What alternatives are there to XM
 

These people are such butt heads. I have two cars with XM. My Corvette has a year subscription and my DD has a quarterly subscription. For renewal on both cars they sent me a bill for $215. After waiting on the phone for 20 minutes to get an agent they wouldn't budge on price. If I wanted my DD to be on a yearly renewal like the Vette they wanted $305.

I reluctantly paid the $215 with a credit card. The CC debit showed up on my bank statement and they sent me and automated phone call threatening to terminate service if I didn't pay the $215.

I love commercial free radio but I hate dealing with these idiots. Is there another satellite radio service? How do you guys get Pandora on your cars? My '09 DD has an MP3 input. I think the previous owner of my Vette played music through an MP3 because there is a wire with a jack coming out of the radio bezel. I have a dumb cell phone. Do I need to get a smart phone with internet access to get Pandora? I have a lot of Pandora stations.

Please advise!!

The key to xm or Sirius is to let it expire, then they will give you a deal. I got $25 for 6 months a couple times on other cars. Of course now I don't have it since I got the parrot asteroid smart, mainly Pandora now.

Yes you need a smart phone and a data plan from your carrier to use Pandora. I've had XM for years and got rid of it 6 months ago. I only use Pandora now and really like it.

i somtimes feel your better off recording your own cd's. and besides, the cd quality is much better than xm or the radio without a doubt. thats what i'm in the process of doing, compiling all my favorite songs onto cd's. i really like the doo wops and classic country. i know i'm going to get hammered from some of the young guy's out there, but, thats my kind of music. don't get me wrong, i also like the 70's music as well, and some 80's. but thats it.:cheers:

Since our 2009 did not come with an aux input, we bought the PAL and installed it. Then, bought a cheap Ipod and downloaded 500+ of our favorite songs.

No more poor audio quality, no more blabbering DJ's, and no more criminally insane billing system.

Do NOT just let your subscription expire, they will automatically renew you for a full year at full price because their terms of service allow it. If you refuse to pay, they just send it to collections and your credit rating takes a hit.

:iagree:

Between my mp3 player, and what ever comes over the airwaves for free, no need to spend money every month for radio.

:iagree: I terminate my service just before it's up, store the car over the winter and get the $25/6 month deal when I pull it out of storage. Works like a charm.

Mine was supposed to come with a free year............turned it on today.......NOTHING. Have to call them in the morning to find out why. I have it in the Caddy, but when the free trial runs out, I'm not renewing. Why pay for what I can get for free? I live in the mountains and it's not real dependable. It goes in and out and that's too annoying to keep.

:iagree: Cancelling the CC and/or checking account is about the only way to permanently rid yourself of their grasp on your finances.

Pandora for music is great. Much better imo than XM.
You can create your own stations. The music offerings on XM are very limited imo.

In answer to your original question...FM radio is an alternative. Its free, pick your station. CD's are also a good way, or MP3's. You could just get an 8 track and put it in your car. :D

I personally would never pay to listen to a radio station. I like music, but not that much. Just my .02

Anyone still subscribing must not really be listening.

The programming is a pre-recorded loop.
There is no fresh programming - it is inferior to broadcast radio.

Your options depend on what you want to listen to. I have 1,000 songs on my iPhone, a good mix of CD's and us TuneIn Radio app on my iPhone. TuneIn allows you to listen to radio stations around the world. It's free radio but has the normal commercials. With TunIn I can get some of the sports programs that I can't always get on Local AM or FM.

For me, XM at the $10 per month rate special is worth it. But I would drop it if I was charged the full price.

Pandora is pretty good, if you get the free one it gets annoying with the adds but if you subscribe online instead of through your cell phone it's only $36 to upgrade per year without adds/commercials. $36 a year is not a bad deal!! Because of the bad reception with the vette antenna i also started using i heart radio. It's stations from around country (maybe world, i haven't played with it much yet) and the reception is very good, it's also free but they are regular radio stations so no commercial free stuff...

Smartphone/:thumbs:

My 2012z06 has usb port I use thumb drive and record all my cds to it and play thru the radio. I have smart phone can't figure out the panora thing yet. I wonder if the people in charge at xm follow the threads on this and other forums. Maybe they could figure out what's wrong with their business model.
I like xm but hate dealing with them my wife really hates them so no dealing with them at all.
z51vett
Doug

Not sure what XM you listen to, but mine isn't commercial free...I have it, but use my I-Pod almost exclusively.

Never give those idiots ! your C.C # they will try & charge your card even after you sell the car, they DO NOT CARE !! *:ack::ack::ack:*

:iagree:

It was worse than free radio. Same krap over and over. I too am surprised no one else noticed it. Never renewed.

I don't let XM or OnStar have my bank info because they automatically debit your account at the highest possible rate. I dicker with them on the phone for a reduced rate and have them send me an invoice. I then pay by check. I learned my lesson a few years ago. Of course the phone negotiations are a PITA because the other end usually has an accent that is next to impossible to understand.:cuss