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Folks,
There are a few threads out there about service costs and service plans, however there didn’t seem to be one that consolidates all the findings in one place, so I thought it worth sharing my experience investigating the MG ZS EV Low mileage service plans. If nothing else there are a few key points (like point 6) which are worthy of knowing about before you buy into a low mileage plan.
For those who aren’t aware, MG (through a company called e-dynamics) offer service plans for the MG ZS EV covering the service costs of the car. E-dynamics arrange them, however your plan agreement is direct with the garage. There are two types of plan - standard mileage (up to 15k miles p.a.) and low mileage (up to 10k miles p.a). General details on the plans can be found here. There are pro’s and con’s to Service plans, but for me they give you (or should give you ... read point 6 to find out more) fixed price costs for the period of your service plan.
What I have found:
1) Service plan pricing is not consistent across dealers, there’s a significant price variance from dealer to dealer, so shop around to get the best price. You may find it ends up being better value to travel to a dealer further away if you'll end up saving a decent wack
2) I've obtained quotes for both standard and low mileage plans. You can get an online quote for a standard service plan at your local dealer here. To get a proper low milage quote call MG service plan team on 03454135360
3) There's a big difference in price between the standard and low mileage plans. Standard 5 year service plan for me is £791 while low mileage one is £568. That's £220 difference for low milage
4) Both standard and low mileage plans include a management fee of £1.20 for each month of the service plan - so for a 5 year plan £72'ish is just admin fee. This fee can be reduced to £12 if you pay the full service plan cost upfront
5) if it's looking like you might do more than allotted mileage (ie low mileage 10k pa) then get car serviced at milage interval not year interval (ie if you're at 20k miles get serviced even if you're only part way through year 2). If you don’t do this you’ll void the service plan next time you go in for a service and you’ll have to pay full price for the service.
6) the low mileage service plan does not include some items that you might consider standard in a service plan. For example anti-corrosion check is not included (my garage has said £10 for this), nor is year 2 brake fluid change (again estimated £40 for this), nor are any diagnostic checks. These and any other checks will be an extra cost at the garage when you pick up your car. These items are however included if you take out the full priced service plan
7) your service plan is not transferable should you sell the car (however it can apparently be transferred to another MG if you buy one) and as it’s an agreement between you and a specific garage you can’t change garages so you’re stuck if you don’t like the garage or the garage goes out of business/stops doing MG’s
My conclusion
Service plans are not for everyone and it may be better to pay as you go for servicing. However, the result for me is a low mileage 5 year service plan for £514 - that's 30% less than the full service plan price and I understand there maybe some additional costs at the time of servicing (ie corrosion checks and brake oil change). I’m still undecided, but at least now I am well informed on what the options are, and if I don’t go with the service plan I have a good idea of what the individual services will be from the quotes I have now saved away
There are a few threads out there about service costs and service plans, however there didn’t seem to be one that consolidates all the findings in one place, so I thought it worth sharing my experience investigating the MG ZS EV Low mileage service plans. If nothing else there are a few key points (like point 6) which are worthy of knowing about before you buy into a low mileage plan.
For those who aren’t aware, MG (through a company called e-dynamics) offer service plans for the MG ZS EV covering the service costs of the car. E-dynamics arrange them, however your plan agreement is direct with the garage. There are two types of plan - standard mileage (up to 15k miles p.a.) and low mileage (up to 10k miles p.a). General details on the plans can be found here. There are pro’s and con’s to Service plans, but for me they give you (or should give you ... read point 6 to find out more) fixed price costs for the period of your service plan.
What I have found:
1) Service plan pricing is not consistent across dealers, there’s a significant price variance from dealer to dealer, so shop around to get the best price. You may find it ends up being better value to travel to a dealer further away if you'll end up saving a decent wack
2) I've obtained quotes for both standard and low mileage plans. You can get an online quote for a standard service plan at your local dealer here. To get a proper low milage quote call MG service plan team on 03454135360
3) There's a big difference in price between the standard and low mileage plans. Standard 5 year service plan for me is £791 while low mileage one is £568. That's £220 difference for low milage
4) Both standard and low mileage plans include a management fee of £1.20 for each month of the service plan - so for a 5 year plan £72'ish is just admin fee. This fee can be reduced to £12 if you pay the full service plan cost upfront
5) if it's looking like you might do more than allotted mileage (ie low mileage 10k pa) then get car serviced at milage interval not year interval (ie if you're at 20k miles get serviced even if you're only part way through year 2). If you don’t do this you’ll void the service plan next time you go in for a service and you’ll have to pay full price for the service.
6) the low mileage service plan does not include some items that you might consider standard in a service plan. For example anti-corrosion check is not included (my garage has said £10 for this), nor is year 2 brake fluid change (again estimated £40 for this), nor are any diagnostic checks. These and any other checks will be an extra cost at the garage when you pick up your car. These items are however included if you take out the full priced service plan
7) your service plan is not transferable should you sell the car (however it can apparently be transferred to another MG if you buy one) and as it’s an agreement between you and a specific garage you can’t change garages so you’re stuck if you don’t like the garage or the garage goes out of business/stops doing MG’s
My conclusion
Service plans are not for everyone and it may be better to pay as you go for servicing. However, the result for me is a low mileage 5 year service plan for £514 - that's 30% less than the full service plan price and I understand there maybe some additional costs at the time of servicing (ie corrosion checks and brake oil change). I’m still undecided, but at least now I am well informed on what the options are, and if I don’t go with the service plan I have a good idea of what the individual services will be from the quotes I have now saved away