Buying second hand - what to look for

[fred12345]

Been comparing for a while now. Its time to buy as really need to get rid of what we currently have. doesn't have to be EV but since we have the charger at home and at work it wouldn't be a problem. Just want a relatively newer model car within my budget of £12K and only can find MGs in that. Don't want to keep it for too long, 1 year max.

Excellent idea about car giant. I just googled its in White City, right? I thought its just a website not an actual place (sorry, first time buyer). I'm quite near to you in Northwood so can make my way to White City easily. I'd do that before my test drive on Sunday which is in Reading..

seen you other post.

definitely go there, I got mine there, and definitely consider MG5 standard or even better, long range . they also do part exchange, go by car and see what they value it for. the place is massive, set aside a few hours for the trip ... if you see something on the website you like, reserve it, you get money back if you change your mind. stock moves fairly fast except for some older ZS, cars come and go regularly... you can also ask for test drive with Car Giant but I think you need to book in advance, can't remember.

go for longer range if you can afford it. with MG, look for regular annual service record, that gives you 7 years warranty (from new) on battery and some other stuff. I'm not going to go into battery range and state of battery health (SoH) and unless you buy privately (guess you learned your lesson!) it should not be something to worry about too much as you can chase the dealers or MG for repairs. Make sure annual service record is available and if not - big discount or another car. Annual means annual, not mileage service !

electric gives you free ULEZ and congestion charge if you go to London; petrol is cheaper to buy but more expensive to run. MG charged at work means free motoring ... you'll be happy with it and stay with it for longer than 1 year ...

 

[DB Go Rex]

Been comparing for a while now. Its time to buy as really need to get rid of what we currently have. doesn't have to be EV but since we have the charger at home and at work it wouldn't be a problem. Just want a relatively newer model car within my budget of £12K and only can find MGs in that. Don't want to keep it for too long, 1 year max.

Excellent idea about car giant. I just googled its in White City, right? I thought its just a website not an actual place (sorry, first time buyer). I'm quite near to you in Northwood so can make my way to White City easily. I'd do that before my test drive on Sunday which is in Reading..

I keep recommending this, but...

Ioniq 38kwh

For £12k you should be able to get one for that.

More real world mileage.

Much better infotainment

Better to drive

 

[fred12345]

I keep recommending this, but...

Ioniq 38kwh

samnew said:
Been comparing

The same place, Car Giant got loads of those, mostly ex-Uber so priced accordingly. allow extra hour visit and ask for keys to see them inside ...

(p.s. mind you, you'll have to learn how to pronounce Hyundai properly, but there are helpful YouTube videos... ?)

 

[Gomev]

I second the comments above as I think you might be a bit disappointed with the range in the Mk 1 ZS EV.

 

[jasonh]

been looking at adding a 2nd ev to our fleet for mainly transpoting our dog and us around with more space than my current mg4.
seen a 72 plate FL trophy with high mileage 60k. what would put you off ?
Dont think its been a taxi either. and in excellent condition.

 

[fred12345]

been looking at adding a 2nd ev to our fleet for mainly transpoting our dog and us around with more space than my current mg4.
seen a 72 plate FL trophy with high mileage 60k. what would put you off ?
Dont think its been a taxi either. and in excellent condition.

I got second hand trophy 2022 with 42K on the clock - everything is like new, no complaints whatsoever. 60k would be reflected in price so if the battery health is above or just under 90% (check other threads how to measure it) I wouldn't worry. Remember to check it was not insurance write off and that they had annual service so that warranty is still intact.

 

[jasonh]

I would hope everything is ok as from an mg dealer.
I used to buy ex lease cars 3 years old and 100k without much problem, but an ev should in theory (in my eyes only) be much better as less serviceable parts.

 

[Gomev]

I would hope everything is ok as from an mg dealer.
I used to buy ex lease cars 3 years old and 100k without much problem, but an ev should in theory (in my eyes only) be much better as less serviceable parts.

Is that the one at Chorley Group ? They have a very good reputation and should be able to inform you of the battery state of health.
It's only been on sale on Autotrader since 28/06 and no price reductions yet. ?

 

[fred12345]

I would hope everything is ok as from an mg dealer.
I used to buy ex lease cars 3 years old and 100k without much problem, but an ev should in theory (in my eyes only) be much better as less serviceable parts.

you pay about £1,000 more if buying from an MG dealer but you can ask for extra bits - update software, update this and that ... so it may be worth it coupled with knowing that warranty should be solid and they are not going to disappear overnight if something goes wrong in teh first few months;
check MG website for more choice ...
which model are you looking at? Mk1 or Mk2? there should be more and more available as leases come to an end - my ZS is ex lease ..

 

[jasonh]

just about to decide and the car has disappeared, after I contacted the dealer yesterday.
Hope it is not anyone on here gazumping me !!!

oh well the search goes on and a bit more patience to find one.

 

[Verdigris]

just about to decide and the car has disappeared, after I contacted the dealer yesterday.
Hope it is not anyone on here gazumping me !!!

oh well the search goes on and a bit more patience to find one.

That happened to me. I'd seen an 18 month old car with high mileage but at a keen price. I assumed it had been used as a taxi, so limited warranty, and I so I delayed in enquiring. It turned out to have been privately owned but by the time a rang up somebody had offered to buy it, to use as a taxi, ironically.

I put it out of my mind, as I didn't have any urgent need to change my car, but got a call a few days later to ask if I still wanted it, as the taxi person started messing them about, after they had serviced and MOT'd it. So I ended up with what I wanted plus an unnecessary test certificate. Luckily I didn't have to renew the MOT after 12 months. It reverted to the car's third birthday.

 

[fred12345]

just about to decide and the car has disappeared, after I contacted the dealer yesterday.
Hope it is not anyone on here gazumping me !!!

oh well the search goes on and a bit more patience to find one.

not to worry! same happened to me. I was keen on a decent Mk1 MG5 at about £13K and within days, gone. Don't be disappointed as many more will come up but be ready to jump on one that ticks all teh boxes as soon as it turns up. I ended up with Mk2 ZS ?

 

[jasonh]

That happened to me. I'd seen an 18 month old car with high mileage but at a keen price. I assumed it had been used as a taxi, so limited warranty, and I so I delayed in enquiring. It turned out to have been privately owned but by the time a rang up somebody had offered to buy it, to use as a taxi, ironically.

I put it out of my mind, as I didn't have any urgent need to change my car, but got a call a few days later to ask if I still wanted it, as the taxi person started messing them about, after they had serviced and MOT'd it. So I ended up with what I wanted plus an unnecessary test certificate. Luckily I didn't have to renew the MOT after 12 months. It reverted to the car's third birthday.

thanks for the info, was this a high mileage mg5 ???

 

[jasonh]

Looks like whoever reserved it before me was messing them about over finance. So ive reserved it till i can get to see it and after it has been for a service today for the battery report to be done.

 

[fred12345]

Looks like whoever reserved it before me was messing them about over finance. So ive reserved it till i can get to see it and after it has been for a service today for the battery report to be done.

what model, Mk1 MG5 ?
in the meantime, email them and ask whether they have all service records and confirm 7 year warranty continues. After every annual service they also renew annual AA breakdown cover (UK only). Ask whether it charges at Tesla open chargers because you are planning to use your local one regularly. Ideally, both cables present - 3-pin and type-2 to be in the car. Ask that tyres are in good shape. Ask whether you can use V2L with the car for camping ; ask for all software and map updates.

Not sure which model you are after and whether it was supposed to have V2L and other bits I mentioned above but they are what people complain about on this forum so why not ask if you are already paying extra to an MG dealer ...

Can't think of anything else right now... good luck and don't stress; enjoy !

 

[kevin ellard]

what model, Mk1 MG5 ?
in the meantime, email them and ask whether they have all service records and confirm 7 year warranty continues. After every annual service they also renew annual AA breakdown cover (UK only). Ask whether it charges at Tesla open chargers because you are planning to use your local one regularly. Ideally, both cables present - 3-pin and type-2 to be in the car. Ask that tyres are in good shape. Ask whether you can use V2L with the car for camping ; ask for all software and map updates.

Not sure which model you are after and whether it was supposed to have V2L and other bits I mentioned above but they are what people complain about on this forum so why not ask if you are already paying extra to an MG dealer ...

Can't think of anything else right now... good luck and don't stress; enjoy !

The Mk 1 never had V2L and I don't think it has the hardware to support it..

 

[jasonh]

Thanks for the info.

1 new tyre to be fitted, and wheels are being refurbed today. Serviced and ready to pickup Friday.
Not really happy about only 1 tyre to be fitted, would prefer 2 on the same axle.
However this info was given to me late Friday afternoon.

 

[jasonh]

2 weeks in and the car is very good. Considering the high mileage, there are no squeaks or rattles.
No issues or niggles so far, even put my OBD dongle in to check the battery soh and it's 98.4%.
Dealer service report had 90%, however this may have been a guess by the dealer as when I asked for a separate battery health check this was also 98%. Dealer admitted their laptop had a broken screen when the service was done.
I know the dealer has a good reputation, however there were a few little things I was fobbed off with. The main one was that they had changed 1 front tyre as below the limit, this is not the same brand. Even though the front tyre that wasn't changed had 3mm tread left, so I need tyres to match on the same drive axle.