Julian,
All is true but the dealers have to show us mortals the same level of loyalty and I fear they are not! Those of us who are long in the tooth have seen the classic market rise and fall over the years as a direct reflection of the economy but the Morgan market had remained strong, almost unaffected by such earthly situations.
Peter and Charles Morgan were perhaps somewhat more accurate in their market predictions and knowing their market than Sir John thought he was and in fact the Ferrari driving shiny suits who run it now seem to have been stupid enough to test his theory and it is starting to look like they have proved the Morgan family correct in all they said.
The Morgan long tested market practice worked, Supply couldn't satisfy demand and held the desirability factor, Changes to cars were noticeable and relevant, keeping pace with an evolution of the cars which suited these cars. Perhaps the most important, no relevant fact, was that it occupied a niche market. It gave the interested and able the chance to own and enjoy old time driving experiences yet on a reliable platform that allowed them to fit it into their busy lives with a predictable budget. It also had a lengthy history to revel in and research. Along come the designer shoe brigade and slowly, slowly catch yr monkey! they have done to Morgan exactly what they have done to all their classic marks despite their promises of Morgan being a special brand etc. etc.
So they have finally achieved their goal and put Morgan into the collective super car market and of course it will suffer the foibles of that economic market place Because of this and when money is tight, less people buy them and its the middle classes with aspirations of over half a lifetime that keeps these markets afloat but Morgan don't have those middle aged kid's who grew up with a picture on their wall of the best car in the world and the thoughts of .... one day!
They've got it so wrong! I'm not for one minute suggesting that the latest cars aren't good or a great evolution but they just don't have enough market demand for what they thought the market would tolerate and so, like a house built from cards it's going to come crashing down. When the economy recovers, and lets be honest here we are looking at ten years plus for that to happen if at all. If and when it comes, extravagant purchases made by the majority of buyers, at that time will I think be the classic Morgan's to 2020 which will have some sort of value relative to the market but, the intervening years will have devalued the CX and later cars to very undesirable as service/repair costs and accessibility to the same will remove any desire for ownership. Insurance companies will hate them because of ridiculously high repair costs and lengthy times off the road and start declining to insure them or ask huge premiums. Repairing an accident damaged one of these new generation cars is akin to repairing a maclaren cost wise, but of course it's residual value is pretty poor so they'll right it off. Better make sure you have gap insurance ay! Oh, they won't give you any!
The dealers as they are now, unless they change their attitude towards current owners will wither on the vine. Most of us can see that the market has affected Morgan prices just like all the rest so why in hell are the dealers still trying to make us, the loyal, bale them out of exactly the same losses we have taken on our cars yet not on the cars they have in stock with ridiculous high prices based on their UDC.. So, clearly all those sale or return cars are not there because the owner wants an unrealistic price for his or her car.. oh no! It's so the dealership can sell a stock car and achieve a high price for it whilst the poor chap/chap'es who owns it will slowly be fed the line that prices are dropping and they will have to consider a lower return than expected if they want to sell, that of course is still while the dealer takes a nice wedge from the reduced sale! and suffers no potential loss whatsoever. So ask yourself this, Do you think the dealer cares anything about you... burst bubble perhaps? Remember the smile is reflective of the open wallet!
You may feel I'm being ridiculous, the harbinger of doom perhaps! But I have worked in the industry, I've seen it all in it's cyclical glory and it stinks!
Working with a dealership during the early 1980's which had multiple sites we, were looking at ways to increase trade as the economy had literally crashed, mortgage rates were as high as 16% and the car market was dead in the water. I convinced them, a privately owned group, to let us have have control of one site, to not interfere with the changes we would pilot. It was no way near challenging their flag ship sites, rather it was tucked away in a small provincial town. We turned everything upside down. We stopped the competitive aggression and trickery between sales staff and put in place a reward system which benefited all the staff and over this, a site manager who behaved like a trusted father figure. All those on the site from the service dept. to the guys who cleaned the cars and the girls in the office benefited from their input. we convinced the directors that rationing stock was the wrong way to go, That if you didn't have cars to show then you wouldn't, couldn't sell them! In under 18 months the change was remarkable, The normal staff changes from people leaving stopped dead. The staff were always early, coming in when not asked to or required to. people were happy going to work, were smiling, helpful and putting themselves forward. We had to create more key holders so that access for the staff was easier. They thought nothing of coming in at a strange hour or a closed day to help a customer collect their car or even delivering it for them!
But guess what. All the staff were better paid than any of the others in the group, they were certainly happier than them. Personality clashes were a thing of the past as they all had an interest in helping things work. But most of all the profit margins were blowing the flagship sites away! This was happening without trying to make as much profit as possible, rather putting fair deals together to build a customer base that was loyal and keeping an eye on the future. Even the customer attitudes had changed. They trusted us and knew they weren't being ripped off they knew who we were by name and that we were all accessible. They brought their family members and friends in to us from far and wide to buy their cars. We did this by not trying to rip people off, by dealing with issues that arose as if it was your mum that had bought the car. We always said to the staff if a customer has a problem, before you open your mouth put yourself in their position and sort it... you will not have made a mistake in your decision for all concerned! Our showroom and car lot was always full. It resembled a wedding reception rather than a car dealership. The day to day site manager was pivotal in making this happen. He was approachable to all and everything to everyone who worked there. His first thought was always to help, to resolve whatever they needed help with. It was based on truth.
