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Has Anyone Struck A Deal With OnStar?

Called OnStar last Friday and told them about the two $150 renewals reported in this thread. They said never head of that price being offered.

Anybody do a recent renewal for less than $200 a year?

 
pedr0 said:
Called OnStar last Friday and told them about the two $150 renewals reported in this thread. They said never head of that price being offered.

Anybody do a recent renewal for less than $200 a year?
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Yeah, they tried to tell me that also. I just kept at the lady, told her to cancel my Onstar cuz I knew that they had given others a deal. Result: On 7/15/03 they reupped me for $149 plus tax ($161.21).

Brian
 
Bruno said:
Yeah, they tried to tell me that also. I just kept at the lady, told her to cancel my Onstar cuz I knew that they had given others a deal. Result: On 7/15/03 they reupped me for $149 plus tax ($161.21).

Brian
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Brian,

Did they do the $149 while you were on the phone or did she have to call you back?
 
pedr0 said:
Bruno said:
Yeah, they tried to tell me that also. I just kept at the lady, told her to cancel my Onstar cuz I knew that they had given others a deal. Result: On 7/15/03 they reupped me for $149 plus tax ($161.21).

Brian
Click to expand...

Brian,

Did they do the $149 while you were on the phone or did she have to call you back?
Click to expand...
While on the same call. It wasn't a short call though. She had to check with her supervisor twice and then said to hold on while she looked to see what special pricing she could find. I use their cell service also. So I may be a higher profit custonmer to them which they wouldn't want to loose. One of my speils was I can buy a phone and install a handsfree system, blah blah.
 
Bruno said:
While on the same call. It wasn't a short call though. She had to check with her supervisor twice and then said to hold on while she looked to see what special pricing she could find. I use their cell service also. So I may be a higher profit custonmer to them which they wouldn't want to loose. One of my speils was I can buy a phone and install a handsfree system, blah blah.
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Thanks for the info Brian. I'll give them another call and see what they say.
 
I'm curious if anyone knows if the wreck is bad enough to cut power to the vechile will On-Star still be able to call out and give position information?

 
TX_Ghostwheel said:
I'm curious if anyone knows if the wreck is bad enough to cut power to the vechile will On-Star still be able to call out and give position information?
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I believe that I heard someone respond indicating that if the battery cable was disconnected that On* couldn't locate your vehicle if it was stolen. Using that same thought pattern, I doubt that you would have On* service if you had no power in your vehicle. You could always just unplug the battery and see if the little green light on the On* module goes out.
 
I agree with Earthquake. Atomsite had his Av stolen last week and OnStar said they could not track it and that most likely the battery had been disconnected in order to disable OnStar.
 
I have never heard of a backup power source for OnStar, and if I recall correctly, the service manual specifically states that there is no other power source besides the battery/alternator.

Disconnect the battery/engine, either by cutting cables or a severe enough accident, and there is no OnStar anymore.

-- SS
 
I intend to let mine expire. Then if/when I need it, I figure I'll just pay for a subscription at that time.

And yes, disconnecting the battery cable may be a downside to OnStar, but I know that: 1) most punks don't do that, 2) even if they do, they won't drive far that way, and 3) if they only intend to park it somewhere else long enough to to steal aftermarket wheels/stereo/etc., you should have an aftermarket alarm system (starter cutoff, tilt sensor, backup battery, shock sensor, multiple locking lugs--WITHOUT the key in your glovebox!--etc.) in the first place anyway! I made that mistake once... :E:

In my experience it's actually very rare that these are stolen without keys, thanks to GM FINALLY discontinuing the Saginaw column they used for 20 years!
 
This thread has been most helpful.

I was thinking of upgrading if the price was right but am definitely renewing. Six days after buying the Av, I was parked at a convenience store in Bucks Co. PA to get a cup of coffee. Being a rocket scientist, I left the keys and the cell phone in the truck and punched the lock on the way out.

I had no onstar card, and had to call home (using the overpriced 1-800-CALL-ATT service) to get onstar's number (thank God the wife was home). I called OnStar and fortuneately they were able to pop the locks with the sattelite.

I then bought the slightly overpriced phone service and amaze people when I call for a pizza from the truck. Oh, when I bought the minutes, they re-activated my 30 comp minutes I never used.

$18 a month is a tad pricey given the fact that I only drive the Av 200 miles a week (back and forth to the weekend job, my parents for dinner on Sat and grocery shopping on Sunday), but I think that it is a valuable resource. Even more so if I can get a better deal like some of y'all.

Big brother is watching no matter what fuse you pull.
Privacy? What is that?

I plan on getting the A/V system and a Viper 790 with remote start next year. But until then, I believe that my Av is not a big target because I dont have "twenty-fo's". I opting for the garage kept - sedate redneck look that should warn off the theives.

Thanks for reading.


 
I just renewed 14 months for 169.00. Breaks down to $12.07 per month. When she read my total with tax it came to $167 and change. Makes me think I was actually renewed for a lower price. I had to tell her that a friend got it for 149 in July, she "spoke to her manager" then she came back with $169.00. When I told her I wasn't going to renew, she threw in the extra 2 months. Kind of reminds me of buying a used car (or new car nowadays)!
 
I think onstar is hurting...great idea but charge way too much for what my cellphone can do......

Now LISTEN ONSTAR....combine your subscription with XMRADIo....and I am signing up....but if I have to choose I choose the MUSIC.....
 
M0eman said:
I just renewed 14 months for 169.00. Breaks down to $12.07 per month. When she read my total with tax it came to $167 and change. Makes me think I was actually renewed for a lower price. I had to tell her that a friend got it for 149 in July, she "spoke to her manager" then she came back with $169.00. When I told her I wasn't going to renew, she threw in the extra 2 months. Kind of reminds me of buying a used car (or new car nowadays)!
Click to expand...
Good job! Friend ;)
 
M0eman said:
I just renewed 14 months for 169.00. Breaks down to $12.07 per month. When she read my total with tax it came to $167 and change. Makes me think I was actually renewed for a lower price. I had to tell her that a friend got it for 149 in July, she "spoke to her manager" then she came back with $169.00. When I told her I wasn't going to renew, she threw in the extra 2 months. Kind of reminds me of buying a used car (or new car nowadays)!
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MOeman,

Did you initially call them or did they contact you?
 
Hi!

I just renewed today. I told them on how I read about the posts here and got a supervisor to give me GM Employee Pricing. No i don't work for GM! Not even close.

That's $14.95 + 6% NJ Sales Tax ($0.90)
Total $15.85 per month on a month to month credit card debit for as long as I want it.

This is for the Safe & Sound package. I don't drive it very much so I thought that anything else would be overkill.

By the way, OnStat.com has some pretty good resources.

Give it a try guys and girls. Just dont back off, keep at em and you will get a deal.

Peace

:B:
 
Called On* yesterday and got 14mo for 168.96 total + 250 minutes for 89.00 + tax.

Had to threaten to leave before they came back with this deal.

Thanks to everyone who posted on this topic!
 
It's my understanding that the emergency button is never turned off. I don't know if this is due to liability or due to the "must access 911" Federal law for all cellular phones.

I renewed mine - although the cost is steep ($29.95 for 100 minutes) I do like having the phone and I do tend to keep the conversations very short. I also like the traffic feature, very effective here in the metro Seattle area. Diagnostics are a good thing but I've really never used any of the other features.

I wish the price would come down but from operating on the other side of the fence, I guess it's what the business model can bare. Tells me it's not the greatest business model and with new on screen navigation and GPS technology the whole reservation/direction thing just isn't worth it in my book. Especially when in-phone is advertising 15 minutes of service for 89 cents.

On the alternative subject - does anyone use inphone? I would think that combined with the OnStar would is a more worthwhile package...
 
I had On-Star on my BAV (before avalanche vehicle) and have it on my AV. MY AV is three months old, as is my On-Star subscription (the first year free one). Imagine my surprise when I got a letter from On-Star threatening to cancel my subscription for non-payment.

Turns out that I once bought minutes on my first On-Star vehicle with my credit card. I then choose not to renew that subscription and told them so when they called me at renewal time. Eight months later, I find out that they renewed me and were charging my credit card every month at the rate of $200 per year. I never saw anything that remotely said On-Star on my bill. They told me that when I bought minutes, I authorized some agreement allowing them to keep my subscription going via my credit card. Only when the new card came with a different expiration date did they notify me that I was being a slug in the prompt payment department.

They would only authorize one month of refund because someone had used the system in December (the month I traded in the vehicle for my AV). I'm guessing someone tried it out on the used car lot and found--surprise surprise--it still worked. They did give me a six month extension on my current subscription. (Funny, that works out to about $200 per year.)

Now to answer the original question, they did offer me the $150 to try and get me to re-up. I declined...which is where I started this reply.
 
I still haven't decided about re-upping, although I have quite a while....I'm only 2 months into my initial free year. Don't really use it. Don't really intend to. But the airbag thing, remote unlock and diagnostics keeps me thinking about it. They are just too d*mn expensive, though.

As far as the unlock goes, can they lock the vehicle also? Anyone know?

I'd love to be able to use the phone, but they are hopelessly overpriced. But as long as I subscribe to OnStar, couldn't I just call them up and buy some minutes if I'm in a situation where I need to make a personal call and my cell phone can't get a signal? Sure, it'd be a pain and take a few minutes, but I would almost never use it anyway, and I wouldn't have to worry about the minutes expiring.

Any reason OnStar won't let you do that?
 
They called EMS for me after an accident when I was knocked out.
They have unlocked my doors in 2 minutes flat
They gave me a reduced price when I re-upped...
They gave me a prompt refund when I changed vehicles...

They seem like they are really trying IMHO, YMMV. ;D
 
It appears the deals vary. I just renewed mine for two years; they added 3 months free. I really don't feel that $14.74 a month is that bad. However the minutes are a bit steep, but it is still analog (AMPS). Fortunately, mine is "digital Upgradable", when the time comes - hopefully the minutes will be cheaper then.

I love the coverage; it apparently works everywhere, except my Brother's house! :E:

Note that in cellular (AMPS) system design, the power varies - `uses only what is needed. The 3 Watts is the Maximum.

Now, if the damn thing would only understand my commands! :E:

Incidently, dealers (at least mine) DO retrofit or DIO OnStar. They constantly have to shuffle changes to sell vehicles they can't currently find elsewhere!

 
ygmn said:
Last time I called....I told them to shove it.....I said mail me something...

they then asked why I declined to renew...I said....I get no value for my hard earned money.....I then stated...if you give me my XM subscription for free...then I may buy it....I was without ONSTAR for 20 years before I got this AVY...and ya know....I never needed it once in those 20 years......

The telemarketer hung up on me....heheheh
Click to expand...


The above quote is from another OnStar Thread that seemed to fit in with my recent experience.

I've tried to get OnStar to hang up on me;

This is a longer than usual post, but you may get this call/offer.


"Is there anything else I can do to make you a satisfied OnStar User?"

"NO!"

"Are you sure, we are here for you, please let us be there MORE for you?"

"Please, just shut up and finish this conversation!!!!!"

You get the idea.



Yesterday, I'm doing the bi-monthly cleaning of the Avalanche and the phone rings.

"Hello this is Jeff from OnStar".

I just remembered they called at 7:30 PM Wednesday night. I was hoping they wanted to discuss my history with them and how my calls always get intercepted by "Calling Card America".

I advised the sweet voiced lady that I did not discuss business after business hours at my home.

I asked her what time it was at her location. 11:30 PM was the curt reply.

I told her I wanted to talk with them and please call back during reasonable hours.

So today, I'm doing the truck and Jeff from OnStar is calling.

They asked for my wife. (I sensed he did not have my name on his screen) I purchased a CTS last month and asked the dealer to NOT initiate the OnStar service as I really wanted to see if it would be as silly with the Cadillac as it was with the AV.

The salesman sneaked my wife off to the car as I was closing the deal and they initiated the service.

The next day it got ugly when I went to see what our new number was. Since I bought it in San Diego and live in Capistrano, we ended up with a number in an area code very distant from us.

When I called to get this straightened out, the OnStar rep told me I was not authorized since I wasn't the Mrs. they spoke to when the service was initiated the night before. I demanded to speak with a supervisor.

When they found out I had the pin and an existing account that matched the information on the CTS, she combined the numbers to that account and was able to change the new number to reflect my area code.

Now it gets real good. This guy Jeff is calling to talk me through the features and usage of OnStar. I don't know why I let him continue, but hey, I was cleaning the wheels and I must have been practicing my multitasking skills.

Then out of the blue he asks if my wife is a frequent cell user. I acknowledged she was and he then offers 100 minutes of OnStar phone time for $19.99 instead of the $39.99 and they are good for 1 year versus the 60 day plan. All he needed was a Visa, MasterCard, Amex, or other suitable account and the minutes would be available in 24 to 48 hours.

(Now I'm thinking of all the people that have had their service extended after the initial year because OnStar had a credit card on file. Is this a ploy to get that kind of information?)

Okay, I'm thinking this is pretty good and when I asked if I could also buy at this reduced rate for the Avalanche too, he said that was impossible. This was a one time "Welcome to OnStar" and could not be applied to other vehicles or numbers on the same account.

I proceeded to ask why I wasn't "Welcomed" in this manner when I bought the Avalanche and he went in to a drivel about how they can only reach a small percentage of new owners.

I questioned how they could reach out now when the owner base has expanded with all the new cars that have been sold since last year?....

Any way, it went on for a few more minutes and I asked if the conversation was being recorded for "quality issues" and he said it probably was. I suggested he forward it to the marketing department and see if they can figure out a way to properly get this feature used in a way that works for us, the OnStar equipped vehicle owners.


I declined the offer and suggested he bring my request up at their next strategy session. I think I'll be reaching out to OnStar and pressing this.

I really did try and get him to hang up, but no, he just kept going on and on with the, "Do you have any other questions" spiel. They just won't be the first to end the call, even on a land line.

Sorry for the long RANT like information on my part.

The saga continues.........................
 
Anyone else get a better deal than the standard $199 a year?

I'd like to hear what deals you got, and how.

Thanks,

SpottyJ
 
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