A little more than five years, we bought a brand new car (GASP! I know — how not frugal!).
We wanted a Toyota Venza and it was the first model year so no used cars were available. (see???)
If you've ever bought a new car within the last few years, you probably have a trial subscription to Sirius XM radio. I think our trial subscription was for six months.
SiriusXM is pretty great. You get high quality audio, a bazillion different channels so you'll always be entertained, and it's available practically everywhere except if you're surrounded by mountains or in a tunnel. It's a solid service.
I just didn't want yet another subscription and even at $10.99 for their lowest “Mostly Music” package it was too much. Their $15.99 and $19.99 All Access are all reasonable prices (when our trial ended, it cost closer to $30 a month) given what you get but let me explain how easy it is to save 75%.
But… you should never pay full price for Sirius XM. Never. Ever.
SiriusXM is a prime case where negotiating your subscription rate will always save you money.
All you have to do is call in, threaten to cancel, and wait until they offer you their comeback offer.
You can always get 5 months of Sirius XM Radio for just $25. Sometimes people have gotten 6 months for $25.
All you need to say is “I love Sirius XM, I just can't afford that price. Is there any way you can help me?” — and they will help you. If they don't, hang up and call again.
It's very important that you take note of when your promotional period ends because they will start charging you full price immediately. There will be no warning, it's automatic renewal at the full price, so mark it on a calendar somewhere and set up notifications.
When the time nears, call them up again. Sometimes they'll cut right to the chase and offer to extend the deal. If you don't, cancel it and you'll get a winback offer in a month or two.
Don't take anything worse than that deal.
Ha, we just did this. (or rather, we actually cancelled and they kept sending this deal with free installation, so the hubby paid for it as an anniversary present.) We don’t have quite the same collection of channels, but I’m really enjoying having my satellite radio back.
When we had it, we only ever listened to 5-6 channels. Since we both work primarily from home nowadays, it doesn’t make much sense to pay for it… even at such low prices. (tbh, I just don’t want to call back and play this game every 5-6 months!)
Wow, thanks so much for this advice! I have a free trial for Sirius XM in my car and had no idea you could get a comeback offer! I will definitely look into this soon!
Yes, they will very aggressively try to win you back when you leave. 🙂
I tried to do this and straight-up canceled for a month. They really didn’t try to win me back with any kind of deal. Well, they gave us a worse package at around a 40% discount.
It’s my wife’s car and now she just listens to the free, ad-sponsored Google Play through Bluetooth. She’s happy with the selection and quality.
Just wait… the comeback offer will come. 🙂
Don’t ever use a credit card. Buy a gift card from Best Buy and pay using that. Then negotiate for the best price. Currently, here is what I’ve gotten for the last 5 years:
For Select: 6 months for $25.00
For Full Access: 1 year for $119.00
You have to pay tax and royalty fees on top of this. Just remember to call about a month before it expires, or they’ll charge you full price.
Brilliant!
is it possible to get out of their ridiculous “connection fee”?
Thanks for the tip, just tried it and worked perfectly – $25 per radio ($32.31 with taxes and junk) for 5 months. They even gave me a credit for the previous month since I pay quarterly.
Set a reminder for yourself in five months to call them back, they won’t remind you that your contract is up.
They will also give you a 6 months for $30 deal which is the same as the 5 months for $25 but it extends the subscription out one more month. I just did this.
I got this offer as well. I haven’t started the subscription yet, but just FYI, you can get this same offer through Ebates and they (Ebates) will credit your account $5.00. (Ebates pays you a check once a year anytime you shop through their website). Which would be a great deal !!! Six months for $25.00 🙂 That’s the route I’m going to use . Hope this info. is worthwhile and beneficial. 🙂
I just saved $100 on my Select subscription. $99/year
Enjoy several talk stations, especially at home. Would miss Dr. Laura and sports talk shows. Music quality is terrible. My car HD radio stations blow it away. Considering using Google Play or IHeartRadio. Possibly Apple Music. Anyone do a cost analysis of data use when playing these services in the car?
We use this method every six months to keep cost to a minimum on our two vehicles. We bought a 2010 Honda Accord for our soon-to-be teen daughter and college sis to drive. Daughter #1 goes to school in DC, so car at home after purchase. Enjoyed the two months free, then let lapse as car was just sitting in garage. Offers come in for 40-50% off…not interested…no one driving car. Then, low and behold, Dec 10th get an offer for 84% off…yes…$99 for 36 months. That was too good to pass up, go to website to accept, and there is a second offer associated with it…60 months for $149! With tax and royalty, came out to $179. I am VERY tempted to let my work vehicle lapse for a few months then see if they will give me this deal again!
That’s a pretty good offer… I’d probably do that long term one because then you don’t have to call back every 9-12 months.
I asked for that deal, 36 months for $99, and was told that deal was for 2009 and earlier models.
I just got a new car and it has this Sirius radio in it. Free for 3 months. I only like listening to 95.1 FM and KFI on AM. Sure hope they do not charge me a renewal for Sirius. Sounds like a rip off to me. Cheaper putting a CD in to,listen to. Can they automatically renew me without my permission .I never asked for the service in the first place it came with the car.
I’m not sure, I believe you have to opt in and give billing information to continue… but I don’t know for certain. You should call the dealership or Sirius to confirm.
I do not believe in paying to listen to music. I will definitely not renew. Most of it is music I do not like anyway. I will enjoy my free 3 months and then cancel . I only posted because I thought you would know the answer to my question seeing you had bought a new car as well and had Sirius in when you bought the car
I don’t remember how the billing part went but I think I signed up after the trial – I wasn’t 100% sure so I didn’t want to steer you wrong!