Satellite Radio in Rentals

[missbrooke06]

I pay for satellite radio in both my vehicles. I pay a lot - everyone else I know has successfully negotiated down their monthly bill with SiriusXM and I've never had them offer me anything more than reducing my channel lineup for a smaller payment (seriously, my sister in law has had her subscription two years to my eight and what she pays for six months is what I pay per car per month).

We're renting a car to drive to FL and I'm balking at paying the $7.99 a day for 14 days when they already get lots of my hard earned money. Is there a way for me to use one of the current two subscriptions I have through my rental? Anyone done this before?

 

[bstevens1084]

If you have a smart phone, and a decent size data plan, you could for an additional 4.00/month add the sirius xm online/smart phone APP subscription. Then just use a AUX cord which almost all new cars have a jack for. That what we are planning to do when we go in November. I have the online/ App based now and it really doesn't use a lot of data

 

[sam_gordon]

We're renting a car to drive to FL and I'm balking at paying the $7.99 a day for 14 days when they already get lots of my hard earned money. Is there a way for me to use one of the current two subscriptions I have through my rental? Anyone done this before?

Keep in mind, the $7.99/day isn't going to Sirius, it's going to the rental company.

As far as negotiating a better deal... drop them. Call Sirius and tell them you want to cancel your subscription because it costs too much. Be firm and willing to follow through.

 

[missbrooke06]

Keep in mind, the $7.99/day isn't going to Sirius, it's going to the rental company.

As far as negotiating a better deal... drop them. Call Sirius and tell them you want to cancel your subscription because it costs too much. Be firm and willing to follow through.

No, I get that it goes to Avis.

I'm not willing to cancel and while it sucks to pay more than everyone I know, it's still in my budget and worth it to me. I was just trying to elaborate that I feel like I'm paying my fair share already.

We go over our data regularly but the overcharge on that will still be significantly cheaper - thanks for the suggestion!

 

[DVC California]

1. Don't select the SiriusXM option when you're making your reservation.
2. Use Avis Preferred Select & Go (similar to National Emerald Aisle and Hertz Gold Canopy) to choose your own car.
3. Select a GM product from the line (Chevy, GMC, etc). GM almost always feature satellite radio in their vehicles and simply picking one will give you a "free" upgrade!
4. YMMV, an older model may not have it's subscription in place.

HTH, Steve

 

[nacho113]

1. Don't select the SiriusXM option when you're making your reservation.
2. Use Avis Preferred Select & Go (similar to National Emerald Aisle and Hertz Gold Canopy) to choose your own car.
3. Select a GM product from the line (Chevy, GMC, etc). GM almost always feature satellite radio in their vehicles and simply picking one will give you a "free" upgrade!
4. YMMV, an older model may not have it's subscription in place.

HTH, Steve

We have used Alamo a lot in the past few years and generally book a full size vehicle. You get to pick any vehicle from the aisle that you book (in our case full size). Pretty much every General Motors vehicle that we have rented in the past several years has had the Sirius XM subscription up and running. I believe most of the new GMs get a 6 month subscription included so look for a current model and low miles will usually net you Sirius XM for free (as DVC California mentioned above)

 

[bumbershoot]

4. YMMV, an older model may not have it's subscription in place.

Agreed. I think I've read that the cars over a year old won't have it any longer. So along with choosing the cars for size and usefulness and if they don't stink, also check for low low mileage! (DH got a car from Executive Aisle with National that had 3 miles on it the other week...wow)

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

1. Don't select the SiriusXM option when you're making your reservation.
2. Use Avis Preferred Select & Go (similar to National Emerald Aisle and Hertz Gold Canopy) to choose your own car.
3. Select a GM product from the line (Chevy, GMC, etc). GM almost always feature satellite radio in their vehicles and simply picking one will give you a "free" upgrade!
4. YMMV, an older model may not have it's subscription in place.

HTH, Steve

We have used Alamo a lot in the past few years and generally book a full size vehicle. You get to pick any vehicle from the aisle that you book (in our case full size). Pretty much every General Motors vehicle that we have rented in the past several years has had the Sirius XM subscription up and running. I believe most of the new GMs get a 6 month subscription included so look for a current model and low miles will usually net you Sirius XM for free (as DVC California mentioned above)

An older model could be three months old. And you have a large risk that it will quit while you are using it. I rarely get a car with working satellite and even when I do it often dies on the trip.

I am not sure all of the cars get the 6 months free. There's been some discussion on flyertalk that it's based on mileage with rental cars ?