Discussion
I have tried getting these answers elsewhere without sucess.
Looking at a VW with Car Net.
1. Simply, how much does it cost.
2. I understand it needs a SIM card, is this included in the annual fee you pay to VW, or do you have to / or can you get a cheaper SIM card elsewhere.
3. It refers to "Online Traffic Information". Is this in addition to TMC on the standard VW satnavs; if so what is it's source and is it more accurate than, say, Google Maps or TOm TOm?
4. What are users views on the offering?
Looking at a VW with Car Net.
1. Simply, how much does it cost.
2. I understand it needs a SIM card, is this included in the annual fee you pay to VW, or do you have to / or can you get a cheaper SIM card elsewhere.
3. It refers to "Online Traffic Information". Is this in addition to TMC on the standard VW satnavs; if so what is it's source and is it more accurate than, say, Google Maps or TOm TOm?
4. What are users views on the offering?
Car Net (the service) is absolute rubbish and not worth getting. It lets you do things like upload nav points online and transfer car data. All you need is a wifi connection so you can set your phone up as a wifi hotspot (of use the one in your house if it's 'visible' to the car when parked outside). I spend ages trying to get it to work and once I finally got it up and running, realised it was a waste of time and haven't bothered with it since.
However, with some VWs at least, you had to specify 'Car Net' in order to gain access to Android Auto/Apple Carplay support on the in car Nav unit (it was the case when I bought my Golf). This just means that you can plug your Android or iPhone into the head unit and use the screen as a dedicated display for car-compatible apps - very useful (you can use Google Maps and Waze which are far superior to the VW nav). I think that these days Android Auto and Carplay support is standard and AFAIK you don't have to be subscribed to Car Net to keep access (it was just needed to enable head unit support).
However, with some VWs at least, you had to specify 'Car Net' in order to gain access to Android Auto/Apple Carplay support on the in car Nav unit (it was the case when I bought my Golf). This just means that you can plug your Android or iPhone into the head unit and use the screen as a dedicated display for car-compatible apps - very useful (you can use Google Maps and Waze which are far superior to the VW nav). I think that these days Android Auto and Carplay support is standard and AFAIK you don't have to be subscribed to Car Net to keep access (it was just needed to enable head unit support).
Original Car-Net licence is for 3 years - rough cost is as per DrG's post, with some discount if you take out more than 1 year at renewal.
I just about miss the option to 'throw' a nav destination from the laptop to the car (except you do, as above need to go through a needlessly complicated hotspot connection exercise every time you want to make your car connect to the internet) but the rest was stuff that proved less than essential, even compared to that. Google streetview looked OK on the screen, unless the lights were on in which case the map went black, more or less, as if that was in someway helpful!
I e-mailed carnet-support@volkswagen.de to tell them what I thought about the service and to suggest how they might improve it - got the following bog standard 'bugger off' response:
I just about miss the option to 'throw' a nav destination from the laptop to the car (except you do, as above need to go through a needlessly complicated hotspot connection exercise every time you want to make your car connect to the internet) but the rest was stuff that proved less than essential, even compared to that. Google streetview looked OK on the screen, unless the lights were on in which case the map went black, more or less, as if that was in someway helpful!
I e-mailed carnet-support@volkswagen.de to tell them what I thought about the service and to suggest how they might improve it - got the following bog standard 'bugger off' response:
VW said:
Thank you for contacting Volkswagen Digital Services and apologies for the late response from our side.
Our aim is to provide products and services that stand for the highest levels of customer satisfaction. This is why we continuously work on improving our products and services for you.
We are sorry to hear about your dissatisfaction with the service you are using. Therefore we will make sure to forward your feedback to our developers and our team in Germany for possible improvements.
Please know, that we remain at your disposal for any further inquiries you might have. You may reply to this e-mail or call us on our direct line 0800 279 7508 (around the clock, 7 days a week).
We wish you always safe journeys with your Volkswagen Golf GTI.
Kind regards,
Volkswagen Digital Services
Our aim is to provide products and services that stand for the highest levels of customer satisfaction. This is why we continuously work on improving our products and services for you.
We are sorry to hear about your dissatisfaction with the service you are using. Therefore we will make sure to forward your feedback to our developers and our team in Germany for possible improvements.
Please know, that we remain at your disposal for any further inquiries you might have. You may reply to this e-mail or call us on our direct line 0800 279 7508 (around the clock, 7 days a week).
We wish you always safe journeys with your Volkswagen Golf GTI.
Kind regards,
Volkswagen Digital Services
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