Isn't the Genie just a Bluetooth OBD2 reader then plugs into the car and relays data to your smartphone?

I believe an equivalent cheapo on Ebay is less than a fiver delivered and the Torque App on Google Play is free.

So it's about as valuable an offer as some Insurance companies advert where Parky's touting a "Free Parker Pen" for applying. Basically worthless.

Specially chosen from an exclusive group called "everyone" perhaps?

I may be way off base and it's really a fabtastic bit of kit that makes the bed in the morning and makes tea during the day and keeps you warm at night. And turns your 1996 diesel Fiesta into a Ferrari at the touch of a button....in which case I'll take six !

y AA membership before the next renewal date ?

So, what is the 'catch' ?

The catch is that the renewal is almost always dearer than a subscription for a new customer and they think chucking a sub £10 gadget at you will blind you to it.

Call me cynical but you will probably get bombarded with marketing stuff - car insurance, life insurance, hole in the shoe insurance etc.

While they are selling the benfits, there is something about it that sits uneasy with me as it has a sim card a memory and being connect to the OBD2 port can collect and transmit data - but to whom? Plus we are being told cars are more reliable, so doesnt that negate the point, especially as there are a lot of breakdowns it wont be able to predict.

Too much Big Brother.

It's marketing hype, the something for nothing angle that folk like.

There is a supermarket in Hinckley (orange logo...) where initally 2 hrs parking was free for all, and still free if you spent £5+ in the supermarket if you stayed longer. Used APNR on entry, your reg and entry time displayed, so no excuse for not seeing.

Then big signs appeared saying 'We are making Saturday parking easier...' They decided to invoke a charge for all Saturday parking in a bid to cut congestion on roads nearby (marketing again?) But CUT congestion, you figure? (Mind you, entrance and exit onto the same busy road was another masterpiece of planning design!)

The upshot is by introducing a charge where there was not one, just how does that make it easier?

Thanks for that information.

Can't quite work out for whose benefit using such a device will be though ?

The AA's of course. If they can reduce breakdown visits with preventative medicine, but still take your subscription - £££££££££££££ :-)

And you the owner saves £££££ as well by being able to repair the car before it breaks down.