I am planing to buy a new car. Which of these are better relatively speaking in terms of privacy, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, or Audi? I can’t buy old used cars. I have to buy a new car. I like new safety features but I don’t want privacy invasive features, or subscription services.
Something old enough to not have a cellular modem in it, and hope that privacy laws improve before you have to buy again and it’s inescapable.
That being said, I was forced to buy new last time. I called Mazda and they were able to deactivate it remotely, and confirmed that this deactivates everything and does not send any data to them moving forward. Does this mean they can reactivate it remotely? Yes. But it’s something. I have tried a few times to get the telematic control unit physically removed, but got stonewalled by the dealer. I may try a third party mechanic or a different dealer. I found a schematic that seems to suggest it can be removed kn my vehicle with no downsides. Not all vehicles are like this, it may break something such as audio or other sensors.