Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Three Wheeler & Super 3 Buying a 2012, should I be worried?

A 2012 M3W with its original chassis could be a problem but possibly not for many miles. The cracks in the upper tubes seem to propagate quickly once they start but that is not at any specific mileage. Failures are not catastrophic but usually make themselves know if not seen with visual checks, that all M3W owners should be doing regularly.

Many of the 1027 pre 2014 specification cars produced have had new chassis fitted FOC by Morgan, something that is no longer available, a sizeable customer contribution is now expected. All versions of the chassis produced before the 2014 upgrade are prone to cracking, in the upper forward tubes particularly. If the car you are interested in is priced accordingly or has had a later chassis fitted it could be a good purchase. There are cheaper repair schemes available other than chassis replacement but none are cheap.

There are other considerations with the purchase of an early M3W, things such as oil tanks, rear hubs and pedal boxes were also updated, all for a reason. I would not say, "avoid at all costs" but do be aware of the potential work involved with a "standard" early car. Many owners have updated their early cars to make them reliable and useable. Even owners of the last few cars produced have had to incorporate some modifications to their "new" cars for the same reasons. They still had some of the same design faults that the early cars had that Morgan never bothered to sort out. It isn't about age or mileage with a M3W, it's all about condition. Some well used, upgraded, high mileage cars are a much better buy than an unused, like new "garage queen".

I would also suggest a read of the Buyer Guide, link in the Owners Resource at the top of this forum.