SiriusXM

[Gonolz]

I got a new car before my long drive to my family for Christmas. It has a trial to SiriusXM. I enjoyed it on the long drive for music, listened to bowl games and some news channels as well.

I read up on SiriusXM and there are a lot of customer complaints about customer service. From what I can tell, the product is pretty good, but customer service, marketing tactics, and billing practices are all shady. I read of extended hold times for service or cancelling, bait and switch on what you get, requiring you to call to get a decent rate, and charging cards despite cancelling.

Who has SiriusXM and what are your views on the product and the customer service and charging/billing practices? If I can get the service for a decent price and not have to worry about overbilling or difficulty cancelling I think I will sign up.

Also, what are the best channels? One I ran across that I wouldn't have thought of but love is Comedy Central Uncensored. I ran into horrible traffic, but found that listening to that channel made me much more relaxed about the traffic.

 

[LuciousBDragon]

Uh, a friend told me it is worth it for the Playboy channel. He said you should get your windows tinted first and always keep Kleenex in your car.

 

[mthawkeyes]

About a month ago, our annual bill jumped from about $100 to $250 (auto-renewed). Called and they dropped it back down to $100. I'm guessing enough people don't really pay attention or care, so they just take the extra $150 if they can get it, otherwise they're still happy to maintain subscribers.

 

[TJ8869]

I bought a new car in July and it came with a free 3-month trial. At the end of 3 months I didn't bother to renew it, so they sent me a letter offering another 3 months free. That 3 months is almost up and they keep sending me emails offering a year for $60.

 

[NDallasRuss]

I've enjoyed having it. But yes, you do have to call every year and threaten to cancel to get the best deal for renewing. It's an inconvenience, but I still think it's worth it.

 

[JWolf74]

My 6 month free trial just ran up. The only thing I really liked was all the play by play channels for sports. Otherwise...meh. not really any great rock stations, no red dirt country. BB King's Bluesville is good but not worth the subscription. The regular jazz channel was ok. The comedy ones were ok, not great.

I wouldn't pay more than $5 per month for the service, so I didn't renew.

 

[goldmom]

I've had it with my last two cars and wouldn't want to be without it. I travel on I-10 between Jax and Tally and there's still a dead zone for FM reception so it is important to me. I love the 60's, 70's, 80's channels, Classic Vinyl, ESPN, ESPNU, Smooth Jazz, even have about ten Country music channels. All the Cable News Channels. Keeps me company!

 

[TJ8869]

I like Tom Petty's Buried Treasure. But I would probably cancel if not for the fact that Mrs TJ (no pics) wants to keep it. I can stream plenty of music that I love from my phone for free even if I can't get a good station on terrestrial radio.

 

[Formerly Rockymtnole]

Couldn’t do without it, either.

I cannot stand commercial radio and like being able to switch around to different channels. I spend 50% of my time on news channels or Smerconish on POTUS (in the morning).

Other 50% is Classic Rewind (standard 70s and 80s classic rock), Classic Vinyl (60s and early 70s classic rock), Deep Tracks (less well-known songs from well-known artists - this is one of my favorite channels), 1st Wave (80s alternative) and The Bridge (mellow).

Raw Dog Conedy is good and there are two Howard Stern channels.

Never needed customer service. No idea what we pay. They could raise me to $100 a month and I’m still getting it.

 

[FSUTribe76]

Couldn’t do without it, either.

I cannot stand commercial radio and like being able to switch around to different channels. I spend 50% of my time on news channels or Smerconish on POTUS (in the morning).

Other 50% is Classic Rewind (standard 70s and 80s classic rock), Classic Vinyl (60s and early 70s classic rock), Deep Tracks (less well-known songs from well-known artists - this is one of my favorite channels), 1st Wave (80s alternative) and The Bridge (mellow).

Raw Dog Conedy is good and there are two Howard Stern channels.

Never needed customer service. No idea what we pay. They could raise me to $100 a month and I’m still getting it.

Yeah, I agree. I couldn’t live without it. I’ve got a decently big collection of songs on my iPhone and I do download some FSU (Unconquered, Nolecast, Wakeup Warchant, Seminole Headlines, On the Bench and Jeff Cameron); Comedy (Conan, Bonfire, Comedy Bang Bang, Dumb People Town, Hysteria 51, and Fatman Beyond); StarTalk with Neil Degrasse Tyson and Joe Rogan (but only interesting guests so 1 out of 10-20) podcasts. But that’s not enough to keep my attention on the type of long drives I do for vacations and to see friends and family. And terrestrial radio does not cut it.

My car has 30 presets so I have a number of channels set, but the ones I listen to most are the comedy channels specifically Rawdog Comedy, Comedy Central, Canada Laughs, Comedy Greats and Kevin Hart’s Laugh Out Loud in that order of preference. But then I also have 6-10 (60s through the 2000s), 17 (Pop and Rock from 90s to today), Classic Rewind (70/80s Classic Rock), Classic Vinyl (60s/70s Classic Rock), Pearl Jam, First Wave, Deep Tracks, Lithium (the music channel I listen to probably the most, 90s alternative and Grunge), Alt Nation, Sirius XMU (modern Indy rock), Octane, Ozzy’s Boneyard, Liquid Metal, Turbo (90s/00s hard rock), BB King Bluesville, Real Jazz, Symphony Hall, Rockbar, Yacht Rock, Roadtrip (probably my second favorite after Lithium as it’s very eclectic), Faction Punk, Covers Channel, Marky Ramone’s Classic Punk, Indie 1.0, and Classic Rock Party.

 

[L. Wade Childress]

Any clue why I can’t get Faction?

used to be my favorite channel, doesn’t seem available anymore.

 

[evander03]

I believe Faction is now XL Turbo or something like that.

 

[Nipigu]

Sorry, no experience with their billing and marketing practices.

I let the trial subscription expire. My driving is limited to local commutes, otherwise I would have subscribed.

 

[OrlandNole]

Gonolz buys a car just to take a road trip. Straight baller.

I get enough content through Spotify, NPR, ESPN, etc., that I don't feel the need to get SiriusXM.

 

[HIWB]

I set a calendar reminder in my phone for a few days before the auto renewal date. I call to cancel, they offer a discounted rate to keep me subscribed. Rinse repeat.

echoing the comments: I travel enough through dead zones that it’s worth it. I listen to a lot of pga tour radio, and I’m highly entertained by the dr Laura show. Seriously funny stuff.

 

[Nipigu]

I set a calendar reminder in my phone for a few days before the auto renewal date. I call to cancel, they offer a discounted rate to keep me subscribed. Rinse repeat.

Just as I once did with Comcast cable...until I dropped cable altogether and went completely wireless in the houses.

 

[nolesincebirth]

I’m also a huge listener. I don’t negotiate the rates; I think I pay $21 a month. I figure, I really enjoy the product so don’t mind paying for it. If I was just meh on it, I’d try to negotiate but I don’t mind paying for things I like and use.

 

[ATLNole1]

It is annoying to have to call each time to renew at lower rates. I will only pay $5/month, sometimes it’s 5 months for 25 or 6 for 30. If I had to pay more I would just cancel it.

 

[runkpanole]

I really enjoyed it when I traveled more for work and used my POV. Now that I travel less and either rent or fly, I don’t need it for my 15 minute commute. I get email after email wanting me to come back. One offer I receive is 3 years for $99. Great deal, but they offer it on an 11 year old car and it is non-transferable.

 

[pablow]

I just bought a car and got a free trial subscription. I enjoy it - it's far better than our lame FM stations. I already renewed for a year.

 

[bdg8]

They have been dead to me since they dropped Utopia

 

[Monzon]

I set a calendar reminder in my phone for a few days before the auto renewal date. I call to cancel, they offer a discounted rate to keep me subscribed. Rinse repeat.

echoing the comments: I travel enough through dead zones that it’s worth it. I listen to a lot of pga tour radio, and I’m highly entertained by the dr Laura show. Seriously funny stuff.

+1. The calendar reminder is needed - you will be auto-renewed at normal rate if you don't call to cancel.

 

[BrunoMars420]

Podcasts and Spotify are all you need.

 

[WorldSeriesChamps2015]

I have SiriusXM, I always call every year and have the price lowered after threating to cancel, Get it down to 6 bucks a month. It really is overrated though,

 

[cjnoles9399]

I enjoyed it with every free trial I’ve ever had but the cancel/renew song and dance just got old to me and I’m not in the car enough to warrant the sub.

 

[hawkmart]

I have it as well and has already been mentioned, mark calendar when current term is up, then threaten to cancel and renew, past two times it was $60/year. It used to be $30 every six months. I just renewed back in Nov and was able to do it all through their website on chat. Saved the hassle of a phone call.

 

[Nole Lou]

I echo the others. I'm on the perpetual $5/mo plan with calling to "cancel" at the end of each promotional period.

For my commute I almost always listen to podcasts so I don't use it constantly, but its invaluable when I've got the kids in the car. $5/mo is a fair price for how much I use it, because I think it's a pretty excellent product.

The curation of it's 60s channel is really phenomenal, highly superior to any "oldies" station I've had access to in at least 30 years. They go twice as deep at least than remaining terrestrial oldies stations that are dying out.

For example, the Grass Roots have maybe 10 singles that charted top-30. All ten of those will get played on Sirius, plus occasionally another slightly deeper cut. Whereas if you listed to a normal oldies station, you would hear Midnight Confessions, Let's Live for Today, and Sooner or Later...and that is it. You would think that bands like The Hollies, Paul Revere and the Raiders, etc were 2 or 3 hit bands, when they were actually pretty significant radio mainstays.

I'm not asking for a bunch of b-sides and deep cuts on their 60s station, but I do expect a reasonable representation of a band's popular chart output at the time, not just the two songs people know from commercials. It's pretty amazing that after nearly four decades of listening to oldies radio, there are songs that were fairly popular in the 60s that I just became aware of since having Sirius. Whoever is doing their programming is doing it with a strong love and knowledge of the decade.

I imagine their other decade channels curation are similarly robust, but I don't listen to them quite enough to vouch for it, but I feel like their classic rewind and classic vinyl are also stronger and deeper than the standard "classic rock" stations. It's still songs you know, but not just the same 200 most popular songs of classic rock.

I also really, really like Underground Garage, which is as if it is programmed to just my musical taste. The format is pretty nebulous, which boils down to roughly "the coolest songs". It's basically a survey of history of great pop rock, from doo wop to motown to British Invation to soul to punk to contemporary niche punk and rock and surf bands that are still making 3 minute bangers with guitars. That is beautifully curated by a series of guest DJs, and there, along great songs I know and love, I'll hear more obscure cuts from bands I know, songs from old bands that never really "made it" but nonetheless have great songs, and new bands I never heard of that are putting out the kind of songs you wouldn't know were still being made. I love it.

Unfortunately, I have to say I am very disappointed in their formatting update to what used to be their old-school rap channel, which was rebranded as Rock the Bells about a year ago, and is much less to my tastes now.

 

[Hendy hawk]

I've enjoyed having it. But yes, you do have to call every year and threaten to cancel to get the best deal for renewing. It's an inconvenience, but I still think it's worth it.

This. Had one guy try to sell me the full Monte.
Said I was going to cancel. He said ok.
Called back the next day & spoke with a different person & got the rate I wanted

 

[Bum Leer]

Just renewed for $5 / month. Love the comedy channels. Was paying $11 for all access.

I lost Howard when I got the lower rate, but I'll watch his stuff on YouTube and Siriusxm and not miss much

 

[TailgateTom]

I just did the negotiation song and dance yesterday. Got the $5/month but wouldn’t pay over that. I love the 90s on 9, ESPN radio and all the sports broadcasts. Are there any old school gangsta rap stations? Like 80s-early 2000s stuff?

 

[ericram]

I love siriusxm. Had it for years. Back with just Xm bought a lifetime subscription for my one ride. Paid $300 + taxes. That was say 10 years ago now. They don't offer them anymore. Allowed me to transfer 1x at no charge and $75 after that.

Anyway, for the wife's car (No pics) I bought a year subscription. I negotiate every year before the time is up. I sent a calendar reminder 1 month before the renewal date. They always send a reminder that the subscription will renew about that time with the amount. It is always much more than I have currently paid. So I just call them and work the process to speak with customer retention. They are always very nice. I usually have to threaten to cancel and always get the same deal as the prior year. Reminding them of the deals they give new customers.

I love alt Nation, spectrum, 1st wave, blues, rewind, and the college football channels. So much I probably will love but soo many choices.

 

[SoDakHawk]

No idea why satellite radio is still a thing when you can stream pretty much anything you could possibly want to listen to. Streaming options are nearly endless. Like the saying goes, "there's an app for that".

 

[Menace Sockeyes]

I finally let it go, and I'm really not missing much. The sports channels like Sirius XM FC, ESPNU, and Fox Sports Radio were good. The music channels went downhill. The alternative station when I first got it (Fuzz?) was great, then Faction was okay before going downhill (never had a consistent format), then there was 1st Wave and Lithium which were good, but they've both gone downhill and have gotten too repetitive. The best addition was The Beatles Channel, but it's not worth it enough anymore.

 

[hawkssox1]

About a month ago, our annual bill jumped from about $100 to $250 (auto-renewed). Called and they dropped it back down to $100. I'm guessing enough people don't really pay attention or care, so they just take the extra $150 if they can get it, otherwise they're still happy to maintain subscribers.

Caught the same thing.

 

[Lone Clone]

I got a new car before my long drive to my family for Christmas. It has a trial to SiriusXM. I enjoyed it on the long drive for music, listened to bowl games and some news channels as well.

I read up on SiriusXM and there are a lot of customer complaints about customer service. From what I can tell, the product is pretty good, but customer service, marketing tactics, and billing practices are all shady. I read of extended hold times for service or cancelling, bait and switch on what you get, requiring you to call to get a decent rate, and charging cards despite cancelling.

Who has SiriusXM and what are your views on the product and the customer service and charging/billing practices? If I can get the service for a decent price and not have to worry about overbilling or difficulty cancelling I think I will sign up.

Also, what are the best channels? One I ran across that I wouldn't have thought of but love is Comedy Central Uncensored. I ran into horrible traffic, but found that listening to that channel made me much more relaxed about the traffic.

I have had it for years. Absolutely no complaints.

 

[MplsHawk]

I just did the negotiation song and dance yesterday. Got the $5/month but wouldn’t pay over that. I love the 90s on 9, ESPN radio and all the sports broadcasts. Are there any old school gangsta rap stations? Like 80s-early 2000s stuff?

Is it $5/month total, or $5/month plus fees? I did the semi-annual call last September and wasn't offered a good enough rate so I let it cancel. They email me constant offers of $60/year now, but there are extra fees beyond the $60 so I decline.

 

[TailgateTom]

Is it $5/month total, or $5/month plus fees? I did the semi-annual call last September and wasn't offered a good enough rate so I let it cancel. They email me constant offers of $60/year now, but there are extra fees beyond the $60 so I decline.

I think with taxes it was like $40 total?

Edit: $38

I did 6 months and will reup (probably) for a year after.

 

[TailgateTom]

Is it $5/month total, or $5/month plus fees? I did the semi-annual call last September and wasn't offered a good enough rate so I let it cancel. They email me constant offers of $60/year now, but there are extra fees beyond the $60 so I decline.

Also I know there running some promotion where you get and Amazon dot(??) it looks like a little metal circle(?)

I initially checked that but it was like $30 more for the 6 months, and I wouldn’t use it anyway. Don’t even know wtf it is.

 

[MplsHawk]

I think with taxes it was like $40 total?

Edit: $38

I did 6 months and will reup (probably) for a year after.

Thanks. I have so many music options, including Spotify, that I really don't need satellite radio and won't use it much. Still, I like it for the handful of long drives I make per year. I have gotten 6 months for $36ish, but kept hearing about people paying $60 for a year total (including taxes and fees), so I decided that is the most I would be willing to pay. I'm beginning to think that the $60/year that people were talking about wasn't inclusive of the taxes and fees.

 

[MplsHawk]

Also I know there running some promotion where you get and Amazon dot(??) it looks like a little metal circle(?)

I initially checked that but it was like $30 more for the 6 months, and I wouldn’t use it anyway. Don’t even know wtf it is.

I received an offer for $60 for a year plus an Amazon dot, but I don't want a dot listening in on my conversations so that Amazon can target my advertisements so to me it is $60/year. When they added $20 in taxes and fees I declined. I may have to just pay the $80 total.