Options against payment
Paying for extra options in a car on a monthly or annual basis is becoming quite normal according to some car manufacturers. Yet the majority of car buyers do not seem to be open to it, according to American research.
“Congratulations on your new car, Mr. Jansen! For the use of seat heating, adaptive cruise control and the parking assistant, you can enter your credit card details here. A monthly amount will then be debited if you use these options.” This may sound quite absurd, but according to some car manufacturers this is becoming the most normal thing in the world. Paying for extras afterwards is a way for manufacturers to earn extra money after delivery of a car. At the same time, it gives the customer the opportunity to go for more options later, but to reduce the purchase price of the car. Doesn’t sound very wrong? Well, according to Cox Automotive, few people are happy with this idea.
Research by the American company has shown that as many as three-quarters of car buyers are not waiting for extra paid services in new cars, reports Automotive News. Consumers in particular do not like paying extra for comfort or safety-enhancing items. Not very surprising, then, that BMW’s plan earlier this year to make heated seats a monthly paid option was met with a lot of criticism. According to a Gartner analyst, the biggest challenge for automakers is to “package” a paid service properly: “The big puzzle is how an automaker can take advantage of OTA updates and offer the feature as a one-time payment or subscription to a way that the customer sees as value-enhancing and not a rip-off.”
Would you be open to paid services in your car? Let me know in the comments!
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl