MG UK joins HMG’s Scrappage Scheme : TF 135 to start at £11,511!

Clive Goldthorp

New MG TF can be yours for £11,511...
New MG TF could be yours for £11,511...

MG Motor UK Limited (MG UK) announced yesterday that the company will be participating in the Government’s new Car and Van Scrappage Scheme which starts on the 18th May, 2009.

Customers who qualify for the Scrappage Scheme can expect a reduction of £2000 in the list price of a brand new MG TF with the £1000 coming from the Government being matched by MG UK.

MG UK has confirmed that the Scrappage Scheme will cover not only the 290 TF LE 500s still to be retailed but also the entry level TF 135 and TF 85th Anniversary models which were revealed to the public for the first time at the recent MG Heritage Festival in Windsor.

The remaining TF LE500s are available at £14,055 otr under the Scrappage Scheme while the TF 135 will be in the showrooms shortly at £13,511 otr (or £11,511 otr if purchased under the Scrappage Scheme). The TF 85th Anniversary will go on sale later in the summer at £15,664 otr (or £13,664 otr if purchased under the Scrappage Scheme) and has an improved ride and handling package which included Bilstein suspension, an Eibach anti-roll system, lower ride height, an all-new anti-torsion pack and Rimstock ‘Twisted Pepper’ alloy wheels.

Jack Safiruddin, MG UK’s Sales and Aftersales Operations Manager, said: ‘This (HMG’s) initiative could not have launched at a better time for us. With summer kicking in and two new models about to join the successful MG TF LE500, this scheme makes the next few months a very tempting time to get the new sports car you have always wanted.’

AROnline, in the meantime, wonders how many eligible (and perfectly serviceable) MGFs will be swapped for new TFs under the Scrappage Scheme…

Clive Goldthorp

33 Comments

  1. I do not believe the word ‘scrappage’ means the car has to be physically scrapped. I mean a lot of vehicles are going to be perfectly roadworthy. We could see some decent cheap classic cars going to the crusher if the numbskull gov’t were to literally do that.

  2. I just hope that, if they have to come off the road, they aren’t just crushed. They should be dismantled and put back into the 2nd hand spares industry.

  3. I can’t believe they’ve still got 290 LE500s to get rid of. How long have they been on the market?!

  4. If you drive a 10 year old car (as I used to), aren’t you unlikely to be able to afford a new car?

  5. By the time one receives the £2,000 scrappage allowance and buys a new car, the immediate depreciation on the new one will eat into the so-called £2,000 “gift” from HMG. Shame there are still so many un-sold MG TF LE500s around… I agree – hopefully there will be plenty of MGRover spares around rather than destroying them!

  6. The Scrappage Scheme means just that – the car does have to be scrapped. £11.5k for the TF, that’s a good price but they really need to start advertising that NOW… to get the summer months in. I just hope that this new company does not fall into the old routine of poor advertising and marketing… PUSH IT NOW!

  7. Richard: re your comment about scrappage; the dealers will have to recycle the car if they want to see the Government’s side of the discount, so the cars will get scrapped.

  8. 290 TF 500’s left – that seems like rather a lot for a car that’s been on sale for the best part of a year. If they can’t sell those, I wonder how many cheaper ones they could sell?

  9. MG UK launched the TF LE500 just in time for the 58 plate change on the 1st September, 2008 – that, unfortunately, coincided with the start of the current recession and the onset of autumn/winter so, perhaps, retail sales of 210 units to the end of last month should not be regarded too critically…

    Mind you, all the MG Dealers AROnline has spoken to recently reckon that MG UK needs to run a national advertising campaign in the near future.

  10. One does worry about the lack of advertising. Is the TF 135 available now ? If so I haven’t seen any advertising relating to it.

    Why are the Marketing Department not pushing this? Perhaps that’s due to the lack of a budget.

    One just hopes that the TF is not being produced just to satisfy a previous agreement with the Government or Local Authority in respect of starting production at Longbridge and then, when it doesn’t succeed, shutting the plant altogether – especially as they have a 6 month get out clause with St Modwen.

    Hopefully, it’s a case of keeping the place ticking over until the new models arrive.

  11. I wonder how many MGFs will be traded in under this scheme. Which gets me thinking, is the MGF/TF the only car which could be used for both parts of the scrappage scheme?

  12. I’m not surprised (though very disappointed) at the sales failure of the TF LE500 which I think, as a niche market “Limited Edition” car, has little to do with the current recession. A few weeks ago I saw one displayed for sale in a promotion in Colchester town centre by the local MG dealer. Despite being “brand new”, the front MG badge was severely delaminated in exactly the same way that my own ZTT’s front grille badge went when it was just 2 years old. Needless to say, that made the entire car look tatty and uninviting to a prospective buyer. Let’s hope they get a better finish for the 135 and 85th Anniversary models.

  13. £11.5k is bang on. Fair play and best of look to MG with this one. It’s a fun car and no one can claim it’s overpriced. Brilliant.

  14. The TF 135 will only start at £11.5k if purchased under HMG’s Scrappage Scheme otherwise the price will be £13.5k as against the entry level Mazda MX5’s price of £16.3k.

  15. 290 left!! I would suggest that we are unlikely to see MG make it into 2010, let alone launch a new model. Time to face facts, if the multinationals with established brands are feeling the pinch, then this oriental newcomer stands no chance.

    I agree if you have a 10 year old car (Ferarris and Porsches excepted) you wouldn’t be able to afford a new one. However, I guess it could mean that some of the MGFs might be removed off the roads, so it’s not all bad.

    This toadying towards this Chinese company gets on my tits!

  16. Jenna/Pornstar/Modern Gentleman hows about mature and go and admit your true identity!

    It’s great to see that small car companies are trying. They are often the inspiration for market development and renewal. The Chinese are not to be laughed at. They are developing quicker then the Japanesse and Koreans ever did and their first launch will be very interesting to see.

  17. @Jenna Jameson

    Well, Jenna what aload of old Tosh. I have an old mint S regd. MGF VVC – it’s a cracker, as fresh as the day it rolled off the line in Longbridge back in 1998. True, it’s a pure fun weekend car, chipped and with over 180 bhp on tap, it handles brilliantly and will take the smug smile off any Audi TT driver’s face. No MX5 will even get a sniff of my blueflame, twin tail pipes.

    The MGF is a true BRITISH sports car. Get a moded one like mine and love it. Stick the £2k – I will keep my F. I also have two other MGs: a ZT 260 and a TF 160. The MGCC’s a great club to belong to as well: great cars, great car fans, Great Britain.

  18. @jenna or whoever you are..

    What rubbish you spout! Some people do not change their cars every five minutes because they don’t want to. I know that, if my parents really wanted to and they stretched their budget a bit (a lot), they could afford a new Rolls Royce. However, they had their old N reg Astra for donkey’s years. Why? Simply because there was nothing wrong with it and it just went on and on.

    If you have nothing constructive to say, can I suggest you keep your trap shut and your fingers away from ANY keyboard.

  19. I’m not a killjoy, just concerned. If MG cannot sell the top of the range TF LE500 at competitive prices, what chance have these new MGs got. You can blame the recession as much as you like but there seem to be no press releases or major announcements coming out of Longbridge at all.

    Friends who I know there say that no work has been started on the assembly of the new MG models so please someone tell us the truth and what’s going to happen in the future or is there someone out there with a bit of insight who can share it with us.

  20. My hope for the future is that MG UK becomes a major success in the automotive sector. What chance have they really got to survive bearing in mind that the Chinese [SAIC Motor] now have the opportunity to buy into any major car manufacturer in the world?

    Looking at what has disappeared at Longbridge, it seems hard to believe that major output of MG cars will begin. Indeed, with the output and recent sales and the size of Longbridge, MG UK must be losing money at this time – the current wage bill and maintainence must be phenomenal. I hope that the company succeeds and that I’m wrong.

  21. Eleanor de la Haye, MG Motor UK Limited’s Head of Corporate Communications, told AROnline that production of the entry-level TF 135 would be starting on the 20th April, 2009 and has subsequently confirmed that production has commenced.

  22. The game is up. I admit it all. However, having a go at me doesn’t get away from the fact that we are in a global downturn and, no matter how good the MGF/TF was in its heyday, it will be difficult to sell enough of these ‘luxury items’ in order to stay a viable force within the UK/Europe.

    For me the real hope was that TATA reintroduced Rover on a X type platform. However, with everything going on, this seems increasingly unlkely.

    Apologies for any spelling mistakes.

  23. Well, for what it’s worth… I think the issue with new TF sales is that the target audience is one of enthusiasts who know their cars and know that they’re not really being offered anything essentially new.

    Also the dealer base, whilst consisting of worthy, smaller, garages is also a little on the thin side still and the large groups haven’t taken MG to their bosom yet (I thought bossom had 2 s’s?)due to a lack of mainstream product, so maybe not overly attractive to the average punter?

    Had it been the 75/ZT that had been relaunched with a few tweaks instead (and could now have the SAIC rear end and excellent interior upgrades for change’s sake), I think this would sneak below the radar far easier – to the audience of more mainstream, traditionally more conservative buyers.

  24. @Clive Goldthorp
    Production has commenced at Longbridge, but what chance have they got when they can’t even sell the giveaway top of the range TF LE500s. Furthermore, if you listen to what’s being said by the people who work there, the CABS have yet to undergo any building or other work in readiness for the production of the new model. Please try and find out if they are to get the new model – we will all, then, again be able to start believing in the dream of MG returning to Birmingham.

  25. Not even sure that the new MG 6 would sell in this current climate – it looks a little too Korean to be a real MG.

  26. @sammo
    An informed and senior source at Longbridge told AROnline in mid-April that the final decision about MG 6 production at the facility should be made ‘within the next couple of months.’

  27. @Clive Goldthorp
    The people I know who work on the tracks have been told this for months. Why would they not commit? No work has begun on the CABs and it would take millions to get up and running surely. Again, I hope I’m very wrong, but it just doesn’t read right Mr. G.

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