HD Vs. Satellite Radio

Posted by L. Marie Dubuque Apr 6, 2008

I am thinking about buying a new car. Along with all the other choices like paint color and manual vs. automatic transmission comes an entirely new decision. Which radio to put in the car? Should I stick with the old free standby, AM/FM radio? The car I'm looking at offers satellite radio for $595 and of course I have to pay for the satellite subscription service on top of that. I could get HD radio for only $350 with no subscription at all.

I thought to myself, this is a no-brainer. Don't pay for anything and go with AM/FM radio. After all, I get top 40 tunes along with all the traffic and weather information I need. But, what I can do without is all that DJ chatter in the mornings. It drives me crazy.

My husband convinced me to go with HD radio. He says the sound quality is a little better, the channel selection is wider and no monthly payments are involved. I'll still hear the commercials, but if they get really annoying, at least I have a lot of channels to flip to.

Now that Sirius and XM are merging, satellite may become even more enticing for some. Not me...I don't like any recurring charges, not even if means getting rid of all that useless chatter!