young

just saw the MB commercial that states various anniversaries. tele-aid is only 2 years old? interesting b/c when i declined to get the tele-aid option, i was told that most people did not renew it. maybe that explains why tele-aid is sometimes spotty in service and it will get better.

MarkL

Yeah, I like that commercial. What's even more interesting is that they've had crumple zones for 50 years and ABS for 23.

MARK CUMMINS

YEP,Your right about customers NOT renewing the contract cause we did NOT RENEW OURS on the wagon and will NOT renew it on the c coupe cause with the comand and a cell phone its of no use

awiner

I will not be renewing mine either. I think the price for the service is just too high for what you really get.

MB-BOB

Actually, I think "2nd anniversary" is MB code talk for a research project to determine if anyone signs up for a "second anniversary" of Tele-Aid.

SoCal240/6

it is a ripoff, the people on the other lines are morons, it only works some of the time, it is slow (god forbid you have a real emergency) when it works at all, and they try to ticky-tack you for extra fees when you use it! I tried to use it to get directions once (since you get some free airtime and I never use it), it took about 15 minutes for the morons to even START to figure out the directions (in which time, I had already figured it out myself), and then they wanted to charge me $2.95 for the information!

mountain dean

some folks dont no what to do with tere money.

vinmanc32

This is my first year with Tele Aid and I have had it all of two weeks. I have only enabled the system which although very cool, I didnt see the usefullness with a cell phone. It is very kewl but I dont know if it is $240 a year worth of kewl especially if Im gonna get additional bills other than air time.

todd

Teleaid is for all of our mothers.

If you are not my mother,

I suggest you use your own cellphone.

Richard / E320

I have never used mine other than activating it and agree that if I had a mechanical problem a cell phone is more useful...

But, according to the M-B web-site, Tele-Aid also has the ability to unlock your door, anti-theft customer alarm notification, stolen vehicle tracking and contacts emergency aid if an air-bag is deployed and you do not respond… all things that a cell phone cannot do.

While the annual cost is high, maybe it's worth it in the long run for these features...

SoCal240/6

It is almost impossible to lock you keys in this car, insurance, insurance, that means your dead so who cares.

Davidta

One of my friends got hit by a water truck in his car and wound up getting knocked out, teleaid called for an ambulance because his air bag went off adn they wound up cutting him out of the car... in the end he was fine, but it seems worth the money to me... all that being said I have a C230 Coupe with out it... couldn't get it in the car without having to wait 3 months.

lorinserc320

Next time when I tried using it (since it was free at first) the people were terrible. I think they just call the people before the test and tell them to get ready for a call, an MB trick or something...?

greg230

mostly cause i got every option on the car (cept for hot seats, i like cold leather)

worst case scenario, i waste a couple of bucks every year for the protection, and convenience of having a person to talk to in case of emergency, and a ****ty version of low jack.

best case scenario, i get in a serious accident somewhere and teleaid calls the emergency folks for me, recouping the cost of my investment....

wait, i think i messed that up, they are both pretty bad scenarios

and the take home lesson, dont drink and post

greg

SoCal240/6

I guess I'm cheap (well, I know I am), because 240 buck a year ain't "a couple of bucks a year to me." That's about 6 months of full coverage insurance payments on the car.

Don't count on having someone to call in an emergency. Unless whatever your emegency is is kind enough to wait with you while you work your way through the system.

I suppose when I get hit by a runaway water truck and knocked unconscious, I will be sorry . . .

Richard / E320

I think it's conceivable that you could be injured and not able to use a cell phone (if you can find it or if it even works after the impact of a severe accident) and not be dead...

Tele-Aid should be less expensive but I plan on extending mine.

SoCal240/6

and to that scenario add that there is no one else around to make a call, or every single other person around has also been incapacitated.

Possible? Absolutely. Probably the odds are one in a billion, though, because for it to have been necessary or for it to have saved your life, you need to have a whole series of bad/unusual/unlikely things happen.

Still, it is nice to have as an option, for those that feel its worth $240 per year. Some people will like it because of its perceived safety, others just like gadgets.

greg230

damn it.... the gig is up, i have few friends so i talk to the teleaid operators when i am lonely :p

its all about the gadgets

greg

Buellwinkle

Well said SoCal240. Tele-Aid is mostly worthless. I've called 911 on my cell phone seconds after I've seen an accident and the 911 operator told me they got it already. It's amazing but just about everyone in California has a cell phone. My company has 28 million cell phone subscribers in the U.S. and they represent only a fraction of all cell phones. I would imagine that if I was driving on a road that was so isolated like up in our local mountains or deep in the desert and got into an accident then TeleAid would not likely work there anyway. Cell phone companies don't put cell sites in isolated areas, it doesn't make business sense and Tele-Aid uses archaic analog service from AT&T Wireless, a company that was recently bailed out by Docomo in Japan from near bankruptcy. Actually I hear that the OnStar system is far superior from people I spoke to that have it.

greg230

both onstar and teleaid funtion on PRL cellular systems.

teleaid is analog, onstar digital. and as a note, analog coverage remains not only the most widespread, but most reliable network in more rural locations, where digital networks have not been built out. I also imagine that teleaid and onstar use some sort of booster, antenna system to get better signal in fringe areas then a handheld phone would be capable of.

then again, i dont go anywhere rural, never had a straight analog phone, and am getting a v60c kit for my 230 in the next couple of months, so all this is moot

greg

mbtech208

C'mon guys, TeleAid finds NUDIE BARS for you!! Does OnStar do that? Noooooo

Buellwinkle

The difference is TeleAid uses AT&T and OnStar uses Verizon but then I have personal preferences. Regardless of boosters and more power you're ability to receive is limited by the quality of the unit and the antena and not power. I know at my house I get perfectly clear digital and analog service on my families 4 handheld VZW cell phones but on TeleAid there was a lot of static (kinda like the Sprint commercials). While in rural areas like when I was in Alaska, analog rules but around big cities Digital rules and analog capacity is being slowly reduced to make bandwith available for digital. So if I had a choice I would chose a tri mode phone (CDMA/Analog/PCS) like the Motorola TimePort or V60 for the ultimate in connectivity.

What bugs me is why MB cheaped out and put in a old analog system. But then I remember that this is the same company that puts cassette decks instead of CDs in their cars. I guess I should be happy that it didn't come with an 8-track.

Buellwinkle

mbtech208,

I'm afraid that there's so much static on Tele-Aid that I'll ask for a nudie bar and I'll get directed to a horsey barn.

That can be another Sprint commercial.

young

mbtech, when did drew say all that in your quote?

mbtech208

Couple weeks ago, in the moderator forum.