Some thoughts. Don't quite agree with Mr T, as there is a definite difference in feel between low and high mileage cars. However, he is right in that both should be pretty reliable if cared for. My feeling is that the BMW bits should last well - but Morgan bits like steering and suspension may come in for refreshment sooner than people think after a certain mileage, just from the feel of the higher mileage cars I drove (and rejected)...
1) higher mileage cars do feel looser. My 9,000 miler feels a lot tighter than three cars I drove that were a year older and had done 35k+ miles. Other cars with lower mileages felt tighter, but the 18,000 miler was in between those circa 10k and those 35k+. Now given that all of the cars I saw have been well cared for, with a known history, and haven't been skimped on, this shows that natural wear does appear at least in the non BMW components. This is obvious especially when you drive a lower mileage car back to back with a igher mileage car.
2) By "looser", I do not mean loose. A 40,000 mile Aero feels a million times better than a 40,000 mile TVR, for example. You may feel a little slack in the steering and suspension, but it should be just that - a little. Anything that feels like a 40k mile TVR has not been taken care of.
3) As said above, if you are going to put miles on it, buy a high miler rather than paying a premium for a low miles car and then blowing that money by putting 20k miles a year on it; that few thousand you save can go into a fighting fund for preventative maintenance and you will be left with a higher mile car that you know is well fettled and sorted.
4) Pay less for a high mile car. You will be nearer to some more preventative/remedial maintenance/tightening. The market does recognise higher mileage cars as cheaper.
5) Don't worry about clonky drivetrains. The variety on these is astounding - my car, one of the newest feeling I test drove, has one of the clonkiest gearboxes. A high mileage car I drove had a quiet gearbox, but the steering and suspension felt noticeably slacker. Confusing!
6) Low miles are no guarantee of reliability. Mine had an immobiliser and clutch switch problem (both BMW parts!!!) at 9,000 miles when I bought it - problems which are simply leftfield and unfortunate, and seemingly random. Luckily easily and cheaply fixed.
PM me if you would like a view on the cars in the market at the moment. I have pretty much driven and inspected all of them, as I only got mine recently and continued to test others while mine was having its immobiliser sorted out.
