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BMW is in the wrong here.

The doctrine of first sale says I own the car, and I own the heated seats in it.

And once its ours, they do not have the right to charge us for something our car has the capability to do without them. And its unethical for them to try to add microtransactions on something we already physically own. This is a form of fraud, IMHO.

BMW is losing the trust of buyers; they will not last long if they continue this.




> doctrine of first sale says I own the car, and I own the heated seats in it

You own the hardware. You don't necessarily own the license to operate it. I agree this is a bullshit difference, but it's a legally material one.


On one hand, they're following industry into your-purchase-is-really-a-license-and-subscription-model-all-the-things. On the other hand, the public and legislators have been pretty clear about this never having been OK and cut it out right now (e.g. right to repair).


> The doctrine of first sale says I own the car, and I own the heated seats in it.

What about leasing? If you lease (rent) the vehicle, is it okay to enable / disable features based on what you pay?


You don't lease it from BMW. You buy it from BMW through some leasing company. The difference might be essential.




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