russbert

OK, so my free trial of Audi Connect has expired and now I am truly wondering .... why should I pay $399 for 18 months given the following per the Audi Connect agreement:

1) "We may suspend, modify or terminate the Service at any time and you will not be entitled to a refund" (that sure seems ONE SIDED!)
2) "You may cancel the Service at any time and you will not be entitled to a refund"
3) "You are responsible for maintaining your Vehicle in good working order so that the Service can be provided" (I did NOT see anything about the life of the 18 months being automatically extended due to an accident or other long-term repairs,
4) "The Service is provided “as is” without warranties of any kind and can be limited or discontinued entirely because of technological changes" which obviously implies NO REFUND!

Also, most of the stuff you can get from your iPhone, (yes hands free is a definite plus plus may be the only legal option but I usually travel with my wife). Plus my wife's VW GTI gets a LOT MORE features than we get via the RS3.

OK, after my short rant, what am I missing (if anything)?

Timmay

Wow those are terrible conditions to say the least. I'd skip it altogether and not worry about Audi Connect. It certainly isn't worth that kind of money either.

MH62

You're missing the fine print:

Online services are subject to change. Google Earth™ services may not be available after December 2020.

superswiss

It's all a personal choice. Audi gives you options. As opposed to some of the competitors you have the smartphone interface standard so if you don't wanna pay for any services, then you can use CarPlay or Android Auto. BMW wants to charge for CarPlay now and doesn't support Android Auto at all. I prefer not having to plug in my phone and always have navigation ready to go and keep the map display up to see traffic around my area even if I'm not navigating. The convenience of just pressing the voice control button and perform a Google search and start navigation has value for me, over having to remember to plug in the phone or fumble with it if I forgot to do that before I started driving. The system is connected, so I can still use my phone to look up a destination and then send it to the car, or do the same from my desktop and Google Maps. The other aspect of the built-in nav is that it still works if I drive in areas with no cell coverage. I won't get traffic in the newer models, but at least I still get turn-by-turn directions and the map still works as opposed to Google Maps that starts showing me a grey screen unless I remembered to download an offline copy of the areas I'm gonna be driving in ahead of time. My current car still gets traffic via SiriusXM, so I continue to get traffic data and the nav reroutes me outside of cell coverage.Something I find is a step back in the newer cars now that you need cell coverage in order to receive traffic data. Many of my road trips take me into the mountains with limited or no cell coverage and often the rerouting decision has to be made while I'm in no coverage area in order to come out in the right spot to avoid traffic congestion once I reach civilization again.

Nachos Libres

I will probably purchase it once my 2 1/2 year free map updates run out. Though none of the services are that good, especially on the A3/S3/RS3 line, I like having navigation updates for my car that I paid an extra $3k on for the virtual cockpit/navigation. Google maps is just icing on the cake.

keyeslol

i dont care about google maps, the online searching, gas prices, open parking garages, navigation updates is worth it to me. The reason i say i dont care about google maps is, i never use it. I find it difficult to clearly see the navigation as there is not enough contrast between the roads and the background. Yes, i do wish we got the valet alert, remote lock/unlock etc, but it's also $399 as opposed to $499. I find value in it.

Civuck

XMetal00

Sorry for the thread jack, but where did you see that free map updates are provided free for 2.5 years? Are there alternatives to getting map updates after 2.5 years without having to subscribe to Audi Connect service? Thanks.

zzcett

I think the point here is not so much is the service valuable, but what rotten terms Audi provides with it! It's hard to justify any purchase of a service of value with terms like these. Audi should really do better. Wonder whom we could complain to that could possibly have any effect.....

Nachos Libres

Go to https://www.audiusa.com/myaudi. Once you log in you can go to Audi Connect Services for your car over on the right of the screen halfway down the page. When you click on that it will show you what Audi Connect Services you currently have enabled for your car. Since I'm not a current subscriber to an Audi Connect plan the only thing available is Map Update. When I click on that it allows me to download the latest update (2018) to an SD and install it to my S3. It also states that the Map Update includes the first 5 updates to the version of the map installed at the factory. Since my car came with the 2017 maps, I assume that means I get the 2017/2018 maps, the 2018 maps, the 2018/2019 maps, 2019 maps, and the 2019/2020 maps for free. Since the 2018/2019 maps should come out in July, that means I get free map updates until July 2019. If I want any map updates beyond that I will have to pay - whether that means paying for an Audi Connect service or going to the dealership to have them installed (which would likely be much less cost effective).