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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Looking at all the love there that's sleeping
    Posts
    4,171

    Help me decide - SiriusXM

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    Hey all.
    Got a new buggy in October. New buggy comes with SiriusXM radio, which the dealer threw in a service for 3 months.
    3 months are now up and Sirius keeps hounding me to renew (must renew by the 1st.).
    Debating - renew or not?
    Don't spend much time in the buggy - primarily weekends and/or long trips. It does have an USB port, into which I can plug my iPod, or even stream Pandora over Bluetooth via my phone.
    Or - perish the thought - I could just listen to broadcast radio or nothing at all. New buggy is soooo much quieter than the old one...it's a pleasure to just listen to .... silence and not road noise.
    So...
    Do you have it?
    Is it worth it?
    Help me decide to renew or not....
    Tx
    2007 Seven ID8 - Bontrager InForm
    2003 Klein Palomino - Terry Firefly (?)
    2010 Seven Cafe Racer - Bontrager InForm
    2008 Cervelo P2C - Adamo Prologue Saddle

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    around Seattle, WA
    Posts
    3,238
    I suppose it depends on where you live. I was glad to have XM radio when I had a rental car on a trip. Once I left large metropolitian area and got into rural mountainous area, I lost the radio station I was listening to (NPR). In some rural areas, regular radio is hit or miss, so I could see having XM radio.
    Beth

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    northern Virginia
    Posts
    5,897
    How much have you (a) used and (b) liked it over the past few months?

    Being a control freak who sees no point in listening to anything I don't want to hear, I just play my own CDs in the car. There's an input jack for an mp3 player, but I find it easier to rely on CDs in the car and mp3 player elsewhere.

    - Gray 2010 carbon WSD road bike, Rivet Independence saddle
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  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Pacific Northwest
    Posts
    3,436
    I went through the same process and didn't renew. It's just not worth the money for me--I'd rather listen to my own music or audiobooks. I didn't use Sirius enough to justify the expense.
    "My predominant feeling is one of gratitude. I have loved and been loved;I have been given much and I have given something in return...Above all, I have been a sentient being, a thinking animal, on this beautiful planet, and that in itself has been an enormous privilege and an adventure." O. Sacks

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Looking at all the love there that's sleeping
    Posts
    4,171
    Thanks.
    I live in a major metropolitan area (Washington DC) with crappy radio stations. Really. They are just awful.
    I've gotten used to listening to Sirius in the time we've been in the vehicle because I get to listen to all those songs I used to listen to in college (yeah, New Wave '80s techno pop! ) but don't own on CD. I might have a cassette of some of those buried somewhere...but who has a tape player any more?
    I suppose it's cheaper for me to just download stuff off iTunes -- the weekly freebies I regularly get or - yikes! - purchase some things.
    2007 Seven ID8 - Bontrager InForm
    2003 Klein Palomino - Terry Firefly (?)
    2010 Seven Cafe Racer - Bontrager InForm
    2008 Cervelo P2C - Adamo Prologue Saddle

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Posts
    4,516
    I've looked at it twice:

    1) New Buggy back when I was commuting an hour a day. Paid for XM (before they merged) for about a year. Liked XM, but never really "learned" the stations and missed traffic/news type stuff. When I stopped commuting AND they merged and screwed up my channels, stopped XM.

    2) Next New Buggy: came with 6 months free. Didn't use it during the 6 months, and haven't missed it since. The ONLY time I think it would be nice is long trips in the middle of nowhere where there are no good stations. But.....not worth it for me because those trips aren't that frequent.

    ETA: I like classic rock mostly. Never found a happy station for that. You have DC101 - I would LOVE to have that good a station here!
    Most days in life don't stand out, But life's about those days that will...

  7. #7
    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Southeast Nebraska
    Posts
    459
    DH loves SiriusXM since he does all the driving. I think it's overpriced and has the most annoying DJ's out there. His ran out about a month ago and hasn't renewed it due to cost. After mine runs out I don't think I'll bother since I find the radio distracting when I drive.

    My car doesn't have a usb port so I have to use a bluetooth adaptor (tune to a radio channel and have the music come out through the speakers) or regular radio.

    DH's has a USB port and I can just run my iPod through that which is nice.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Taylor, MI
    Posts
    220
    If you don't renew, in a month or two they will send you a deal (usually 1/2 price or less if pay for a year up front). I have XM and dealing with their customer service is a night mare. Watch for their automatic renewals at full price if you have a credit card on record.

    P2
    2018 Trek Silque SLR6 - Selle SMP Glider
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    2013 Giant TCX W - Oura 143

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    DE
    Posts
    1,209
    Wow - my car has the capability but I never signed up for it. How much does it cost?

    Mostly I listen to recorded books, especially when I travel. Otherwise I spend all my time with my finger on the seek/scan button. I always have a book going in the car. My library has a pretty good selection, and I can order from any library in the state.

    I can also listen to podcasts or any music of my choice via my Ipod and aux. input jack.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Nov 2002
    Location
    the dry side
    Posts
    4,365
    We have it in DH's rig. He travels for work with a lot of no-receptions area. It's work expense for him lol.

    Here's my take after a year. it's really genre-specific. The categories are much too narrow imo. I really like an eclectic mix, and you just don't get it with Sirius. You can have the Blues Channel, or the acoustic rock channel, or the Jimmy Buffet Channel, or the bluegrass channel (etc) but you can't get anything that plays all those genres on one channel.

    It's gotten to the point where I take my iPod on trips in his rig and play it on shuffle instead of listening to the Sirius. But he's totally happy with it. It's only $12 a month or something.
    2015 Liv Intrigue 2
    Pro Mongoose Titanium Singlespeed
    2012 Trek Madone 4.6 Compact SRAM

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Posts
    2,545
    I have SiriusXM at home (don't have a car).

    I don't watch television, so I like the news channels (BBC especially). I switch back and forth on the music channels and feel it exposes me to things I wouldn't find on my own.

    I use it in the rental car when I travel, but it's a bit of a headache to set it up. For me the mental stimulation is valuable on a really long drive.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Sunny California
    Posts
    1,107

    Discounts!

    My husband's new car came with the same deal (3 month free trial). He tried it for a month and said he liked it. I googled around for things like "XM discount" or "Sirius deals" and found lots of info.

    When I called to sign up, I asked for a $70 annual subscription rate. The representative said, "That rate is not available." So I told them, "No thanks."

    I called right back and asked the next rep for the same deal and she said, "No problem."

    What is the annual rate they are asking? Is it worth $70 per year to you?

    Also, be careful because because they may automatically renew your subscription after a year at a higher rate.
    Bork Bork, Hork Hork!!

  13. #13
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Hillsboro, OR
    Posts
    5,023
    We have it free for a year on our car but I doubt we'll sign up when the time comes. I do love some of the retro stations, but like you, I could just get my favorites onto my ipod and get better variety that way. For the amount of time we listen to it, it's really not worth the cost.
    My new non-farm blog: Finding Freedom

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    MD suburb of Washington, DC
    Posts
    1,832
    7, what car did you end up getting???

    No idea about Sirius, my car is too old to even have an iPod jack.
    2007 Rivendell Glorius/Trico gel with cutout (not made any more apparently)
    2005 Specialized Sequoia Comp/Specialized Dolce
    2006 Kona Cinder Cone/another Trico gel
    1986? Bridgestone mixte/Brooks B72
    1991 Bridgestone 300 Xtracycle/Terry Gelissimo

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    Looking at all the love there that's sleeping
    Posts
    4,171
    Thanks all.

    I'm leaning towards "not". They did have a 6-month offer for $30, which seemed pretty good, but it automatically goes to full price at the end "unless you cancel." I suppose I could just cancel after 6 months - they probably bank on people getting lazy about it. I think costs, after fees and taxes, is in the $14/month range. When you drive the car so rarely (our two trips to CT with it in the past 3 weeks was an outlier), most of the time, I don't even bother to turn the radio on.

    I agree about the genre specific. But we have a pretty broad range -- new wave, acoustic singer/songwriters, bluegrass, '90s, BBC, NPR -- on the presets, and I've been hitting the buttons pretty regularly.

    Might be time to think about playlists on the iPod, rather than filing everything under "Random Stuff".
    2007 Seven ID8 - Bontrager InForm
    2003 Klein Palomino - Terry Firefly (?)
    2010 Seven Cafe Racer - Bontrager InForm
    2008 Cervelo P2C - Adamo Prologue Saddle

 

 

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