TGIF everyone,

I just purchased a 2012 M37s from Driver's Way (local company w/ exact same business structure as Carmax) w/ 44k miles and extended warranty over the past weekend. Earlier in the week when I was playing around with settings on the car's center console screen I discovered that I could access weather information even without an XM subscription. I was quite surprised by this because the traffic information was still locked out. Fast forward to yesterday and when I tried to access the weather again I was locked out.

Any idea why I was able to view this information earlier in the week but cannot now? I think I read somewhere that with a new M37 purchase you are supposed to get a 3 day trial of the XM features, but assumed that since my car was pre-owned I would not be granted this ability. Even so, why was I able to access weather while the traffic was still locked out?

I was a bit bummed that I lost the weather app... I was pretty stoked when I first discovered this feature, lol. Any insight you guys can provide will be greatly appreciated.

Welcome to the forum, and congrats on the M! I believe that Sirius/XM had a free trial recently, and that would explain why you were getting weather. My sat radio and traffic has worked since I bought the car; the weather works when they have free trials.

Speaking of which, does anyone know if the M's came with say, 3 years free radio and traffic? Or should I assume the previous owner had a subscription they never transferred? Mine has been working for over a year and a half of ownership, and I have not contacted Sirius/XM ever in regards to this car.

I believe that new M's come with a 90-day free subscription to XM that has to activated by the new owner after delivery. On my old 2007 M, after I accidentally found out I could receive channel 01 (the advert channel) I called XM. Even though I bought the car used in 2011, when I contacted XM, they gave me the 90 day free subscription with no credit card info required - no commitment to change over to a paid subscription at the the end of the 90 days. I don't recall if that free subscription included traffic or weather, but it wouldn't have mattered because the 07's had an outdated tuner that couldn't receive those services.

As for you, Smoov, I agree with your suspicion. Either the previous owner did not cancel / transfer the subscription and has been paying it, or they bought the lifetime option which is no longer even offered by XM and it was never cancelled by the owner or by XM. Enjoy it while it lasts!

It's also worth mentioning that after my 90 day free trial, XM offered me a sweet deal to become a subscriber at a very discounted rate for an additional 90 days (like $20 for 90 days), and after that was used up, another discounted rate for the recurring membership at 6-month or 12 month intervals.

On long trips, XM is the bomb. You listen to the same music channels regardless of which state you are in, and you don't get advertising interrupting your music. You can also listen to channels like CNN to keep you updated on news. They also include regular radio stations like Y-100 out of NY which is a regular radio broadcast with DJ shows, and channels like 80's on 8 which features the original MTV DJs like Martha Quinn, Alan Hunter, Nina Blackwood, etc who did the MTV shows back in the 80s. I grew up too late for that stuff but love 80s music. Now I must stop, LOL as this shouldn't become an advert. That would be inappropriate.

I believe channel 01 is always active.

I have "played the game" many times with XM, with many cars. Fortunately, this car has always just been "on". Thank you previous owner!

The usual scenario: call them up and tell them you just got a new car, and would like to try out their service. They will give you a month or so for free. Usually, they will also offer 6 months for around $30. They will also ask for a credit card. NEVER give them a credit card! Rather, tell them to send you a paper statement through snail mail. Update your email address with them; this is key to getting great promos.

BEFORE your free promo ends, call to cancel. This usually involves a few transfers to retention; but stick with it, it will pay off. They will either offer you a couple of free months to "think about it", or the discounted rate of $30 for 6 months. If they don't offer you any type of promo price or free service, let it go. Within a month, you will receive an email for the 6 months for $30. Again, NEVER give them a credit card!

When your promo period ends, repeat the process. At the very least, you can get the service for $5 a month over the course of a year, and a little better if you factor in the free months. While it sounds like a hassle (and it may be for some), I personally cannot fathom paying $15/month for the service when, with a little effort, it is available for 1/3rd of the cost.

The thing that cracks me up is that if the service was $5 a month, I would be all in for the long haul. Between giving me free months, and sometimes 1 month lapses in service, they actually net LESS than $5 a month; so why not offer the service at that price for something like a 3 year pre-paid subscription?!

Smoov, that is good advice long as you don't mind going through those steps. My current subscription works out to about $19 monthly - automatic on my BOA debit card so I have protection/refund for any mistakes that might occur. For that rate, I get three sources- internet from home or anywhere, a portable receiver with boom box docking/charging stand at my office, and of course the receiver in the car. All receivers have every possible channel. I just wish they still offered lifetime subscriptions as that would clearly be the best for me personally. Your way is the next best thing.

I don't really miss XM radio. Between Pandora and Google Music I have it covered. And being on Tmobile neither streaming counts against my data. $8 a month for Google All Access music pass. Pandora is free and *cough cough no ads if you have Android.

I tend to agree with you on that point, wideopn. I have Amazon Prime music, Pandora (yes, ad free via Android ), XM and an iPod with over 10,000 songs available in the car. My only issue is that it is safer and more convenient for me to use the vehicle's interface for XM or iPod, as my phone is running the Escort Live app while I am driving. Flipping between a bunch of screens on the phone distracts me from the task at hand: driving!