Would you buy your ‘leased’ MG4?

[Koops]

Unexpectedly I have to decide in the next few months whether to hand my 1 year old MG4 LR back to the company who are providing it under a 36 month salary sacrifice scheme, or purchase the car from them (either way I have to pay £5k to my employer due to early termination).

I really like the car and haven't had anything fail on it, although I’m nervous about the charging flap not releasing one day as it needs a jiggle.
I expect to be offered a good price given the used EV car market (£18k is my guess) and I would go for this, except I’m concerned about MG support if something does go wrong or when big service items are needed. I wouldn’t want to be left without a working car for more than say a couple of weeks. And a recent customer service survey result putting MG at the bottom hasn’t reassured me.
I could find another £3k’ish and buy a Tesla model Y instead, although I'm not keen on the bland interior, no buttons for basics etc.

What are others views on this - anyone else had this dilemma for an MG EV?

 

[Everest]

Well, it'll still be covered under warrantee for another 6 years for big things and 2 years for the "3-year" items (e.g. infotainment system) and £18K for a gen 2, 1 year old MG4 sounds OK.

 

[Koops]

Well, it'll still be covered under warrantee for another 6 years for big things and 2 years for the "3-year" items (e.g. infotainment system) and £18K for a gen 2, 1 year old MG4 sounds OK.

Thanks for replying. I’m more concerned about how MG respond to vehicle faults (timescale to determine diagnose and fix, parts availability): I’ve read some posts from people who have been dissatisfied with service from their dealer and parts taking a long time to arrive but I don’t know how common this is….perhaps MG dealers watch this site and would like to respond too?
The £18k would be at 15 months old and is my estimate based on prices I’ve seen online factored for my buying a vehicle already in my possession which reduces resale cost.

 

[Bam Bam]

Thanks for replying. I’m more concerned about how MG respond to vehicle faults (timescale to determine diagnose and fix, parts availability): I’ve read some posts from people who have been dissatisfied with service from their dealer and parts taking a long time to arrive but I don’t know how common this is….perhaps MG dealers watch this site and would like to respond too?
The £18k would be at 15 months old and is my estimate based on prices I’ve seen online factored for my buying a vehicle already in my possession which reduces resale cost.

It sounds like you can be confident you haven't got one of the few lemon cars that generate a lot of discussion on the forums, so that is a good reason to consider buying a known quantity car that you definitely like.

I got a handle replaced under warranty. The dealership did forget to tell me that they had received the part. This became clear when I called them later for an update. So this was a communication issue rather than a part issue.

I also had a prang (my fault) and needed a new rear bumper. A local body shop got a replacement bumper without difficulty.

 

[Koops]

It sounds like you can be confident you haven't got one of the few lemon cars that generate a lot of discussion on the forums, so that is a good reason to consider buying a known quantity car that you definitely like.

I got a handle replaced under warranty. The dealership did forget to tell me that they had received the part. This became clear when I called them later for an update. So this was a communication issue rather than a part issue.

I also had a prang (my fault) and needed a new rear bumper. A local body shop got a replacement bumper without difficulty.

Thanks Bam bam, reassuring to hear this

 

[Anon70]

As my salary sacrifice lease company did not get the car serviced with an MG dealer in year 1, they have now lost the MG breakdown cover and the car has not received any software updates. I suspect MG would also be more averse to any issues being fixed down the line because of this.

In theory the lease costs cover the the lease company financially to make a profit for as long as they own the car and they are not really bothered after that.

The big question for me would be how much are they asking compared to how much MG dealers are asking for the same spec car.

 

[Silver estate]

If the price is right and you like the car , why not

 

[Everest]

As my salary sacrifice lease company did not get the car serviced with an MG dealer in year 1, they have now lost the MG breakdown cover and the car has not received any software updates. I suspect MG would also be more averse to any issues being fixed down the line because of this.

So, that car is now not covered under warranty and presumably worth 1000's less as a result of that - how does that work for the leasing company?

 

[charlie bravo]

As my salary sacrifice lease company did not get the car serviced with an MG dealer in year 1, they have now lost the MG breakdown cover and the car has not received any software updates. I suspect MG would also be more averse to any issues being fixed down the line because of this.

In theory the lease costs cover the the lease company financially to make a profit for as long as they own the car and they are not really bothered after that.

The big question for me would be how much are they asking compared to how much MG dealers are asking for the same spec car.

The first service is not a lot of money, maybe get it serviced and ask the question, about further warranty

 

[Gomev]

As my salary sacrifice lease company did not get the car serviced with an MG dealer in year 1, they have now lost the MG breakdown cover and the car has not received any software updates. I suspect MG would also be more averse to any issues being fixed down the line because of this.

In theory the lease costs cover the the lease company financially to make a profit for as long as they own the car and they are not really bothered after that.

The big question for me would be how much are they asking compared to how much MG dealers are asking for the same spec car.

I did hear sometime ago, I forget the circumstances but there is something at the back of my mind that getting the next service done on time will re-instate everything. Don't take that as gospel but worth checking with a reputable dealer.
Maybe @Miles Roberts CG could shed some light.

 

[Anon70]

So, that car is now not covered under warranty

Warranty should be OK as it was serviced by a VAT registered garage, just not logged on the MG database so any warranty claim would need receipts from the servicing garage (which the lease company have).

 

[Everest]

Warranty should be OK as it was serviced by a VAT registered garage

Ah... sorry, I misread your original posting as it being not serviced at all!

 

[danowen]

Unexpectedly I have to decide in the next few months whether to hand my 1 year old MG4 LR back to the company who are providing it under a 36 month salary sacrifice scheme, or purchase the car from them (either way I have to pay £5k to my employer due to early termination).

I really like the car and haven't had anything fail on it, although I’m nervous about the charging flap not releasing one day as it needs a jiggle.
I expect to be offered a good price given the used EV car market (£18k is my guess) and I would go for this, except I’m concerned about MG support if something does go wrong or when big service items are needed. I wouldn’t want to be left without a working car for more than say a couple of weeks. And a recent customer service survey result putting MG at the bottom hasn’t reassured me.
I could find another £3k’ish and buy a Tesla model Y instead, although I'm not keen on the bland interior, no buttons for basics etc.

What are others views on this - anyone else had this dilemma for an MG EV?

You can manually open the charging flap from inside the boot. Remove a little panel and there’s a looped cable you just tug on.

 

[siteguru]

You can manually open the charging flap from inside the boot. Remove a little panel and there’s a looped cable you just tug on.

Nope - that's for releasing the charge plug, not for opening the flap. (Unless it does both, and the flap release is an undocumented benefit ... have you physically tried it yourself and confirmed that it does indeed do this?)

 

[Phil]

Buying a leased vehicle is a good decision in any circumstances, my $42k leased 4WD was worth $10k to buy after 5 years…who wouldn’t do that?

 

[DerekH]

@Koops . I totally get your concern. I have an MG4 77 kWh under lease and so far 30 000 km in, an not a single issue with it. My concern would be service issue from MG dealers. My minimal contact with them has been very disappointing. Consistent lack of communication, follow up or incorrect advice. A recent question to several local dealers on something as basic as the service interval requirements to ensure I don't miss the required 1st service and void warranty has been crazy. Most told me categorically it was 10,000 km or warranty voided. A question using the proper online system to MG service still hasn't been answered by MG Australia 3 weeks later. The answer can easily be found had they known this basic information for a vehicle they would likely service on a daily basis or had they simply directed me to the service interval info that can be found in the online manual via the MG4 phone app. For this reason alone, I personally will be unlikely to buy another MG and would also have to think what I do when the lease expires in another 12 months.... a pity that this would be the reason I don't, but as great as the car is now, I have real concerns about MG's ability to fix a real issue if it was to occur.

 

[Tonych]

Unexpectedly I have to decide in the next few months whether to hand my 1 year old MG4 LR back to the company who are providing it under a 36 month salary sacrifice scheme, or purchase the car from them (either way I have to pay £5k to my employer due to early termination).

I really like the car and haven't had anything fail on it, although I’m nervous about the charging flap not releasing one day as it needs a jiggle.
I expect to be offered a good price given the used EV car market (£18k is my guess) and I would go for this, except I’m concerned about MG support if something does go wrong or when big service items are needed. I wouldn’t want to be left without a working car for more than say a couple of weeks. And a recent customer service survey result putting MG at the bottom hasn’t reassured me.
I could find another £3k’ish and buy a Tesla model Y instead, although I'm not keen on the bland interior, no buttons for basics etc.

What are others views on this - anyone else had this dilemma for an MG EV?

Glad you posed this question as I will be in the same position in March!