2023 LC Thread - It was predetermined that I would change the thread title (Part 1)

[Churchill]

@suzzer99

Might have been the same marines that were hitting on underage girls and got the shit beat out of them for it on Japan

.

[Churchill]

@ripdog

Fall a few thousand behind on your mortgage here and you risk losing your house.

yip, and this time round there ain’t nowhere in the world buying USA#1 subprime so at least peeps in other countries won’t lose their house… this time

[Melkerson]

@King_of_NY

how much of any product (that is a significant expenditure no less) should be on the monthly? anything that’s tied into a computer the manufacturer can control remotely? so for a car, the power windows? or just buy the hand crank for a one time fee. The power seats? The heat and ac? You only use them for a few months out of the year anyway. They’re all installed in something you bought but inaccessible without the monthly is reasonable to you?

I don’t think your positions are mutually exclusive.

Yes, it is insane that a manufacturer would set up a car like that.

Also, if you find that ridiculous, then don’t purchase the vehicle.

[lol_lmao]

the issue becomes: once it becomes normalized, does it creep into all vehicles?

[Thickcut]

It will be a couple decades before everyone will be driving cars that the manufacturer can control.

[6ix]

@simplicitus

The Indian customer service wasn’t interested.

Dots or feathers?

[lol_lmao]

They still do not even fly. That is the worst part

[Thickcut]

That will be 100K a year

[Dutch101]

It is already normal in lots of consumer goods where the underlying hardware is the same and features are just not connected, disabled or blocked through software. Pretty sure this has been true for certain car engines as well for quite some time. The new part is making it subscription based. Wonder how long it takes to just hack that extra performance for free.

[SenorKeeed]

Why should it be legal for the car manufacturer to sell the consumer a car with subscription based windshield wipers?

[DrChesspain]

Asking about the possible subscription service for a basic safety feature is just trolling.

[Melkerson]

@SenorKeeed

Why should it be legal for the car manufacturer to sell the consumer a car with subscription based windshield wipers?

Safety features are a bit different.

Subscription power seats : LOL
Subscription seat belts: LOL and illegal

[SenorKeeed]

Why should any of it be legal? Like legislatures could just pass a law saying when you buy a car you buy the car. No bullshit subscription loot boxes. What’s the argument against this other than hey but the car companies want to make more money?

[econophile]

This type of pricing is a form of price discrimination that is sometimes called versioning. Welfare effects are ambiguous because it can result in lower prices for customers who don’t get the add-ons

[AngryQueer]

@SenorKeeed

Why should it be legal for the car manufacturer to sell the consumer a car with subscription based windshield wipers?

This is a free market, pal. If you don’t want it, don’t buy it

[SenorKeeed]

This assumes perfect understanding of the versions by the consumer before the purchase, which I’m sure car salesmen and dealerships will generally provide. The worse the information about the versions the consumers have at the time of the purchase the more potential there is for consumers to be harmed. Especially with a massive purchase like a car. They’re not buying a fucken blender.

[AngryQueer]

Everyone ITT is basically saying “fuck everything Ralph Nader did in the 20th century” because it’s the opposite of Keeed’s view on the situation. But Keeed is the troll

[SenorKeeed]

I don’t think Melkerson or econophile are coming from that place.

[AngryQueer]

I didn’t read their posts

[Melkerson]

@SenorKeeed

This assumes perfect understanding of the versions by the consumer before the purchase, which I’m sure car salesmen and dealerships will generally provide. The worse the information about the versions the consumers have at the time of the purchase the more potential there is for consumers to be harmed. Especially with a massive purchase like a car. They’re not buying a fucken blender.

Do you really need perfect understanding to get that power windows will run you $9.99/month, but the cranks are free?

Moreover, the problem of perfect understanding exists right now even in the market for cars without this bullshit incorporated into them. It seems like a better solution would be to make dealers adhere to stronger disclosure requirements or something like that.