Who buys modern day MGs?
Discussion
Pothole said:
Blimey,that MG3 - the small hatch can be on the drive for less than £190 a month if you don't do too many miles! Still gopping, though.
Not sure about "gopping", it looks much like every other small hatch out there to me. There is a reason it's so cheap though - that really wasn't a good era for MG. They've come on a long way since then.
We have a large Nissan dealer in town who started doing MG on the same site, they really pushed the MG and consequently see quite a few knocking about now. I've had a look out of curiosity and I suppose if you want a long warranty with a cheap list price then I'm sure they'll serve a purpose. The bigger one, HS I think, felt a far better car quality wise and the interior in particular was actually rather pleasant. Saying all that, the Mrs wants to swap her A3 for an SUV and after shopping round I picked up a new Kadjar, mid range, 1.3t for £230 a month including maintenance. The MG ZS was not much cheaper on a PCP and the HS dearer plus the Diamond of Doom comes with a five year warranty and a dealer literally two minutes from my place of work.
caffeine said:
Made by a random Chinese company no-one has heard of and sold with a zombie-brand moniker that might still mean something to some older people, they remind me of those ‘Blaupunkt’ or 'Polaroid' TVs that they sell at supermarkets.
Really? You think the 12th biggest car company in the world with a revenue of $120Bn last year is "a random Chinese company no-one has heard of"? What a wonderfully "Little England" (or at least "Little Europe") sort of comment. 
Edited by kambites on Monday 6th July 15:28
caffeine said:
Made by a random Chinese company no-one has heard of and sold with a zombie-brand moniker that might still mean something to some older people, they remind me of those ‘Blaupunkt’ or 'Polaroid' TVs that they sell at supermarkets.
It's actually ironic that you picked TVs... Edited by caffeine on Monday 6th July 14:12
LG, Sony and Samsung are the only TV manufacturers who actually make their own screens... Even then LG and Samsung buy a lot of their panels from "random Chinese companies no-one has heard of". So, unless you buy a Sony then there's a very good chance your TV wasn't made by the company on the label.
They're the automotive equivalent of cheap plastic garden furniture. Those who buy them probably don't want anything more, and they just want a brand new car as cheaply as possible, but I don't think they're aimed at folk like us.
kambites said:
Really? You think the 12th biggest car company in the world with a revenue of $120Bn last year is "a random Chinese company no-one has heard of"? What a wonderfully "Little England" (or at least "Little Europe") sort of comment.
Go and ask your friends and family if they've heard of SAIC Automotive. Count how many of them say "yes". You won't need many fingers Edited by kambites on Monday 6th July 15:28
Pothole said:
Blimey,that MG3 - the small hatch can be on the drive for less than £190 a month if you don't do too many miles! Still gopping, though.
So can a Ford Focus. I know which one I'd rather have Edited by Howard- on Monday 6th July 15:52
Howard- said:
They're the automotive equivalent of cheap plastic garden furniture. Those who buy them probably don't want anything more, and they just want a brand new car as cheaply as possible, but I don't think they're aimed at folk like us.
Yup, it's a budget product, aimed at people who want sometehing to get them from A to B for minimal expenditure. Although to be fair I think they've now progressed from the £2 each plastic chairs you buy from the specials aisle in Lidl to the £20 rattan stuff you get from Argos. 
Edited by kambites on Monday 6th July 16:07
Howard- said:
Go and ask your friends and family if they've heard of SAIC Automotive. Count how many of them say "yes". You won't need many fingers
That was exactly my point - the idea that the definition of "no-one" somehow precludes the two thirds of the world's population who live outside the traditional West. kambites said:
That was exactly my point - the idea that the definition of "no-one" somehow precludes the two thirds of the world's population who live outside the traditional West.
I get your point, but there are bound to be myriad Euro-centric brands that aren't a "thing" in China and as such I wouldn't expect Chinese folk to be familiar with. As others have suggested they seem to exist in hot spots around dealers who are pushing them hard.
This does rather suggest that a certain number of people buy cars based on almost nothing other than what the closest car selling place is shifting, and if it hadn't been an MG it would have been a Nissan, or a Chevrolet, or a Dacia, or whoever else was friendly and flogged them something for an appealing price. I bet these small independent dealers are a joy to deal with compared to the big franchises who don't give a s
t about you though; "Nigel has sold me a new car every 3 years since I bought an Ital in 1980 and he's never steered me wrong".
This does rather suggest that a certain number of people buy cars based on almost nothing other than what the closest car selling place is shifting, and if it hadn't been an MG it would have been a Nissan, or a Chevrolet, or a Dacia, or whoever else was friendly and flogged them something for an appealing price. I bet these small independent dealers are a joy to deal with compared to the big franchises who don't give a s
t about you though; "Nigel has sold me a new car every 3 years since I bought an Ital in 1980 and he's never steered me wrong".I bought a CR-V from one the MG dealership in Burton (who were excellent, btw). When the Honda needed a new battery under warranty they gave me one of the MG SUV thingies as a courtesy car, complete with dealership stickers on the side.
Despite my initial skepticism I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised. Easy to drive, control weights were fine, infotainment screen thing just seemed like a decent HD android tablet, so was very intuitive. Handled surprisingly well.
The downside was the (I think) 1.5 n/a petrol which was absolutely shocking, but returned about 45mpg despite me thrashing the proverbials off it.
The other issue was that whilst everything was reasonably nice to look at, the actual material quality itself was pretty low rent.
Other than that, it was a pretty inoffensive car. I don't doubt that with a bit of time they'll come up with some decent models.
Despite my initial skepticism I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised. Easy to drive, control weights were fine, infotainment screen thing just seemed like a decent HD android tablet, so was very intuitive. Handled surprisingly well.
The downside was the (I think) 1.5 n/a petrol which was absolutely shocking, but returned about 45mpg despite me thrashing the proverbials off it.
The other issue was that whilst everything was reasonably nice to look at, the actual material quality itself was pretty low rent.
Other than that, it was a pretty inoffensive car. I don't doubt that with a bit of time they'll come up with some decent models.
KPB1973 said:
I bought a CR-V from one the MG dealership in Burton (who were excellent, btw). When the Honda needed a new battery under warranty they gave me one of the MG SUV thingies as a courtesy car, complete with dealership stickers on the side.
Despite my initial skepticism I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised. Easy to drive, control weights were fine, infotainment screen thing just seemed like a decent HD android tablet, so was very intuitive. Handled surprisingly well.
The downside was the (I think) 1.5 n/a petrol which was absolutely shocking, but returned about 45mpg despite me thrashing the proverbials off it.
The other issue was that whilst everything was reasonably nice to look at, the actual material quality itself was pretty low rent.
Other than that, it was a pretty inoffensive car. I don't doubt that with a bit of time they'll come up with some decent models.
The EV version is really quite nippy. 0-45/50 is pretty quick to be fair. All the performance the vast majority of general public would ever need.Despite my initial skepticism I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised. Easy to drive, control weights were fine, infotainment screen thing just seemed like a decent HD android tablet, so was very intuitive. Handled surprisingly well.
The downside was the (I think) 1.5 n/a petrol which was absolutely shocking, but returned about 45mpg despite me thrashing the proverbials off it.
The other issue was that whilst everything was reasonably nice to look at, the actual material quality itself was pretty low rent.
Other than that, it was a pretty inoffensive car. I don't doubt that with a bit of time they'll come up with some decent models.
I can imagine the ICE version of it to be a bit miserable though.
Just looked and you can get one with 1000miles on the clock, 7 year warranty for 23k.....0% tax, ulez compliant and all that (free parking in many city centres.......get on a decent electricity tarrif and as a purely functional box on wheels in EV they are essentially free to run......not to be sniffed at really.
Edited by dave_s13 on Monday 6th July 16:39
kambites said:
That was exactly my point - the idea that the definition of "no-one" somehow precludes the two thirds of the world's population who live outside the traditional West.
Well, I was talking from a UK/ European perspective, it wasn't intended to be taken quite so literallydonkmeister said:
It's actually ironic that you picked TVs...
LG, Sony and Samsung are the only TV manufacturers who actually make their own screens... Even then LG and Samsung buy a lot of their panels from "random Chinese companies no-one has heard of". So, unless you buy a Sony then there's a very good chance your TV wasn't made by the company on the label.
I know the outsourcing of various components is pretty common practice among manfacturers, I just find it a bit of a cheap trick when companies use the moniker of a defunct brand/entity that they have acquired the licensing for to sell a product that has nothing to do with it.LG, Sony and Samsung are the only TV manufacturers who actually make their own screens... Even then LG and Samsung buy a lot of their panels from "random Chinese companies no-one has heard of". So, unless you buy a Sony then there's a very good chance your TV wasn't made by the company on the label.
Edited by caffeine on Monday 6th July 16:44
Howard- said:
So can a Ford Focus. I know which one I'd rather have
I don't think you'd be getting a new focus on your drive for £190 a month with no money down, a 2-3yr old one maybe...I sold a GS last week which is an MG SUV. It was a 17 plate done 24k for £7995 and still has 2yrs manufacturer warranty left, regardless of interior quality etc.. that is bloody good value for money.
I've just been looking at them, and they are really cheap and well equipped. Who else is in that space now that Daewoo/Chevrolet are gone, as are Proton, Perodua, and Skoda have obviously moved up in the world. Dacia are really cheap for the headline grabbing poverty model but they really are very poorly equipped and once you move up to something people might actually buy they are similar to MG.
For a lot of people they can get a brand new car every few years, pay ~£200 a month, and not have to think about much more than pouring fuel into it periodically, and it stops, goes, and steers in a perfectly safe and acceptable manner. That's a real value proposition for some.
For a lot of people they can get a brand new car every few years, pay ~£200 a month, and not have to think about much more than pouring fuel into it periodically, and it stops, goes, and steers in a perfectly safe and acceptable manner. That's a real value proposition for some.
Nickbrapp said:
Lots of young people getting a 3 as a first car, dirt cheap at £199 a month, etc.
MG Rover did very well in that market with the low powered version of the ZR back in the day. They were hugely popular with 17-19 year olds thanks to heavy discounting, cheap finance deals, and free insurance. One of the company's best selling models of all time apparently, and I certainly remember the things being absolutely everywhere back in the early 2000s.From the age of 14-15 I was counting the days until my 17th birthday, being able to learn to drive and then buying my first set of wheels. Most, if not all of my mates were the same. My 15 year old daughter honestly doesn't give a toss, and neither do most of her mates that I've spoken to about it. Not just the girls either.
Limpet said:
From the age of 14-15 I was counting the days until my 17th birthday, being able to learn to drive and then buying my first set of wheels. Most, if not all of my mates were the same. My 15 year old daughter honestly doesn't give a toss, and neither do most of her mates that I've spoken to about it. Not just the girls either.
That's my experience too. Driving is at best of minimal interest and at worst seen as downright antisocial by kids living in towns and cities; I imagine the poor sods growing up in Cornwall might feel differently though. Certainly being any sort of motoring or driving enthusiast is seen as downright weird, even more so than ever.Fortunately one of my three kids is counting the days until he can learn to drive. 2,901 days as of today.
Haltamer said:
There was a big MG Club stand full entirely of the modern (Chinese) cars at the BTCC a couple of years ago, which did seem a little odd.
When Plato was with MG? We had a SEAT meat at BTCC Silverstone few years ago and about 50 MG's turned up as well, mix of old and new. Gassing Station | MG | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff