You bought the car for how ever many tens of thousands, which should be priced in with this sort of thing in mind if they want to offer it as a feature in the first place.

The cost to run the api service is minuscule compared to the size of their overall business.

Maybe I could see it as a valid upsell at time of purchase as a one off upfront fee, so it’s at least up to the buyer from the start. Although I personally do not like that approach, at least you can decide if you like that companies ethics before committing to them with that approach.

Perhaps resale of the vehicle complicates this a little, & might warrant a small transfer fee, but I also dislike that idea.

There’s plenty of options for more local communication technologies that could support this feature without the need of a remote server & ongoing service. But then there’s no lock in & ongoing revenue which nearly all car companies seem to be going for these days, as if they haven’t already been super profitable for many decades before…

And by a 15 year old no less! Keep up the awesome work young one, you’ll go far…