Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms Did I make the right decision??

The "right decision" ... is only right if you get what you wanted in the first place.

That's why my own Plus 4 ownership is undoubtebly the reflection of one of my life's best decisions ever. I take from that delicious car anything and everything I ever wanted. I race it, I drive it, I travel with it, I have fun doing everything with it, and it gives me ZERO problems from day one. That Morgan's ownership is an experience no Merc, no Mazda, no Z3 or Z4, no other similarly small sized convertible could give me.

Now, onto the M3W: Was it the right decision again? In the end, the reply remains a YES, but with mitigating factors. YES, because I wanted it, I knew what it was, I knew it was different, I knew it could fill a gap between bike and car that my wife would approve.

(Note: Must be explained that on our honeymoon we travelled from Lisbon to Inverness and back in a FJ 1200, but that was 23 years ago and I know it would be too much to ask now. But ... she accepted a Malvern-Dublin-Lisbon marathon in the M3W and that's exactly the kind of "adventure" we're fit to do now).

The M3W is a fantastic machine for fun purposes and I get a kick out of using it every time I do. So, why am I not as enthusiastic about that decision as I am with the Plus 4 one? Well, because the car has flaws, which I could accept easily if it wasn't for the fact that MMC's way of dealing with them was/is very poor, almost unprofessional. In the end and if you are both stubborn and patient, results are achieved, but one feels that it's almost as if we were a "bore". I don't think I was ever treated to such carelessness in my dealings with any other manufacturer.

This has consequences, and in my case this has had a profound effect on my will to buy Morgan again (old plan was to go to a bigger one, when possible). And also, because I am a friend to my friends, on how caution-filled my advice now is when anyone approaches me about Morgan-buying.

Before the M3W experience I would say "buy one" in a heartbeat, as my Plus 4 ownership was and is such a wonderful experience. Now, I will recommend a thorough read of TM's threads on whatever model any friend shows interest in buying.

It's not that the cars are no longer good, if you know what you are buying (definitely not a Mercedes), it is that unexpected problems seem to never be detected before production starts, and never to be fully addressed in the post-sales era. I keep hearing promises of new dawns filled with singing birds and perfectly finished and engineered cars, but after a while you start doubting.

So, I'm off to add an Elise to the stable as soon as that is possible within reason. Pondered the Caterham, but it is too similar to a halfbreed between the M3W and the Plus4, so the Elise might be a different/new thing to try. And that's what is "Right" for me now. I Would never go for a Mercedes, the most "bourgeois" I'd go is a new MX-5, but I like my cars a bit more on the "raw" side of the driving experience.