I am looking at getting Sirius added tomorrow.
My one thought, is it worth it?


I am looking at $400 dollars.
I attempted to use my iPOD classic, and it was just awkward and reminded me of the controls of my old A4 Quattro.


My other thought is to go old school and just use CDs....how about plugging in a usb thumb drive or usb HDD?


Just looking for options.


It is easy enough for me to pull up iTunes and just burn CDs.

 

i let my subscription lapse. it offered the same crap on 250 different stations. with that 400 bucks it would seem better off to increase your data plan on your phone and stream pandora/slacker/spotify then you can at least tailor it to your liking.

 

that makes sense.
I do have the unlimited data plan on my iPhone 5s, and a fan of Pandora.


My Countryman did include a cable, but it is for the iPhone 3,4, etc.
Does the new adapter work with the supplied cable iPhone cable with the iPhone5s? looks like I need an adapter.

 

I got XM using an Onyx receiver. I think I paid less than $50 for it. Service is around $200 a year for my car and another $120 for my wife's car.

I probably only listen to about 10-15 of the stations, but I do like the ones I listen to regularly. I was getting close to letting service lapse, but then one of the local stations switched to country and another changed to a lower powered frequency so I can't pick them up. So I trudge on.

I will say with my aftermarket unit, the one thing I don't like is that roads with tall trees on both sides block the signal. And alas, on many of our club runs up into the mountains on the twisties there are a lot of sections like that. So that was a little bit disappointing as I'd like to be able to just turn on some tunes and get into a nice motoring zone.

Overall, I'd say it is quite expensive for what you get. It is one of the few services where I've had to argue in my head that it is ok to splurge on something like this. And if I ever buy another new car, I will most certainly try to get something with Sirius/XM pre-installed.

As I'm sure you'll figure out from other posters/responses, ymmv greatly as to whether it is worth it.

 

Do you have an iPhone or Android phone?

I made a video showing a Mini Countryman with after-market Bluetooth Audio using the Tune2Air. Just $89 gives wireless bluetooth audio with track, library, and steering wheel controls. No tools - just plug-in and go.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/r60-countryman-talk/261607-adding-bluetooth-audio-to-stock-mini-countryman.html


It works very well with the standard iPhone library. And is partially-functional with Pandora and Spotify

 

love the product, HATED THEIR NONCUSTOMER SERIVCE.
i found them totally frustrating to deal with. when you call the call is answered in whothefu*kknowswhere, they don't speak english and every other word is sorry.
whatever they quote you price wise, offer half then start negotiating. never pay what they want.
i've been dealing with them since 2000.

 

Read the fine print in their customer agreement. Last yr I was able to negotiate service for another yr for around $90. Little did I know that they would renew my subscription automatically this yr until I saw the $180 charge on my credit card stmt. My advice if you subscribe is to cancel before the yearly auto renewal and renegotiate.

 

I use Sirius mainly for Howard Stern.

Just when my free 1 year was about to come up, I called and asked for the cancelation department. I said I was canceling because $160/year for radio is too much for me, and they immediately offer you $89 to keep you. I knew this before I called and confirmed it to be true.

No one should be paying full price for Sirius.

 

I never call them up. Always contact them through online chat. I tell them I received a promo mailer for 6 months $25 and would like to renew that. They take a few minutes to look in their promo folders, can't find that offer...but still give me 6 months for $25.

 

I waited them out (after my free year), and took their 3rd or 4th offer which was $70 for a year. Two weeks after I renewed, the dealership bricked my HU and had to install a new one. When I called Sirius back to give them the new ECN, they ended up giving me a free year with the new HU on top of the year I had just paid for.

 

Nice to hear about the renew options as I am enjoying my subscription. But I have the Navigation System and it works well with the iPod Classic and iTouch with cable. Displays the Album Artwork very nice. Play lists are a breeze. XM is great too!

My wife has a Countryman with just the basic radio and for that I use a thumb drive and it works very well. Or I can connect iPod with just the 3mm cable and listen. Drive the music via the iPod and playlists as I am not in the car very long.

She like the thumb drive. Easier to have a few rather than a huge one.

Nice to have options as my commute time is about two hours a day. That is round trip. Anything helps and makes it better.

 

Tell them you don't want the auto renew and you don't want them to keep your cc number. I'm rude and repeat and ask them a few times for conformation that they do not keep my cc #

 

With a lot of these auto renew schemes if I actually want to patronize the company otherwise I get a temporary number that's only good for a month or 2 form my credit card company. It's valid when they need it and they can't just charge me later.

 

yea, I have had Sirius since 2010.
I have usually let it discontinue, then re-up for $90+ for the year.
Then I would let it lapse in favor of a game, Netflix, or Amazon Prime, etc.


Went to the Apple store this weekend and picked up the iPhone 5s adapter.
Anyways, it works perfect with Mini Connect and Pandora.
When I went to the dealer they wanted $500.00 for the Sirius install, and wanted to keep my car for 3 days. Decided to pass.


Figure that I can get it anytime.

 

Tip - they do anyway, they are lying if they tell you differently. SOP

Anyway, OP, Sirrus just doesnt offer the musical spectrum I look for, Pandora does. Your results may vary, and negotiate the best price you can from Sirrus if you go there, as the others have said there is a hundred dollars difference in their deals.