Look at the cost of an extended warranty on any new/high price/complex car and factor that into your calls, should be a business expense for you.

 

Check each of the cars rules on warranty if used as taxi. Seen quite a few Tesla taxis, not so many MG4...could be a reason.

 

Also check insurance, Tesla's are really expensive

 

I see more MG5's as Taxis than any other EV, probably because of their luggage capacity. But like you say, if you don't get many airport runs that might not be a factor in your decision.

 

Yes the MG5 seems like a great taxi. I think the softer ride than the M3 or MG4 will also be good for both driver and passengers a like.

£17k for a year old big battery one seems like a good deal.

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I’ve been in many M3 taxis in Spain and the USA. As a passenger they are great.
i follow my local used Tesla specialist on YouTube. They are RSEV. They say problems with the M3 are rare and with no fixed service interval of maintenance schedule that should keep your running costs down.

 

Interesting that M3 is used as a Taxi I do recall a friend who was a taxi driver and his licensing authority had a list of acceptable cars and also colour ie they had to be white. Not sure why I find that odd but have just never associated a Tesla with taxis🤣now Mercedes….…..they were and in Paris still are the taxi of choice and I always say have a Mercedes have a taxi as I ferry various people about! The irony for me in Paris is there are some non Mercedes and every time it seems I get a cab on a rank it will be the one non Mercedes🙄
I also think there is a need for a regular test for the car a bit like an MOT which of course is important steering and tyres at least wear just the same as in an ICE the idea of no servicing needed is dare I say another Tesla mislead. Yes the work done is less but checks should be carried out regularly in my view just like many other mechanical items so I suspect there will be some sort of regime in place but no doubt there is a garage qualified to do that in the licensing area.

 

Most of them have been Uber. Theres a deal in the US with Hertz, Uber and Tesla where cars can be leased for use as Uber cars. UK regulations on private hire cars are very different so such a setup wouldn’t work. Cars have to be registered with the local authority so that doesn’t work with short leases, and all private hire cars have to have regular inspections.

 

Check local authority requirements for dimensions, I know some are very strict and I'm not sure an MG4 would meet those requirements. (I.e. Swansea basically requires an older Octavia equivalent).

I would also say that the Tesla and MG both likely have repair delays at this time, due to not being mature suppliers/models in the market. Could mean you're off the road a while for something minor in a bump.

I would consider something more like the Niro if it's accepted by the licencing authority.

 

I'm fairly sure the MG warranty doesn't apply/is different for taxi use.

The Cleevely EV garage run 2 (or 3?) MG5's for their service vehicles - but also say lots of very good things about M3 longevity/reliability. As said above insurance can be crazy on Teslas...

 

Thanks for the replies.

 

A friend of mine bought an MG5, as soon as as returned from the test drive. He likes it so much he gave it to his wife, and bought a new long range MG5 for himself.

 

I went to test drive an MG5 couldn't get into the drivers seat ! I tried a new one same problem knees jammed into the steering wheel. If you are 6 foot plus I would try one first !

 

Theres a taxi driver with over 200k on a M3. No issues with it Clevely ev did a vid on it on you tube.

Its only the Freemont production hell M3 That had issues. The Chinese face lift cars 2021 onwards are very reliable.

You also have full access to the supercharging network with Tesla which is still by far the best charging network.

Loads of Tesla with mega miles on the owners group. This guy just posted other day

Thats a 2016 Model S. Its on original brakes no repairs of significance what it has had was mainly under warranty minor stiff like door handles where they rectified the problems with the replacements.

There are loads of high mile cars on there similar stories.

Its an outdated myth they are not built well or reliable as are the parts shortages and service issues. In my experience most repairs are done by a ranger on your drive, within a week and the parts are very reasonable.

 

parts are very reasonable

Yes for what they are, but they are still expensive. On the YouTube channel "Just get a Tesla" he had to replace a headlight on his Model Y due to a chip and it was nearly £1200 for the part. So it's not bad value but it's kind of expensive compared to an MG5 halogen unit which can be had new for £200.

Obviously hopefully you don't need any/many parts for either car so it might not matter.

But without looking up tyre prices I'm sure the MG5 tyres will be considerably cheaper to replace so it might be something for him to consider being a taxi driver.

 

LED headlights are expensive on many cars. I'd definitely want protection film on to reduce damage risk.

 

There’s plenty of M3’s (typically white) in London running about as Ubers and minicabs variously. Also Kia e-Niro seem popular as cabs, had a few journeys in them and the drivers liked them.

Had an Ioniq 5 minicab journey in Woodbridge a few months ago. Again driver happy with the car but unhappy with how long the windscreen replacement was taking. Otherwise all good.

Not had an MG minicab journey yet. But I had seen a few silver MG5’s about in London with the sticker in the back window, so they are on active duty in the capital.

 

We know a family with an Ioniq5. It was off the road for a while earlier this year after a potholed tyre. Apparently there were none of the correct size and rating tyres left in the country for a week or so and they had to wait for more to be imported.

 

I would guess they went to a main dealer who couldnt get the single approved tyre on their list. Any normal tyre store will have offered a wide range of options.

 

Boggles my mind why people buy tyres from their car dealer. I guess habit or they perceive it’s easier or won’t taint their warranty or something 🤷‍♀️

I’ve always had far better service from a good independent tyre shop. Usually faster and almost always cheaper than a franchised dealer.

I have a general disdain of the chains but that goes for any chain of anything tyres/exhausts, “coffee”, or dining.

 

I have owned a Tesla for 6 years and now also own an MG4. They are both exceptional cars but unfortunately the MG4 has exceptionally flaky software that shows up time and time again. The current problems are:-
You can't permanently turn of lane assist so every time you start the car you have to go into setup to turn it off
The radio turns itself on every time you start the car
The software says you can set the car to 80% of its battery capacity but it does not work so it always charges the car to 100%
There is an option to set a charging period for night time charging. It delay the starting without problem but it continues the charging after the stop time you have set so again you get 100% charge and you have some of this occurring on normal rate electricity.
One or twice a day you choose to set the car in drive or reverse and nothing happens. I have found if I get out of the car for second it then works!

In short you can see my answer is Tesla every time. Its in a different world.
If you are concerned about the aging of the Tesla battery 6 years and 65,000 miles has reduced the maximum performance of my Tesla from 300 miles to 254 so just factor this curve into your second hand Tesla purchase.

 

I have owned a Tesla for 6 years and now also own an MG4. They are both exceptional cars but unfortunately the MG4 has exceptionally flaky software that shows up time and time again. The current problems are:-

One or twice a day you choose to set the car in drive or reverse and nothing happens. I have found if I get out of the car for second it then works!

I took a MG4 on a test drive and had exactly this issue! I was parked in P. I tried rotating the dial to R, but it wouldn't engage, nor would D! I had to get out the car, lock it, and unlock it. Then it worked. 🤦‍♂️
Also while driving, the satnav screen froze. I tried reassigning the left * button to regen level screen, but it wouldn't allow the change. Couldn't get cruise control to function at all.

I'd say the car is ok, but the issues I found have put me off a bit. I thought it drove nice and smooth though. A friend of mine thinks it looks fugly, but meh, I drove an Ioniq, so I can't judge. At 11c outdoor when dry, I was getting 3.2m/kWh with some use of the A/C, so that's 198miles at 100%. I worked out I'd get about 236miles if I had the 77kWh version. Would the M3 SR beat that?

Of course it's the user interface of Tesla that really shames other EV's. Once you've seen how easy it is to operate and drive the Tesla, it's hard to accept less. IMO, the GUI of the MG4 is naff when settings default to reset when you start/stop the car.