[wilbur_the_goose]

Honda has it too. Eventually your navigation services will expire - traffic info/map update/etc.

Mine expired (incorrectly) after 4 months of ownership. Nobody from Honda knows how to get them back. I just use Apple Maps or Waze, so it's not a big deal, but come on...

 

[robardin]

Vehicle subscription is a service where a customer pays a recurring fee for the right to use one or more automotive vehicles. It's a new form of car ownership that Cadillac and a few other automakers have started offering. More automakers are expected to join them and sometime soon most of us will likely be give the option.

That said, would you consider a car subscription program?

Here's some of the pros and cons, and how it compares to leasing and purchasing.

Pros

• You don't need to negotiate with car dealers
• You won't have to worry about financing or trade-in values
• You don't need to take out a loan from the bank and pay interest on it every month
• One flat, all-inclusive monthly fee for everything
• Subscriptions are flexible
• A broad range of vehicles to choose from

Cons

• If you have poor credit, you may still get rejected
• The cost per month may be higher than leasing a car or buying one outright
• The included mileage may not be enough for some
• You can't modify the car (in most cases)
• You will never own the car

Subscriptions vs Leasing vs Purchase
View attachment 13554

Never, because along with being choosy about the "exact car I want" (model, trim, color), it's important to me that it's "my car" to modify, to keep, or to sell as I please, and I typically keep cars for at least 5 years, usually 7-10.

And I assume a "subscription model" would have a minimum duration per car or membership period? Otherwise I could sign up for 3 months, drive a car for nothing down, and then just return it... It'd just be a car rental service.

 

[Zeroptzero]

if it costs more per month I see no advantage, you might as well lease , if you need ownership then purchase.

 

[SGPkaz]

There are many reasons I own and will always continue to do so.

 

[ntb1952]

To me that would be throwing money down the drain. Where's the "upside"? I'd rather take a Lyft or Uber instead of this idea. Same with a lease; it's still not yours. The only upside I see to a lease is if you could write it off as a business expense. Otherwise, I'll purchase my car (paid cash for my new Civic EX-L this last October) and not worry about any payments or "subscriptions". Yes, it took me a while to pull the money together but it was worth it.

 

[BrewBQ]

I can't think of a lifestyle where this would be a better option. I would rather own the car and be able to modify it to make it mine/unique.

 

[robardin]

A fixed, non-renewed subscription for a 1-3 month contract might be interesting to me - it'd be a long-term rental.

For example, getting an EV is something I've wondered about, but am hesitant to drop 40-50K on a new on just to find out all the superchargers in my area are always occupied, or the range or performance isn't what I thought it was, and so on... Being able to really do an extended "test drive" without putting money down towards purchase, but without being lease-like in length (2+ years), would be appealing in that situation.