Activating Sirius / XM Radio
Dec 13, 2007, 11:26 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: Delta SkyMiles, Hertz #1, HHonors
Posts: 102
Activating SAT radio on rental
Anyone ever call up Sirius or XM and pay for a month long subscription on a rental car that didn't have it activated? Lots of GM cars from Hertz have XM, not activated (since Hertz has a deal with Sirius).
Any trouble with it? I would think the big risk is having them continue to charge you beyond the single month or what not.
Any trouble with it? I would think the big risk is having them continue to charge you beyond the single month or what not.
Dec 13, 2007, 12:15 pm
#2
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For Sirius you can call the roadside assistance number and they will connect you with someone who will activate the radio. When I did this on a recent rental I asked the guy helping me if they could do it for XM equipped vehicles and he said they could not since they do not have any agreement with XM like they do with Sirius.
Dec 13, 2007, 12:22 pm
#3
Join Date: Mar 2007
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The fact that I love is that the rental record will show that the car is an upgrade (typically Yx - with x = car class) with SAT as an option, even though you only get the base XM Preview channels.
Dec 13, 2007, 2:18 pm
#4
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: RIC
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I believe you might be able to get away with it, if it is a FORD product. I believe you get six months free with every Ford vehicle and sometime one year. That may be why Hertz will do it so easily for vehicles with Sirius.
If you try to call they want your name and address and will check it with registration at some point, or so I was told when I did it for my customers when I worked for Ford...
If you try to call they want your name and address and will check it with registration at some point, or so I was told when I did it for my customers when I worked for Ford...
Dec 13, 2007, 3:58 pm
#5
Join Date: May 2005
Location: MDW/ATL/MSY
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Posts: 391
The YX classes have been around longer than Satellite Radio, and have nothing to do with SATRAD. AFAIK, Hertz systems do not track the presence or absence of XM in any way. Sirius, obviously, is tracked and charged.
Dec 13, 2007, 7:35 pm
#6
Join Date: Mar 2007
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I realize perfectly well that Yx is a class that has been around since well before Satellite radios. However, every car that I have had with XM installed has been listed as a Yx class and SAT listed as an option on the vehicle. In approximately half of those rentals, the cars have had either leather, sunroof or both. The other half have had no options other than SAT.
Dec 20, 2007, 9:19 am
#7
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: CVG
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Sort of along the same lines.... If I have a subscription with either XM or Sirius, can I temporarily move that to the rental for a few days?
Dec 24, 2007, 9:04 pm
#8
Join Date: Nov 2001
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I realize perfectly well that Yx is a class that has been around since well before Satellite radios. However, every car that I have had with XM installed has been listed as a Yx class and SAT listed as an option on the vehicle. In approximately half of those rentals, the cars have had either leather, sunroof or both. The other half have had no options other than SAT.
Dec 25, 2007, 4:19 pm
#9
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Apr 14, 2008, 6:08 pm
#10
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Minneapolis
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Posts: 1,599
Huh???
This makes NO SENSE to me!!!-A
Apr 14, 2008, 7:09 pm
#11
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Charlotte, NC
Posts: 1,086
This happened to me this weekend at MSP. My rental Hyundai had XM satellite built in and the free, introductory susbscription had run out. What the &*#+??? When I called Hertz Roadside Assistance this weekend, the woman I spoke told me that Hertz has no national contract with XM satellite radio. Well, why then do you not get a credit back for these d*#$ radios when you purchase them for your fleets???! This makes NO SENSE to me!!!
-A
This makes NO SENSE to me!!!-A
Apr 15, 2008, 12:19 am
#12
Join Date: Apr 2000
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This happened to me this weekend at MSP. My rental Hyundai had XM satellite built in and the free, introductory susbscription had run out. What the &*#+??? When I called Hertz Roadside Assistance this weekend, the woman I spoke told me that Hertz has no national contract with XM satellite radio. Well, why then do you not get a credit back for these d*#$ radios when you purchase them for your fleets???! This makes NO SENSE to me!!!
-A
This makes NO SENSE to me!!!-A
The only problem is that the car gets recorded as SAT when it is entered into the system and they don't change it when the free preview expires.
Apr 15, 2008, 1:19 pm
#13
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Steve B.
Last edited by sbagdon; Apr 15, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Apr 15, 2008, 3:28 pm
#14
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XM charges an activation fee every time you activate a new radio, so to move a subscription from one radio to another and back would cost 2 activation fees.
Apr 20, 2008, 7:30 pm
#15
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Minneapolis
Programs: DELTA
Posts: 1,599
Just SILLY
This happened to me this weekend at MSP. My rental Hyundai had XM satellite built in and the free, introductory susbscription had run out. What the &*#+??? When I called Hertz Roadside Assistance this weekend, the woman I spoke told me that Hertz has no national contract with XM satellite radio. Well, why then do you not get a credit back for these d*#$ radios when you purchase them for your fleets???! This makes NO SENSE to me!!!
This makes NO SENSE to me!!!Sirius Satellite Radio!!!
Huh????! {Scooby Doo Style}
-A