I have an abstract mind and love to think out of the box....so lets say!!

Jettech1 · March 5, 2023

So lets say you buy a basic pro model GMC or a work truck or a custom model truck like I own. You pick out the options you want and are happy with your truck. You like cloth seats, you like the basics we will say. Now come the cold months you wish you had a heated steering wheel and seats, or perhaps NAV.... So for say 10 bucks a month GM would turn on the heated seat and heated steering wheel to keep you comfortable. They would be there from the factory, but you would have to pay a small amount to activate them. Tesla and BMW are doing this now. I would totally pay up for some of those options...Would you?

KARNUT · March 5, 2023

2 hours ago, Jettech1 said:

So lets say you buy a basic pro model GMC or a work truck or a custom model truck like I own. You pick out the options you want and are happy with your truck. You like cloth seats, you like the basics we will say. Now come the cold months you wish you had a heated steering wheel and seats, or perhaps NAV.... So for say 10 bucks a month GM would turn on the heated seat and heated steering wheel to keep you comfortable. They would be there from the factory, but you would have to pay a small amount to activate them. Tesla and BMW are doing this now. I would totally pay up for some of those options...Would you?

Most of the time even though I could buy SLT or Denali for work. I usually bought leftover SLEs. I didn’t want leather, sun roof or Bose. I usually added aftermarket radios. And extended cabs instead of crew cabs. I put my money in engine tuning and mods. That’s how I justify in my mind performance mods. The better deals were usually the leftover SLE GMCs. My must haves were V-8s cruise and AC. The rest didn’t impress me.

dal1980 · March 5, 2023

Except that you would certainly pay for the hardware/software upfront in the vehicle price. So you would be paying for all of the non-functioning options in the price of the truck. Then they would have their hand in your pocket again to make it functional. Go back inside the box!

JimCost2014 · March 5, 2023

No, always been a firm believer that if you pay up front for options you may think you will never use, you will because they are there and available.

gemarsh · March 5, 2023

No.

Grumpy Bear · March 5, 2023

I have a bare bones work truck and don't want that tiny 4" 'Infotainment stack it has now.

I wouldn't mind some amenities reasonably priced BUT they never are. For example, some of the lower trim economy cars don't come with cruise control, however you can have it if you buy the two-thousand-dollar driver comfort option. You can't have the most powerful motor option unless you also by the ten thousand dollar, five-hundred-pound option package that neuters it. I have twenty-dollar gloves. I have no need for a five-hundred-dollar heated steering wheel so my gloves can stay in my pockets. I'll spend that money on a walking to the truck butt warmer to keep me cozy walking from the house to the truck.

rdonarski · March 5, 2023

My last truck had all the options. By the time it became necessary to replace it after 20+years, I had been retired for 8 years and was living on a fixed income. I decided to concentrate on the features I really needed. I found a 2500HD WT that had trailer brakes, larger mirrors, running lights, block heater and larger tires. I added bed lights. It also has snowplow prep which I don't care about. It's a standard cab with an 8' box, both of which were also requirements. Overall, I am extremely pleased with it. My son has a 16 LTZ crew cab with all the options and an 8' box. I tease my grandkids about how underpowered his is. When they come back with all the options his has, I tell them mine is similar except my seats are hot in the summer and cold in the winter and when I back up and get close to objects, mine has more of a crunching noise than a beep.

Edited March 5, 2023 by rdonarski

KARNUT · March 5, 2023

7 minutes ago, Grumpy Bear said:

I have a bare bones work truck and don't want that tiny 4" 'Infotainment stack it has now.

I wouldn't mind some amenities reasonably priced BUT they never are. For example, some of the lower trim economy cars don't come with cruise control, however you can have it if you buy the two-thousand-dollar driver comfort option. You can't have the most powerful motor option unless you also by the ten thousand dollar, five-hundred-pound option package that neuters it. I have twenty-dollar gloves. I have no need for a five-hundred-dollar heated steering wheel so my gloves can stay in my pockets. I'll spend that money on a walking to the truck butt warmer to keep me cozy walking from the house to the truck.

I agree. It’s not a matter of affording. I don’t want the other add ons. When my back acts up I have a massaging heated seat cushion. I find that on automatic climate controls I’m still adjusting my temperature dial. I don’t use the sun roof. Leather seats generally don’t last as well as cloth. The oversized wheels have expensive tires. It’s amazing and amusing that once was a must have for me. Is a waste to me now.

Grumpy Bear · March 5, 2023

26 minutes ago, KARNUT said:

I agree. It’s not a matter of affording. I don’t want the other add ons. When my back acts up I have a massaging heated seat cushion. I find that on automatic climate controls I’m still adjusting my temperature dial. I don’t use the sun roof. Leather seats generally don’t last as well as cloth. The oversized wheels have expensive tires. It’s amazing and amusing that once was a must have for me. Is a waste to me now.

Bet that cushion didn't cost you a couple thousand and come with ten other things you didn't need. :crackup:

The Climate Control that came in my LaCrosse I'll bet I haven't adjusted twice since I bought her. Set it and forget it. Nothing I've owned with this feature past that has been so refined. The one in Dizzy is no better than manual. Truth is, it's worse. I suppose whatever they used in 2009 was to expensive past that to use in vehicles costing fifty percent more. The fully manual system in Pepper takes me about three adjustments early in the day and then I forget it.

The sunroof on that vehicle, Dizzy, broke a few years ago and cost a silly amount of money to repair its plastic parts. It failed a second time while we were being show that it worked. :rollin: Second repair was free, took two weeks and it hasn't been open since. And correct. The tires on its oversized factory rims were ridiculously expensive.

KARNUT · March 5, 2023

3 minutes ago, Grumpy Bear said:

Bet that cushion didn't cost you a couple thousand and come with ten other things you didn't need.

The Climate Control that came in my LaCrosse I'll bet I haven't adjusted twice since I bought her. Set it and forget it. Nothing I've owned with this feature past that has been so refined. The one in Dizzy is no better than manual. Truth is, it's worse. I suppose whatever they used in 2009 was to expensive past that to use in vehicles costing fifty percent more. The fully manual system in Pepper takes me about three adjustments early in the day and then I forget it.

The sunroof on that vehicle, Dizzy, broke a few years ago and cost a silly amount of money to repair its plastic parts. It failed a second time while we were being show that it worked. Second repair was free, took two weeks and it hasn't been open since. And correct. The tires on its oversized factory rims were ridiculously expensive.

My wife’s sunroof broke under warranty. Then I glued the switch. Same with the avalanche I glued the switch. I’ll buy a loaded vehicle as a deal. That’s in the distant future.

Jettech1 · March 5, 2023

I see some of you are totally getting what I was talking about. Packaging a heated steering wheel or heated seats with an option that costs 1500 bucks or so is not what I want. I want the ability to choose what I want and not have it wrapped up in an expensive package. Kind of like cable bills....lol.....anyway I think there's something to this. Sure you will have to pay more for the hardware to be there, but at least you're getting something from the truck (or potential options I will say) as the base price goes up. And as we've seen lately, the base prices are going up with no changes to the truck at all. Of course there will be inflationary aspects to that, but still. Do you all see where I'm going here or should I just climb back in my box as someone suggested.... hilarious comment by the way..

KARNUT · March 5, 2023

22 minutes ago, Jettech1 said:

I see some of you are totally getting what I was talking about. Packaging a heated steering wheel or heated seats with an option that costs 1500 bucks or so is not what I want. I want the ability to choose what I want and not have it wrapped up in an expensive package. Kind of like cable bills....lol.....anyway I think there's something to this. Sure you will have to pay more for the hardware to be there, but at least you're getting something from the truck (or potential options I will say) as the base price goes up. And as we've seen lately, the base prices are going up with no changes to the truck at all. Of course there will be inflationary aspects to that, but still. Do you all see where I'm going here or should I just climb back in my box as someone suggested.... hilarious comment by the way..

I’ve been reading articles lately that people are getting late with payments repos are up. Add to that inventory is going up and deals are happening.

Jettech1 · March 5, 2023

Just now, KARNUT said:

I’ve been reading articles lately that people are getting late with payments repos are up. Add to that inventory is going up and deals are happening.

I've been reading the same thing. Who knows what is ahead for all of us. Very uncertain times for sure.

Grumpy Bear · March 5, 2023

3 hours ago, Jettech1 said:

I see some of you are totally getting what I was talking about. Packaging a heated steering wheel or heated seats with an option that costs 1500 bucks or so is not what I want. I want the ability to choose what I want and not have it wrapped up in an expensive package. Kind of like cable bills....lol.....anyway I think there's something to this. Sure you will have to pay more for the hardware to be there, but at least you're getting something from the truck (or potential options I will say) as the base price goes up. And as we've seen lately, the base prices are going up with no changes to the truck at all. Of course there will be inflationary aspects to that, but still. Do you all see where I'm going here or should I just climb back in my box as someone suggested.... hilarious comment by the way..

Here's a possible and actually a likely problem with this idea. At some point of their choosing, they will no longer "Support" that system. The idea, like you phone, is to "functionally obsolete" it.

Jettech1 · March 5, 2023

3 minutes ago, Grumpy Bear said:

Here's a possible and actually a likely problem with this idea. At some point of their choosing, they will no longer "Support" that system. The idea, like you phone, is to "functionally obsolete" it.

That's a great point you make and we've all seen this happen with our computers and our phones... Great point!