Does anyone have the XM or Sirius units installed?

[bilbozilla]

Does anyone have XM or Sirius Sat. Radio installed in their RS-6? Is it integrated into the head unit? I had Sirius in a rental car and fell in love with it. There's nothing like listening to Bloomberg Radio when the nearest stations are broadcasting AM. Photos would be appreciated.

[Bauer]

you might want to order it RIGHT NOW, I placed the order almost two months ago and it(XM) is STILL on back order with no ETA.

[GoFastKindaGuy]

XM was installed before I picked up my car. I LOVE it! Beautifully integrated into the Audi receiver.

A few commercials on some of the stations, but way better than FM radio -- and with 100+ channels, flick a button and there is something playing without an ad. Plus, I believe XM is more financially viable with the much larger subscriber base.

:incar:

[bilbozilla]

So there is no external indication that you have the XM unit installed? I was just waiting to catch the unit in my rental car with my laptop bag...

[Bauer]

The car is pre wired for it but you have to order the "box" from audi who gets it from XM. Then the dealer installs it, radio has buttons on it for XM.

[gregoryindiana]

I decided that XM had more commercials than I wanted to pay to subscribe to.

Had the Phatnoise system installed in the RS 6 when I picked it up. Haven't looked back.

Might want to look at Sirius (or more properly listen to Sirius) at some point, as I do like to keep up on some news available on radio, and sports, but for music, no substitute for listening to a huge collection you put together yourself.

[AvusRS6]

I have Sirius installed and love it! Decided against XM due to commercials.

[JAXRS6]

I've had XM in my S4 almost two years. It's great for any extended driving, and I also prefer it in Florida, where local radio options tend to be very limited. While in the Detroit area (summers), I don't use it as much because local radio here is first rate.

No matter where I am, tho, there are times I really enjoy one of the comedy channels ... or CNBC, CNN, classical, BBC Live (usually rock) & some of the offbeat music channels that are hard to duplicate anywhere else.

Reception can be an issue. I wouldn't want XM much north of here (Detroit area) because its satellites don't reach too far north. Sirius may be better in that respect tho I'm not certain.

When I saw the post indicating an RS6 owner in Wisconsin already had XM, I called AoA because my dealer here can't seem to get it. AoA said XM ran out of parts, apparently needing more hardware than they had due to a serious number of commitments to numerous brands of new cars. Could be 60-90 days before they catch up to the RS6, said AoA. Which irked me a little until I realized I have a little XMSR stock....

AoA recommended against aftermarket XM and I would tend to agree. That was the only way to get it on my S4, but installation that usually requires two hours took TWO DAYS because 1) Audi interior pieces fit very tight, making it difficult to lead a wire compared to domestics;and 2) special tools and parts were needed, which led to the Circuit City guy and I going to another CC, then Audi dealer, etc. XM was new then so it might go faster now, but there's still some Audi warranty risk with aftermarket products & installation. But if you do go aftermarket, I suggest an extended warranty from the retailer/installer because I used mine recently after the system failed. They got it back up in an afternoon, no charge.

[RS6FEVR]

:cheers: bilbozilla

I had the XM installed last week in preparation for my sojourn to Tucson starting this Saturday. So far, it's one of the coolest additions I've been fortunate to make to my cars. :D We've had such nice weather here in the Chicago area that I've been trading off driving my Vette and the Beast. Every time I get in the Vette, I really miss my XM! :vsad2: As was previously mentioned, it integrates very nicely with the RS6 audio system. It took the dealer 6 weeks to get the chip in? My dealer had one problem after installation with a conflict to the On-Star, but that was resolved by a reset of the On-Star system battery? I have no idea what that was about. It's my understanding you could also go to a local car stereo shop and they could integrate the chip too, but I was uncertain about competance with such a new vehicle. The pure numbers of selections is a bit overwhelming to say the least. But, and here's the best part, the minimal and sometimes no advertising, is worth the 7.89/mnth charge I'm paying. It's a definite thumbs up in my book.

:addict: FEVR :addict:

[nene]

I just ordered the module about 5 days ago. They had a couple of modules in stock waiting for their respective owners, and told me that it takes about 1 week to get one in.

Let's see how that works.

[JAXRS6]

A few days ago I was told by an AoA "owner advocate" that no XM radios have gone into the U.S. RS6, and the reason my dealer could not get XM was huge demand for it from numerous carmakers, and that the wait will be 60-90 days. I can believe that, except right here on this post there are owners from Wisconsin and Illinois (I'm in Michigan) who have it installed -- at least one by a dealer with uninstalled units on hand! What gives?!?

AND ANOTHER THING: The first "owner advocate" I talked to said Audi is bringing 1200 RS6s to the U.S.; the second, a guy assigned to me, said 1000. I told him about the other (1200) figure; he said he'd look into it and get back to me. That was two days ago, after I called for clarification of conflicting numbers posted here, and I'm beginning to think AoA doesn't want to release figures. Maybe because they don't want to piss off current owners who, like me, agreed to the high price in part because the RS6 was going to be so rare?

Geez, I'm beginning to sound like Floyd Turbo. Remember him? So I'll add this: If you've read my other posts, you know I love my beast. I'm not putting it down at all. I don't like paying for broken promises, however, and I can complain about AoA without being negative on the vehicle.

[andyp]

I had XM fitted yesterday and think it is definately worth the money ... seems to have 171 channels and no problem with reception. One point that nobody has mentioned yet is that you get the first three months service free and the initial set up charge is waived (Audi promo).

[sturs6]

andyp,

One point that nobody has mentioned yet is that you get the first three months service free and the initial set up charge is waived (Audi promo).

Does anyone know if this "promo" goes for Sirius as well?

[sturs6]

andyp,

One point that nobody has mentioned yet is that you get the first three months service free and the initial set up charge is waived (Audi promo).

Does anyone know if this "promo" goes for Sirrius as well?

[JAXRS6]

Originally posted by JAXRS6
I'm beginning to think AoA doesn't want to release figures.

Looks like this is about right. My owner advocate called to say "a little over a thousand" is the total number of RS6s heading to the States. The other number I was given, 1200, was probably about right. But he said AoA will not release a specific figure.

This leaves me a little bitter, but not enough to consult my attorney. The bitterness stems from the fact that in MI and FL, dealers pushed the car's exclusivity as a reason to justify its $82K-plus base MSRP. "There's only gonna be 960 of them, Jack-- 960 FOREVER!"

Now that it's not so exclusive, I feel I may have paid too much. I'm also concerned that my resale value might be impacted negatively by having more cars on the market. Even after all the new ones are sold, won't there be more of them on the used market as time goes on; that is, more than expected when only 960 cars were headed here? The 1200 figure represents a 25% increase over 960. Will the used RS6 market absorb another 25% in supply with no increase in depreciation?

However, it's still a great car, and my guess is that if someone did take it to court, the best that could be expected would be a split in the difference of price between an RS6 and an E55 AMG. The RS6 base price is about $6700 higher; halve that to $3350 for each RS6 owner/plaintiff as my guess of a judge's settlement in a theoretical lawsuit.

But the lawyers would get at least a third, reducing the award to $2268. Subtract other costs and it's down to less than $2K, I'd bet.

Meantime, the fact that such a suit was even filed could lead to a further decline in prices, thus making it self-defeating.

Which is why I'm not calling my attorney.

[2manycars]

Also an XM fan. The dealer gets specific units for the cars ordered with XM. Apparently however, he or she can use the unit in any vehicle they choose. This is my 6th car with XM, and I really hate driving without it.

Radio without the Xm reminds of Television before they came up with cable and satellite. Far fewer channels, more commercials, less choices.