MG4 in Australia

[ozzz]

Rare as hens teeth!
Hi from Noosa on the Sunshine Coast.
Just joined MGEVs, great community and the advice is awesome. So thank you in advance.

We ordered our MG4 last week. We've gone for whats called in the brochure a MG4 Long Range 77, Volcano Orange! We had a couple of test drives and I was really impressed. I'm not sure what it's like in the rest of the world but here they just get you to sign a crazy insurance deal and send you off on you own Literally 30 seconds tuition and you're away into the traffic with LKA and OPD on full. "Take it down the highway, see how it goes". Was the dealers parting comment. I made a mental note not to buy a demonstrator car ever! lol

Rather frustratingly orange 77's are 'As rare as hens teeth'. So it looks like we've got to wait for the next ship to arrive from China. End of May apparently. Even more frustratingly Our dealer can't tell us if there is an unsold, orange, 77 on the ship. So if that doesn't work out it's the next ship after that, which is anyones guess. Still, plenty to look forward too.

I've made the rookie error and order a shed load of mods. 14 at the last count, including a colour coordinated reg plate. I've sounded out the local ceramic coating specialist and they're ready to go. I think I might ask the dealership not to put any 'pre-delivery' wax on the car prior to pick up. Seems reasonable? And we're just in the process of upgrading our solar installation. We already have 3phase supply, so with the panels going up to 15kW and a new 13kW 3phase inverter, and a smartish charger, it'll be interesting to see just how low we can bring our $/km. I could well be setting up a V2L charging/station/circuit for all the lithium power tools and the battery powered ride on mower. It feels like the snowball is off and running, and the dollars are flying out the door lol.

The dealer has just sent me some pics of the official MG tow bar that was installed a MG4 last week. And they raise many questions, so I'll be back with those shortly.

Hi I live in the Wollongong area and I think I noticed new orange and a green x power at Albion park MG , It’s next door to the Wollongong regional airport just a short hop.

 

[clayton4115]

ABRP told me that was enough, plus I had to get to Sydney by the end of the day for other reasons.

Basically, I didn't want to waste any more time than I had to. That dictated how long I charged at a lot of places.

It also pissed me off when I had to wait for someone who insisted on getting to 100% exactly at Goulburn KFC Chargefox.

I wonder if you had the 77 if you would have need to stop at Goulburn KFC or continue further to Campbelltown Tesla chargers?

 

[ozzz]

I wonder if you had the 77 if you would have need to stop at Goulburn KFC or continue further to Campbelltown Tesla chargers?

Check out Campbell town catholic club chargers

 

[NLMGSAN]

Are these dealers stupid or something? In Queensland the state government will give you $6000 as a rebate if you buy a fully electric car - but it has to be brand new I see the brand new 77 are selling for, driveaway price $52,990 - the $6,000 rebate it will be $46,990, however on CarSales I see demos going for way over that price.

https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/used/mg/mg4/long-range-77-badge/queensland-state/hatch-bodystyle/?sort=Price

But they are available now. So what is the delivery time of new one?

Btw, you aussies seem to have shorter km's than we have (range is 590km..)

 

[leonkernan]

I wonder if you had the 77 if you would have need to stop at Goulburn KFC or continue further to Campbelltown Tesla chargers?

I was going in the other direction at that point. I just needed a couple of percent to make sure I got to the Yass supercharger.
It was easier to wait than go all the way through Goulburn to the Chargefox on the other side of town and then come all the way back through.

 

[clayton4115]

But they are available now. So what is the delivery time of new one?

Btw, you aussies seem to have shorter km's than we have (range is 590km..)

Delivery for a new one is around 4 weeks, crazy not to wait 4 weeks and save $6k +

 

[Wil Tryharder]

The budget for the Qld rebate was only 44m. There’s only 11m left. The last 2.5m was used up in 10 days! So 4 weeks wait time might not be early enough
Does anyone know when the next boat is arriving? And where it’s docking?

 

[clayton4115]

The budget for the Qld rebate was only 44m. There’s only 11m left. The last 2.5m was used up in 10 days! So 4 weeks wait time might not be early enough
Does anyone know when the next boat is arriving? And where it’s docking?

oh it's going quick

 

[Wil Tryharder]

Way too quickly, we should all be lobbying the transport minister!

 

[clayton4115]

Way too quickly, we should all be lobbying the transport minister!

maybe change of govt in a few months so it may be a waste of time

 

[wattmatters]

Btw, you aussies seem to have shorter km's than we have (range is 590km..)

No chance in a 64. Most of our driving is @110km/h. 360km is an effective max, less if wind is not kind. I don't like going below 20% as that's ~70km of range when towns are typically 100km apart so you get left with little option if a charge point is dead. Fast chargers much further apart.

 

[wattmatters]

Our preference now is to have a break roughly about every 2 hours so where that can also be a charge stop. For us Thrumster is only 140km / 90 min away so a shorter leg to start with but we are OK with that, and then Raymond Terrace is another 210km / 2hrs10.

I did this this journey again this past week. A stark contrast to the last time, which was before the Tesla superchargers at Thrumster and Raymond Terrace were available.

On way down to Sydney used the Tesla Superchargers at Thrumster and Raymond Terrace. They charged faster than we needed with the car throttled down to 7 kW by the time I got back to it each time. But plenty of available charge stations so it's not like I was holding anyone up.

Coffee stop at Thrumster, lunch at Raymond Terrace. The small shopping centre at Raymond Terrace is not as nice as Thrumster but the toilets are decent and the small food hall adequate.

Car was left in Sydney as I was travelling elsewhere over the weekend in another vehicle. Had to do some running about while there though.

This was the trip down, 531 km. A small early morning top up to 100% before leaving, and the two Supercharger stops.

The return journey was split over two days going via The Entrance:

Needed a bit of a top up to make it back to Raymond Terrace on the return from Sydney, didn't want to be caught in case the destination charger was a no go.

Used the BP Pulse charger at the fuel station on Sydney Rd Balgowlah.

It worked first time which made for a nice change and I didn't stay all that long (25 min). It was an early lunch/sandwich stop anyway. The station is small but has the usual assortment of food and drink on offer and a bathroom. Some errands/visits in Sydney then onto The Entrance for an overnight stop.

There was a destination charger (I checked ahead of time) but unfortunately it was occupied most of that afternoon and evening. I got a couple of hours in the next morning with the AC charger but an overnight charge would have been better:

No convenient power outlets at/near the rooms though where I could park and use the granny charger instead - that pic is the only spot allocated for EV charging and was in a different building to the accommodation.

A quick stop at Raymond Terrace and again at Thrumster for a top up and to grab a bite and drink to go, with a bit more charge than I needed. Arrived home with 16%.

Total: 1,113 km
Total energy: 206.2 kWh
Economy: 18.53 kWh/100km

Charging en-route:
DC fast charging: 138.71 kWh / $112.83
Destination charging: 14.1 kWh / $0.00
Balance need from home charging to return to 100% SOC: 53.4 kWh.

Tesla Thrumster Supercharger was 78 c/kWh.
Raymond Terrace Supercharger was 91 c/kWh.
BP Pulse Balgowlah was 65 c/kWh.

 

[clayton4115]

Holy hell - can't believe how fast they are depreciating !

https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/details/mg-mg4-2023/SSE-AD-17141256

 

[Silver Surfer]

It's great for people with a $30K budget looking to get into an electric vehicle. The more people who have access to cheaper EVs the better.

 

[wattmatters]

What a great buy for someone wanting to get into an EV.

Pretty much all cars lose a lot of value as soon as they leave the dealer's lot. Inside that first year old is a sweet spot for buying (if the car has not been harmed in its short life) as the biggest depreciation loss occurs on the first day.

My last car had about the same km when I bought it and it was $35k less than new.

 

[neerav]

Holy hell - can't believe how fast they are depreciating !

https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/details/mg-mg4-2023/SSE-AD-17141256

Bear in mind that person would have bought it for much less than people in other states. In Qld the excite 51 is $34000 ($40K less 6K government rebate)

 

[Wil Tryharder]

Holy hell - can't believe how fast they are depreciating !

https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/details/mg-mg4-2023/SSE-AD-17141256

Looks like it’s got some damage on the front corner too.

 

[clayton4115]

Bear in mind that person would have bought it for much less than people in other states. In Qld the excite 51 is $34000 ($40K less 6K government rebate)

So only $4k probably can negotiate another couple of thousands off.

 

[Wil Tryharder]

Are these dealers stupid or something? In Queensland the state government will give you $6000 as a rebate if you buy a fully electric car - but it has to be brand new I see the brand new 77 are selling for, driveaway price $52,990 - the $6,000 rebate it will be $46,990, however on CarSales I see demos going for way over that price.

https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/used/mg/mg4/long-range-77-badge/queensland-state/hatch-bodystyle/?sort=Price

We’ve just changed our minds and gone for the 64 Essence sitting in the showroom rather than wait for the 77. Which is on a boat somewhere and with possible delays at port of a month. It seemed a no brainer to go for the rebate before it runs out.
So we already have the plates and could be driving it this time next week

 

[clayton4115]

What a great buy for someone wanting to get into an EV.

Pretty much all cars lose a lot of value as soon as they leave the dealer's lot. Inside that first year old is a sweet spot for buying (if the car has not been harmed in its short life) as the biggest depreciation loss occurs on the first day.

My last car had about the same km when I bought it and it was $35k less than new.

Now if I can get a 77 in the high $30's in around 12 months time with low k's I will be happy with that!