Trying to reject vehicle - any advice please? And should I get another one?

[JoanneMatheson]

Hi, I'm looking for some advice or guidance. I purchased a 2020 plate MG ZS EV three months ago. During the purchase I was repeatedly told by the salesperson that one of the great things about the vehicle was that it had all of its remaining manufacturer's warranty. I made it clear, repeatedly, that since the dealership was a long way from home, I wanted to make sure that everything was in order so that I could take the vehicle to my local dealership for servicing and maintenance, and was assured that this was the case. About a month after I got it the wing mirrors stopped retracting when the car was locked, not a big issue, but annoying. I took it to my local dealership to book it in, and they advised me that I'd have to pay for any repairs because the warranty was void due to incomplete service history. Long story short, the original dealership gave me an additional 2-year warranty as "a gesture of goodwill", but stated that I would probably need to bring the vehicle to them if anything went wrong. I told them I really wasn't happy about that, but accepted it, and hoped there wouldn't be any more issues - big mistake! Not only did the wing mirrors keep failing, I've had various problems with the parking brake, and last week it started rolling down my drive in circumstances where I could have been seriously injured, but ultimately only did damage to the vehicle. I spent a whole day at the dealership last week, during which they assured me the wing mirrors had been fixed, told me they couldn't find anything wrong with the brakes and therefore couldn't do anything about it, and refused to consider taking the vehicle back and giving me a full refund. The wing mirrors failed again on my second stop on the way home. I don't feel particularly safe driving a car I know has braking issues. I only discovered that there were any problems after the 30 day Consumer Rights Act return time. My original intention was, if I can persuade them to refund me an acceptable amount, I'll go to my local dealership and buy another one, but now I'm reading lots of concerns about MG warranties being rubbish, and MG UK being completely unhelpful, and lots of other brake issues, so I'm wondering about the wisdom of buying another. Any advice, input or suggestions appreciated. Thanks.

 

[johnb80]

It sounds like a dreadful situation and one that I'm unwittingly getting dragged into too. I would suggest you contact citizens advice and/or trading standards to see what your options are.

Here's my wonderful ongoing situation:-
"I'm in a bit of a fix at the moment"

 

[JoanneMatheson]

It sounds like a dreadful situation and one that I'm unwittingly getting dragged into too. I would suggest you contact citizens advice and/or trading standards to see what your options are.

Here's my wonderful ongoing situation:-
"I'm in a bit of a fix at the moment"

Thanks for contact, don't like the sound of your situation either, but warranty/support lack there of sounds similar. I'm planning to try and contact the Ombudsman for advice today. Keep me posted.

 

[johnb80]

MG UK are adept at finding ways out of warranty claims, my case which youve seen is a prime example. The dealer reached agreement with MG that if they fully serviced the car again that MG would confirm to me in writing that my warranty is still valid.

Guess what...... they wont!

Do you have it in writing or in a listing that there's the balance of manufacturers warranty? Generally if it's not written it was never said, it makes it a lot more difficult.

A complete contrast, my other EV - a 2017 BMW i3 is out of extended warranty in both age and mileage. There was an issue with water ingress into the drivers door which trashed the electric window equipment motor, module etc. A new wiring harness was needed along with several components, total cost including labour £3150. I had to pay it but the dealer contacted BMW to see if they would make contribution. BMW without argument paid for all the parts and the dealer paid the labour, absolute result. Then I experience MG..... my first and last time with MG UK.

 

[JoanneMatheson]

MG UK are adept at finding ways out of warranty claims, my case which youve seen is a prime example. The dealer reached agreement with MG that if they fully serviced the car again that MG would confirm to me in writing that my warranty is still valid.

Guess what...... they wont!

Do you have it in writing or in a listing that there's the balance of manufacturers warranty? Generally if it's not written it was never said, it makes it a lot more difficult.

A complete contrast, my other EV - a 2017 BMW i3 is out of extended warranty in both age and mileage. There was an issue with water ingress into the drivers door which trashed the electric window equipment motor, module etc. A new wiring harness was needed along with several components, total cost including labour £3150. I had to pay it but the dealer contacted BMW to see if they would make contribution. BMW without argument paid for all the parts and the dealer paid the labour, absolute result. Then I experience MG..... my first and last time with MG UK.

Well that's interesting, I used to be an absolute die-hard BMW fan and wouldn't drive anything else for years. Then when they changed to the 'new' design, it just wasn't the same any more and the support just didn't feel as good. I was just thinking this afternoon that perhaps I should look at them again! Certainly not keen on replacing with another MG after this.

Unfortunately I don't have it in writing, but I had two different people with me who heard it said, on two separate occasions. Also, I suspect that's why they extended the warranty. Anyway, we shall see. I've submitted a complaint and requested that they reconsider giving me a full refund. I now have 'evidence' of the parking brake failing to disengage, with a photo. I have to give them 5 days to respond to the complaint, after that I'll contact the Ombudsman.

 

[Tim Green]

Yours is a difficult case to advise on. I have a similar car, bought from new, so now 6 years on and it has been fault free. That is unusual for any car. However, there have been some instances when I thought there was fault, but it was me! For instance, if you try to use the car with the front driver door not fully shut, it throws up oddities like the handbrake not working. Also the wing mirrors won't fold in if the setting on the control knob is incorrect. So you may have experienced real faults -but maybe not! Some of these issues are due to EV's being very reliant on software which has not been fully tested and developed. I suppose my advice would be to stick with it for a while but if you don't get on with it sell it to one of those buy any car sites and accept the hit.

 

[Roger]

Well that's interesting, I used to be an absolute die-hard BMW fan and wouldn't drive anything else for years. Then when they changed to the 'new' design, it just wasn't the same any more and the support just didn't feel as good. I was just thinking this afternoon that perhaps I should look at them again! Certainly not keen on replacing with another MG after this.

Unfortunately I don't have it in writing, but I had two different people with me who heard it said, on two separate occasions. Also, I suspect that's why they extended the warranty. Anyway, we shall see. I've submitted a complaint and requested that they reconsider giving me a full refund. I now have 'evidence' of the parking brake failing to disengage, with a photo. I have to give them 5 days to respond to the complaint, after that I'll contact the Ombudsman.

I’m sorry to hear of your car problem. I purchased my MG ZS EV in March 2020 and have been very pleased with it. However last year the drivers seat base cushion started to split and so I returned it to Glyn Hopkin in North London where I expected them to repair/replace the faulty seat. Knowing it was out of warranty I explained as follows, see extract below:-

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 makes it an implied term of the contract I have with Glyn
Hopkin Ltd that goods be as described, fit for purpose and of satisfactory quality.
As you are in breach of contract and I have owned the vehicle for less than 6 years, I am
within my statutory rights to ask for a repair at no further cost to me.

Glyn Hopkin replied stating the car was out of warranty which completely (and possibly deliberately) avoided addressing my letter because I had stated I knew it was outside their warranty for such matters. I wrote several letters repeating my explanation only to receive negative responses including MG UK will not approve this repair and they kindly included an estimate should I want them to effect a repair!

Fortunately when placing my order for the car I paid a deposit using my credit card and so I made a claim under section 75. This was successful and I couldn’t be more grateful to Barclaycard for their professional help.

Further information: I’ve been driving for 58 years, have owned 29 cars, some old bangers as well as top of the range luxury models. I am not overweight. Never have I experienced a seat splitting!

When I took the car to an excellent local car upholstery company, Tiggy Design in Leatherhead, Surrey, they told me they’ve had loads of these seats in for repair and showed me an identical seat to mine with exactly the same splits

My suggestion to you is to speak with your credit card company in order to seek their advice. That assumes you made a payment or part payment by credit card. Good luck!

 

[Gadget Geek]

I pay for everything now with my Amazon Barclay card. I pay the balance off each month and get cash back on purchases along with the Section 75 protection.

 

[Rob24]

There is a joke about a tourist asking a local for directions and the local says " you shouldn't be starting from here"

Your case is not funny but you started at the wrong place, instead of proving it was in warranty as soon as you got it home you left it too long and now it's your word against theirs.

No help to you and to rub salt into your wound, I would get another MG but I have had a good experience with them.
In your shoes I might the same as you.

Hope it all works out for you.

Rob

 

[Tid]

Problem with a used car
Website worth a look. They have a consumer helpline as well: 0808 223 1133

 

[JoanneMatheson]

I’m sorry to hear of your car problem. I purchased my MG ZS EV in March 2020 and have been very pleased with it. However last year the drivers seat base cushion started to split and so I returned it to Glyn Hopkin in North London where I expected them to repair/replace the faulty seat. Knowing it was out of warranty I explained as follows, see extract below:-

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 makes it an implied term of the contract I have with Glyn
Hopkin Ltd that goods be as described, fit for purpose and of satisfactory quality.
As you are in breach of contract and I have owned the vehicle for less than 6 years, I am
within my statutory rights to ask for a repair at no further cost to me.

Glyn Hopkin replied stating the car was out of warranty which completely (and possibly deliberately) avoided addressing my letter because I had stated I knew it was outside their warranty for such matters. I wrote several letters repeating my explanation only to receive negative responses including MG UK will not approve this repair and they kindly included an estimate should I want them to effect a repair!

Fortunately when placing my order for the car I paid a deposit using my credit card and so I made a claim under section 75. This was successful and I couldn’t be more grateful to Barclaycard for their professional help.

Further information: I’ve been driving for 58 years, have owned 29 cars, some old bangers as well as top of the range luxury models. I am not overweight. Never have I experienced a seat splitting!

When I took the car to an excellent local car upholstery company, Tiggy Design in Leatherhead, Surrey, they told me they’ve had loads of these seats in for repair and showed me an identical seat to mine with exactly the same splits

My suggestion to you is to speak with your credit card company in order to seek their advice. That assumes you made a payment or part payment by credit card. Good luck!

Really pleased you got a good outcome, yet another reason why I might change from MG EV if my situation gets settled.

 

[JoanneMatheson]

There is a joke about a tourist asking a local for directions and the local says " you shouldn't be starting from here"

Your case is not funny but you started at the wrong place, instead of proving it was in warranty as soon as you got it home you left it too long and now it's your word against theirs.

No help to you and to rub salt into your wound, I would get another MG but I have had a good experience with them.
In your shoes I might the same as you.

Hope it all works out for you.

Rob

Sorry, that doesn't make sense - the first problem only occurred after the 30 day warranty had expired.

 

[JoanneMatheson]

Further to my post in January, I thought I'd update you on the conclusion of the story.

The wing mirrors continued not to work and the parking brake issue continued to happen erratically. In view of Tim Green's comment, and my own nagging worry that maybe I was doing something wrong, I checked all of the circumstances under which the brake might fail, but mostly it turned out that it would fail to disengage under certain circumstances. My primary problem was that it failed to engage, even though all the signs were that it had done so.

It was due in to the garage for them to do more looking on a Monday. I'd had several conversations with Citizens Advice and the Ombudsman and gone back to the garage to explain that I had a good case and their 'buy-back' offer increased a little. On the Friday I was due to spend the day around 110 miles from home, and stopped to top up at a public charging point after which the car failed to re-start. Since ironically, I wasn't far from the garage, I called them and asked them to come out and collect the car, which they said they couldn't do. Two hours later the AA had been out and after some difficulties got the car going. The AA engineer said he goes out to these sorts of issues all the time and MG are one of the worst.

I drove the car straight to the garage, insisted they provide me with a courtesy car, and left the vehicle with them. The Ombudsman's advice had been to raise a complaint with them as I clearly had a valid case for a full refund - but it would take around 6 months to process the claim and in the meantime I shouldn't drive the vehicle. Not a practical option for me. So on the Monday I took the courtesy car back and told them to keep the MG - it wasn't safe and I didn't trust it. They eventually bought the car back for £1250 less than I paid for it, which all things considered, I don't think is a too bad hit.

The final straw for me was when the garage said that even if they did find a parking brake fault, they wouldn't pay for the (fairly minor cosmetic) repairs to be done that were caused on the occasion that the brake failed, car rolled down the drive and hit a brick wall, because they couldn't be certain that the same fault caused that incident. That said all I needed to know about their oft-repeated "your custom is important to us" statement!

For reference, the garage in question is Drive Direct Weston Super Mare. Drive Direct UK head office completely ignored my calls and emails and told the garage to deal with it.

I ended up replacing it with something completely different which I am very happy with.

 

[johnb80]

Well done Joanne, interesting that the dealer concerned was Drive Direct, they are part of Drive Motor Retail who I had my problems with. Initially they tried to justify their actions stating that service work could be carried out by any level 3 technician, they didnt need to be MG certified. Only when I dug my heels in and started to pursue this issue did they pull out all of the stops and resolve the conflict between my MG warranty and MGUK. They were really good at fighting MG, I suspect though it was to avoid impending legal action towards them.
What car did you go for to replace your faulty one? I wont be getting another MG, I dont like MGUK's attitude and whilst on the surface the cars are great, looking a little deeper i found serious quality issues.

 

[fred12345]

Well done Joanne, interesting that the dealer concerned was Drive Direct, they are part of Drive Motor Retail who I had my problems with. Initially they tried to justify their actions stating that service work could be carried out by any level 3 technician, they didnt need to be MG certified. Only when I dug my heels in and started to pursue this issue did they pull out all of the stops and resolve the conflict between my MG warranty and MGUK. They were really good at fighting MG, I suspect though it was to avoid impending legal action towards them.
What car did you go for to replace your faulty one? I wont be getting another MG, I dont like MGUK's attitude and whilst on the surface the cars are great, looking a little deeper i found serious quality issues.

I happily went for another MG . The problem always seems to be with some local dealers rather than MG; MG is not really worse than any other non-MG brand and for the money you do get quite a lot... My 2022 ZS with 65,000 miles on the clock so far had only one minor issue that local garage was a massive pain to look into under warranty - MG UK on the other hand replied to my query within a day or two saying only one thing was an exception under warranty on that particular part (and mine was not so it had to be covered)... Guess my dealer wanted to milk me for a full price instead of whatever they get under a warranty repair ...

With @JoanneMatheson , hers was a second-hand car that the dealer flogged claiming it was all good and under warranty when it was obviously not. Second-hand cars are always hit and miss ... Happy for her that it was all sorted but again, it all comes down to dodgy garages...

 

[johnb80]

I happily went for another MG . The problem always seems to be with some local dealers rather than MG; MG is not really worse than any other non-MG brand

MG's attitude towards honouring warranty claims is the worst Ive experienced in my 50+ years of motoring. In my experience and that of others try to duck out of any possible warranty claim. Clear example on here, experienced by many, MG5 and Open Tesla Charging, many MG5's wont do it giving an error. This is to an industry standard charger, MG want payments for an 'upgrade' when in reality it's a bug in their vehicles. I made it clear to dealer I expected this work to be done FOC and they did. MG UK were awful at confirming my warranty was still valid following service work being done by a non franchised MG dealer. It took over 70 emails to them to get an answer out of them in writing that my warranty was still valid.

and for the money you do get quite a lot...

Yes you do, totally agree and when I went for a test drive 3 years ago I had in mind I was going to test a budget EV, the vehicle was anything but and we ordered one straight away. There was very little that felt budget and the inside feels on par with my premium German vehicles. Only small things frustrate me to death, plug a USB with Audio tracks on it arranged in folders as albums, you cant select an album to play, you just get a long list of songs. This is only software, would cost nothing to implement but MG are not interested. MG4 drivers have made loads of complaints about the violent lane assist and still nothing has been done, ditto automatic lights. The real deal breaker for me is with underbody corrosion, there's an alarming amount of surface rust already and it's just over 2 years old. My 10 year old VW Touareg had no corrosion at all despite it's age and 130,000 miles done.

My 2022 ZS with 65,000 miles on the clock so far had only one minor issue that local garage was a massive pain to look into under warranty - MG UK on the other hand replied to my query within a day or two saying only one thing was an exception under warranty on that particular part (and mine was not so it had to be covered)... Guess my dealer wanted to milk me for a full price instead of whatever they get under a warranty repair ...

Makes you wonder how they can justify exceptions in a warranty period.

With @JoanneMatheson , hers was a second-hand car that the dealer flogged claiming it was all good and under warranty when it was obviously not.

Good or under warranty?

Second-hand cars are always hit and miss ... Happy for her that it was all sorted but again, it all comes down to dodgy garages...

Not sure all of it can be put down to dodgy garages nor are second hand cars always hit and miss. My i3 I bought privately via Autotrader, it was 2.5 years old and looked to be in good order. It's now 9 years old, has been out of warranty (except for the battery) for 6 years. I had an issue with a drivers door window not working correctly. It was out of warranty, I paid the £1900 for the repair to my dealer. Unknown to me they contacted BMW who agreed to supply the parts FOC as a sympathy gesture, my dealer also stepped up to the table and provided the labour FOC. Not all manufacturers shy away from warranty and not all garages are out to take you to the cleaners.

 

[salty]

S'pose for every bad MG story, there's a good one. There's good and bad on this forum. Seems hit and miss, with MG UK or the dealer's. Shouldn't be but certainly looks that way. Think in general it's accepted, the cars are good. It's the after service that can leave a lot to be desired.

 

[Gadget Geek]

Further to my post in January, I thought I'd update you on the conclusion of the story.

The wing mirrors continued not to work and the parking brake issue continued to happen erratically. In view of Tim Green's comment, and my own nagging worry that maybe I was doing something wrong, I checked all of the circumstances under which the brake might fail, but mostly it turned out that it would fail to disengage under certain circumstances. My primary problem was that it failed to engage, even though all the signs were that it had done so.

It was due in to the garage for them to do more looking on a Monday. I'd had several conversations with Citizens Advice and the Ombudsman and gone back to the garage to explain that I had a good case and their 'buy-back' offer increased a little. On the Friday I was due to spend the day around 110 miles from home, and stopped to top up at a public charging point after which the car failed to re-start. Since ironically, I wasn't far from the garage, I called them and asked them to come out and collect the car, which they said they couldn't do. Two hours later the AA had been out and after some difficulties got the car going. The AA engineer said he goes out to these sorts of issues all the time and MG are one of the worst.

I drove the car straight to the garage, insisted they provide me with a courtesy car, and left the vehicle with them. The Ombudsman's advice had been to raise a complaint with them as I clearly had a valid case for a full refund - but it would take around 6 months to process the claim and in the meantime I shouldn't drive the vehicle. Not a practical option for me. So on the Monday I took the courtesy car back and told them to keep the MG - it wasn't safe and I didn't trust it. They eventually bought the car back for £1250 less than I paid for it, which all things considered, I don't think is a too bad hit.

The final straw for me was when the garage said that even if they did find a parking brake fault, they wouldn't pay for the (fairly minor cosmetic) repairs to be done that were caused on the occasion that the brake failed, car rolled down the drive and hit a brick wall, because they couldn't be certain that the same fault caused that incident. That said all I needed to know about their oft-repeated "your custom is important to us" statement!

For reference, the garage in question is Drive Direct Weston Super Mare. Drive Direct UK head office completely ignored my calls and emails and told the garage to deal with it.

I ended up replacing it with something completely different which I am very happy with.

Well done for naming and shaming Drive MG WSM. They are my local dealership and I happily travel 30 miles to Bath to use Islington MG.

Drive MG wanted to charge £50 more for a service, AND, also charge for another technician to install the Tesla update.

Avoid at all cost.

 

[JoanneMatheson]

Well done Joanne, interesting that the dealer concerned was Drive Direct, they are part of Drive Motor Retail who I had my problems with. Initially they tried to justify their actions stating that service work could be carried out by any level 3 technician, they didnt need to be MG certified. Only when I dug my heels in and started to pursue this issue did they pull out all of the stops and resolve the conflict between my MG warranty and MGUK. They were really good at fighting MG, I suspect though it was to avoid impending legal action towards them.
What car did you go for to replace your faulty one? I wont be getting another MG, I dont like MGUK's attitude and whilst on the surface the cars are great, looking a little deeper i found serious quality issues.

Hi John,
I went for a Vauxhall combo life from a very good and (so far) extremely efficient local garage. I'm currently restoring my house so regularly need to move tools, materials and equipment so thought a working van type vehicle would be better for my needs just now. So far it's been brilliant. I will try electric again at some time in the future (I love the BMW i3!) but unless I go up to a proper van, there isn't one that suits my current needs. I think I was swayed before by my enthusiasm to go electric! And shot myself in the foot!