GBCMAN

Member
My company has doubled the size of my service territory.
2 - 3 days a week on the road 5 or more hours.
Regular radio doesn't hold my interest and if I find something I like, it usually will fade out.
Any of you that have or used XM radio, whats your opinion of it and the cost.
 
(quoted from post at 07:24:55 02/09/15) My company has doubled the size of my service territory.
2 - 3 days a week on the road 5 or more hours.
Regular radio doesn't hold my interest and if I find something I like, it usually will fade out.
Any of you that have or used XM radio, whats your opinion of it and the cost.

We've had a couple of free trials. Never could find a station that we liked, and the reception was mediocre at best. Seemed to have a lot of "white noise" in the background. Radio is supposed to be free. I refuse to pay for it.
 
My company gave me a free year of it a few weeks ago. I too can't really find anythi,g that fits me. I do like it for the areas where there is no regular radio tho.
 
I use XM radio all the time. Reception is great. Plenty of stations to choose from. Not cheap though but in my option it's worth it.
 
Satellite radio is nice. I like it when traveling, but It is expensive. I have it about 3 months at a time because I won,t pay their full price. It was on my truck when I got it. When it expired they wanted 86 dollars for a year. I ignored them and they dropped to 39 for six months finally 20 per half
The only thing is I have to keep track of it and cancel before the "introductory" period is over,or they will extend it to the annual at the full shot.
Some of the Dj,s are insultingly infantile and there are many more repeats than there ought to be. I just don't understand with the millions maybe billions of songs that have been recorded in the past 80 years why need to repeat any song. I think that most of their stations are on a 3 to 5 day playlist..

If you are in an area that only has Hip Hop or rap stations yeah get it. Locally maybe not such a good deal.
 
Unlike others, the few times that I have rented a car with satellite radio, I have very much enjoyed it. In the Northeast there is no shortage of stations all the while but with XM I can choose the music that I most enjoy without all of the crap advertising and talk. I will give it serious consideration when ordering my next car.
 
cost is a little high but if you are into music, radio cant even come close. I listen to outlaw country. If I get tired of it there are plenty more channels to listen to. Bill
 
I have Sirius A la carte. 50
channels of your choice. Usually get 6 months at a
time for about $29.
 
If I only spent a few hours a week in the car I would not think it is worth it but I spend about 30 hours a week in a car and I love it.
 

Love the comedy channels.. old time radio with the stories and serials from the 30s.40s and 50's. Old classic western, and npr also has some good entertainment if you can weed out the propaganda. The laugh track is too loud on the comedy channels though for my old ears.

Great is you spend lots of time on the road.. I have seruis or what ever its called.
 
I used XM for ears while I was driving OTR. If you can NOT find something of interest to you ... well ...something is badly "wrong" ... lol!! The thing is you can start listening to a station and drive for hours and hours and never lose channel. It would be worth while to have it.
 
I've had it at various times in the past but not currently.

They are difficult to deal with and do not treat customers well.

I never pay full price as they will always offer 50% off if they cannot sell you.

NEVER give them a credit card number but rather insist on paying by check. They do not like it but will do it.

Dean
 
have it for the first time on my new F-150, I find myself sitting in it for an extra few minutes when I get in yard, listening to ch 59 (willie's roadhouse). I think I will have to keep it when trial period is over.

Dick ND
 
I used XM for years and liked a few premium stations that have offensive advertising. Here in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains radio does not work well. I spent a lot with a company that has poor customer service. I don't see them lasting another ten years.
I now use "I heart radio" on my cell phone. I have a car radio with an aux plug in all my vehicles but it could use bluetooth with a newer unit. It's free and reception is good even in areas where my phone won't work. I have found few places where it quits. There are other similar services available.
 
I refuse to pay for radio - pure and simple. I have it in my new car but the only times I have listened is during the free preview promotions. Ironically the reception fades out in the mountains much worse than normal FM.
 
Have had xm for years and they're always sending me these 5 months for $20 offers. I write the expiration date down call a few days before, they end up offering it again. About a buck a week. That's worth it to me. I'm on the road a lot too
 
I had a couple of trial periods with mine and its ok but not worth paying for in my opinion. Another option if your vehicle has a usb port is to load a flash drive with podcasts. I used to listen to hours of car talk while driving back and forth from the In-laws when they were getting their house ready to sell. Lots of free podcasts out there.
 
I became addicted to mine. I bought a portable though, so i move it to where i am, in the shop i plug it into the shop stereo, semi, pickup, house, i have about 30 stations i really like, and can constantly cruise through them, pick a station for awhile then move on.
 
We had it in our Impala for two years and liked it and could get over 100 stations. When it run out they wanted $77.00 a year so we let go but at times I think about getting it again.
 
You guys may laugh etc. but there are several shows on NPR that I like to listen to. In addition to 'CarTalk', there is: 'This American Life', TED radio hour, and RadioLab. I guess they are all available in Podcasts.

I doubt that anyone that works for NPR owns a firearm etc., and they get on my nerves sometimes but there are some interesting things on at times. However, on 'All Things Considered', they don't really consider things like a lot of us do!

CarTalk is a fair amount of BS, but they are funny. They had a good gig going. I have always wondered what they made off of that show.

Garry
 
If you are spending that much time on the road you have to have XM. Any kind of music, sports, markets, commentary, news left to right and in between. Some great talk radio channels too. It is worth the money and no annoying commercials on most--but not all--channels. The only reception problems I have ever had is in town if you are close to a building over 4-5 stories high. I won't be without it in my car.
 
You are right, never give them you credit card number. I did that and later sold the truck and left the radio in it. Two years later, I had changed my card number, they called for my new card number to renew. I told them I had only purchased one year. And had sold the truck before the year was up. They said, we renew it automatacly every year. They would not give me a refund even though, I paid for two years I had no radio. I will never ever have XM again.
 
I drove truck for 35 years. Auto Books from the library got me through. You can also rent them from the Cracker Barrel and buy them in the truck stops.
 
I couldn't be without it. A friend convinced me about 10 years ago. I now have five subscriptions. Two in cars that it comes through the radio, one mounted in the kitchen, and two that are mobile and can go in any vehicle or tractor (they all have docking stations). I listen to RFD channel 80 a good bit and about three others religiously. I haven't watched an entire tv show in over a year, but I would rather starve than do without satellite radio. The one in the kitchen gets turned on when the wife gets home or I come in from chores and stays on until bedtime. When wife is home over the weekend it runs all day both days.
 
I have two subscriptions, one for my car and one for my truck. I live in an area where I cannot get NPR or anything but top 40 rock or country. I love it.
 
My aftermarket Pioneer "radio" has a USB port.

I have a memory stick with almost 1000 of my favorite songs.

As I travel I can play what I want.

With NO recurring subscription fees.

And NO Eddie or Rush.

SWELL!

Does anyone else do this?
 
Considering the enormous variety of audio material available that actually engages your mind---as well as being entertaining and enjoyable---explain to me the important differences between listening to thousands of hours of familiar music and nodding off in an opium den. I understand that it's safer to drive under the influence of music than under the influence of narcotics, so it's the total waste of time part I'm really asking about.

Stan
 

My new smart phone has an app for NPR. Free. Also has an app for Sirius XM. Also free. I have not axtivated either of those, but I did install the app for I Heart Radio. Supposedly the smart phone can use bluetooth to broadcast to the truck radio. Haven't tried it yet.
 
I like my XM. Its worth it if you are on the road alot. Never pay full price always threaten to cancel when it comes time to renew. You get it 50% off. Mine ends up being right at $100 for the year.
 
I love XM, not cheap, have it in the car, and when I rent a car to run out of town for work I drive sometimes over 24 hours straight to get there, at least the company can pay for it in the rental car, last trip was from St. Paul MN to Lufkin Texas, wouldn't be without it, sometimes at home driving I listen to old radio podcasts like dragnet when I'm out driving, those smart phones come in handy.
 
They are running a free trial till the 17th. If you call them you can negotiate the price. I know most people pay 7-8 bucks a month. They start at 20 but you can work them down. I love it but I have the free subscription with my truck.
 
I have Sirius again. Had it once before, yearly subscription, my card info changed and they called twice a day for 6 weeks before leaving a message. Didn't call them back. Got it again for the nascar channel but they need to hire someone who can run a sound board. Most of the time one host is hurting my ears while I can barely hear the other. Then the commercials come on. They are worse about that than tv, even advertising their own stuff on the music channels.
 

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