Ford offers free satnav updates from July

[Tezza]

How good will this be..... Good on Ford I reckon. Makes having inbuilt satnav worthwhile I reckon and encourages people to get their car serviced at Ford dealers at least once a year.....

http://www.carpoint.com.au/news/2016...Q0Y1Jk5uZT0xNQ..

[Tezza]

In case you can't open the link......

Dealers to upload SYNC2-compatible mapping data free of charge, during scheduled service
Ford has announced a new initiative that could save customers hundreds of dollars. From July 1, owners bringing their SYNC2-equipped vehicle into a Ford dealership for servicing can have the mapping data for the satnav system updated once a year for no extra charge.

According to Ford, the stats clearly show how important these map updates are. In any given year, around the country as many as 23,000 street names may change, 9000 new turn restrictions will be imposed, 2000 roundabouts will be built or modified, and the road network will grow by 120,000km.

Offering free map data updates for SYNC2 up to seven years will ensure the on-board navigation system is up to date as far as possible. And supplied gratis will save Ford owners something like $300 a year...

"The free map updates makes it easier for our customers to get around, and adds to other
unique conveniences such as our free loan car program and the value of our unique Auto Club program," said Ford Australia president, Graeme Whickman.

"We are investing more in Australia than any other automaker, including billions in R&D, a record number of new vehicles and a new way of doing business at our dealerships."

[Trump]

And capped price service costs will rise accordingly... there's no such thing as a free lunch. Ford pay top dollar for the mapping, they won't wear the cost, not in the current environment.

[Tezza]

Originally Posted by Loud_Noises

And capped price service costs will rise accordingly... there's no such thing as a free lunch. Ford pay top dollar for the mapping, they won't wear the cost, not in the current environment.

I disagree. Ford still need to remain competitive to get people to service their car there. Satnav upgrades doesn't mean you have to take you car their every service. You may choose to take it to a Ford dealer every 4th service for example.

[GS608]

Sync maps would get updated with each model year in new cars sold anyway, not costing them any extra to provide the new maps to dealers to upload to older cars

[Trump]

Originally Posted by Tezza

I disagree. Ford still need to remain competitive to get people to service their car there. Satnav upgrades doesn't mean you have to take you car their every service. You may choose to take it to a Ford dealer every 4th service for example.

Every automotive manufacturer pays a large amount in licencing to the various map producers. From what I remember, the licencing is on a yearly renewal. As such, they will pass those costs onto the customer. Amortized across the relevant platform, it isn't much per car, but enough to warrant charging something for it (not the highway robbery costs charged to the end user).

Ford capped price servicing isn't competitive now, so an extra $20 to cover map updates won't change the picture much.

[sierra63]

That is a bit of good news, keeping the onboard system up to date...

[DJR David]

If only my fgx had satnav........

[hackney]

What about us who own FGMK11s? with Sat nav! :(:(

[Elks]

Originally Posted by hackney

What about us who own FGMK11s? with Sat nav! :(:(

This. We are the ones that need updating

[stig_3754]

Originally Posted by hackney

What about us who own FGMK11s? with Sat nav! :(:(

Or those of us who own cars with Sync1 system?

[Yellow_Festiva]

Hopefully other brands will follow.

I think only Hyundai already include map updates in their first 3 years of ownership.

I wonder what the actual unit cost is for a map update? If they priced them better more would buy it.

It's a smart move to include it in the servicing, I would certainly take up the offer if I had a Ford.

[mac_man_luke]

As they damn well should

$30 tomtom app on my phone keeps up dated with the latest maps you would hope a $30k+ car would too.

[DJM83]

Originally Posted by stig_3754

Or those of us who own cars with Sync1 system?

Agreed