Help me decide - SiriusXM

[7rider]

7, what car did you end up getting???

No idea about Sirius, my car is too old to even have an iPod jack.

2012 Honda Pilot.
Waaayyy bigger than what I wanted, but I got talked into by DH.

It's the first car I've ever named - or referred to by a name.
I've named it "Babe" - as in Babe the Big Blue Box - a play on Paul Bunyon's Babe, the big blue ox of American folklore.
Because our Pilot is a big blue box.

[maillotpois]

I just renewed on my new car because I spend a lot of time driving - in areas beyond the reach of our good radio stations. Also, for some reason, the auxiliary cord to my iPhone does NOT stay plugged in the port in the car. Any jiggle and it falls out. Very frustrating. It's like I need a fatter plug. (And I have tried both ends.)

I agree some of the DJs are odious. But I'm really enjoy some of the stations. Big on First Wave right now.

[Irulan]

If your car has a cassette player, you can get a cassette to mp3 hookup deal from Radio Shack for about $7.

[maillotpois]

If your car has a cassette player, you can get a cassette to mp3 hookup deal from Radio Shack for about $7.

Nope. I am actually wondering if I can somehow put foil or something on the plug to make it fatter.

[Irulan]

Nope. I am actually wondering if I can somehow put foil or something on the plug to make it fatter.

Go to RS anyway. They have all sorts of weird cables adapters, and other things. You can also get an FM - Mp3 converter.

[jyyanks]

I ended up renewing even thought I initially thought it was a waste of money. Like the OP, there are no good music stations in NY. Although I don't drive a lot, I find that I enjoy having all the music choices. I listen to classic rock most of the time but I also rock out to the 80's and Old School Rap! I definitely have eclectic taste in music so I like the variety that SiriusXM offer.

[GLC1968]

I agree some of the DJs are odious. But I'm really enjoy some of the stations. Big on First Wave right now.

Me too!

Funny story - my husband and I each have a key fob to the car. They are coded separately, so they are customized for each of us. That means, the fob remembers our radio station presets, our last climate setting, and any other electronic thing we might customize (like the setting on the intermittent wipers or something). The other day, I accidentally grabbed my husband's keys and didn't realize it until I couldn't find 'First Wave' on my pre-sets! When I came to some metal channel, I knew something was up. Sure enough, his keys.

[pumpkinpony]

You can get a couple more weeks of it for free while you make up your mind. I have never subscribed with my current vehicle, just don't drive enough to make it worth it. But it is nice when they occasionally do the free weeks.

http://www.siriusxm.com/listen3

[nscrbug]

We had a really BAD experience with XM Sirius, so my opinion may be a bit biased. We had XM for several years, starting with a portable unit (remember the MyFi?) that I bought for DH many years ago. To that, we added service to one of our vehicles...and continued to renew annually for several years. When the XM/Sirius merger happened, we started to notice a LOT more commercials on what originally was touted as being "commercial-free" radio. We decided at that point, to not renew our service. When the renewal letter arrived in the mail, we just ignored it and threw it in the trash...thinking that by simply not paying, our service would just be cut-off and that would be that. Ummm...not quite. XM continued to renew our service without our consent (apparently they put us on an automatic renewal plan that we NEVER agreed to). When a bill for $30 arrived, we refused to pay it. Shortly after that, we started to get persistent phone calls from a suspicious number. I Googled the number and discovered that the calls were coming from a collection agency on the behalf of XM Radio. When I finally answered one of the calls, I ended up speaking to a VERY nasty and rude person from the collection agency. I was told to call XM directly, to talk with them. After explaining to the XM rep, that we had decided not to renew and were not aware of the fact that they had renewed our service via automatic renewal, we were promptly told by the rep "that's not our problem, you still have to pay the $30". In order to save our credit rating, we reluctantly wrote a check for the $30 and included a note to XM telling them to "never contact us again because we will never do business with them ever". They still send us crap all the time and I just immediately toss it in the trash. I'm sure that some folks have had nothing but great things to say about XM....but in our case, I want nothing to do with them. Just be educated and forewarned of their tactics and make sure you read ALL the fine print before entering a contract with them!

[malkin]

Brewer got a free trial with his new TDI Golf (love the car!) but likes to listen to other stuff better than Sirius. Presently he's cramming Italian for our trip to my parents in a few weeks.

All I can say is 'due cappuccini" but maybe that will be enough.
Gratzie!

[maillotpois]

Me too!

Funny story - my husband and I each have a key fob to the car. They are coded separately, so they are customized for each of us. That means, the fob remembers our radio station presets, our last climate setting, and any other electronic thing we might customize (like the setting on the intermittent wipers or something). The other day, I accidentally grabbed my husband's keys and didn't realize it until I couldn't find 'First Wave' on my pre-sets! When I came to some metal channel, I knew something was up. Sure enough, his keys.

That's funny!!

[Bethany1]

Uggh. I've started getting phone calls every day from SiriusXM since DH's car has expired. It's driving me nuts. They want me to sign up for some deal for 6 mos but I'm sick of bad DJs, obnoxious ads (thought this was a commercial free service) and they've added royalty fees on top of the price.

However; it's been heaven not dealing with "Dangerous Darren" anymore and other obnoxious hairspray jokes from Hair Nation.

[oldwhatshername]

I like variety and a little surprise. XM/Sirius give me that while keeping close to a genre I'm in the mood for. CDs can't do that.

[OakLeaf]

I've heard that you can negotiate a price down to next to nothing, if you're so inclined.

I'm an iPod gal (with playlists), but it depends on your habits and how often you listen, I suppose - and what your preferred format is for learning about new music. We've got gobs of CDs and several more gobs of digital music, so there's plenty of "surprise," songs we're hearing for the first time and songs we haven't heard in a couple of years. Playlists give you genre + variety.

I'm more likely to learn about an artist or song by reading about him/her/it/them, actually - if the description appeals to me then I'll listen to a clip online, and if I like it, I'll buy it ... whereupon it goes into the playlist of music I haven't heard in the past six months, and eventually it'll come up when I'm least expecting it. To me, radio (even internet radio) has a much higher tedium-to-enjoyment ratio.

[bluebug32]

The DH and I have had XM for several years. I think it was a lot better before the merger, but it's still better than commercial radio. I will use my iPhone for podcasts or to stream pandora or play mp3s, but it is nice to keep up with new music and listen to NPR on the XM. I have a portable player that hooks into my car, but also can be used inside and hooked up to a stereo.