I’m considering a potential part exchange for a series 1 Aero 8. I’ve currently got an ARP4 and I love it.

An opportunity has come up and I'm a bit torn on what to do. I’m hoping to be able to have a drive out in the car as soon as the weather improves.

My main concern is the general cost of ownership. I know everyone will have a different experience but I would be interested to know how people have found the general cost of ownership.

Having owned a 3 wheeler and a Plus 4 I know what it’s like to own a Morgan.

I need to give my insurance company a call to get a quote as I discovered last year I was not able to be insured on a Plus 6 due to my age, I'm 36 and they said I had to be 50 or over.


If anyone has any useful info on costs or just how they find their S1 Aero 8 if they have come from a Plus 4 it would be great.

Congratulations, I'd send Viper on here a PM as he has loads of experience and is in the trade and a serial S1 owner/fettler and down to earth.

Hi Jonny, I love my S1, insurance costs the same as my 3.9 plus 8 and 3 wheeler from memory, about £230 with Gott and Wynne. Some parts are becoming a bit elusive to source but we do have the likes of Simon at Sifab to help. Lovely cars......

Thanks Rich

Hi Jonny
I’m sure you’ll find insurance ok if you find the right company.

I’m on my 3rd S1 after regretting selling my 1st 2. I won’t make that mistake again.

I don’t find running costs extreme as the major mechanical side (engine, gearbox,axle) are all under-stressed BMW.

Parts supply is the biggest concern going forward. Many parts now are unavailable such as the early magnesium centrelock wheels so I might now be tempted by the bolt ons of the later S1/2. Electric window mechanisms also but I do think that as time goes on companies that specialise will find an alternative solution.

I’ve never had any excessive costs that weren’t related to me making the cosmetics perfect tbf.

I would say buy the very best one you can. If you buy a rough one it’ll cost you dearly to get it up to scratch. I’ve spent circa 10k on mine making it shine.

I’m an advocate of low mikes especially with these, they don’t wear well unless pampered and garaged. They leak like a rascal so the leather door panels and door sills really suffer. Body corrodes too around all the lights and door aperture.

I’m sure there are many more guys here that can offer more advice such as NickCW who always seems to be titivating and not driving

Edited to say, power steering pump can be an issue. The fix is a later system.
PAS is driven off the Crank pulley and that wears causing a little knock. Mines had a little mod that Simon on here does. In fact Simon does lots of niceties for the Aeros

Watching with interest as i am also in the market for an Aero 8...

I agree with most of the comments.

Insurance for me (Aero 8 S2) is actually very low. As part of a multi-car it is £250 per year for me and the good lady with 6000 miles.

Essentially they do not cost a lot to run, especially given their performance and fun factor. Hard to find a car which matches for the ££.
Engine, gearbox and hardpoints all seem solid.
Annual service on S1-2 with sectional front wings is £500-600 in my experience.
The V8 is very tight in the engine bay so the cowl and wings need to come off for service making the time a fair bit longer.

Check the age of the front and rear tyres as the car does not wear them out that fast due to light weight. They will likely harden and age out unless you are really working it hard. The fronts especially. I changed the brake pads on mine when I got it, it's a habit. That was @14k miles and now @34k it is still the same set.

They are getting on a bit now (20 years) and so you should expect some work is needed on all of them unless you get a master-fettler as a previous owner. My S2 is a 55 plate with 34k miles on it but it feels much younger. That's an 18 year old car. If I look for an 18.yo. Boxster, M3, C63 I am unlikely to find one anything like as nice at close to the price. It's all perspective.

Spare parts are also my biggest worry. I have a Series 2 and have had a few of the common issues.

Power steering was replaced (pump)
Rear suspension rose joints need replacement
There is some corrosion around the common areas, front and rear lights and indicators, edge of windscreen surround
I had a window motor go and it was more than I expected as it is a Morgan special on top of a common motor.
AirCon condenser and compressor needed replacement, that was a larger bill.
Roof edge clamps need replacement along with the rubbers, not often but they do perish like other rubber items

Leaks do show, look at the leather cover on the sill between the seat and the door and the carpet behind the seats on the floor. The leaks end up at the back and around the door aperture. So water that comes in tends to get moved along the leather sill cover and settle on the carpet behind the rear of the seats and at the back (rear wheel arch end) it will normally be a little bit wrinkled where it has become wet then dried out. They all do that sir, but how badly. Garage or at least a car cover is a requirement.

If you take an S1 on the track the slightly smaller brakes can suffer from heat cycles and warp so watch for that one. They did upgrade them later.

I think the fuse/electronics box may become a point of concern in the future as well based on some comments.

However in context the bills were not any bigger than they would have been if it had been another car of the same performance and rarity. I hear a lot worse things about TVR's for example.

Keep £1500 in your pocket for one thing to burp, a new battery, some roof rubbers and a set of rear tyres and a service.

As mentioned Simon on this forum brings a lot of value to Aero ownership. Also ask your local Morgan dealer how many _Aeros_ they tend to as it is a specific skill set. Not all hammers work on Aero's.

Good overview from Alistair.
Tarka is a 2014 S4 Aero chassis with 46,000 miles run, so far other than wear items the only faults have been electronic and as a hybrid Morgan/BMW/Volvo/Ford system replacement parts are not cheap and nor is the fitting. Support from the Factory has been surprisingly good, with Aero Racing sorting out a problem that defeated Williams.
The paint remains perfect, the seat side bolsters show some surface wear, but that can be repainted, it doesn't need any new leather.
The car is light and the power delivery is smooth and progressive so tyre wear is low, especially at the front.

Overall the car has aged well, but I feel like I've done all I can and need a change.

Sadly this does appear to be the case, one day I will get the time to actually finish everything - and then get time to use it!

On a serious note completely agree with everything Lee & Alistair said, they are pretty good and solid but do have the potential for a few issues (as mentioned previously so won't repeat), I have had most sorted on mine - except amazingly the power steering which is still fully original bar some couplings...(I have doomed myself now).
I did have an electronics module fail which luckily for me Morgan had a replacement for, otherwise that would have been tricky..

Overall best advice is to buy a good one - watch out for rust bubbles around the edges of rear lights and the bottom of the running boards and wings, this will need sorting (its usually a reaction between the Ally and Steel fasteners) and if left to long can crumble away the ally - tatty interiors can point to water leaks and can be costly to replace if really bad as well. But this is all very obvious from the outset.

Parts supply will be the main concern, but luckily specialists are coming to the rescue such as Simon (SiFab), and technology such as 3d printing will only help.

Besides this very little compares for the money, a good one offers a fantastic level of performance and drive for the money - and the S1 has a purity that is hard to beat imo.

Most of the cost I have endured has been as a result of upgrading and perfecting things, and improving bits and pieces tbh.

No response from the OP

We must have scared him off

Hi,

Thanks for that, the car I'm looking at has covered about 60,000 and dealer has replaced the flywheel, clutch and refurbished the steering rack.

The bodywork from what ive seen looks pretty spot on and would guess it's had a front end respray as it looks near perfect and doesn't have any PPF.

I was thing about swapping out the wheels for something. I did notice the rears where really narrow, is there space to increase the rear width a bit?