Turbo6TA

I am still here in the Philippines, so I have never been able to witness how the OnStar Turn-by-Turn navigation or the Onstar phone even works. I don't have a clue as to what the OnStar phone is either. In fact, when I get off the airplane, I won't even have a cellphone that will work in the US (all our cellphones here in the Philippines are "unlocked" and are not tied with a service provider like they are in the US).
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My dealer in the US emailed me and asked me this:

I'm doing your onstar setup and need to know a four digit security number and if you want to buy min. for onstar phone? or just go with bluetooth?

Also.. do you want the online diagnostics? Tells you oil changes and what's
going on with your car?
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Without even knowing anything at all about what he was asking me, I just emailed him back:

Don't need the OnStar phone.

Dont need diagnostics either.

Just would like the free trial offer for the OnStar Turn-by-Turn Nav. and the
XM Radio free trial offer.
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Since my car does not have the optional Nav. package installed, would using the OnStar Turn-by-Turn work ok for the drive I have to make from New Hampshire way down to Florida?

If I buy a cellphone in the US once I arrive, wouldn't it be a waste of money to buy minutes for the Onstar phone? Does the Onstar phone somehow alow you to call someone without useing your own cellphone?

Was I wrong in telling the dealership I don't need the Online Diagnostics? .. To tell you the truth, I don't have a clue what it is.

Sorry for sounding so stupid about all this, but living here in the Philippines for the last 5 years has not provided me with an experience with Bluetooth,
Onstar Phones, Online Diagnostics or Turn by Turn Navigation.

Like I said, I won't even have a cellphone that works when I get off the plane.

As far as navigation ... I guess I can buy a map to figure out the drive from New Hampshire to Florida or download the route from the internet like MapQuest.

Thank's,

El Paso Vette

You get to try them out for free so I would definately try them. The OnStar phone is also free and you get a cell phone, which you now don't have. The first 300 min. are very inexpensive so I would try it out.

Vette_DD

The OnStar phone is quite a bit more powerful than the average cell phone. The purchase of 100 minutes is something like $9, but I don't remember the exact numbers.

What OnStar does for you is automatically have help sent to your location if there's an indication one or more air bags went off. Also you can use OnStar for roadside assistance in case of a flat tire, accident, keys locked in the car, etc..

OnStar came in both of my newest cars and I like it, although I'll never use or pay for the turn by turn option.

Bill Dearborn

The On Star phone is a cell phone. On Star works through the Verizon Cellular Network. If you want to you can add your On Star phone to a Verizon Family Plan for an additional $9 per month and use your Verizon Plan's minutes. Not a bad deal if you are going to have On Star anyways and talk a lot on it.

On Star provides one service that I think is important and that is why I have it on my vehicles. That service is the crash notification service. It works when you can't reach your cell phone and it works in many areas where your hand held would be showing no service.

The Turn by Turn navigation is just a different way of doing GPS and is about as good as any thing there is. You call On Star and tell them where you want to go and they download directions to your radio which then guides you to the destination. It does that by voice and by a display on the radio. One time in my Malibu we were looking for a particular mall my wife wanted to go to. Called On Star and the person on the other end took down the information and sent the directions to the radio and then said "You should be able to see it from where you are. It is about 3 blocks away. Looked in the general direction they said to look and there was the mall.

Diagnostics is a good service and you get a nice email from On Star each month with a list of things checked and service reminders if needed. You can also call On Star and have them run a diagnostic and give you a code.

Bill

Mregor

I'm pretty sure the Verizon deal has been discontinued for new customers. You can't add it as a phone to your plan. You have to buy minutes from OnStar.

Turbo6TA

Thank's everyone for the info.

So, when you buy the car, there is a cellphone that comes with it.

Well, since I will be basically getting off the plane from the Philippines and right to the car dealership, I guess I should buy minutes to use the OnStar phone in the car since my cellphone I use in the Philippines won't work here anyway ... At least I will have a working cellphone for the trip down to Florida from New Hampshire.

I guess I can use that OnStar Turn-by-Turn navigation too to help me on the trip ... since it's a free service for the first 6 months ... why not

As far as the Online Diagnosis ... I think I will forget about it. Looks like it's something tied in with OnStar, and if I don't sign up for OnStar after the 6 months free trial offer, I guess I loose the Online Diagnostics anyway ... Hey, I can keep up with oil change schedules without there help.

The free 3 months of XM Radio will be nice for the 3 day drive down to Florida.

Ron,

I guess I kinda understand a little about this now ... kinda

Vette_DD

You won't see a cellphone. The OnStar phone is built into the dash.

vetteright

Your Corvette has a built-in cell phone and your car will have its own phone number through OnStar. Turn by Trun navigation is worth having if you do not have the navigation/audio system option. Turn by Turn allows you to download MapQuest driving directions directly to your car, or you can just press the blue OnStar button and an advisor will set up your trip directions for you. OnStar also provides lock-out service in the event you lock yourself out, allows tracking and disabling of your Corvette if it is stolen, dispatches emergency vehicles to your location automatically in the event of an accident (if air bag is deployed) and will send you diagnostic reports via e-mail. it will also alert you via e-mail if you have a low tire, low oil level, etc. They alos provisde emergency roadside assistance (out of fuel, flat tire, etc.). You can buy phone minutes if you want to, not required. I have some minutes just in case my regular cell phone won't work in some areas; which has happened. We recently had a massive power outage here in Northern Alabama due to tornados and lost regular cell service here for days; was able to use OnStar phone as substitute on ocassion. For my money, OnStar is worth having.

lsbrodsky

I agree that ONSTAR is worth having. The safety aspects have already been covered and it is a nice warm feeling to know they are there, even though it costs money. As for the diagnostics, it is more than keeping track of oil changes. basically once a month they scan everything that a basic plug-in scanner could and tell you status, via e-mail. If you ever throw an check engine light, a call to them can tell you what threw the code. Can save a trip to the dealer for a service visit, but again, peace of mind. I have turn-by turn even though I have the NAV system because the advisor can answer questions like "How far to the next rest stop?".
Larry

Turbo6TA

Again, thank's everyone for all the OnStar info. Sounds like a real helpful item.

On the other hand, with "Big Brother" keeping a eye more and more on our everyday activities, this OnStar is just another tool that they will certainly have access to if they ever choose to ... Just something to think about

vetteright

Not particularly the case. Your regular cell phone can be tracked just as easily. And if you have a smart phone; your movements can be backtracked from the day you bought and activated it right up to your present location.

Turbo6TA

"Big Brother is watching" is the one thing you won't find over here in the Philippines.

No OnStar service

The police don't use radar

The police don't have breathalizers

The police have very few and far between police cars to chase you down

Everyone uses a cell phone, but I don't think the government here has a way to track you on it.

The police don't set on the side of the road to catch speeders

There are no speed cameras that I have ever heard about or seen

It is almost imposible to get a speeding ticket (see everything above)


Of course, there are negatives too ... No 911 number to call for help if you need it

mpuzach

How do you download MapQuest info to the car?

aseipos

After getting your destination in Mapquest, click on the "Send" tab, select OnStar, enter your OnStar account number and zipcode, click "Submit" and it's done. You can also do the same thing from google maps. Either way, it's nice having those destinations (up to 5) waiting for you in Virtual Advisor when you're on a road trip.

My07C6

You should just go to onstar.com and read up on features.

Rossi6998

OnStar now has an unlimited minutes plan for about $10 per month, or a 100 minute plan for about $5 per month. Call them and ask for the plan you want or you can press the "Blue" OnStar button.