low mileage services. Extra charges

[AbuG]

come to Redditch for my first low mileage service plan (already prepaid) on ZS EV and they want 34 quid extra for the perforation check and £20 more for AA cover.

Norhing in my seevice contract about that.

has any one else had that?

 

[Alb]

They are trying it on.
Name and shame!

 

[Dr Dave]

I think the AA cover cost is covered by MG as free as stated on their website:

'Following on from your initial year's roadside assistance, when you take your car back to your MG dealer for every subsequent scheduled service, if you choose the option, you will receive a further 12 months’ MG Assistance free.'

Charging £20.00 for something already paid for i.e. is 'free' is fraud. Point this out to the garage and tell them there are going to be reported to the police if they take payment (fraud is a criminal offence).

This garage is asking you to pay a second time for services you have already paid for or are entitled to.

As for the perforation check I have never been charged for this separately although it appears you can, at the dealerships discression be charged for this.

'For the warranty period to remain valid it is required that you have your vehicle inspected every 12 months for the duration of the anti-perforation warranty by an MG Dealer and documented. The dealer may charge for this service.'

Ring or write to MG and report you are being charged £20.00 for AA cover which is free. I would also report them to trading standards and the police to log the offence.

If you have already paid the £20.00 ask for an immediate refund.

 

[Dr Dave]

Further to my reply above.

If the dealership is going to charge for a perforation check they must agree the price with you before carrying out the work. They cannot carry out the work and then charge you, if they do this you have no obligation to pay.

 

[Dodger]

come to Redditch for my first low mileage service plan (already prepaid) on ZS EV and they want 34 quid extra for the perforation check and £20 more for AA cover.

Norhing in my seevice contract about that.

has any one else had that?

How much will they charge for the free Morris the Bear!

 

[AbuG]

they (Paul Rigby Redditch, formerly Longbridge site) said the Morris bear and AA cover together was £20... i didnt pay, said i will get MG motors to look into it, and I pushed them to phone MG, which they couldnt, but sent MG an email instead. (after wasting 25 or so minutes showing them my low mileage service contract plan)

i agreed to pay the £34 for the anti-perforation check (dont see the point of losing the paint Warranty, one of the main reasons to get the first service done).

they later agreed to do it FOC... because they did want to send the email... but i insisted it be sent about the AA cover for £20 extra. I dont really need any way as i have RAC cover too which gives better addional services to the basic AA one.

think i will go to an independent garage if i keep the car for the next service... but crap services like this dont give me alot of confidence in them.

 

[Deleted member 7171]

Funny how some garages are trying to add little bits here and there because there is so little maintenance (revenue for the garage) to be done on an EV.

I've heard anecdotal evidence on other forums that a variety of manufacturers franchised service centres are doing something similar.

 

[Dave53]

come to Redditch for my first low mileage service plan (already prepaid) on ZS EV and they want 34 quid extra for the perforation check and £20 more for AA cover.

Nothing in my service contract about that.

has anyone else had that?

If the perforation inspection is not covered in the low milage service plan then you will have to pay this extra charge every year or you lose the warranty on it, I looked a the low milage service plan but found it made me open to warranty issues if they were not checked every year, i wouldn't touch it.

come to Redditch for my first low mileage service plan (already prepaid) on ZS EV and they want 34 quid extra for the perforation check and £20 more for AA cover.

Nothing in my service contract about that.

has anyone else had that?

 

[Lovemyev]

I dont really need any way as i have RAC cover too which gives better addional services to the basic AA one.

I was first of the opinion that the cover offered by MG through the AA was the very basic "Roadside Assistance".
From experience I can tell you it is NOT.
One of the most expensive levels of cover you can purchase is their "Home Start" package, which means they will attend to your car at your home address and this level also covers recovery if required.
So, a pretty comprehensive level of cover.
I know, because after over 40 years of driving and never needing the services of the A.A. / RAC.
About 6 weeks ago, my electronic hand brake failed to release on the O/S/R of the car and it was park on our drive at the time.
I rang the number on the MG Assist card and the advisor booked a call out and within 40 minutes the AA guy arrived at our home.
He spent another 40 minutes checking over the problem, before manually releasing the handbrake, in order that we could get the car to our nearest MG dealer.
Excellent service form the AA guy !.
I also had full RAC cover on the back of my car insurance last year, believing the MG cover was only very basic.
I can personally say that the service I received from MG Assistance and the AA was absolutely brilliant.
On the subject of low mileage servicing, I don't think dealers are very keen on this whole concept.
Carry out a service for a very low cost, I feel is not worth the time they spend on the car.
My first service was a "Pay on the Day" price and was just over £100.
My second service ( done about three weeks ago ) was £177 pounds, this service included a cabin pollen filter replacement.
The filter element appeared on the bill and was £30.00 ( ish ).
Having worked in a very large dealership myself many years ago, then paying £100 for a service and then receiving full AA breakdown cover ( and a teddy bear ) is pretty fair value for money I think ?.
Much cheaper than a second service on my previous VAG group model !.

 

[Dave53]

If the perforation inspection is not covered in the low milage service plan then you will have to pay this extra charge every year or you lose the warranty on it, I looked a the low milage service plan but found it made me open to warranty issues if they were not checked every year, I wouldn't touch

I was first of the opinion that the cover offered by MG through the AA was the very basic "Roadside Assistance".
From experience I can tell you it is NOT.
One of the most expensive levels of cover you can purchase is their "Home Start" package, which means they will attend to your car at your home address and this level also covers recovery if required.
So, a pretty comprehensive of cover.
I know, because after over 40 years of driving and never needing the services of the A.A. / RAC.
About 6 weeks ago, my electronic hand brake failed to release on the O/S/R of the car and it was park on our drive at the time.
I rang the number on the MG Assist card and the advisor booked a call out and within 40 minutes the AA guy arrived at our home.
He spent also 40 minutes checking over the problem, before manually releasing the handbrake, in order that we could get the car to our nearest MG dealer.
Excellent service form the AA guy !.
I also had full RAC cover on the back of my car insurance last year, believing the MG cover was only very basic.
I can personally say that the service I received from MG Assistance and the AA was absolutely brilliant.

I believe the only difference is it covers the car and not the person for other vehicles

 

[Lovemyev]

I believe the only difference is it covers the car and not the person for other vehicles

That is totally correct !.

 

[AussiePete]

I posted this thread a while back to give people some insight into low mileage service plans Low mileage service plan observations

Looking at what you’ve been hit with there are a couple of points to note:

1. Corrosion check is extra
2. Next years AA is included at no cost as long as your vehicle is serviced by an MG garage
3. Any extra costs should be advised beforehand

 

[Lovemyev]

3. Any extra costs should be advised beforehand

If work is carried out BEFORE prior consent or authorization from the customer, then you are at liberty to refuse payment.

 

[Paulie68]

This will make you all feel better... The first Service on the Porsche EV, which is also pretty much b****r all costs £950, lol!!

Problem is garages are starting to panic as they are so used to a business model of many £100's a year for minor services to ICE cars. You only need to look at how much the servicing is for the Petrol version of the ZS to see why the rapid switch to EV is scaring dealers half to death.

So they try it on at every opportunity...

 

[Dr Dave]

come to Redditch for my first low mileage service plan (already prepaid) on ZS EV and they want 34 quid extra for the perforation check and £20 more for AA cover.

Norhing in my seevice contract about that.

has any one else had that?

Charging for the free AA cover is fraud report them to Gov.uk as the site suggests.

Complain about a limited company

Complain about or report company for breaking the law or committing fraud, running scams, or selling faulty products of services

www.gov.uk

 

[Archev]

How much will they charge for the free Morris the Bear!

The bare minimum

 

[AbuG]

I was first of the opinion that the cover offered by MG through the AA was the very basic "Roadside Assistance".
From experience I can tell you it is NOT.
One of the most expensive levels of cover you can purchase is their "Home Start" package, which means they will attend to your car at your home address and this level also covers recovery if required.
So, a pretty comprehensive level of cover.
I know, because after over 40 years of driving and never needing the services of the A.A. / RAC.
About 6 weeks ago, my electronic hand brake failed to release on the O/S/R of the car and it was park on our drive at the time.
I rang the number on the MG Assist card and the advisor booked a call out and within 40 minutes the AA guy arrived at our home.
He spent another 40 minutes checking over the problem, before manually releasing the handbrake, in order that we could get the car to our nearest MG dealer.
Excellent service form the AA guy !.
I also had full RAC cover on the back of my car insurance last year, believing the MG cover was only very basic.
I can personally say that the service I received from MG Assistance and the AA was absolutely brilliant.
On the subject of low mileage servicing, I don't think dealers are very keen on this whole concept.
Carry out a service for a very low cost, I feel is not worth the time they spend on the car.
My first service was a "Pay on the Day" price and was just over £100.
My second service ( done about three weeks ago ) was £177 pounds, this service included a cabin pollen filter replacement.
The filter element appeared on the bill and was £30.00 ( ish ).
Having worked in a very large dealership myself many years ago, then paying £100 for a service and then receiving full AA breakdown cover ( and a teddy bear ) is pretty fair value for money I think ?.
Much cheaper than a second service on my previous VAG group model !.

for breakdown it is more the onward travel and onward relay that i was alluding to... i think AA is to the nearest dealer only... if you travelling around it might cause large disturbance and it can be a hefty bill.

 

[Lovemyev]

for breakdown it is more the onward travel and onward relay that i was alluding to... i think AA is to the nearest dealer only... if you travelling around it might cause large disturbance and it can be a hefty bill.

Here is a quote from the MG web site that states as follow's :-
And He / She writes :-

"This package will cover the vehicle for the whole of the UK (including Homestart, Roadside Assistance, Recovery and Onward Mobility cover). It’s a really comprehensive package to offer you reassurance and peace of mind".

The details of your cover can be found here.

The above link should take you to a PDF of the full T&C's on the cover supplied by MG.

 

[emmrecs]

i think AA is to the nearest dealer only

No, it can be as (reasonably) far as you need.

My wife's MG3 (also covered by MG Assistance, so AA) was eligible to be recently recovered from Scunthorpe to our dealer in Lincoln which is not the "nearest" to where she was. In the event, following a check by a "proper" AA technician (the mechanic initially sent out, by the AA, from a local garage failed to correctly diagnose the problem!!) the fault - a loose starter motor lead - was fixed and no recovery needed.

 

[Sam Luscombe]

Dealers point of view incoming...

I can understand why dealers are charging for anti-perforation checks and AA cover. And before I get shot down, let me explain why. Firstly, this isn't against the law or dodgy practise as long as its explicitly explained before a contract is formed or work is carried out.

Morris the Bear and AA Roadside assistance both have a cost to the dealer, I wont say exactly how much, but £20 that you've been quoted isn't making them any money. If they are carrying out a first service on an electric MG for circa £40 (which is the rate MG publicised on their website), that's £33.33 the dealer makes after VAT. If the Bear and AA are £16.67 pre-VAT, then the dealer is 'servicing' your car for £16.67 gross. Factor in the wage of the technician to carry out the service (and yes, I appreciate there's not much to do on a 1st year EV service), the service advisors wage, the operating costs of just opening the workshop doors daily, the wash and vac you come to expect on a service from a main dealer etc. I can promise you, there's a reasonable loss incurred when doing the low mileage service plan for a dealer.

What should happen, and what we do, is explain the difference between the two services and be very explicit about what you do and don't get. For £16.33 on a low mileage service, you get what you pay for... Not a lot. As long as everyone is educated on this before taking out a service plan, I don't see a problem but as with anything, and hence the reason why I've posted this here, if its badly managed and it's not explicit about what you get, it can be very frustrating.