Thanks for the input on evaluation of my +8 guys, much appreciated. Putting a monetary value on a vehicle that one has owned for almost twenty years and which has carried us on foreign adventures and back home without fuss and bother, creates a bit of a bond which perhaps risks creating an additional sense of value for an owner that the buyer has no appreciation of.
Another of my +8`s values that a buyer seems likely to be blind to, is the time care and effort that a skilled restorer puts into creating his own idea of a perfect Morgan from the preperation and repainting of bare chassis to the final coat of polish on the paintwork which in the long term has potential to create pay back by it retaining it`s looks perhaps longer than a similar machine fresh from the factory..?
I guess that which may sell a Classic is the usual sales hyperbole, which if missing may underwhelm any prospective buyer who much prefers the idea that the OLD SPORTS CAR for sale is close to perfect in every detail, never raced, rallied and only used by the vicars wife to go to the shops.... Dream on..(-:
Buying from a showroom provides maximum guarantees and thus little to no risk.... Yeah, right, the interweb is loaded with poor souls who imagined that to be the case and paid the price, though there is no doubt that some businesses have taken years to build up a great reputation for after sales service.
I suspect it may be best to take time to create your idea of a Morgan that would suit YOU in terms of your intended enjoyment of it, and your level of ability to maintain it, be that relative to your mechanical/bodywork skills or financial abilities, or indeed a mix of both. Being pedantic about the peripherals would seem to risk an endless search, when that which really matters is the core of the machine, and Morgans being constructed as they are, so much can be mixed and matched over time. Any realistic enthusiast seems likely to expect to spend a few bob on a newly acquired old sports car to better match his own image of ideal over time...?
From many years on the interweb of reading disappointments of all sorts from new owners of of factory fresh Morgans, through to old Morgans that have suffered at the hands of well meaning owners who have introduced issues by tuning, or in their own minds "improving" their Morgans, sometimes at great cost, and who in the process created such a degree of imbalance in it that it became a disappointment in terms of drivability or reliability , which seems a real shame..?
Additionally I have no idea of the cost of a new hood or tonneau, both of which can shrink to some degree with the passage of time, so well worth checking the fit, if you intend to drive it in other than perfect weather conditions..?
Even a well maintained and cared for Morgan can display signs of usage, whereas an unreliable money pit can look perfect on the surface with many an issue lying in wait.... Best to equip yourself with some basic knowledge of what to look for and where, before splashing the cash...?
Stick to practicality and avoid being sucked in by the mystique and hyperbole.
As for my +8, yup £35k seems a very reasonable estimate of value in today`s market to an educated buyer, but to an "average buyer", I suspect MPH is perhaps more accurate. my Morgan is available to buy, but not been advertised as being for sale, and I am even less inclined to do so as the result of Colin`s (AKA spanner-juggler) experience with the pain in the rear tyre kicker...Hmm..?