MG Service Plan - Early termination

[Deleted member 22266]

Just got an MG ZS Long Range Trophy car. Looking at getting the 5 year service plan plus the relevant MOTs as costs willl be locked in & only paying monthly. If I sell the car before the five years are up, will MG refund the balance paid but not used yet?

 

[maskull]

Not sure about that but they will transfer the balance to a new car if it's an MG
I had a refund on my service plan with Hyundai not sure if MG are the same

 

[T1 Terry]

Welcome to the forum, it's good to have another funny person posting here MG refunding money, good one, don't like the chances of the service costs being locked in either ....

T1 Terry

 

[Data]

I had a service plan on one of my new Skoda cars. The car was a 'lemon' with lots of faults which carried on for 18 months. I decided to get rid & asked to cancel my service plan. The operative on the phone at the service plan centre told me I could cancel & get a refund. She said the cancellation fee was £35 but there were some management charges also and these would have to be calculated & then they would inform me of the charges. Thinking it wouldn't be much I just said go ahead anyway as the plan could not be transferred to my new car. It turned out I paid a total of £135 in cancellation & management fees. To this day no one has been able to tell me exactly where my money actually went. I got a total of £35 sent back to me. I was considerably out of pocket. So these days I don't bother with service plans because if your car turns out to be a nightmare & you need to get rid, or just decide to change your car, good luck trying to get your money back!

 

[Deleted member 22266]

Thanks to everyone for all the feedback. On reflection I will save the the monthly cost myself and earn some interest as well.

 

[Susanna]

@davast - I think it depends on the cost of the plan, and whether you intend to keep the car for the duration. I bought a 4 year plan with a local (ish) dealer, for £7.45 pcm. I thought it a very good deal, as the breakdown cover is included, though not MOT’s.

 

[Data]

The problem for me is it virtually locks you in for the period you signed up for & the cancellation fees are exorbitant. In my case I could not carry on with a car that was literally falling apart so I rejected the car & asked for my money back. I was successful but failed to get my service plan money back. Frankly it was a bit of a con. They just take your money regardless.

 

[maskull]

The problem for me is it virtually locks you in for the period you signed up for & the cancellation fees are exorbitant. In my case I could not carry on with a car that was literally falling apart so I rejected the car & asked for my money back. I was successful but failed to get my service plan money back. Frankly it was a bit of a con. They just take your money regardless.

I don't know what the cancellation fees are but,in my case when I traded in the MG5 for the ZS,they transferred the plan

 

[Data]

I don't know what the cancellation fees are but,in my case when I traded in the MG5 for the ZS,they transferred the plan

I tried to do that but the service plan I had was a VW plan. It could not be transferred. So I lost a huge amount of money. I won in the end because I sued them for damages & won! But it was not the best solution because in reality I didn't gain much & really still lost out. Everything is stacked against you.

 

[maskull]

I tried to do that but the service plan I had was a VW plan. It could not be transferred. So I lost a huge amount of money. I won in the end because I sued them for damages & won! But it was not the best solution because in reality I didn't gain much & really still lost out. Everything is stacked against you.

So it was the VW plan that had the prohibitive cancellation fee not MG?

 

[Data]

Yes, as per my earlier post. But after some research I can tell you they are pretty much all the same. If you cannot transfer it, then you are sunk. Remember that many of these service plans are not from the car manufacturers but a third party. My Citroen plan was not from Citroen. It was Citroen backed & was transferable but not to MG. My VW plan was actually not from VW but they were the ones you phoned iirc. But it could be transferred but not to MG. It's all a bit of a game. I know many people that have lost hundreds of pound due to the fees they impose if you cancel.

 

[fred12345]

Just got an MG ZS Long Range Trophy car. Looking at getting the 5 year service plan plus the relevant MOTs as costs willl be locked in & only paying monthly. If I sell the car before the five years are up, will MG refund the balance paid but not used yet?

you pay monthly DD so unless in the paperwork it says you need to pay in full (can't imagine that would possibly be the case) you can terminate at any time. just stop paying. but I wouldn't expect any refund for "unused" payments towards the next service.

simply get a quote online and call the garage to check; you can also read T&C before you buy

 

[maskull]

Yes, as per my earlier post. But after some research I can tell you they are pretty much all the same. If you cannot transfer it, then you are sunk. Remember that many of these service plans are not from the car manufacturers but a third party. My Citroen plan was not from Citroen. It was Citroen backed & was transferable but not to MG. My VW plan was actually not from VW. But it could be transferred but not to MG. It's all a bit of a game. I know many people that have lost hundreds of pound due to the fees they impose if you cancel.

All I can say is my Hyundai and MG service plans were with the the relevant manufacturers so that scenario didn't apply . I suppose best practice is to ensure that your plan is with the manufacturer and not a third party and transferable to another vehicle before buying ?

 

[BOB353]

Gee, I feel sorry for you posting. Here in Aussie land we get 10 years warranty, free 5 year road assist plus fixed price (at very good prices) services.

I never go for extended warranty because fit for purpose laws means that even things out of warranty are getting replaced at no cost. As an example, Isuzu had a bad batch of turbos that are being replace even 2-3 years out of warranty.

Seems strange the MG can have one rule for one country and another for others. For one us Aussies seem to be in front.

I think MG went down the 10 year warranty to keep up with KIA, BYD etc.

 

[fred12345]

Thanks to everyone for all the feedback. On reflection I will save the the monthly cost myself and earn some interest as well.

Think again. This is today's quote for my ZS with 55,000 miles on the clock. Compare the cost of service to what some people on the forum are paying. I took my service plan about 18 months ago and pay about £19 per month.

 

[Data]

All I can say is my Hyundai and MG service plans were with the the relevant manufacturers so that scenario didn't apply . I suppose best practice is to ensure that your plan is with the manufacturer and not a third party and transferable to another vehicle before buying ?

Yes, my service plans were the manufacturers own, or manufacturer backed, not the dealers or any other third party. But something to bear in mind is that most of them are administered by a third party. Not the manufacturer. They have big charges if you cancel, which you of course are entitled to do. Many of these plans cannot be transferred either as mine were not. If your car was stolen or written off, or you just decide to change your car for whatever reason you can face losing most or even all your money. In my case I lost around £180 in total. It's happened to another of my family a year or so ago when their car was badly damaged & written off. So I avoid these plans now.

 

[maskull]

Yes, my service plans were the manufacturers own, not the dealers or any other third party. But something to bear in mind is that most of them are administered by a third party. Not the manufacturer. They have big charges if you cancel, which you of course are entitled to do. Many of these plans cannot be transferred either as mine were not. If your car was stolen or written off, or you just decide to change your car for whatever reason you can face losing most or even all your money. In my case I lost around £180 in total. It's happened to another of my family a year or so ago when their car was badly damaged & written off. So I avoid these plans now.

My first MG service plan was administered by a third party . It was a hassle getting it transferred but it got done . This service plan is with the dealer direct and is transferable for the princely sum of £11 a month

 

[Data]

I don't understand


Think again. This is today's quote for my ZS with 55,000 miles on the clock. Compare the cost of service to what some people on the forum are paying. I took my service plan about 18 months ago and pay about £19 per month.

Ok Fred, just checked the MG service plan & that is administered by Edynamics through a company called Brown & Gammons. It is MG backed but not from MG. It's the same as most manufacturers service plans. It's probably only got limited transferability, like my VW, Skoda & Citroen plans had. They don't take kindly to cancellation which sometimes, like me you have to do. They make you pay.

Not sure what went wrong with this post. My text appears in the wrong place...

 

[fred12345]

Not sure what went wrong with this post. My text appears in the wrong place...

Mine seems to be with my MG dealer group but direct debit looks like it's administered by another company EMaC... This is what it says in mine:

 

[Data]

Yes that's quite standard contract wording for these plans Fred. Note it mentions the cancellation fee of £37.50. It then goes on to mention 'management fee'. That's the killer!