Tips for Renewing Sirius Radio Subcription

[mikekoz]

As terrible as music sounds on Sirius in the C-Max, I wouldn't sign up if they offered it to me for $25 per year. When I switch from analog FM to Sirius, it has all the audio quality of an 8 Track recording from back in the day. Unless I'm getting crappy sound because it's the free trial and once I pay the big bucks it's magically uncompressed and CD quality, I'm steering clear.

 

 

     My wife and I have both noticed this. The problem is not the audio system, it is Sirius! It was the same in our Honda Pilot. Sirius sounds tinny and a bit bass shy compared to FM radio. We were never offered any deal when our subscription expired either by phone or mail. I have an external 320 GB hard drive with about 16,000 songs on it and it is more than enough! My iPod no longer worked after the 3.51 upgrade so that is all I use now.

[Mr. Green Jeans]

I think that Sirius sounds bad.  If I could get a deal, I would consider keeping it.  FM and i-pod sound great.  Anyone subscribe to travel link only?  I would consider keeping it for the weather radar.

[tehuti]

Either I am used to crappy audio or just lucky, but Sirius sounds fine in my car. I have had it now for a month and I constantly listen to the Bluesville and Studio 54 channels. It's worth it to me but if I can get a deal, why not? 

 

However after one month I already got a letter encouraging me to re-up at the end of my trial period at $188.00 for one year. I'll probably try to negotiate one of those deals you guys are talking about. If I only had it in the car it wouldn't be as attractive, but with the internet radio option I like it a lot. Yes I have Pandora, my iPod, iPhone, etc that can also play music but the channels they offer are unique enough for me to pay (something) for them.

[nsteblay]

     My wife and I have both noticed this. The problem is not the audio system, it is Sirius! It was the same in our Honda Pilot. Sirius sounds tinny and a bit bass shy compared to FM radio. We were never offered any deal when our subscription expired either by phone or mail. I have an external 320 GB hard drive with about 16,000 songs on it and it is more than enough! My iPod no longer worked after the 3.51 upgrade so that is all I use now.

Satellite radio has limited bandwidth for their signals.  Sirius/XM uses compression techniques to maximize the use of this limited bandwidth.  Depending on the station you are listening to Sirius/XM may have allocated minimal bandwidth.  It will sound tinny when bandwidth is limited - usually done for talk related stations.  I listen to the classical station on Sirius and haven't noticed significant degradation in sound quality. I was also a teen during the 70's and blew out my eardrums long ago listening to various rock bands so take my assessment with a grain of salt.

[ScubaDadMiami]

Try listening to any of the news/talk stations. Sounds terrible.

 

I had cars with Sirius in the past, and it sounded great, including the talk stations. However, this is far from acceptable, especially if the user is paying a fee for the service.

[HPRifleman]

I have had Sirius for almost 8 years and the talk/news channels have always sounded bad. Like local AM on a cheap transistor radio. The music channels were pretty good until about a year ago. Then they would occasionally sound garbled. Like listening to a cassette with a stretched tape. I don't know if this is due to their data compression.

 

I am also dating myself by using terms like transistor radio and cassettes.

[Phil1336]

I love having the Sirius/XM radio feature in all my Vehicles. On long highway trips there is no more searching to find PBS, News, Sports, Jazz, etc and then lose the signal and the need to start station searching constantly.  I have found at renewal time, just a simple call to Sirius/XM and request being connected to the cancellation-termination Representative will result in a massive discounted rate.  They usually offer a short term 5 month (teaser) rate at approx. $5 @ month but I usually counter-off with a demand for a 12 month extension at a slightly higher monthly rate and instruct them to send me the Bill and I`ll return their invoice with a Cheque.  "Do Not" offer them a Credit Card for automatic renewal as it will likely eliminate your negotiating position and possible cause problems in the future.   I`ve been spoiled since KGAG, Hyundai/Kia includes Sirius/XM radios as (standard) equipment on even their Base stripped down Models like their Accent and Rio.  Ford on the other hand, makes it an expensive "Package" that includes extra`s that many don`t want at any price but must purchase in order to get the Satellite Radio upgrade.  Ford has included the Sirius/XM Radio on many of their Canadian destined Vehicles as standard equipment for years now, ea: 2011 Ford Fiesta`s.  Maybe its part of the Canadian Daytime Running Light connection that Ford must comply with due to their Laws.  Even Kia with their stripped down Kia Rio "LX" includes Fog Lamps, DRL`s, and a sliding Armrest with Storage Box on its Canadian Vehicles but they are absent on their U.S. Spec vehicles.  Now with the exchange rate between U.S. and Canadian Dollars being almost the same, I guess its just Market Conditions and what the Consumers expects or demands.

Edited September 13, 2013 by Phil1336

[Arthur]

I enjoy having Sirius, and the Weather through Sirius which uses the Nav maps, the Weather cost 1.00 extra per month, and is not automatic with the Sirius subscription, I had to order it.

Edited September 22, 2013 by Arthur

[davidwitham]

I thought I had a 6 month Sirius trial when I bought my car in January, and here it is nearly October and it's still working...go figure.

Now that I've stated this, it'll probably go away...

[zhackwyatt]

I thought I had a 6 month Sirius trial when I bought my car in January, and here it is nearly October and it's still working...go figure.

Now that I've stated this, it'll probably go away...

They were doing a free trial for a while for all non-subscribers I think.

[dfs]

When I bought my MB SUV, it came with a trial of Sirius, but in order to activate, I had to set it up online or by phone.  

 

No set-up at all required on the C-Max.  Just poked the icon and there it was.  Is this typical?

 

Car was straight off the truck, so we know the dealer wasn't involved.

 

Wonder how they will know when my trial expires.

 

DFS

Edited October 26, 2013 by dfs

[zalusky]

The dealer activates it as part of the sale.  You typically get 6 months and then it starts barking at you to renew.

[MaxwellHammer]

Hi all, my Sirius is barking at me to renew (expires Dec. 1).  From what I have researched, it seems you get the best deal if you let your subscription expire and wait for letters in the mail with offers.  Has anyone done this?  I really can't afford the advertised rate at this point to renew what I have.  Is it possible to "get you back" that you will get some fantastic deal cheaper than the "renew now" rate?  Just wondering because I imagine a lot of us are coming up (or already have) to our 6 month free renewal time.  Thanks for any thoughts ...

[drdiesel1]

Hi all, my Sirius is barking at me to renew (expires Dec. 1).  From what I have researched, it seems you get the best deal if you let your subscription expire and wait for letters in the mail with offers.  Has anyone done this?  I really can't afford the advertised rate at this point to renew what I have.  Is it possible to "get you back" that you will get some fantastic deal cheaper than the "renew now" rate?  Just wondering because I imagine a lot of us are coming up (or already have) to our 6 month free renewal time.  Thanks for any thoughts ...

My other car had it and I let it run out. They sent me a second letter and offered it for half the renew now price.

I traded the car in, so I never signed up again.

Edited November 15, 2013 by drdiesel1

[CarpeNivem]

Sirius actually does offer (though not very prominently) a package for $9.99/mo. I just signed up for that.

 

I felt like, even if I let the subscription lapse, and waited for them to come down from their regular prices of $17.99/mo or $14.49/mo, I'd wind up pretty close to $9.99ish anyway, so I might as well just save the hassle and sign-up now. Although, to be honest, I have to say, all of those prices are too high for how terrible the audio quality of Sirius really is. Part of me hates the fact I'm giving them any money at all. Another part of me appreciates the convenience of how well integrated Sirius is into MFT, so I pay for it anyway, because while it's more expensive than I think it should be, it still beats the heck out of advertisement-laden FM or the trouble of obtaining and arranging MP3s on a thumb drive.

Besides, in the end, we save so much on gas, we can afford an extra $10/mo. ;)

[CarpeNivem]

Here's the plan I just mentioned, in case you can't find it, because like I said, it's not exactly well-displayed on their website, but it is available without negotiation...

http://www.siriusxm.com/subscriptions/packages/sirius/mostlymusic

[fbov]

I plan on taking advantage of the free trial period over Thanksgiving. We're driving through radio-baren areas so we'll see if a subscription is worth it.

 

My issue is signal on the road. At home, I avoid commercial radio in favor of non-commercial radio - the local high school station. Lots of new music, and tremendous variety; I've grown tolerant of the occassional dog as they pride themselve on being Alternative Radio.

 

Have fun,

Frank

[erwhitham]

Today while scrolling through my radio channels I noticed that my Sirius is still functioning through my MFT screen despite the free service expiring 6 months ago and various Sirius enticements ignored over the past months. However, out of curiosity I went to Sync where I commanded "Sirius". Pleasant voice said it was no longer subscribed to. Anyone experienced this? Nice listening to Elvis channel but unpaid for months now.

[ArizonaEnergi]

Today while scrolling through my radio channels I noticed that my Sirius is still functioning through my MFT screen despite the free service expiring 6 months ago and various Sirius enticements ignored over the past months. However, out of curiosity I went to Sync where I commanded "Sirius". Pleasant voice said it was no longer subscribed to. Anyone experienced this? Nice listening to Elvis channel but unpaid for months now.

They're providing a two-week free trial right now, and you probably are seeing that.  See my thread on the promotion.

[wab]

They're providing a two-week free trial right now, and you probably are seeing that.  See my thread on the promotion.

 

The last free trial lasted several days longer than the posted cut off date.

We were not in our state if that makes a difference?

[JohnTrigger]

I, of course, had the original 6 months free after buying the car 1 year ago.  Before it expired, about 6 months ago, I called to cancel Sirius, as I am mostly unimpressed with the sound quality but do listen occasionally.  It is certainly not worth full price for me, even if I can affort it.  While trying to cancel it back then, they offered it to me for 6 more months for around $33 (like $4.99/month plus some fee of a couple $).  I took that offer back then, figuring it is worth just over $5 a month despite my comment above.  Last week, just before my second 6 month period expired, I called again to cancel, and they offered to extend my 6 months for another approx $33, just like before.  I will continue this 6 month process until they say no, then I will cancel for good.; I have the date bookmarked on my smartphone to call the day before it expires next May.    I won't even think about full price unless they change their sound quality.  This 6 month/roughly $30 does not include the travel or traffic or weather.

Edited November 23, 2013 by JohnTrigger

[wab]

I, of course, had the original 6 months free after buying the car 1 year ago.  Before it expired, about 6 months ago, I called to cancel Sirius, as I am mostly unimpressed with the sound quality but do listen occasionally.  It is certainly not worth full price for me, even if I can affort it.  While trying to cancel it back then, they offered it to me for 6 more months for around $33 (like $4.99/month plus some fee of a couple $).  I took that offer back then, figuring it is worth just over $5 a month despite my comment above.  Last week, just before my second 6 month period expired, I called again to cancel, and they offered to extend my 6 months for another approx $33, just like before.  I will continue this 6 month process until they say no, then I will cancel for good.; I have the date bookmarked on my smartphone to call the day before it expires next May.    I won't even think about full price unless they change their sound quality.  This 6 month/roughly $30 does not include the travel or traffic or weather.

 

" I am mostly unimpressed with the sound quality"

Like you we're not very interested in the music, plain'ol FM is better, HD FM MUCH.

I wonder if they ever do any survey's about quality versus # of stations?

Fewer stations would allow MORE band width for  HIGHER quality stations.

 

What stations do you get for $33?

We're interested in news/weather/traffic/cnbc  "at times" while we travel.

[JohnTrigger]

What stations do you get for $33?

We're interested in news/weather/traffic/cnbc  "at times" while we travel.

 

Sirius Select is what it is called, so you could see the channel lineup on their website to see if it meets your needs. You don't get the live traffic on the map nor live weather map that came with the initial free subscription.  Those are a few more dollars per month each, and since I don't directly live in an area included in the live traffic, and since my smartphone can show me real time weather pretty easy, I didn't need those at an extra cost.

[wab]

I looked at it, looks like half is religious/OTHER language.

Not much left that interested us.

 

EDIT: I was looking at CarpeNivem's link.

Research has REstarted, THANKS

 

wab

Edited November 24, 2013 by wab

[wab]

Sirius Select is what it is called, so you could see the channel lineup on their website to see if it meets your needs. You don't get the live traffic on the map nor live weather map that came with the initial free subscription.  Those are a few more dollars per month each, and since I don't directly live in an area included in the live traffic, and since my smartphone can show me real time weather pretty easy, I didn't need those at an extra cost.

 

 

I looked at it, looks like half is religious/OTHER language.

Not much left that interested us.

 

EDIT: I was looking at CarpeNivem's link.

Research has REstarted, THANKS

 

wab

 

The "Sirius A La Carte" interests us, $7.99 for 50 channels that we like.

 

BUT I suspect we don't have

"Requires an A La Carte-capable Sirius radio - Sirius Starmate 8, Sirius Starmate 5, Sirius Stratus 6"

　

　

OH WELL