XM Trial Ending, Discounts On Renewal?

I am nearing the 3 month mark of ownership of my 2010 Prius IV NV and my XM trial is about to expire. They are quoting $212.12 per year or $56.76 per 3-months for XM+NavTraffic. While I have really enjoyed the service and NavTraffic alerts, I am not sure if the service is worth it at that cost.

In the past I remember XM offering a $77 per year plan, but it appears that it is no longer offered since the merger with Sirius. Does anyone know of any current discount codes or promotions that are available for the XM service? Thanks in advance!

I've read that you should let it run out (and squeeze a few more weeks out of it as the trial may go longer if they don't cut off as scheduled) and look for a deal.

In the same boat here. One week left. The letter says I can renew for about $200/year and that I should do it before the expiration date to avoid reconnect fees. Anybody knows how much are these fees?

Hi all,

Just a note. I let the xm service expire in my altima Hybrid last year and waited until they called me. I then said no a couple of times until I got a rep that was willing to deal. I ended up with a $50 per year subscription for 2 years ($99 for two years). Just have to work the customer service reps. And keep in mind that Sirrus and XM are desperate for new subscribers. I got a Sirrus lifetime for $175.00 for honda mini van just last year.

-Chan

Wow, THAT'S a bargain!! I'll definitely let my trial XM subscription run out and see what I can finagle. I've never heard of any reconnection fees... that sounds bogus to me (but who knows).

Thanks, Mark. Your info now is Post #15 in that thread. Here is a direct link to the Paradox post in the Free XM Radio thread.

Thanks I will give the 1-800-347-0600 number a call and see what type of deal they can work me. Unless it is significantly cheaper, like the $77/per year promo I will likely just let it lapse.

I have had good success streaming internet radio to my iPhone 3GS through the Prius using Bluetooth. There is something magically about having Pandora and Digitally Imported streaming (via an app called Tuner) where ever I go. I may get the USB connect kit now that it is available so I can keep an iPod charged and have some other control via the touch screen.

Thanks for the advice everyone.

Keep us posted!

I just wanted to post a quick follow up. The offer letters I was receiving in the mail from XM continued to get cheaper as it got closer to the end of my trial. The best offer I received was still significantly more than what I felt the service was worth, so I decided to let it expire. About 3 days after the trial ended the radio was remotely disabled.

I called up XM today and spoke with them regarding the packages that was available. They offered me a variety of deals, all of them still more expensive than what I wanted to spend. I asked them if they still had the $77 per year XM Everything plan and they said that they did however it was only a 1 year promotion. After it expires they advised that it would automatically renew the XM Everything plan quarterly at $44.79. The promotional rate (which is actually $88.78 per year after the music royalty fee) I decided to go with as $7.39 a month is a decent value to me. I however plan to call them back in a year and evaluate their offerings before it expires as many have reported being able to extend the promotion.

I will note though that this package does not come with NavTraffic, which really isn't a huge deal for me. Most of my traveling is locally and NavTraffic really just states the obvious. "Slow traffic ahead for 1/4 mile." *Looks ahead* Yeah thats what it looks like. They did offer to add it for $3.99 a month to the promotional package.

The key here is to definitely call the 1-800-347-0600 number, as they appear to be authorized to offer more packages than the standard activation line. The same call center handles cancellations so are likely a retentions group. I hope that this helps others as well.

I just called today and got the $77 plan (plus the royalty fee of course). I did verify 3 times that this one year package DOESN'T start until my 3 month trial ends. The lady even gave me the exact date my trial ends, of which I will then be charged for the Everything Plan on that day. So it might be best to call now to lock in the rate since you won't even be charged until your free trial is up.

I will probably do this for a year at least. Except I want the Nav option. Can that be added on? Extra 48 bucks plus the 77? Hope so.

--Mickey

Yea she asked me about the traffic option, but I don't even have the Nav Unit so I didn't need it. I was on & off the phone in about 6 minutes, was pretty painless.

I called a couple of weeks ago after I received their letter with their rates. I am 1 month into my trial. I called and said my friend got a $77 rate for 1 year and can I have that rate. The rep said sure. It's $77 + $11.78 royalty fee= $88.78 for the first year. Then he said it will be $142.45 for the next year. I will call back at the end of my year to see about another reduced rate. This rate is for XM Everything. No traffic and no Stern.

Yep. I just did this the other day. $77 for one year plus $3.99 per month for the Nav. The original quote for Nav was between $50 and $60 per year, but she moved it down as soon as I said "No." I signed up for the Nav on a quarterly basis. It can be cancelled at any time, with a rebate for unused time.

Agreed (on the pretty painless end).

The only thing to remember is that you are set for an auto renewal after one year. You do have to remember to call before the year is up either to cancel, renew or renegotiate.

Wow, that was a pain. Called the 800 number listed in this thread. Asked for the $77 deal, plus NavTraffic. Customer rep confirmed the deal, but said he had to transfer me to a different department because I was already on a trial subscription. Second rep also confirmed the discounted price, but the phone disconnected. Called again, was transferred again, and disconnected again. Called third time, transferred again, then told I could not have the discount without a "discount code". Asked to speak to someone else, and was put on hold for ten minutes. Hung up, and finally spoke to one person, not transferred, and got the $77 deal for one year with no problem.

Despite the trouble, the deal described in this thread does exist, but you might need to speak to more than one person and remain firm.

Yikes - about getting disconnected, etc. I hate XM for that reason. When I canceled a while back I got hung up on twice before I could cancel. I'm going to try to organize my account and get the $77 deal tomorrow. Will post info.

I also called the special number yesterday and got the $77 + royalty fee deal. The rep confirmed it would not start until my trial period is up and it would be automatically go up in price at the end of the subscription year if I didn't call them in advance to cancel.

STOP!!! DO NOT DO ANYTHING!!

let it run out. they will call you within a month offering you a trial sub at $4.99 a month. the funny thing is i was gonna go for the special Prius deal at $77 a year, but spaced it off...next thing i know (i listen to my i-pod exclusively when driving alone so didnt notice the SAT was not working...lol) i receive a call from them asking me if i would come back... i said "maybe" they said "$29.94 for next 6 months" i thought "hmm, thats about 50% less than what i was gonna agree to" so i said "well, ahhh, well, i guess i can do that"

so there it was. and btw for those of you that dont want to park your Pri running for 15 minutes like they instruct you to, dont. i received the call while driving. after giving my CC, i tuned to channel one, all while driving, and in less than 5 minutes, my service was restored.

**edit** LOL... just checked mail, guess what was in it!!

here, you could always call the number

800.352.5115

use my promo code

2XAB51MR