[taylodl]

If I bought the heated seats via a one-time purchase then that feature should transfer to the new owner. It may require that transfer of ownership be registered with BMW.

If I rented the heated seats, or hadn't bought or rented the heated seats, then the new buyer should have the option to rent the heated seats or make a one-time purchase to just buy them.

This seems pro-consumer to me. I don't want heated seats (no, really, I don't!) and I would never buy them on my car. But, when I go to sell my car the new buyer can purchase heated seats if they so choose. That increases the market to which I can sell my car, and makes more cars available to buyers. Increased supply drives prices down.

No matter how you slice it and dice it the end result is the same: drive prices down and provide more options to consumers. I don't understand the backlash.

[gnicholas]

I think the backlash comes from incomplete reporting (and article-skimming, on the part of readers), which led people to think they were replacing the one-time purchase option with a subscription. I think we can all agree that would be bad.

Among more thoughtful folks, there were still concerns that this was a first step toward increased nickel-and-diming. What feature would be subscription-ized next? And would the one-time purchase options silently disappear?

[friend_and_foe]

How does it drive prices down? I can see how it drives profits up, so costs down when weighed against profits, but I don't see how it drives prices down.

Consider that these things cannot be sold on the secondary market. You can't pick and pull the hardware.

[taylodl]

There's two ways it helps drive prices down:

1. Lowers manufacturing costs. If there were a Law of Manufacturing it would be this: the less differentiation among the widgets, the more cheaply the widgets can be made. That thinking was behind Ford saying you could have any color you want, so long as it's black. Note this doesn't just affect assembly, it affects the supply chain as well. Your supplier only has to provide one kind of seat. The company making the heating units can crank more out and reduce the unit cost of each.

2. Increases supply - which reduces cost. As I said above, heated seats can be sold as an option. Any owner of the car can buy the option at any time. That increases the supply of cars in the used market. If I want a car with heated seats I can buy the model where that feature hasn't been enabled and enable it myself.

You mention you can't pick and pull the hardware. There's nothing in principle preventing that. All the hardware is the same. If for some reason your seat were to become damaged, you don't have to look for a heated seat. Any seat will do. If BMW is doing anything to prevent that then they're going to run afoul of Right to Repair laws.

[Etrnl_President]

It means track users across cars, enabling or disabling features based on who owns or drives it. Might even simplify things by tying it to a social credit score. Screw that.

[taylodl]

The state already tracks users across cars. Not sure what data you think you're protecting.