I'm afraid that you're probably hooked. After my 3-month free trial ran out, I thought I could live without it as I only drive 3.1 miles to work (garage to parking space). Well, after a few days of only hearing commercials and stupid chatter all the way in (the whole 5 minutes!), I called and renewed. I'm fortunate enough that I very rarely hit a dead spot. I love being able to choose my music and not having all of that disc jokey yapping going on!! It's also great on a trip - you never have to search for radio stations. As far as price, there are different plans. I paid under $10 a month last time - well worth it to me.