People complain about this, and with good reason, but some features I do see this as a somewhat good idea. Take carplay, maps and infotainment.... On bmw cars, maps are updated every 3-6 months, but you need to pay... Even my 9 year old 5 series can get map updates... The infotainment system does not get updates, cause it's not paid updates... In the newer cars with paid updates, there is more of a chance of getting updates for stuff like newer carplay, newer android auto and newer Spotify stuff... Yes, there may be a cost, but at least it's updated... It also means that you buy an older vehicle that was a bogo standard comply car, you can get extras after the fact...