on star

[machunt]

i purchased a tow vehicle with on star how many have and what is the cost? is it woth it?

[wa8yxm]

How much is it worth? For starters be sure to talk to your insurance agent if you activate it.. Generally THEFT insurance goes DOWN when you activate OnStar..

Why you ask? Well.. As a retired police dispatcher I can tell this story:

Got a teletype to be on the lookout for a stolen Cadillac of a specific model. Read it over a few times, talked to my supervisor and sent a message back to the entering agency, The message contained the 800 type number for On-Star.

A few minutes later I got a 2nd teletype asking if we could check an address.... Yup, it was there.

OnStar found it.

[msjdbman]

I used the service for 1 year when I bought the truck. Now that it is retired and only on the road for 2000-3000 miles over a couple of months a year, it is something I've decided I can live without. I did like the monthly diagnostics when it was active though.

[mlts22]

OnStar is a decent service, but I have one reservation: I just don't want any hacker anywhere in the world to disable my vehicle. This may seem like the stuff of AM talk show discussions, but it is a definite concern.

I remember in Austin a used car company that sold cars with an engine disabling device (their customer base was sub-prime clients, so to get people to pay, they installed keypads that required a new code each pay period. Once the vehicle was paid for, the keypad was removed.) A former employee hacked the car dealer's master account for the devices, and disabled all cars, in all customer hands, causing the engine to stall and not start, and the horns to honk.

No security is 100%, and it is only a matter of time before someone cracks that and wreaks havoc. I can see a hacker in another country that doesn't like the US disabling all GM vehicles in Florida during a hurricane evacuation just for kicks.

[The_Texan]

Had it since 1999 and wouldn't be without it. The newer models are all together different from the earlier models and yes, they now have backup power in the transmitter.

[lizzie]

We have had ours on our last two Chevy-GMC trucks, about 10 years now, and it has helped us too many times to count. We don't have cell phone coverage at our NC home and the OnStar works right up to the garage door. When our power is out, we can report it from the truck. Our family has contacted us in very remote parts of BC and Alaska and we had a garbled message from friends one time that let us know that something was wrong, even though we couldn't really hear them. We have made motel reservations in a blinding snow storm, found a vet for our dog,....on and on. That said, it doesn't work everywhere but we don't leave home without it. lizzie

[roman_traveler]

lanerd wrote:
It's about $20 a month...if you pay monthly. If you purchase for a year, or multiple years, the cost goes down (per month).

It's like having another insurance policy; you may never need it, but if you do, you'll sure be glad you have it especially if you're in an accident. It will notify you immediately to see if you're alright and if you need assistance of any type. If you don't answer them, it will call authorities.

Ron

Not always, I was involved in a fatal crash in my wife's new Yukon and the On star didn't work. The force of the impact exploded the battery and the unit lost power. This was about 4 years ago. Had to wait for somebody to come by with a cell phone to get us help. They may have backup power on the new units. I still have On star on all three of my vehicles and to Ron's point I still feel a bit more comfortable with it.

RT

[lanerd]

It's about $20 a month...if you pay monthly. If you purchase for a year, or multiple years, the cost goes down (per month).

It's like having another insurance policy; you may never need it, but if you do, you'll sure be glad you have it especially if you're in an accident. It will notify you immediately to see if you're alright and if you need assistance of any type. If you don't answer them, it will call authorities.

Ron

[wny_pat1]

My son can tell you all about On Star. He use to haul auction cars from auction lot to auction lot, and to dealers. He loaded one that had the On Star still activated. He wasn't out of the yard where he picked it up more than a half hour when he suddenly was being chased by 4 police cars!!! It got reported by On Star that it was going down the road, but not running, and was apparently stolen. After showing the LEOs the transportation bill of lading and transportation papers they let him go. So if you think your vehicle with On Star might be stolen, you might want to keep the account active. Or if you have a tendency of locking your keys in the vehicle, all it takes is on call to get it unlocked, and you don't have to wait for anyone to show up either!

[Cuffs054]

I wouldn't be without it either.

[sayoung]

we first had it when we bought a new 2000 Suburban and paid it for a year after the "free" trial period never renewing.Never have activated on the last 3 new GM's we have bought.My BIL on the other hand will not be without it .
I may be wrong but even when no subscription,in an emergency the 911 button still brings them online.