I bought a truck five months ago that had OnStar services free for six months.

This is about to expire and now I need to decide if I cancel the OnStar service or if I keep it. They offer two options one for $28.90 and one for $18.95/mo.

I don't know what to do. I have a GPS gadget, so I don't need OnStar for turn by turn directions.

Other than that, I'm not sure if I want to spend that money or just just cancel the service and save it.

Those who have had OnStar for some time, I would really appreciate your thoughts / complaints or whatever. Thanks.

Have GPS, wouldn't want the OnStar, too much big brother for me. Save the money for quilting!

Don't waste your money. In 6 months how much have you used it? Zippo right!

I have it for safety reasons. If anything happened while I was traveling alone or while my husband was out of town, it is nice to know someone is there to help...immediately. It is the same concept as insurance. That is my 2 cents worth. :)

I'd say if you haven't used it don't bother, and I don't like the idea of someone being able to tamper with the locks, ignition or anything else on my vehicle remotely.

We have the 2011 Ford Edge and the GPS is built into it, and it works a lot better than the other GPS that we plugged into the car.

Think of it this way that could be a block of the month payment lol

I love Onstar. Hope I never have to be without it. Even though I have a GPS, I often use Onstar instead because I don't have to key anything in, just call and give the address I want. We've used it extensively when traveling to find places to eat. I called one night while driving through MS in the middle of nowhere to see if there were any places ahead to stop and eat. There were.. that were about 5 miles off the highway, and I never would have stopped there otherwise. Had a great meal. I've used it to get phone numbers for restaurants to call and make a reservation or check their hours. I like the security of knowing if I need someone, they are there. I also read a post on an auto forum from a man who was traveling with his family late at night and hit a deer. The vehicle could not be driven due to the damage and it was snowing and they were in a desolate area. There was no cell service. But they had Onstar and got help that way.

I know when our free time ran out, dh called and negotiated a good deal to keep it. You might try calling just to see what rate they give you.

In the end, you will hear strong opinions both ways and you just have to make up your own mind. After all, one man's trash is another man's treasure. It might not be worth it to you for any number of reasons, but it's worth it to me.

I had OnStar when I purchased my new vehicle. Only used it once in the free year they gave me. I purposely used it that once to say that I had used it. Did not pay for it after the initial free period. I think it just depends on what you do with it.

I had it and loved it. I had a cellular number in the car and used on-star for that phone, so I had easy hands free (maybe not that important now, with so many hands free gadgets, but it worked for me). Also I used to travel often through mountains and on-star was the only way to communicate. I used it often, specially when I blew a tire. I got immediate help. It is something that you don't think you will need, until you do, but the good thing is that the car is equipped, and if you do need it in an emergency, just press the button and it can be activated quickly.

I have kept Onstar on my vehicle for 5 years. It found a safety issue (not a recall or a GM issue) with my vehicle, notified my dealer and emailed me that there was a problem. I have had to push the blue button 2 times. 1 time for a medical emergency, the other time I was stuck in a horrific traffic jam on the interstate, there was no cell service because the semi trucks were blocking the signal and my car was sucking fumes. They patched through a phone call for me so I could make arrangements to have gas brought to me from the other side of the interstate.
My husband refuses to discuss canceling it because I have had to use it.
Yeah - it can seem like Big Brother. I don't feel it is any better or worse in that respect, to a cell phone that tracks your movements even if the phone has no GPS on it.

I have on star..I was not going to keep it either. Until....driving down the road my car died. At the bottom one hill, base of another. No cell phone reception. On star came thru for me. I could not get my car completely off the road so she made sure I was safe, called for a wrecker,called police to sit behind me to keep me from getting rear ended, called the garage so they would know I was being towed in, offered to call my boss to let them know I would not be there. Even offered to call my husband for me. She gave me 100 free min. To use on the car phone that I had shut off because I have a cell. Just in case I needed to call someone while I waited. So I keep on star. Sorry this is so long.

Don't you know that OnStar still tracks you even though you cancel the service? then they sell the info they get off of that tracking to companies wanting to sell you stuff. And other entities too....

Access to OnStar is the only reason I would buy a GM vehicle. I live alone, get off work at 11pm, drive 11 miles on open, country roads with farm fields on both sides. During the winter, snow blows across the road & drifts. If I ever got stuck or god forbid skidded off the road, it would be comforting to know someone would be able to find me. Yes, I carry a cell phone, but if I were injured or knocked out, I wouldn't be able to use it.

I got the free year and bought two more at the same time, because they gave me a great deal. When it ran out, I decided not to renew it, because I am retired, and I don't drive much at all anymore. However, here is my story. About 2 months after I got my new Saturn, it was stolen at one day. I was devastated. I called the company, and they knew where it was but told me they were not allowed to tell me, for legal reasons, because it I went to get it, and something happened to me, they would be sued. They told me to call the police, and have them contact OnStar from my home, and they told the police where my car was, and I got it back the same night undamaged. The money I paid for OnStar was nothing, compared to what I would have lost without their help. That is the honest truth. I was blessed to have their help and get my new car back.

when you see a van driving the wrong way on a divided highway you'll be glad you have on star. it happened to me, was able to notify highway patrol immediately. have it for emergencies.

I would think twice....

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-0...g-senator.html

I won't own a car or truck with Onstar equipped in it.

if you call to cancel they offer you a cheaper deal at least they did us but we couldn't afford it anymore so we had to cancel it anyway I read just a while ago they still keep track of your car even if you don't have if on and if you have an emergency you an still use it

As senior citizens, I love this feature. Someone is always there to help. I use the travel directions too. I like speaking to a human and having them send it to my car.

I will always have On-star on my car because we migrate to FL every winter.

I have OnStar too. I pay for it annually, so I'm good til August 2012. It gives me peace of mind.

I have a cell phone and a AAA membership, that's my substitute for OnStar.

Thank you ladies for sharing their thoughts, experiences with OnStar.

I live in so Cal. I only drive from home to my job which is a 10 minute drive. On weekends, hubby and I visit friends and do things within the same county we live in. When we travel, we do it by plane since all our family members live very far from us.

We have cell phones with walkie talkie services and a GPS gadget.

3incollege is right. She asked how many times have I used it on the last five months and the answer is zero.

So I guess I really don't need OnStar.

I have a question though. This might sound like a stupid question, but here it is: the information that OnStar tracks are the places you go? If so, for what purpose?

Onstar sent out an email shortly after they made the announcement about the tracking. They have revised their position on it and will completely disable the Onstar feature from your car when you cancel. The only way it can be returned to service is if you push the button. Even if your car falls off the face of the earth - unless you push the button you'll be on your own.

They don't track your movements. However, they do track how you drive and vehicle speed. The only thing they do with the information is for GM research, unless law enforcement requests the information then it can be turned over to them with proper procedures being followed like responding to a court order.

I don't have onstar but, it sure sounds like a great idea to me. Much more reliable than any cell phone I have ever heard of. Lots of places there are no cell service or reception. Better save than sorry. I'm not paranoid.

Like having insurance and security service for a business
You sure hope you never need it, if you do its there.

You can go with the less expensive option if you don't need the directions. I think the peace of mind is totally worth it. I'm on the road a lot and there's not always cell service.