Bad service from MG continues [Resolved]

[jamakr4]

This has now been resolved. We have the payment.

With the active help of the dealer principal, it has been sorted out.

It's taken a lot of my time and effort but the result is a good one. They do really seem to be trying to improve.

I'm feeling conflicted... would things really be any different at another make? Am I just thinking the grass would be greener?

Anyway... best of luck to anyone with an issue that is still outstanding.

I believe the brand doesn't really matter these days (with some exceptions like Stellantis). I think the biggest issue of MG is that they are penetrating a market with a lot of other well-implemented rivals and therefore take literally every dealer that applies to the dealer network. In Germany, we see a high fluctuation with MG dealers. MG came up with a new contract like 1 or 2 years ago (which meant higher standards for dealers in terms of customer service) and a couple dropped out, but usually, it was the ones that already had 10 other brands in their portfolio and a bad reputation for MG service (one next to my place literally bricked an MG4—no power below 30% SOC—and claimed it had been like that from the get-go, and the same dealer also refused to replace the bent bottom plastic cover under warranty).

I had a broken heater last year (December) and went to a bigger dealer that primarily does VAG vehicles but also MG—it was a nightmare. They straight up lied to me in terms of warranty and loaner cars but also couldn't figure out the issue that was in the DTCs. Instead, they wanted to check all wires and pipes. Waiting time per appointment was 3 weeks + and as I told them that I lost trust and wanted to get a 2nd opinion on this case, they threatened me with expensive bills for a warranty case. I contacted MG about this and contacted this dealer—no idea what happened, but they still do MG. I honestly think I would have had the same experience if I had an ID.3 / Born with an issue like mine.

At another dealer: No problem! Everything fixed under warranty and under 3 weeks (including full diagnosis + fix). The broken control module took only 5 days to arrive.

 

[tsedge]

I believe the brand doesn't really matter these days (with some exceptions like Stellantis).

That may be true, everyone is rushing to get their latest cars to market and survive.

I think the biggest issue of MG is that they are penetrating a market with a lot of other well-implemented rivals and therefore take literally every dealer that applies to the dealer network. In Germany, we see a high fluctuation with MG dealers. MG came up with a new contract like 1 or 2 years ago (which meant higher standards for dealers in terms of customer service) and a couple dropped out, but usually, it was the ones that already had 10 other brands in their portfolio and a bad reputation for MG service (one next to my place literally bricked an MG4—no power below 30% SOC—and claimed it had been like that from the get-go, and the same dealer also refused to replace the bent bottom plastic cover under warranty).

In the case of the UK, things were a bit different... MG was an established brand with lots of dealers nationwide before the Chinese bought them and it had a history. For years though, these (mainly small) dealers had been selling cheap ICE cars (mainly reworked versions of ancient Rover/MG products) at a relatively low rate.

When SAIC took over and then the EVs / Hybrids started to arrive, this rapidly propelled sales into much higher volumes - much higher than many of these small family operations could cope with. Many of the small family shops have closed or left the network and the remainder are expanding where they can. Some are multi-vendor but a lot only do MGs.

The pressures of the volumes and the old culture of pile-them-high-sell-them-cheap have combined to give a really variable aftersales experience. If your dealer can cope with the volumes, if they specialise only in MGs and if they care, then you can get a wealth of technical knowledge and help. All too often, this is not the case.

I had a broken heater last year (December) and went to a bigger dealer that primarily does VAG vehicles but also MG—it was a nightmare. They straight up lied to me in terms of warranty and loaner cars but also couldn't figure out the issue that was in the DTCs. Instead, they wanted to check all wires and pipes. Waiting time per appointment was 3 weeks + and as I told them that I lost trust and wanted to get a 2nd opinion on this case, they threatened me with expensive bills for a warranty case. I contacted MG about this and contacted this dealer—no idea what happened, but they still do MG. I honestly think I would have had the same experience if I had an ID.3 / Born with an issue like mine.

Yes, dealers that do multiple brands often struggle to know those brands in depth. Often there is only 1 technician properly trained in each brand and they cannot cope with anything complicated. There also seems to be a talent in how to talk to MG China / SAIC and how to raise difficult technical tickets in a way that gets a rapid and useful response. Some dealers have mastered this, some have not.

At another dealer: No problem! Everything fixed under warranty and under 3 weeks (including full diagnosis + fix). The broken control module took only 5 days to arrive.

Great.

I still feel like my dealer is trying to do a good job and technically they always seem to know a lot and come up with a fix - it is the sheer volume of the cars they've sold, their small constrained site (zero parking for customers typically!) and problems they've had recruiting and retaining staff that seem to lead to a bad experience.