to Lexus.

Like I did.

When I took delivery of a new 6 series convertible, I had a failed drivetrain message come up in the first 50 miles. BMW told me to ignore it and only to take the car to a dealer if it happened again. Suffice to say, the message never came back.

 

[CTHarrryH]

It isn't only the 80 but you need first to add the full navigation and other stuff before you can even pay the money to get CarPlay. As I've said before one my my reasons to use CarPlay is for navigation but BMW is making me get navigation before so why bother.
I'm sure this doesn't cause many not to do BMW but it really bothers me.

 

[twistedpixel8]

Wait until you have a Drivetrain Malfunction in your BMW and switch to Lexus.

Like I did.

Or a pebble takes out your completely unprotected radiator. BMWs are junk these days. The new ones even *look* like junk.

 

[LogicalApex]

I am mixed on the fee here and I'll see if my opinion changes over time. But I'm switching from Benz to BMW mainly because Benz can't get their tech right...

On the surface the fee seems silly and like something BMW can just "roll in" either directly (as they used to do by charging the $300 up front) or indirectly (swallowing it entirely and not showing the user a line item for it at all). Since no one else is doing it why piss people off an introduce a fee here? BMW, from what I can see, keeps their cars updated and do so for a longer time than most manufacturers. I would say probably only Tesla has them beat in this area. I presume that on of the benefits of this fee is that users can expect BMW to continue this and release updates for iDrive to ensure compatibility with the latest versions of iOS as long as possible. For other manufacturers I'm sure they'll increasingly ignore CarPlay in sold cars and you'll see the feature potentially run into compatibility issues over the lifespan of the car (unless the user upgrades frequently).

Thankfully they have gotten rid of an up-charge to buy a navigation system though and iDrive is included now as standard.

 

[CTHarrryH]

. In general although they make great cars BMW has always charged for options, like leather seats, that any other luxury car maker has has standard.
But at least they aren't as bad as airlines who these days seem to want to complete on how little and bad service they offer.