Curious to know what you guys would do...

[Joester]

We found and bought a 2016 Encore, certified, with only 7000 miles on it. Sounds great and woohoo!
Dealer told us about doing the welcome call with OnStar. We tried - several times to no avail. Called the OnStar technical support people, No go. The OnStar would not connect via satellite. Took it to the dealer and they tried. Same thing. Scheduled the required service and we're informed that the OnStar module is defective and they had to order one.

My issue: This vehicle was supposedly certified. If the OnStar module was bad, they should have found it.
What bothers me is, WHAT ELSE DID THEY MISS?

 

[century61]

For a Dealership to advertise "Certified" used cars means nothing. Your buying a used car that at best they might have changed the oil or glued some outside trim back on because you might notice it falling off.

 

[DocBrown]

Don't sweat it. It's covered under warranty. It will get fixed. Just because it's certified doesn't mean that everything is perfect. And it used despite the low miles. FWIW, I find OnStar a waste of money. After the initial trial ran out we cancelled it.

 

[Joester]

Onstar round 2. Got the defective module replaced (and was asked to pay the $300 bill), installed the MyBuick app.
My fully activated vehicle shows up as "connected services capable". No vehicle information available other than the very basic stuff. No remote access, nothing like that.
Onstar is not going to hit a home run in this house. In fact, I'm ready to call and terminate it now...in a vehicle we've had a couple weeks and Onstar that has "worked" only 3 days.

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[DocBrown]

Onstar round 2. Got the defective module replaced (and was asked to pay the $300 bill)

Gee I hope you didn't pay that. GM Certified vehicles have a 12 month/12k mile bumper to bumper warranty. I had two minor issues fixed during that first 12k at no cost. They should have given you paperwork to show that it was certified. I'd call Buick customer service.

Vehicle Maintenance & Warranties | GM Certified Pre-Owned

 

[OldWhiteChevy]

I second what DocBrown said: I don't think OnStar is worth it. I had it on my '12 Cruze for a while, but decided to just dump it and use AAA.

BTW, if you decide to continue with OnStar, don't just put it on auto-renew at the regular monthly rate. Instead, do a search for "OnStar promo codes" or something like that and you'll find a lot deals that save some serious $$ over the "official" price. And if you call their customer service, you can usually haggle the price down considerably.

 

[Joester]

We activated it with a VISA gift card with $0.12 on it.
Go ahead and autocharge us......

 

[DocBrown]

That's awesome!

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[JuanMFc15]

There is a checklist they have to certify a vehicle, onstar is not in that list since it's an optional feature you decide to pay and has nothing to do with the car performance as long as the rear view mirror ( just guessing where your onstar buttons are located) light up its enough, they don't actually call

 

[DocBrown]

There is a checklist they have to certify a vehicle, onstar is not in that list since it's an optional feature you decide to pay and has nothing to do with the car performance as long as the rear view mirror ( just guessing where your onstar buttons are located) light up its enough, they don't actually call

Actually they do, or are supposed to. It's a preactivation. Most likely to make sure it works because it's another source of revenue. Look at the 3rd column under "Functional".

https://www.gmcertified.com/PDFs/CertifiedAdvantage/172-Point_Inspection_Checklist_02_2016.pdf

 

[JuanMFc15]

Actually they do, or are supposed to. It's a preactivation. Most likely to make sure it works because it's another source of revenue. Look at the 3rd column under "Functional".

https://www.gmcertified.com/PDFs/CertifiedAdvantage/172-Point_Inspection_Checklist_02_2016.pdf

That's good to know, now I know the guy at the dealership lie to me

 

[Davidayackle]

The only usable really nice feature of on star with the app is the remote start. I like being able to start my car from my desk 5 to 10 min before I leave work or if I am ever away from my car but heading back to it. Like at a event or something. I can see the unlock feature being handy in case you lock your key it. I have never had to personally use it. Don't know if it's worth the money to have a cold or warm car tho...

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