A new car is already a big enough decision before you start thinking about apps, subscriptions, software updates, and trial features. I was reminded of that recently when my mother-in-law needed to replace her car. She had bought a hybrid a year earlier, and unfortunately, it gave her enough problems that she was ready to move on. So I was enlisted to help with the search.

She was looking for a compact SUV that fit her needs, which meant comparing four or five options from brands like Subaru, Hyundai, Toyota, and a few others. We had the usual conversations with dealers about price, reliability, warranties, safety features, and what was actually available on the lot.

But because I spend a lot of time writing about technology, I also had another set of questions in the back of my mind. Modern cars aren’t just cars anymore. They’re also app platforms, subscription bundles, connected devices, and software products. Before she bought anything, I wanted to know what would still work a few years from now.

A car can feel great during a test drive because everything is turned on, paired, updated, and ready to impress you. That doesn’t always mean every feature is included forever. Some features may be tied to free trials. Some may require a paid connected-service plan. Others may depend on an app, a cellular connection, or future software support from the automaker.

That’s why these four questions are worth asking before you buy, not after the free trial expires or the infotainment system starts feeling old.

What subscriptions are tied to this vehicle

The free trial is part of the sales pitch

The first question I’d ask is simple: what features on this vehicle require an active subscription now, and what features will require one later?

That sounds obvious, but it’s easy to miss when you’re focused on the payment, warranty, trade-in, and whether the car actually feels right. A dealer may show you an app that can lock the doors, start the car, check the fuel level, or adjust the cabin temperature, but that doesn’t always mean those features are included forever.

Even among the compact SUVs we looked at, services like Subaru’s MySubaru/STARLINK and Hyundai’s Bluelink+ made it worth asking exactly which app-based features were included, which were trial-based, and which depended on long-term connected-service support.

That’s why I’d want the dealer to separate what’s included with the car from what’s included with a trial. Some connected services make sense as subscriptions, especially if they rely on cellular data, live traffic, emergency assistance, cloud storage, or remote access through an app. The problem is when those details are vague during the buying process. Before signing anything, I’d want to know which features work without a paid plan, how long any trial lasts, and what the monthly or yearly price will be when it ends.

Car tech features that may be tied to a subscription

These are some of the features that may be included permanently, offered as a trial, or tied to a paid plan, depending on the automaker, model, and trim:

• Remote start
• App-based lock and unlock
• Climate preconditioning
• Built-in navigation
• Live traffic
• Map updates
• Wi-Fi hotspot access
• Emergency assistance
• Stolen vehicle tracking
• Dash cam or cloud recording features
• Driver-assist upgrades
• Voice assistant features
• EV charging controls
• EV battery and climate controls
• Heated seats or steering wheel features
• Performance or acceleration upgrades

Which features are included permanently, and which are trial-based

Don’t assume everything working on the lot comes with the car

After asking what subscriptions are tied to the vehicle, I’d ask a slightly different question: which of the features I’m seeing right now are actually included permanently?

A feature can feel like part of the car when you’re test-driving it because the app works, the navigation is active, the remote features are turned on, and everything is ready to impress you. But that doesn’t always mean those features are included for as long as you own the vehicle.

Toyota’s Remote Connect is a good example of why this is worth asking. Depending on the vehicle, Toyota says Remote Connect can let you use the Toyota app for features like remote start, lock and unlock, and vehicle status, but those features may be part of a trial that starts when the vehicle is purchased or leased.

After that trial ends, continued access requires a paid subscription. That’s the distinction I’d want cleared up before buying. The subscription question tells you what paid services exist. This question tells you what you’re actually getting with the car once the trial period ends.

What happens if the infotainment system becomes outdated

When basic controls depend on a screen

Credit: BMW

This is the question that kept coming back to me as we looked at newer cars with bigger screens and fewer physical controls. It’s one thing if an old navigation app feels dated. It’s another thing when climate controls, entertainment, vehicle settings, driver-assist menus, and app-based features are all tied to the same central screen. If that system gets slow, loses support, or stops getting meaningful updates, the car may still run fine, but the part of the car you interact with every day can start to feel old much sooner.

That’s why I’d ask how the infotainment system is updated, what happens when the hardware can’t keep up anymore, and whether important controls still have physical backups.

Axios recently made this point about older Teslas, noting that software-driven vehicles are starting to age more like smartphones, except cars don’t have the same easy upgrade path. Cars typically last longer than phones, which means the computer inside the car can become outdated while the vehicle itself still has years of useful life left. That’s exactly the kind of thing I’d want to think about before buying a car that puts almost everything behind a screen.

How long will software updates and connected services be supported

Connected features need long-term support, too

Software support doesn’t feel as immediate as price, mileage, warranty coverage, or monthly payments, so it’s easy to skip. But if a car depends on connected services, mobile apps, built-in maps, cellular modems, or over-the-air updates, I’d want to know how long the automaker plans to support those systems.

A car can stay mechanically useful for years after its software platform starts aging out, and that matters if features like remote access, emergency assistance, live navigation, or EV charging controls depend on servers and apps outside the car.

The 3G shutdown showed why this isn’t just theoretical. Consumer Reports noted that some vehicles lost connected features when older cellular networks were retired, while some brands offered software or hardware fixes to keep certain services working.

That’s the kind of thing I’d want to understand before buying: whether the automaker has a clear support window, what happens when the built-in modem or app platform gets old, and whether important connected features will keep working for as long as I realistically expect to own the car.

The smartest car tech question is what happens later

None of this means car tech is bad or that every connected feature is a cash grab. Some of these services are useful, and some probably do justify an ongoing cost. The point is that they should be clear before you buy. If a feature depends on an app, a cellular connection, a software update, or a connected-service plan, that should be part of the decision right alongside price, reliability, safety ratings, and warranty coverage.

Asking these questions up front won’t make the car-buying process any less complicated, but it can help you avoid finding out later that one of the features you liked most was never really included in the way you thought it was.