Hole in undertray

[migros8]

Hi all,
I mainly need a bit of emotional support and vent. Picked up a brand new MG5 Trophy three weeks ago and am driving it with more care than any car before - never bought a brand new car before this!

Then, one morning this week, I approached a small obstacle in the road. It looked small and I am absolutely not one who is too lazy to get out of the car to move debris out of the way if need be. It looked by far small enough that I could drive over it centrally. Unfortunately, my judgement was wrong. The what turned out to be a wheelie-bin wheel got stuck at an angle under the undercarriage. I was driving slowly and immediately stopped and checked and tried to get it out without driving further. But it was too stuck. All that remained was to steer a bit and reverse to dislodge it.

I‘m now left with a hole in the plastic cover. I‘ve inspected further and am glad to say nothing else has been damaged. Please correct me if you think otherwise from the photo that shows the damage.

No problem, I thought, and emailed the dealership to please order the part and book me in to have it fitted. They insisted on doing diagnostics before ordering anything ‚as something else might be damaged‘. I again stressed how I would appreciate at least this part to already be ordered so it can be fitted on the day I‘m booked in for. They said no chance - we‘ll diagnose and then order.

I do appreciate their concern, though I can confidently say it‘s a bit of plastic damage because I know ecactly what happened and trust my visual inspection enough. The car behaves flawlessly and I am more than happy to rock up again should anything be wrong and then cough up for some lovely OBD-II diagnostics.

Rant over - I‘m mainly cross with myself for driving over it. Thanks!

 

[salty]

At first I winced, when I saw the post title, thank God you where talking about the car!. It's obviously annoying, that it happened, but it's easily fixed. As long as the diagnostic doesn't cost you owt let them do it. Although I don't know why it needs it.

Oh, and.

 

[Alb]

I'd be inclined to let them look at it unless you don't actually trust them.
Which dealer are you using?

 

[migros8]

Bristol Drive North. Had a great experience on the sale. Bit traumatised from my previous dealership experience with Nissan & their useless diagnostics. I guess I’ll have to give them a chance; thanks for your opinion

 

[MickeySw]

I‘m now left with a hole in the plastic cover. I‘ve inspected further and am glad to say nothing else has been damaged. Please correct me if you think otherwise from the photo that shows the damage.

It looks just like that, although the orange plug is a HV connector and to the right seem to be data cables.

No problem, I thought, and emailed the dealership to please order the part and book me in to have it fitted. They insisted on doing diagnostics before ordering anything ‚as something else might be damaged‘. I again stressed how I would appreciate at least this part to already be ordered so it can be fitted on the day I‘m booked in for. They said no chance - we‘ll diagnose and then order.

Like it or not this is standard procedure these days as I gather they can’t order parts from MG without a full diagnostics report.

I do appreciate their concern, though I can confidently say it‘s a bit of plastic damage because I know ecactly what happened and trust my visual inspection enough. The car behaves flawlessly and I am more than happy to rock up again should anything be wrong and then cough up for some lovely OBD-II diagnostics.

To be fair to the garage, they don’t know you from Adam and are just following procedure, probably charge you as well, I’m afraid…

 

[migros8]

It looks just like that, although the orange plug is a HV connector and to the left seem to be data cables.

Like it or not this is standard procedure these days as I gather they can’t order parts from MG without a full diagnostics report.

To be fair to the garage, they don’t know you from Adam and are just following procedure, probably charge you as well, I’m afraid…

Thanks for this - and you're right; it is just standard procedure. I should learn not to keep banging my head against this brick wall and just accept it. Stubborn me...

I shall report back once it's all done.

 

[Paulie68]

Thanks for this - and you're right; it is just standard procedure. I should learn not to keep banging my head against this brick wall and just accept it. Stubborn me...

I shall report back once it's all done.

It most certainly isn't normal standard procedure to refuse to supply parts only on demand to owners on insistence the dealership only inspects/does work on your car! Personally I'll be livid if I discover MG dealers really are trying to refuse to supply parts only without inserting themselves for the work as well and it's not just this dealer being awkward/toting for revenue. It's outrageous and in 40 years of buying parts from dealers retail and trade, I've never come across such a policy by any manufacturer/dealership, ever...

 

[Pebblefeline]

I bought some
New mg parts after I met a deer ( bumper, lower grille, charging port and door, upper grille, radar) didn’t cost too much

Don’t seem to be a problem. I sourced the radar from An mg dealer and had it fitted elsewhere

 

[MickeySw]

Don’t seem to be a problem. I sourced the radar from An mg dealer and had it fitted elsewhere

If I understand correctly @migros8 wasn’t just looking for a replacement panel to be ordered, he wanted the dealer to fit it also.

Given that most garages probably call in the ‘bomb disposal unit’ if HV battery damage is even remotely suspected, doing diagnostic seems a reasonable approach..

 

[Pebblefeline]

Ah sorry misunderstood

Yes that makes perfect sense then, damaged battery would be bad

 

[migros8]

Dropped it off today - it's due to be looked at tomorrow. Person at the counter (Drive MG Bristol North) was lovely. When I said the reg he said 'oh, that's brand new!'. I explained the issue and he immediately said they are not going to charge me for diagnostics and crossed it off the invoice. They'll definitively look for further damage just to be on the safe side (which I, too, want to be!) and will then just charge for the part and fitting. So, I'm already a bit happier!

 

[salty]

Dropped it off today - it's due to be looked at tomorrow. Person at the counter (Drive MG Bristol North) was lovely. When I said the reg he said 'oh, that's brand new!'. I explained the issue and he immediately said they are not going to charge me for diagnostics and crossed it off the invoice. They'll definitively look for further damage just to be on the safe side (which I, too, want to be!) and will then just charge for the part and fitting. So, I'm already a bit happier!

That sounds like a result! And a dealer with a bit of common sense.

 

[migros8]

Brace yourselves: This story took a turn for the worse. Turns out connections on the HV battery have indeed been damaged and there was water ingress into the ports. They said because they cannot exclude the possibility of water having entered the battery, they had to disable the vehicle (disconnect the HV battery) and won’t touch it anymore. We were shown and explained the damage with great care, which we were grateful for. The quoted 21k for a battery replacement plus labour.

The shock hit hard when they rang me on Wednesday and I went from jolly that I’ll only pay for the plastic cover to the possibility of a write-off.

We were told by two independent specialist EV-battery repair centres that they consider it repairable. Unfortunately, the insurance didn’t want to hear any of this and their assessment was also total loss.

We are gutted. Absolutely hating how the go-to is write-off in a case like this. This is the reason premiums go up for everyone. I also had to defend EV ownership amongst work colleagues who felt this supported their view that EVs are bad.

The problem here really is that dealers are not equipped or trained to deal with HV batteries yet. They deemed it a fire risk. Of course it is, but this risk is in this case absolutely minimal. It’s just this general idea that floats around of battery=danger! which should be more nuanced in my opinion.

As for the repair had this not happened: In person, the dealer would have never charged for the diagnostics on a brand new car but still assessed for further damage, which is how it should be.

Thanks for all your help. Will post pictures and final outcome soon.

 

[Pebblefeline]

I am so sorry to hear this
It’s gutting

I wonder if you could buy it back from the insurance company cheap after settlement ?

 

[migros8]

I am so sorry to hear this
It’s gutting

I wonder if you could buy it back from the insurance company cheap after settlement ?

Yes, we considered this as well. The insurance company were really not budging on options (I am quite persistent) and we'll now have to accept it's gone. They'll source a new replacement for us (same make and model). So fingers crossed! As horrible and ridiculous this is, I don't have the energy to manage the stress of buying it back and getting it repaired in Brighton or London and am now just letting the insurance company deal with it. I come from an ordeal with a Nissan Leaf in November (was second hand and had failed battery modules after 8 years - just out of warranty) to biting the bullet on my first ever new car (and all the joys that come with an MG5) at a fantastic price to this.

 

[Alb]

I'd be very interested to see the extent of this battery "damage".

 

[migros8]

I'd be very interested to see the extent of this battery "damage".

It is pathetic. I’ll post it once it’s all over the line.

 

[MickeySw]

The quoted 21k for a battery replacement plus labour.

The problem here really is that dealers are not equipped or trained to deal with HV batteries yet. They deemed it a fire risk. Of course it is, but this risk is in this case absolutely minimal.

I had a brief look at the service manual, there are indeed detailed procedures on how to work inside the HV pack, but that requires specific equipment and training that most dealers don’t have.

All they are allowed to do is to replace the complete pack hence the quote.

There’s no doubt that this can easily be fixed, but Insurance companies write off a EV straight away when they hear potential battery damage.

Unfortunately your experience isn’t unusual or unique, it will a take a long time to change that mindset.

 

[Pebblefeline]

I am glad it is being sorted out

I am impressed with the calm and dignified approach you are taking, it can’t be easy.

 

[Tim Green]

A salutary warning to us all! In my view the plastic cover is inadequate if such damage can occur so easily.
But just accept the nice new replacement car rather than regret the damaged car - just one of those things - move on.