Work out where your MG stands
Find the registration date
It's on the registration papers and in the warranty booklet. Cars first registered from 1 July 2025 are on the terms Autotrader NZ described. Older MGs were sold on earlier terms, and the booklet says which.
Private or commercial?
Commercial customers get a separate warranty of seven years or 160,000 km, according to the same report. The booklet sets out which servicing conditions come with it.
Decide before the first service
If you want the full 10 years, every scheduled service has to happen at an MG dealer. Read what the booklet says happens to the cover if you go elsewhere, then make the call and stick to it.
What an MG usually needs
MG is owned by SAIC Motor, which designs the cars and builds most of them at its plants in China. For a petrol MG3, ZS or HS, the work is the familiar list: servicing to the booklet, tyres, brakes and the battery.
The electric ones are different. The ZS EV was MG's first production electric car, and the MG4 followed as its first EV designed from the ground up. AA New Zealand points out that EVs still need regular servicing, covering brake fluid, the battery's coolant, the reduction drive oil, steering, suspension and the cabin filter.
So for an MG EV, look for a mechanic trained and equipped for high-voltage work, whoever services it. Our page on hybrid and EV servicing has more on what to ask.
Questions to ask before an MG goes in
- Do you work on MGs most weeks, and which models?
- Will you follow the maintenance schedule in my service and warranty booklet, item by item?
- What oil goes in, and will each part be listed by name on the invoice?
- For my ZS EV or MG4, are you trained and equipped for high-voltage work?
- Will you call me before doing anything that isn't on the quote?
The warranty sits on top of your rights
The MTA describes a maker's warranty as a voluntary promise made on top of your legal rights. MG's servicing condition decides what its warranty pays for. It doesn't touch the Consumer Guarantees Act, which says any service has to be done with reasonable care and skill.
Paperwork and checks that are yours
You can
- Keep every invoice and a photo of the odometer on the day.
- Note the next service date and kilometres from the booklet.
- Check tyre pressures and washer fluid between services.
Leave to the mechanic
- The scheduled service and the booklet record.
- Anything on an EV's high-voltage battery or orange cables.
- Warning lights and software faults.
Where we'd start with an MG
We'd read the registration date and the booklet first, then choose: dealer servicing for the full 10 years, or a local mechanic who knows MGs, accepting whatever the booklet says that means for the cover. Both are reasonable. Switching back and forth is what catches people out, so we'd pick one and keep every invoice.