Buying advice on MG5?

[boomish]

Im looking at buying a secondhand MG5 having seen some good value ones recently, it’s so tempting given some of them have quite low mileage, I wondered if anyone has some top tips on what to look out for.
I know I want the Exclusive for the roof bars & extras like MG pilot & I guess check it’s service history or battery health?
much appreciate any replies.

 

[m4rmite]

Car Scanner app and a obd dongle, plug in and connect. This will show you the state of health(SOH), it should be 100% or near as damn it.

 

[Deep purple]

First question, presume as you say Exclusive you are not looking at a facelift model.
Service sheet from last service is a must, on which the battery health should be measured.
Check the charging cables that are being included. Ideally you need the granny charger and the untethered charging lead (which is not cheap). See what is in the spare tyre well, some people have added space savers and jacks etc.
Have the headlights been uprated to Osram night breakers which are good? If they have had LEDs put in this is probably not legal!
Some people have added boot liners, sill covers, boot lip protector, mudflaps, decent mats etc.

 

[boomish]

First question, presume as you say Exclusive you are not looking at a facelift model.
Service sheet from last service is a must, on which the battery health should be measured.
Check the charging cables that are being included. Ideally you need the granny charger and the untethered charging lead (which is not cheap). See what is in the spare tyre well, some people have added space savers and jacks etc.
Have the headlights been uprated to Osram night breakers which are good? If they have had LEDs put in this is probably not legal!
Some people have added boot liners, sill covers, boot lip protector, mudflaps, decent mats etc.

Thanks for the super fast reply, you’re right not the face lift model no, that’s great info I didn’t know any of that, especially the charging cables, EV is all new to me, but I’m pretty good with tech and traditional cars. I presume most owners go & buy a spare wheel? seems crazy not to have an emergency one. I can see a shopping list of extras already but I don’t mind to say I’m excited at getting an EV is an understatement

 

[Deep purple]

Sorry, forgot one thing. Check if it is long or short range!
Space saver kits are available I think as you will need the jack etc.

 

[andi]

I have MG 5 exclusive LR, 22 plate, I've had 3 problems with it in 16 months 13k miles.
1 HV battery fault when trying to fast charge from a street charger.
2 infotainment Centre not booting correctly on occasions.
3 when turning on, HV battery fault.

All these were sorted within 5 minutes by turning vehicle off locking it and waiting for vehicle to shut down. After that, re entered vehicle and all was well.
I do like it have been round Wales and Lake District. It's a work horse for me as it's a company car. It's great.

 

[Jomarkh]

I have had an SR Excite for just over two years and done 36k miles.
I had the update done for the radio which was rebooting itself occasionally.
The 5 should come with the granny EVSE so check the condition of that.
The only time I get the HV shutdown is when try to select D too quickly after pressing the ready button.
If you do a lot of miles get a home 7kW EVSE and don't rely on the granny.

 

[boomish]

Thanks so much for the replies thats so helpful & encouraging..

 

[Lguk]

I have MG 5 exclusive LR, 22 plate, I've had 3 problems with it in 16 months 13k miles.
1 HV battery fault when trying to fast charge from a street charger.
2 infotainment Centre not booting correctly on occasions.
3 when turning on, HV battery fault.

All these were sorted within 5 minutes by turning vehicle off locking it and waiting for vehicle to shut down. After that, re entered vehicle and all was well.
I do like it have been round Wales and Lake District. It's a work horse for me as it's a company car. It's great.

3 can be triggered by not having your foot solid on the brake when powering up or shifting to drive before ready. Did it to myself previously. Not had a problem since.

 

[andi]

I must admit at 4am I'm not at my best when it happened, your probably correct.
I've run the MG5 down to 5% and the performance was still there. I've thought of swapping it for the face lift. My wife has MG4 with numerous faults so I'm waiting to see if they sort the 4 out before committing.

 

[Lguk]

Thanks so much for the replies thats so helpful & encouraging..

Ideally you want the 'granny' charger 12amp 3 pin plug one end. This is the trickle charger all cars come with. Most owners are likely to shift the untethered type 2 cable to a new vehicle as they don't usually come with one. Some dealers also take them out and may chuck the back in the clinch a deal) £125-200 depending on length.

With regards space saver. The car comes with an air compressor and some goo. Anything else is a bonus. Most EVs wont have one as the purpose built platforms don't have a wheel well, the mg5 does as it was based on a petrol vehicle.

21k miles in 16 months. 1hv error due to my own impatience. Infotainment has a tendency to crash when connected to Android Auto and you jostle the cable causing the connection to drop.

Keep a 10mm spanner in the car to disconnect the 12v battery and do the 2ton turn it off and on again reboot. (if you do you get all the error warning messages until you drive 20m).

Some have been used as taxis which invalidates the warranty.

 

[boomish]

Ideally you want the 'granny' charger 12amp 3 pin plug one end. This is the trickle charger all cars come with. Most owners are likely to shift the untethered type 2 cable to a new vehicle as they don't usually come with one. Some dealers also take them out and may chuck the back in the clinch a deal) £125-200 depending on length.

With regards space saver. The car comes with an air compressor and some goo. Anything else is a bonus. Most EVs wont have one as the purpose built platforms don't have a wheel well, the mg5 does as it was based on a petrol vehicle.

21k miles in 16 months. 1hv error due to my own impatience. Infotainment has a tendency to crash when connected to Android Auto and you jostle the cable causing the connection to drop.

Keep a 10mm spanner in the car to disconnect the 12v battery and do the 2ton turn it off and on again reboot. (if you do you get all the error warning messages until you drive 20m).

Some have been used as taxis which invalidates the warranty.

Amazing insight thank you , can’t believe people take out the basic charging cable. I suppose it’s pretty rare to use a spare, I can’t remember the last time I used one but you could say the same for home insurance, I still wouldn’t want to be without one Interesting on the spare wheel, I suppose plugging a hole & a compressor would work, thanks again I never knew this. The MG5 looks such a great deal, no perfect car I know but it looks such a lot of car for the money. I’m a little concerned about the drivers seat, I’ve read reports of it being very uncomfortable, I’m 6’4 and it would be nice if spending this kind of money to get something comfortable.

 

[Gomev]

..
Service sheet from last service is a must, on which the battery health should be measured.
..

Service records are kept online and not everyone gets a service sheet with details on, hopefully at least will have a receipt or similar. The important thing is that the service was done and recorded.
The annual service also gets you full AA cover in the UK for the following year, (poorly named as MG assistance). This can be checked by calling the AA, (I don't have the number to hand) use your reg no, and ask for membership expiry date.

 

[crispyjay]

Amazing insight thank you , can’t believe people take out the basic charging cable. I suppose it’s pretty rare to use a spare, I can’t remember the last time I used one but you could say the same for home insurance, I still wouldn’t want to be without one Interesting on the spare wheel, I suppose plugging a hole & a compressor would work, thanks again I never knew this. The MG5 looks such a great deal, no perfect car I know but it looks such a lot of car for the money. I’m a little concerned about the drivers seat, I’ve read reports of it being very uncomfortable, I’m 6’4 and it would be nice if spending this kind of money to get something comfortable.

I’m 6’3 and fit in OK. Have to have the seat all the way back so not much room behind me though. Seats are quite firm in my FL5 but seem a little softer 6000miles in.

 

[boomish]

Thanks again for all the replies, going to pick up my MG5 tomorrow, my wife & I are so excited, it’s a 2022 LR Exclusive. Thanks to all here, seeing & reading a thriving community of owners really made the difference on it being the right choice for us.
Time to shop for those accessories Goto download & learn all the apps, get tips from the garage on plugging it in correctly, neighbour told me this eve, there’s a certain order, guess it makes sense not to short it.

 

[Jomarkh]

It will be interesting to hear what advice the dealer gives you on plugging in and how to look after the HV battery.

 

[boomish]

Well I got my MG5LR , I wasn’t overly happy to begin with, as I arrived to find the care extremely dirty , looked liked it had never been cleaned & parts of the front chrome were going green, (1 year old) a few stone chips on the front & a large chip right in the middle of the bonnet, so for first impressions I was very disappointed. All sorted in the end & an agreement made that I’m happy with. Now I have to find a good ceramic coating place that can also clean & detai it, repair the tiny chip marks , the chrome should buff up & hopefully get the large chip repaired.
Any recommendations for Tw8 area of West London much appreciated..?

No one from the dealership really talked me through the car & was left to fend for myself, all a bit weird, I kinda expected at least a demo, maybe that’s new customers only, I grabbed a guy in the forecourt that gave me a few pointers & I managed to get It going & drive the 3 hour journey back home, what a beautiful drive! Especially once I got Apple car play to work , it doesn’t seem very happy with the iPhone cable I brought, I seve now that’s a common issue, I shall experiment tomorrow.
next Job tomorrow is to work out how to charge the car BTW I got no physical manual, or explained it’s all online, I found the link now.

 

[Jomarkh]

You can find the manual on the internet and download it as a file on your phone.
What cable have you got eg type 2 to type 2 for AC fast charging?
You won't need a cable for Rapid DC CCS chargers.

 

[boomish]

You can find the manual on the internet and download it as a file on your phone.
What cable have you got eg type 2 to type 2 for AC fast charging?
You won't need a cable for Rapid DC CCS chargers.

Thanks Joe, yep got the manuals now, it came with both cables in the boot, I haven’t looked at them yet , coiled up in a dirty MG round bag. Boot is nice & clean though

 

[Tweed98]

Some have been used as taxis which invalidates the warranty.

Beyond mileage and perhaps screw holes for the license how could you tell if a car has been used as a taxi? Is there a public register?