is the tele aid service worth having or just let it go ? -- can you disable it or is that a dealer software change ?? thanks

 

I went through this dilemma myself also...I chose to renew TelAid. The main scenario to consider for renewing TelAid is this...and please dont take this lightly.

TelAid is valuable if you feel secure in knowing that when you are unfortunately t-boned by a truck and thrown into a corn field in "wherever-land" that you will be immediately located by GPS, help will be dispatched to your exact location, and if airbags are deployed, you will be contacted immediately by a rep from the airbag deployment team asking if you are ok and if you need assistance. Many people think they will be able to reach their cell phone in an accident, but I seriously doubt it when you are hanging upside down from your seat belt.. you will not be able to grab it I promise.

During my accident, TelAid was critical, and the Airbag deployment team came on before my car even stopped. All airbags deployed perfectly, and correctly. Luckily, I and the other car passengers were ok, but I definitely trust MBZ and the technology. It was the result of all the engineering and safety testing coming to life at its finest. I strongly recommend spending the money for TelAid.

 

My 2006 E350 was rear-ended on the freeway, and although the airbags didn't deploy (nor should they have deployed), TeleAid was on the line asking my wife if she was okay before she even had time to pull to the shoulder. I wouldn't be without it. Like a parachute, you don't need it until you really need it.

We live near a mountainous area. There are many incidents where a car went off the road unwitnessed, down into a ravine, and the occupants were helpless and unaided for many hours, even days. TeleAid would be critical in those incidents.

 

Almost a year ago I managed to get water in the engine of my car and have it stall (and eventually die) in the middle of Newark, NJ. I was very pissed off and would not have known who to even dial in this situation besides 911. Luckily I had the complimentary Tele-Aid service active in the car and just hit the wrench or SOS button (don't remember which one) and this cool, calm and collected lady took care of business for me. She knew exactly where I was, she called the cops for me and called a toe truck service. All I had to do was just sit in the car and keep out of the rain. Yes, I could have done all those things myself but its a nice feeling to have someone looking over you in a situation when you don't have a 100% grasp on things. Plus she kept on checking back on me and helped pass the time until the truck arrived. I would say it's money well spent. And besides the Tele-Aid portion they have other good services like concierege, turn-by-turn direction, etc... but those are extra.

 

If you could afford it and not sweat the payments, sure why not? It's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

 

Before renewal, I called twice and asked if there were any discounts and told no.

When I called to cancel, I was asked why and said "price." I was immediately offered $50 off/yr which I accepted.

 

Forgive my ignorance but, what all does the tele-aid offer? How much is it a year? Will this also work as a lowjack system if the vehicle is stolen?

 

I have covered this before and your results may be different. I dropped Telaid. During Katrina after the evacuation we were rearended. The air bags did not deploy ($10,000 damage). I called telaid for help and they answered, Immediately told me I was in Chicago (not Louisiana) and hung up. I tried for another 20 or so minutes to get telaid and got no answer. Finally I got an answer and asked what took so long to answer. I got a really smart answer,, you just called AND your air bags didn't deploy so you weren't an emergency. That's all it took. I never renewed. I don't expect to pay for service and then get LIP SERVICE. Two weeks later I got a letter in the mail stating any vehicle in the disaster area will get priority on calls. Too LATE!

 

Check out the Tele-Aid website for more information: http://www.teleaid.com/

I paid $150 for the Security & Care package (http://www.teleaid.com/packages/)

Yes, it will act as a lojack system to locate your car. Because of this I also got some money off my insurance.

 

The insurance discount was exactly what I was looking for. Thanks!

 

I think this is well worth it and agree with the above posts. There is a lot of technology put in this product and I think that the annual fee is minimal for the peace-of-mind it provides.

 

if one did not have a subscription to tele-aid and hit the button in an accident what would happen? I dont currently have tele-aid and wanted to know what would happen if I was in a major accident and needed help, would they charge me (which id be fine with because in a serious accident any price is worth your safety) or would it just not work?

 

Assuming it did try to call, you would get a "You phone number is not active or is invalid" or similar mesage from your cell carrier.

My guess is that once the subscription is disabled the cellular device is also disabled or turned off, and nothing happens.

 

Hit the button all you want ... nothing happens ...