Wrecked car, new car

"Paul O." wrote in message

> After having my new car rear ended a couple weeks ago and totaled, it was
> a Kia Spec5, We are going "up the hill" to the high desert tomorrow where
> the future son-in-law is a finance guy at the chevy dealer there. Going to
> be getting an HHR, hope I like it. Can't beat the deal. Just gotta decide
> which color, kinda hoping for a red one myself. Does the on star work with
> any cell phone? The wife and I use tracphones. How much is the monthly
> cost after the free year? Thanks.
>

Congratulations on the new vehicle Paul. Do yourself a favor - ask your
questions of the dealer. You have some good questions that you ask, but you
ask them in all the wrong places. Go ahead and ask your future son-in-law
all of the questions you have before you close any deal, and make sure
you're comfortable with the answers. It would be a shame to end up with a
new vehicle that you're not satisfied with after the first week of driving
it, just because you didn't ask, test drive, etc. to the point where you
were happy with that choice *before* you sign on the line.

--

-Mike-
mmarlowREMOVE RemoveThis @alltel.net
 >> Stay informed about: Wrecked car, new car 

Paul O. wrote:
> After having my new car rear ended a couple weeks ago and totaled, it was a
> Kia Spec5, We are going "up the hill" to the high desert tomorrow where the
> future son-in-law is a finance guy at the chevy dealer there. Going to be
> getting an HHR, hope I like it. Can't beat the deal. Just gotta decide which
> color, kinda hoping for a red one myself. Does the on star work with any
> cell phone? The wife and I use tracphones. How much is the monthly cost
> after the free year? Thanks.
>

If 'hi-desert' means So-Cal, good news is that
OnStar meets Calif requirements for hands-off
voice phone. Buy enuf minutes to cover your
hands-off needs and give it a try. Then make up
your own mind. Theft tracking, airbag
deployment monitorning and remote unlock...all
worthwhile.

I stupidly locked myself out of my wife's car
and my house a couple of months ago. I don't
carry AAAplus and OnStar saved its annual cost
in about 15 minutes.

Keep your Tracfone. This isn't a substitute for
a good cellphone service. OnStar minutes are
reasonable but it won't work if the car battery
dies. Also, some emergency service calls (like
911 etc.) are intercepted by OnStar.

We were caught in the midst of the Devore Fire
and Onstar was able to relay nearby accident and
fire hot-spot info to the CDF and CHP.

--
pj
 >> Stay informed about: Wrecked car, new car 

> Paul O. wrote:
>>
>> After having my new car rear ended a couple weeks ago and totaled, it was
>> a
>> Kia Spec5, We are going "up the hill" to the high desert tomorrow where
>> the
>> future son-in-law is a finance guy at the chevy dealer there. Going to be
>> getting an HHR, hope I like it. Can't beat the deal. Just gotta decide
>> which
>> color, kinda hoping for a red one myself. Does the on star work with any
>> cell phone? The wife and I use tracphones. How much is the monthly cost
>> after the free year? Thanks.
>>
>> --
>> Paul O.
>>

To my knowledge, you need a new phone setup, but that may have changed. The
cost depends on the plan. Minimum is $200 a year for the basic plan. go to
www.onstar.com for more information.
 >> Stay informed about: Wrecked car, new car 

"Mike Marlow" wrote in message

>
> "Paul O." wrote in message
>
>> After having my new car rear ended a couple weeks ago and totaled, it was
>> a Kia Spec5, We are going "up the hill" to the high desert tomorrow where
>> the future son-in-law is a finance guy at the chevy dealer there. Going
>> to be getting an HHR, hope I like it. Can't beat the deal. Just gotta
>> decide which color, kinda hoping for a red one myself. Does the on star
>> work with any cell phone? The wife and I use tracphones. How much is the
>> monthly cost after the free year? Thanks.
>>
>
> Congratulations on the new vehicle Paul. Do yourself a favor - ask your
> questions of the dealer. You have some good questions that you ask, but
> you ask them in all the wrong places. Go ahead and ask your future
> son-in-law all of the questions you have before you close any deal, and
> make sure you're comfortable with the answers. It would be a shame to end
> up with a new vehicle that you're not satisfied with after the first week
> of driving it, just because you didn't ask, test drive, etc. to the point
> where you were happy with that choice *before* you sign on the line.
>
> --
>
> -Mike-
> mmarlowREMOVE.DeleteThis@alltel.net
>Will definitely drive before signing. I can't see where GM's Onstar is all
>that great unless it helps on the insuruance. Thanks.
--
Paul O.

 >> Stay informed about: Wrecked car, new car 

"Edwin Pawlowski" wrote in message

>
>> Paul O. wrote:
>>>
>>> After having my new car rear ended a couple weeks ago and totaled, it
>>> was a
>>> Kia Spec5, We are going "up the hill" to the high desert tomorrow where
>>> the
>>> future son-in-law is a finance guy at the chevy dealer there. Going to
>>> be
>>> getting an HHR, hope I like it. Can't beat the deal. Just gotta decide
>>> which
>>> color, kinda hoping for a red one myself. Does the on star work with any
>>> cell phone? The wife and I use tracphones. How much is the monthly cost
>>> after the free year? Thanks.
>>>
>>> --
>>> Paul O.
>>>
>
> To my knowledge, you need a new phone setup, but that may have changed.
> The cost depends on the plan. Minimum is $200 a year for the basic plan.
> go to www.onstar.com for more information.
>I was checking it out later at OnStar. The phone part might be worth
>keeping at 100 minutes for a year at $13.99 for emergencies. The other
>would depend on if I get a discount on my insurance.
--
Paul O.

 >> Stay informed about: Wrecked car, new car 

OnStar does not use your cell phone, it is a satalite system


"Paul O." wrote in message

> After having my new car rear ended a couple weeks ago and totaled, it was
> a Kia Spec5, We are going "up the hill" to the high desert tomorrow where
> the future son-in-law is a finance guy at the chevy dealer there. Going to
> be getting an HHR, hope I like it. Can't beat the deal. Just gotta decide
> which color, kinda hoping for a red one myself. Does the on star work with
> any cell phone? The wife and I use tracphones. How much is the monthly
> cost after the free year? Thanks.
>
> --
> Paul O.
>
>
 >> Stay informed about: Wrecked car, new car 

"pj" wrote in message

> Paul O. wrote:
>> After having my new car rear ended a couple weeks ago and totaled, it was
>> a Kia Spec5, We are going "up the hill" to the high desert tomorrow where
>> the future son-in-law is a finance guy at the chevy dealer there. Going
>> to be getting an HHR, hope I like it. Can't beat the deal. Just gotta
>> decide which color, kinda hoping for a red one myself. Does the on star
>> work with any cell phone? The wife and I use tracphones. How much is the
>> monthly cost after the free year? Thanks.
>>
>
> If 'hi-desert' means So-Cal, good news is that OnStar meets Calif
> requirements for hands-off voice phone. Buy enuf minutes to cover your
> hands-off needs and give it a try. Then make up your own mind. Theft
> tracking, airbag deployment monitorning and remote unlock...all
> worthwhile.
>
> I stupidly locked myself out of my wife's car and my house a couple of
> months ago. I don't carry AAAplus and OnStar saved its annual cost in
> about 15 minutes.
>
> Keep your Tracfone. This isn't a substitute for a good cellphone service.
> OnStar minutes are reasonable but it won't work if the car battery dies.
> Also, some emergency service calls (like 911 etc.) are intercepted by
> OnStar.
>
> We were caught in the midst of the Devore Fire and Onstar was able to
> relay nearby accident and fire hot-spot info to the CDF and CHP.
>
> --
> pj

OnStar gives you 30 minutes free to start with and while setting it up we
were offered another 100 minutes to add to it for a year for $13.99. Minutes
roll over. We took it. We are not heavy cell phone users, that's why we use
TracPhone, but every once in a while the need arises.
--
Paul O.

 >> Stay informed about: Wrecked car, new car 

"Mike hunt" wrote in message

> OnStar does not use your cell phone, it is a satalite system
>
>

It is partly a satellite system (for GPS location). The cell phone portion
works through regular cell towers. That is why many of the older OnStar
subscribers were left with no service when the cell companies dropped analog
service that the original OnStar was built on.
 >> Stay informed about: Wrecked car, new car 

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
> "Mike hunt" wrote in message
>
>> OnStar does not use your cell phone, it is a satalite system
>>
>>
>
> It is partly a satellite system (for GPS location). The cell phone portion
> works through regular cell towers. That is why many of the older OnStar
> subscribers were left with no service when the cell companies dropped analog
> service that the original OnStar was built on.
>
>

If you have an older analog system and received
a letter from OnStar that it wouldn't be
upgradeable, check again.

Go to the OnStar website digital upgrade page
and plug in your VIN number. Kits are coming
out for many older systems this month.

Initial visit to the dealer went quickly.
Service advisor wrote up the service order and
cashier took my money. Kit is on the way!


<http://www.onstar.com/us_english/jsp/explore/onstar_basics/helpful_info.jsp?info-view=tech_equip
>

<
http://www.onstar.com/us_english/jsp/adt_upgrade_offer.jsp
>

--
pj
 >> Stay informed about: Wrecked car, new car 

"pj" wrote in message
>>
>
> If you have an older analog system and received a letter from OnStar that
> it wouldn't be upgradeable, check again.
>
> Go to the OnStar website digital upgrade page and plug in your VIN number.
> Kits are coming out for many older systems this month.
>

I guess that's a good thing. I never used mine in the year it was free,
never re-newed and never had the desire to use it. IMO, the premium service
is way overpriced and the "turn by turn directions" is a poor choice for
navigation compared to a dash mounted system for less money.
 >> Stay informed about: Wrecked car, new car