MG dealers not specialists?

[Wudus]

I notice my local MG dealers are also main dealers for other brands, which I can understand for commercial reasons. However, I guess that means their technicians work across all cars and I wonder if we always get a fully trained MG technician working on an MG car, or is that not necessary? When my car was booked in for a service and repair the service was done but the repair wasn’t because ‘the MG diagnostic system wasn’t working’. When the car was with another dealer all day the repair wasn’t done because ‘the MG specialist technician was on holiday’. I wonder if some poor experiences with dealers are due to a lack of fully trained MG technicians.

 

[AndyL61]

I would suggest there is definitely some truth in that. Still large knowledge gaps as far as EV's are concerned.

 

[Alb]

I think it's quite common to find there's only a single fully trained person.

 

[ippy1]

I would suggest there is definitely some truth in that. Still large knowledge gaps as far as EV's are concerned.

I think the sales rhetoric is miss placed, people are led to believe less moving parts equals lower maintenance etc, it’s plain to see most people who own a EV spend considerably more time at the dealer due to complicated unreliable electronic equipment and constant upgrades. With an ICE vehicle it’s quite common to keep you visits to the garage to once a year.

 

[AndyL61]

I think the sales rhetoric is miss placed, people are led to believe less moving parts equals lower maintenance etc, it’s plain to see most people who own a EV spend considerably more time at the dealer due to complicated unreliable electronic equipment and constant upgrades. With an ICE vehicle it’s quite common to keep you visits to the garage to once a year.

My only visit back to the dealer apart from the first service was for software updates. The only reason they could not be done at the service was that I wanted a Saturday appointment but then found out they can't do updates on a Saturday as they had no access to the main MG servers on a weekend, so had to go back during the week.

 

[RobinH]

I think the sales rhetoric is miss placed, people are led to believe less moving parts equals lower maintenance etc, it’s plain to see most people who own a EV spend considerably more time at the dealer due to complicated unreliable electronic equipment and constant upgrades. With an ICE vehicle it’s quite common to keep you visits to the garage to once a year.

It's also quite common to see ICE vehicles (notably Mercedes & BMW) parked on the hard shoulder due to electrical glitches sending them into limp home mode.
Fixing faults is not the same as scheduled maintenance. I am on my 3rd EV and I can assure you that maintenance costs, IE servicing, is much less than for ICE vehicles I have owned. Most services involve little more than walking round the car with an iPad.

 

[Slipstream]

My only visit back to the dealer apart from the first service was for software updates. The only reason they could not be done at the service was that I wanted a Saturday appointment but then found out they can't do updates on a Saturday as they had no access to the main MG servers on a weekend, so had to go back during the week.

Why didn't they tell you they can't do updates on a sat when you booked the car in?

 

[AndyL61]

Why didn't they tell you they can't do updates on a sat when you booked the car in?

Because the young lady who took the booking didn't know that.

 

[Alansurfer]

I think the sales rhetoric is miss placed, people are led to believe less moving parts equals lower maintenance etc, it’s plain to see most people who own a EV spend considerably more time at the dealer due to complicated unreliable electronic equipment and constant upgrades. With an ICE vehicle it’s quite common to keep you visits to the garage to once a year.

Not for the majority- it’s the same for ice vehicles you hear about the small negatives and problems but not the other 95% that have no problems. I’ve been driving electric for 11 years riding and building my own stuff (including batteries) for 15 years and only issue I’ve had was charging port flap needed replacing as the lock mechanism broke.

 

[Derek clark]

I notice my local MG dealers are also main dealers for other brands, which I can understand for commercial reasons. However, I guess that means their technicians work across all cars and I wonder if we always get a fully trained MG technician working on an MG car, or is that not necessary? When my car was booked in for a service and repair the service was done but the repair wasn’t because ‘the MG diagnostic system wasn’t working’. When the car was with another dealer all day the repair wasn’t done because ‘the MG specialist technician was on holiday’. I wonder if some poor experiences with dealers are due to a lack of fully trained MG technicians.

I had problems with my ZS ev. The technician checked the car 5 times and could not find any faults. I employed an independent consultant who found 28 software faults. What does the tell you about the calibre of MG technician's.
I then rejected the car and got a full refund.

 

[Alansurfer]

My local MG dealership is great they sell other brands also under the company umbrella name Richmond Motor Group- I’ve had an MG ZS ev, MG5 and now driving an MG4 and no problem with them as a company, if there were issues (charge flap on the 5 and the usual services and software updates) it’s sorted out quickly.
Also there aren’t any actual dealerships they are companies selling the brand(s) and are not like the traditional owned by the manufacturer set ups. Unfortunately some are not as good as others.

 

[Sinc]

I had problems with my ZS ev. The technician checked the car 5 times and could not find any faults. I employed an independent consultant who found 28 software faults. What does the tell you about the calibre of MG technician's.
I then rejected the car and got a full refund.

Possible to discuss further with you? Similiar problems and need more advice before going further.

 

[Alb]

The lack of specialist knowledge and qualification is not unique to the MG dealer network.
I was in my local Ford dealership a few weeks back getting the RS booked in for its annual service. Whilst I was there a Mustang Mach-E owner turned up to book his car in for some recall work (battery out job apparently). He was seeking to discuss the work involved but was unable to do so because they only had one EV trained technician and he was on holiday!

 

[GCB]

The long standing MG dealer I bought my HS PHEV from has recently stopped selling MG at all. I tried to find out why and the person I was talking to stated that the dealers are being screwed on price from MG and there's no money in it any more. I've no idea if this is true but they have been MG dealers for years. They are continuing to service MG's, presumably because there's plenty of money in that!

My next nearest dealer is a multi franchise and I agree with the initial post that they have no idea what they are doing re MG's. Twice I have rung for a service quote on a PHEV and they ask "is it manual or auto". How many manual PHEV's do you know of? They have also quoted me a price for the large 3 year service about half what three other longer standing MG dealers quoted. It makes you wonder what they would do on a 3 year service. It can't be to the MG schedule even though they are MG main dealers. All MG UK are interested in is flogging cars. Customer service comes a long way down their list. Probably why they came last as a manufacturer in the 2023 driver power survey.

 

[Derek clark]

Possible to discuss further with you? Similiar problems and need more advice before going further.

You are welcome to ask any questions you like.
If you would prefer to talk my mobile is ********** (redacted by moderator - use DM for personal communication)

 

[Alb]

I've removed all of the off topic posts in this thread

 

[ozjohnd]

My MG dealer is also a multi franchise with many different brands, at the time I purchased the vast majority ICE vehicles. My salesperson and I learned together, back in November 2023 - I have now problem with this, I did a lot of research prior to my first visit to the dealership and had low expectations. My judgement of character and worthiness is honesty not knowledge (or worse fabricating knowledge when none exists). My 1500km courtesy check was unknown to the service department and when I picked up there was a derogatory comment about how the next service (first) was planned for 40,000km instead of 10,000km.

I trust now over 6 months later the team is a bit more aware and appropriately communicative to new buyers.

I have high expectations that at 40,000km first service they damn well better know what they are doing and not only do ALL the necessary but communicate a little more knowledgeably and respectfully.

 

[Tr380r67]

I notice my local MG dealers are also main dealers for other brands, which I can understand for commercial reasons. However, I guess that means their technicians work across all cars and I wonder if we always get a fully trained MG technician working on an MG car, or is that not necessary? When my car was booked in for a service and repair the service was done but the repair wasn’t because ‘the MG diagnostic system wasn’t working’. When the car was with another dealer all day the repair wasn’t done because ‘the MG specialist technician was on holiday’. I wonder if some poor experiences with dealers are due to a lack of fully trained MG technicians.

I think I'm lucky as my dealer, Eric Stead of Sheffield, is a specialist in MGs and their service is fantastic.