When I bought my used ’13 M3W I thought I had done my research and had a plan to address the known issues. The experience of driving the M3W was amazing and the ‘upgrades’ were soon completed. My experience changed significantly when the new Centa journal part caused the rear mail seal to catastrophically fail, due to a manufacturing design flaw. The ensuing “nobody complains about that” from Morgan’s leadership (Steve Morris, Mark Baldwin, Adrian Westwood ) was even worse. Additionally, I never expected fuel tank mounts to crack and leak petrol, and that was the most expensive ‘upgrade’ on the list. By the end, my total ownership costs were about 3x what I planned for.
So, would I still have my M3W if I was not able to acquire #10 of Pete Larsen’s Liberty Motors ACEs? I’m not sure I know the answer to that question.
The experience of driving a Big V-Twin, reverse trike, modern-retro 3-wheeler is so unique that normal sports cars don’t really excite me much these days, and I’m not sure I could have given that up if the Morgan was the only option.
In the end, my struggles with my M3W and Morgan’s Leadership put me in the right place, and the right time, to buy ACE #10, so maybe it was all worth it after all.
I do feel good that I did everything I could to improve my M3W and was completely transparent when I sold it. The guy who bought it also had his eyes wide open and has made other improvements now too. We’ve even gone to the local Cars and Coffee together and will hopefully have more 3 wheeled adventures in the future too.
When anyone asks me if they should buy a M3W, I only reply with “choose wisely”. I also feel that there is really nothing like owning a Morgan, which can have many meanings too.
