Sirius Satellite Radio

My car streo has no line-in. THe Sportester has a built in FM transmitter, but the sound quality was too low in my car. THe customer service people were very friendly, but could'nt fix the problem.
I may consider getting a dedicated car stereo in the future, but right now its too expensive.
Bottom line, if you dont have a line in in your car, dont get the plug-and-play sets.

I no longer receive Sirius Satellite Radio, but not for lack of trying.

I signed up when Howard Stern began broadcasting in January. For 8 months, Sirius automatically deducted the cost from one of my bank accounts.

Something went wrong in September and the payment was not deducted. I still don't know why but it wasn't due to lack of funds. Anyway, I began receiving automated emails demanding payment, so I called their customer service number and got through to a woman who, yes, sounded like she was in India.

I gave her all my information including my bankcard information and she assured me that Sirius was having 'system problems' and that my account was now fine.

But it wasn't! I continued to receive automated emails stating that I must pay 'or else.' I sent no fewer than five (5) emails to them.

No response from a real person. Ever.

So, in October the service stopped. I'm going to get an XM radio subscription now because I like commercial-free music.

I *was* a Howard Stern fan for 15 years...

Can't live with it, can't live without it.

Love
- commercial free
- s-seek lets me know when my favorite songs are about to come on
- good selection of songs (although "urban" listeners are limited to rap or slow jams, no real in between)
- unique programming, only on satellite can G-Unit interview Dan Aykroyd

Hate
- billing policy, they charge your card without warning
- customer service, it takes 45 minutes to find out that you were billed in error and a week to have the charges refunded
- poor reception at home

Been a loyal Sirius customer for years.  I put in a Sirius tuner in my BMW Z4.  Advertised with free year of service.  I go install then to activate and it says I have to pay for subscription.  So I pay for Sirius Everything thinking my free year issue will be resolved by vendor and Sirius and I'll get my money refunded.  NOPE! I have been elevated to corporate numerous times know with no avail  This all began OCT 2008 and still no resolution.  Great programming, horrible customer service.  BTW I cancelled a subscription from my truck (sold it) and the refund can inside of one week!  What's worse is they know the refund is due and they can't seem to release it!!!! 

My experience has been horrible! I am still waiting to be able to subscribe to Sirius. I bought the radio from one of their approved vendors only to find that they couldn't process my SID number. I was told that they would get back to me in 5 -10 business days!! Long enough, yet they still haven't got back to me (13 business days!). They suggested I take my radio back to the vendor (it's already installed in the car). I guess they really don't care if you subscribe when it's too much trouble for them!

We ordered a Sportster for my husband and when it was delivered, the FM transmitter was non-functional, so it couldn't even be used in the car. It has take FOURTEEN phone calls to Sirius (because you get lost in their ridiculous phone system, and I had to wait over an hour on hold for the warranty department to pick up my call) and I finally got an address to send the unit back to. They've told me to expect for it to take at least 6 weeks for them to send us a new one. Ridiculous! About half of my phone calls landed in phone never-never land and when I finally got to talk to a real person, they had no idea where to direct me. I'm really disappointed because I've loved having Sirius in my own car.

Anyone who goes with XM is simply missing out on the best programming for the dollar available. I wonder how long the Sirius folks can keep the boat afloat given the amount they have spent on programming.

If you don't like sports or good music packaging, then you don't want Sirius. I can't imagine that you would want XM either because XM only has one thing that Sirius does not, a portable unit, just a matter of time before Sirius has one.

Out

I've had Sirius for over a year now. In terms of service delivery, Sirius is fine. You'll lose the signal in tunnels and garages, but its satellite-so that's normal. Customer service has been satisfactory, but I haven't had any real problems, so I haven't tested it. As to programming, I'm getting ready to jump to XM. I'm a mid 40 year old who loved the old album-oriented FM stations in the 70's. Their deep cuts station, the Vault, used to be great, but is becoming just another classic rock station. You'll hear Sunset Grill by Don Henley, Dreamboat Annie from Heart, London Calling from the Clash-these were all on the charts. Their biggest disappointment is in the alternative country area. XM has a great alt country channel. Sirius has a channel called Outlaw Country, but you'll hear Dolly Parton and Buck Owens on it but not Wilco or Uncle Tupelo-it sucks quite frankly. And on all the music stations I listen too, if you listen for awhile, it becomes clear they use play lists. That is simply unacceptable for a satellite radio.

I was a Sirius customer, having purchased two units (including accessories for home use) and can report that it was a waste of my money and time. Sirius has very poor content and bad customer service.

Their content is ridiculously poor. Less than a week ago, on "SiriusLeft" a discussion topic was "hot teachers and friends' moms" who the callers had sexual relations with prior to the age of 18. Needless to say, the DJs were goading the callers on for "details" and saying how "hot" and "cool" this was (um, it's called statuatory rape).

Sirius has no customer service function. Their signal is weak. BestBuy is terrible at installing the Sirius radio tuner and antennae (it will cost me hundreds to get my vehicle back to pre-Sirius condition).

I read all of these reviews about sirius before i bought one, I cant stress enough!! don't believe the bad reviews to much I bought the Sportster R model and it works fantastic, we drove from Florida to Buffalo this weekend only dropout was when i stopped at middle pump of gas station (roof) I would agree it sounds similiar to 128K mp3's over the FM modulator, i dont know what it sounds like wired direct yet, but on that note if you are looking to replace your CD's on a high end system its not for that, its for being able to have the vast selection of good programming available wherever you go, interupted only by a tunnel, I would say for the guys complaining about dropouts there must be some hardware issues, antenna placement or quality and at $149.00 less a $50buck rebate, bought a 1 year sub for 142.50, so $250.00 total??? thats peanuts really.

The entire experience was easy and very pleasent. I was pleased on how quick the installation was. I haven't had any problems with it working in my car but at home its been a "no signal" experience. Anywhere I place the supplied antenna I still get no signal.

I purchased a Sirius Receiver last year - still in its original packaging - never opened - Sirius repeatedly tries to charge me for service - will not return phone calls and insists I called them and turned the service on. I have been waiting about 8 months for a manager to call me back but all I get from them are more bills - I had to cancel my credit card because they would not stop.

I purchased mine thru BESTBUY. Selected the "Sportster" plug and play. I'm enjoying the great selection of music from, opera to Jazz and NPR. Although the "News" channels are 'tinny' and sound like coming from a tin can.

I have had no issues with reception. I have an Outback Subaru and have antenna placed above front windshield, in front of the Roof Rack.

If you are serious about Sirius,... (sorry) go to their web site and get a free, three-day pass to listen. You'll get a pretty good idea if it's for you or not.

One thing to keep in mind is that the sound quality is no better than your FM radio. And in some broadcasts, worse.
That was my one big disappointment.

Also, they need to have (for me anyway) WORLD MUSIC, like West African, Irish, etc. Some pretty bland jazz selections, but MUCH better than than the Country-Western crap you get here in the South...

My Sirius radio was installed in my new Jeep Grand Cherokee when I purchased it. I received a free one year subscription. I have since "re-upped" for another two years.

Since my wife and I travel a lot, it's been a pleasant experience being able to have a consistent radio station and avoiding the headache of "surfing" the dial or swapping CDs in and out of the radio. This is definitely the "up" side of Sirius.

For my buck, customer service with Sirius has been average. Call center people were courteous but not really cheerful. Now the down side...

Reception. More precisely, lack thereof. My goodness, people, this is SATELLITE! Don't satellites "cover the earth?" Why the dropped signals? While it's true that I receive a signal more often than not, it's the "not" that really yanks my chain.

I'll live with the system but, for goodness sake, I hope Sirius fixes this fast. There are only so many times a day I can grit my teeth before my dentist gets on my case about it!