Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms The high value of old Morgans - Why?

Given that Morgan are making the Trad. very much as they always have done, with minor changes, engine and gearbox apart, why are older Morgans so expensive? Surely they aren't 'classics' because the new ones are also 'classics' they are just old cars with old engines etc etc.

Well they don't have all the electronics for a start. The price is of course set by the market (I.e. what people will pay). If the new cars are £40,000 plus and they are not very different from the old ones, an old one at half the price seems like a good deal.

Why? Its a bit of a leftover from the days when the waiting list for new Morgans was measured in years. Since the old cars look much like the new and indeed are very similar, prices secondhand were really inflayed. People still expect that to be the case but if waiting list stay short then the price level for old cars will drop.

There is no real reason why a second hand Morgan should hold its value any more than any other second hand car

... of the non-mass produced variety.

One thing to keep in mind too is that people tend to keep their Morgans. I don't mean the usual talkmorgan poster that is always keeping up with what's new and what's best and always itching to buy the newest revision of the model he has, or to change from a M3W to a 4/4, or the +4 to a Roadster, or Duratec to GDI, etc etc.

I'm a "keeper" by nature and I bought both the Plus 4 and the M3W with the firm intention to be their owner until the Grim Reaper comes to collect his due. But I have to say that the frantic activity here, the sheer amount of news about model revisions and whatever else makes me much more alert to whatever MMC is making, and from "knowing" to "desiring" to "wanting" to "buying" not much goes. However, I wouldn't part with the two I have, if anything I would collect more.

Maybe it's me, but I don't think so. There are maybe a couple hundred Morgans in Portugal, nobody knows for sure. There's no dealer network, no brand dedicated workshops, we all meet randomly in the odd event, hillclimb, or by pure chance. And Morgans for sale, what can I find? Nothing. Sometimes there's one car for sale. One.

So yes, at least in Portugal even used Morgans are valuable property.

Completely disagree Howard
Car types and brands at different price points depreciate in wildly different rates. There is no overall depreciation rate so the phrase 'should hold its value any more than any second hand car ' is eronious.

Paul I feel you have sort of answered your own question- you could phrase your question conversely such

'As morgan make trad cars that haven't changed in years other than engines and gear boxes etc - why are second hand prices so cheap compared to new prices?

To understand Morgan values & market forces and Morgan prices both new and second hand it's probably worth analysing the history, go to the factory otherwise some just don't get it and can't 'buy into' the marque on a cultural and social level


Turn on, tune in and ........drive a Morgan

Turn on, tune in and......drop a gear!

I agree with Mario..they are worth what they are worth bacause the market place sets the price.

Morgans are "classic" cars because they are not consumer durable machines: people buy into Morgan ownership for mostly emotional reasons.
The market price of classic cars tends to be stable over the long term. Most, once the Tax and dealer margin is removed, don't drop, in real terms much from the price they were new.

So a 15 year old Plus 8 in really good condition is worth, in todays terms allowing for inflation, about 75% of what it cost when new.

Second hand prices are kept buoyant precisely because the cars haven't really changed in half a century. Why buy new when you can get one that looks the same for much less money? As a result, used Morgans are always in high demand, hence the high residual values.

Old Morgans are in demand simply because they are few about and there is sufficient demand from buyers who want an older car with no electronics. That's how I see it, its all about lack of supply.

Supply vs demand thank god. I have all previous Mogs for more than I paid for them after 5 & 7 years ownership respectively.