Categories: EV News

I strayed from the Tesla cult and went to the dark side

Published by
Rob Dean

My Tesla cult status goes deep, the cars are compelling, I have two, the first one for over 9 years now. The Tesla Supercharging network is miles in front of any other charging infrastructure.

The home batteries are good too, in fact in future years Teslas energy storage market will overshadow its vehicle sales. There’s one other aspect that makes Tesla stand head and shoulders above the rest; I’ll get to that later.

So, what about the Dark side? If the journalists from the ABC and other Australian media outlets are to be believed, the Chinese are attempting to sell electric cars to Australians so they can spy on us.

That’s interesting, as a matter of fact I have a cousin that knows a bloke who plays FIFA 2024 with President Xi, apparently the feedback from initial spying operations is this: Australians still watch Football while eating Meat Pies, there’s still plenty of Kangaroos but no one can buy a new Holden car.

Anyhow my youngest daughter was interested in the Chinese built MG4 EV to replace her ageing petrol vehicle, the MG4 has had a rapid drop in price over the past week, the base model is now $30,990 on-road with a WA state rebate of $3500 bring the price down to $27,490.

This brings the on-road cost below an equivalent new petrol vehicle. To top that off MG are now providing a 10 year/250,000km warranty on every part of the car except the tyres.

Is it as good as a Tesla model 3? No, not even close – but at less than half the on-road cost it’s far better value over its lifespan. If the MG4 turns to dust at 250,000kms it’s reduced the need to burn approximately $27,000 of petrol.

So over to the Dark side we went, or to be more precise a car dealership. The first point of contact was a friendly but not overbearing salesperson.

Not once did she attempt to upsell to a petrol vehicle or provide some friendly advice about the downsides of EVs, nope, just great customer service including a test drive, explanation of the delivery process and then the processing of the paperwork. Awesome, we should be back on the freeway and out of Perth before peak hour chaos.

Of course, the positive customer service was never going to last, everything went rapidly downhill from this point on. The deposit payment was in another department a 50 metre walk away.

Expecting to be in the office of a finance staff member my daughter got her first exposure to a Ming Mole, 10 minutes wasted knocking back overpriced paint protection and window tinting.

This particular staff member also proceeded to spruik how the 250,000km warranty covers everything including timing belts, starter motor and exhaust components.

If they’d bothered to check the paperwork sitting on the desk between us and realised the vehicle was electric that staff member could have tried to upsell a few overpriced charging cables or a $250 V2L adaptor.

So on to the staff member that’s tasked with receiving a $1000 deposit while trying to upsell finance to a customer who clearly doesn’t need or want it. I don’t have an issue with a polite inquiry but after the first NO from my daughter the subject should be closed, dealerships harassing customers is beyond reasonable.

The upside was a relaxed salesperson who sold my daughter a reasonably good EV at a very appealing price with a tremendous warranty.

A couple of nice features were rear wheel drive, more rear seat legroom than most cars this size and vehicle to load. The MG4 is not for everyone, but for driving from A to B in a cost-effective manner it’s a clear front runner.

The downside was the dealership experience, just as expected it was obnoxious and time-consuming, a 20th century tradition that only lonely people could enjoy, and the younger generation will be happy to avoid.

This brings me back to the other aspect of Tesla that puts it head and shoulders above the rest: Anyone buying a Tesla doesn’t have to endure the traditional dealership shakedown, it’s possible to go through the whole test drive, order and pick up process while crossing paths with only one Tesla staff member.

When the product is compelling it doesn’t need to be forced on the customer.

View Comments

  • My daughter's experience at a GWM dealership while buying an Ora was identical to yours up until you went to pay your deposit. In my daughter's case, there was no attempt to upsell useless (or even useful) 'additional extras' and the biggest problem with the deposit payment was the EFTPOS machine was playing up.

    • I've seen about 4 Oras out in the wild, and perhaps 5 MG4s. Great to see the uptake. Not many Dolphins actually, maybe 3. The rest? You guessed it. MY, M3, P2 and Atto3s. Throw in a Seal or two as well.

      I purchased my Ioniq without any BS from the dealership as they were just delivery partners. I would buy an MG4 XPower if I didn't have my Ioniq. Or a Seal... or an EV6... or a P4... so many options today compared to just a couple years ago.

  • While some dealerships are woeful, there is going to be an ongoing demand for such establishments. Used cars, whether ICE or EV, are seldom traded in saleable condition. Dealerships, at least reputable ones, arrange for body and upholstery repairs, detail the vehicle, ensure the vehicle is roadworthy and mechanically sound. They also hold stock, allowing those who choose not to buy new, to changeover vehicles in a single day.

  • 50 metre walk, eh? Surprised they didn't offer you a mobility scooter.

    Shame the person who bought the car didn't write the article. Instead of a Tesla disciple. Giles should really send you the bill for a thinly disguised advertorial.

    • Yep. Even a story about "I bought a new MG4 EV for less that $30k on the road" gets a full dose of snark and a plea to get a Tesla instead. But that's TheDriven for you.

      • I am stunned by how Tesla centric this site is. A cynic might even conclude that it has a silent partner.
        Check the voting for any criticism of Tesla. Cant help themselves.
        Interesting how I've achieved by a long way the most downvotes when some fossil foolers get ignored.
        Thanks for your support.

  • Here in Launceston you see a few Volvo C40 and XC40 EVs around - far more than proportionate to their relatively low national sales numbers. One of the local dealers has them available for test driving and for purchase. I don't know if they also engage in the high-pressure upselling tactics that you describe.

    It's interesting though that for many people buying from a dealership is what they want to do, and if a dealership does it right they will sell more cars than if buying over the internet was the only option.

  • It's always got that whiff of racism, the anti China stuff. That German Newspaper uncovered reports of Tesla spying on its customers and there never was a ban threatened. And it's not like Australia is beyond a bit of illegal spying either.
    Yes, let's be wary of China but let's be wary of USA too.

  • Reasonably priced. Think there is an updated version coming and Europes trade barriers means Australia is a good spot to sell them.

  • ‘Dark side’ ie anything but Tesla? Seriously? Thanks to competition and there are now so many more excellent options. FWIW, I never had any problems with EV dealerships whatsoever (or at least, were the same as per other brands of ICE in the past). In Brisbane, MG have been excellent in my experience, ditto our latest Ford Mach-e.

    Online-only Tesla experience, oh go away & stop writing this rubbish. Kai, Hyundai, MG etc are all working as well as they always did. And in my experience in terms of accessorisation, paint protect and the rest. Slight change these days - the salespeople are much more informed about EVs, setup, operation, delivery & handover (quite different to even say five years ago).

  • Not sure why you didn't tell them what you wanted and what you didn't want. Speak up and let them operate on your terms rather on theirs. Instead, you sat there quietly and go along with all the sales crap and then complain to us online.

    You should have walked in, introduced yourselves and told them you are walking out with a MG, you don't need any finance thank you, nor do you want any other aftermarket add ons / products. Take me to a person who can help me with that please.

  • The experience of buying a car stands alone in its unpleasantness. There is no other comparable or even close purchasing experience. Tesla are absolutely fantastic in this regard, fixed prices and no sales BS during the process.

    • Buying a house, getting the conveyancing done and lining up all the transactions would leave car purchasing for dead.

  • Very similar experience a year ago Brisbane dealership for MG4 re: long rave from slick young salesman for tint and paint protection, almost made to feel guilty for not protecting our new car - very pushy..felt badgered - - rest of the process fine, no finance involved. Cars have never been an investment - they always lose value very quickly, only hold value when there is some sort of govt intervention eg: tax and utes or supply issue such as a pandemic! Glad to see the price drop for MG4s. The more on the road the better.

    • Same experience here! I eventually persuaded my wife not to go for the paint protection and tinting - had the window tinting added later (elsewhere) at a much more reasonable cost.

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