With more and more MG3s now coming out of their warranty period and onto the market, Roger Parker looks at the model and buying one secondhand.
The first UK MG3s went on sale in September 2013, so that means many early models are already well beyond the original three year warranty, and this number is growing rapidly. At the time of writing, the running total of MG3 sales had passed the 10,000 mark, something to bear in mind when researching the validity of chat room discussions on the cars and their reliability, especially since wide-ranging owner satisfaction surveys with higher sample rates have come out with quite good results for the model. So with currently just short of 2000 cars already out of the manufacturer’s warranty, and this figure set to more than double before the end of 2018, there will be a much bigger pool of secondhand cars, making this an ideal time to take a look at what is on offer.
The first point to make is that generally the cars are reliable and, in our real world, acceptably economic to own and run. As with any car there have been a few issues, but mentioning problems has to be balanced by several independent studies showing MG in a good light in respect to customer care, model reliability and warranty acceptance. In this age of instant communication you will usually find someone shouting from his keyboard about the cars in a general rant that devalues any point they may have wished to make, so do take care to separate this out from rational comment by genuine owners.
Most of the relatively few issues that have been reported tend to be connected to earlier cars, but those problems should have been dealt with when it was under warranty. If a car is displaying the issues mentioned below, then the best advice is to walk away and look at others, or wait until the issues have been sorted.
Denne historien er fra February 2018-utgaven av MG Enthusiast.
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Denne historien er fra February 2018-utgaven av MG Enthusiast.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Love and devotion
Bob Nason waited eight years to get the car of his dreams and, 19 years later, he’s still smitten with it...
Tidy-up time
Craig continues his quest to save the modified ZS 120 he told us about in December’s issue of MGE and takes advantage of a break in the weather to focus on its bodywork.
XPress power
MGs on Track regular, Dave Pearce, has a range of MGs at his disposal including this rather special XPower SV-R.
Sparking memories
MGE reader Peter Morrey recalls his very first MG, his family’s experiences of the then-new MGA and advice from a chap with a bit of MG insider knowledge.
Gerry McGovern
When the MGF appeared, in 1995, it marked a return to the market for MG sports cars. MG Enthusiast caught up with the man responsible for the car’s styling.
MG's Twin-Cam engine
The Twin-Cam engine arrived in 1958 but was it a success?
Eyes peeled
This month Roger looks at other drivers’ habits and ponders whether autonomous vehicle lighting helps or hinders road users?
Dear Sir...
Paul Moran’s beautifully restored 1933 Midget J2 comes with some interesting documentation which illustrates just how the privileged new car owners of the 1930s dealt with the absence of a warranty.
CHEQUERED FLAG
THE ROADS LESS TRAVELLED... AND WHY THEY ARE WORTH SEEKING OUT
2019 HSRCA SPRING FESTIVAL
The 2019 Historic Sports and Racing Car Association Spring Festival was run during a brilliant spring weekend, between 28-29 September, in Goulburn (regional New South Wales).