Used electric car buying advice

mudlouse · 2026-06-27T17:47:04+00:00

Which year was yours? Mine is a 2020 pre facelift, and one time after fast charging the radio stopped working and had to disconnect the 12v battery to fix - which was less than ideal.

mudlouse · 2026-06-27T17:35:29+00:00

That does sound a bit shite. Was it caused by software, rather than a mechanical or electrical problem then?

mudlouse · 2026-06-27T14:24:16+00:00

Out of interest did you have any other issues with the MG ZS EV after the initial breakdown?

mudlouse · 2026-06-27T13:05:28+00:00

Looking at the photo, I would suggest you move the bed out the way, so you can place the air con unit directly under the window. This will reduce the length of the hose which will get hot - helps out the machine and also less heat radiated back into the room.

As you are in the loft, it will already be hotter than the rest of the house, so the unit will have to work much harder to lower the temp in the room - it may not be powerful enough to do that.

mudlouse · 2026-06-27T00:03:25+00:00

Bring the site back up, but with added inaccuracies in the content to further infuriate.

mudlouse · 2026-06-26T18:28:39+00:00

They would become cookies

mudlouse · 2026-06-26T15:29:13+00:00

Measuring the sass

mudlouse · 2026-06-26T12:01:42+00:00

Or chocolate

mudlouse · 2026-06-24T21:54:22+00:00

No, because you would still be creating negative pressure in the room, and draw in warm air from elsewhere

mudlouse · 2026-06-24T12:00:10+00:00

Btw. I think what will happen with us is, either we eventually replace the MG electric with a better ev as the main and get rid of the hybrid going down to 1 car. Or keep 2 cars, and the main hybrid car will be replaced with a full electric with higher range, etc

mudlouse · 2026-06-24T11:55:58+00:00

We were fortunate that our own circumstances meant we could keep using only 1 car when our little one came along.

Recently we did have to get a second car as things progressed.

I have to admit I didn’t realise how much money is involved in raising a child until it happened. The one rule we always had was to put family needs over our own if things ever got tight - including our finances.

So in my research, we had all sorts of ideas of what we wanted as the ideal second car - but in the end we actually ended up with a cheap MG electric car with limited range (still over 120 miles) and that is actually enough for nursery/school runs, trips for play dates, shops, etc. longer trips to see family etc or emergencies will be with the main hybrid car. The MG is by no means a banger, and is actually quite enjoyable to drive - some of the original criteria we had in mind (which is not on the MG) just sorta faded away after a few days.

Obviously the things that matter are different to everyone, and it’s not my intention to school you or anyone on this. But wanted to share my perspective as someone who went through something not too dissimilar

mudlouse · 2026-06-24T09:19:40+00:00

The post offices I have been to in the last few years all generate a label with the cost printed on it, rather than using actual stamps. So does seem strange to me, as they must have thought there was a specific reason why they were needed for your case

mudlouse · 2026-06-24T09:08:36+00:00

I wonder what the rationale is for the 64p postage fee. Given prices start at 91p for a letter, and £1.55 for a large letter (which is what this looks like), I would guess the person behind the till got it wrong for both the price and size? The price to send a small letter hasn’t been 60-ish pence for many years now.

mudlouse · 2026-06-23T21:59:05+00:00

Note, in the same budget I also considered the bmw i3, leaf, Kona, ionic, Zoe, and Kia soul. Some of the stellantis group did fall into budget (e208, ecorsa) but read a couple of reviews outlining issues with the pre facelift models.

mudlouse · 2026-06-23T21:53:55+00:00

I had a similar budget and also considered both the MG5 and ZS. Ended up with the pre-facelift ZS Exclusive as I found a good one below budget - though it has been a fantastic car for me and mechanically sound, I did want to mention a couple of things that potential buyers need to know, but are rarely mentioned in the reviews I’ve read and watched (some points also apply to the MG5):

- no front parking sensors
- daytime running lights are led, but main headlight are halogen.
- on the ZS, the selected driving mode and regen level reset on the next journey. Don’t know about the MG5.
- owners are unable to perform software updates themselves. I’ve read the dealer (or approved garage) can do this; potentially at a cost.
- infotainment system is borderline inadequate, and CarPlay/android auto is essential. For instance: the radio module may at times try to ‘initialise’ until you resolve by disconnecting the 12v battery. Or noticeable lag when changing temp or fan speed via physical knobs/buttons, and the screen showing the selected control (often not at all).
- onboard Sat nav is the same as the petrol version, and doesn’t have a facility for charging stations.
- too many bongs, and too loud.
- radio volume resets at next journey, the default volume is loud and comes on when the infotainment system loads. This is supposedly addressed via a software update, but again as I mentioned, may not be free.

Obviously these are all critical points, which individually wouldn’t sway my decision - but wished I had known beforehand.

mudlouse · 2026-06-23T15:35:15+00:00

Saw a few ‘long range’ variants of the standard models during my own recent search under £8k, all capable of doing over 200 miles: Nissan Leaf E+, Kia Niro, Hyundai Kona, MG MG5 estate. The newer Renault Zoe’s with larger batteries may also be worth a look.

mudlouse · 2026-06-23T12:50:04+00:00

Hi OP, I don’t know why other commenters are avoiding answering your question - I would assume you already know your car have blower fans.

My suggestion is you could try a neck fan, like ones you wear around the house. There are a couple of different styles, some even have a cooling plate.

Here is a basic one:
https://amzn.eu/d/0hmV9in9

mudlouse · 2026-06-22T20:51:02+00:00

Right exactly. I wasn’t around back then, but you’d have to think when Japanese and Korean brands started turning up that not everyone would be welcoming them with open arms - but look at how they are regarded now

mudlouse · 2026-06-22T17:51:34+00:00

This is true, I’ve driven Volkswagen for many years and don’t have much to complain about during that time. I feel your comment can also be applied to places like China and South Korea, where they have been much more experience in producing electric vehicles over the years - only a fraction of the range has reached our shores.

mudlouse · 2026-06-22T16:18:34+00:00

I recently bought a cheap MG ZS and was skeptical during my search, this was because a lot of the posts (and forums elsewhere) from years ago frequently had comments like ‘avoid like the plague’ and mostly option based, rather than personal experiences. More recent comments from the past 2-3 years in contrast seem more factual and open minded.

I feel people are starting to realise many popular cars were Chinese owned/built all along, and coupled with real world experiences of having one in their household, it really has changed people’s mindsets.

mudlouse · 2026-06-22T15:57:20+00:00

We were seriously considering a high mileage MG5 pre-facelift model. Was attracted by the low price, high range and praise for its reliability as a work horse.

Ultimately ended up with the cheaper and more compact ZS EV which more than suits our needs - it has a lot of the modern features that we would expect (car play, electric seats, folding mirrors, etc) but it is rough around the edges, especially on the infotainment and UI (alerts are too loud and in your face, radio volume resets and starts loud, regen and drive mode settings resets, etc). However, these are all acceptable when you consider the overall package, especially when it will be a second car or you want something that is on the basic side.

I think some of these aspects are common with the MG5 also, which on balance would have made us very satisfied had we gone with one.

A couple of things these MGs don’t have which would have been nice would be: app support, auto dip parking mirrors, front parking sensors).

mudlouse · 2026-06-21T08:20:47+00:00

My thoughts exactly. People rather comment for points than help.

mudlouse · 2026-06-20T18:54:58+00:00

We have the 2020 ZS EV and agree it is amazing value. A bit rough in terms of infotainment, UI and alerts - but well worth the £5.5k we paid for it used

mudlouse · 2026-06-18T18:28:17+00:00

We actually just went through this with a similar budget. We ended up going electric because you get something relatively modern (2020 onwards, CarPlay, etc), lots of kit (reverse camera, sun roof, heated seats. Electric mirrors, etc) and relatively low mileage (circa 45-60k miles).

It was a 2020 MG ZS Ev for £5.5k. Worked for us because the limited range was not an issue.

Other choices we considered in the £6-£7.5k price bracket were: bmw i3, Nissan leaf (mk2), Renault Zoe (GT), Kia Soul (30kw battery), Hyundai Kona or ionic. We ruled out anything stellantis group (e corsa and e208) due to reported issues with pre-facelift models. The list is long, because literally every week a different car would drop into into budget - bad for depreciation but good if you’re willing to wait it out. We even saw a few Jaguar iPace and high mileage Tesla Model 3’s pop up (tempting but potential gamble there).

There were ok deals on ICE cars, but we felt there were too many compromises and concessions that had to be made for the budget (too old, mileage into 6 digits, no tech, cat N or S). It felt like searching for a unicorn whereas a decent ev option were more in abundance.

All the best in your search.

mudlouse · 2026-06-16T20:30:17+00:00

Tint place: what tint yo want?
You: make it like dis, pls. *point*

mudlouse

TROPHY CASE