Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Three Wheeler & Super 3 Three Wheeler - Value for money?

"Looks to me that this could be a good question for Paul J."

Well, there nothing like a free lunch is there? Because I was a bit lucky when I bought mine, it cost me the VAT fee price, and I have just swapped it in, plus a bit of cash, of course, for the same price. I will only know if the change over price works when I sell the Plus 4 though.

You are quite right of course, the cost of a car is what you lose between buying and selling, not the cost of the car new. Man maths is great, isn't it?

Great!
If I do not sell it, I do not loose any money, so it is free of charge by the end of the day??
How can I explain that to my spouce? She may not fully understand our logic...

In the USA, a lightly used base M3W comes close to being a reasonable value at around $25k, and one or two usually come to market every year.

However at over $50k, a new, well optioned M3W is a fairly poor value purchase considering the build quality and reliability. Cracked exhausts, blown compensators, screaming/gummed up bevel boxes, broken timing belts, paint drips, and squeaks and rattles galore are more reminiscent of a project someone assembled in their garage, and not a luxury niche product.

I think people are letting MMC off the hook in regard to the M3W's build quality and value with the excuse that they are a "low volume manufacturer" lets examine that premise a bit:

The new Plus 8 appears to be fairly well made, with a BMW engine, lots of quality interior touches, and and a modern aluminum chassis, and if you cruise the Plus 8 forums here - they appear to break far less that the M3W. The Plus 8 retails for 85k British Pounds. The M3W is 25% of the car that the new Plus 8 is, and it retails for ~30k British Pounds...I think the Plus 8 represents a far better value proposition than the M3W.

I still love my M3W, and have no plans to sell it, but I often feel like a chump for paying what I did for it...

I'm not sure that the M3W will be sustainable product at the present price point over the long term. I think the car will need a significant price drop to maintain it's viability.

Sorry to disagree , i don't think a significant price drop is needed. However more quality was needed, and may still be needed but personally i think the 2014 model year package of improvements may have ticked that box.

Yes the plus 8 is more car for the money but doesn't appeal to me in the way a 3 wheeler does. I'll bet a 3 wheeler would turn more heads and give more smiles per mile. MMC are now giving the 3 wheeler a longer warranty and i think that perhaps shows they are serious about the quality of the 3 wheeler.

What price can you put on having fun?
I really enjoy driving my M3W and I do not have any intention of selling it at present, but for substantially less money I could have bought a mass produced "fug box" that would have been a lot more reliable, had a longer warranty and I would not have to think twice before taking it on a long journey (or any journey for that matter).
Having had a number of problems with mine during the last 7000 miles I still do not have complete confidence that it will not let me down and this is a worry I did not expect to have after spending £32K on the car. Added to that, my wife has far less confidence than I do.
My dealer (Williams Automobiles) and the MMC have been very good in resolving the problems quickly but they were all problems that should not have occurred in the first place if the car had been properly developed.
I must say at this point (I know there is another thread on this subject elsewhere) but Henry Williams and his team certainly deserve the Dealer Of The Year Award for what they have done for me.
I suppose because the M3W is put together from bought-in components, the final selling price reflects the margins that each of the component suppliers wish to make and then MMC add their margin on top of all that. I think this is why it appears to be poorer value for money than the +8.
Being an ex-motorcyclist I wanted to have the experience of open air motoring in a vehicle that was different, and had a classic vintage feel combined with modern reliability. We got the first part but not necessarily the other.
I do feel that we M3W owners, particularly those with the earlier models (mine is late 2012) have been let down by the Morgan Motor Company but unfortunately there is no way that they can or will compensate us.

How long is the warranty on the latest 2014 models? Mine is 2 years and about to run out.

Indeed, I'm in for $60K USD ...



Priceless ...

Don't see much difference between M3W and Plus 8 in terms of bought in parts... Chassis is outsourced in both cases, engine and gearbox and axle ditto.

Got my Aero 8 in 2007 for £64K or thereabouts and it's been pretty reliable and cheap to run overall. My M3W turned up in 2012 at £35K and is a great deal less than half the car, although the M3W has been a lot more expensive to service so far!

Having said that what a perfect pair! If only I had a Morgan for the winter / rain / snow / mud I'd be able to get rid of my boring BMW... Perhaps a Mog off-roader a la Bentley's rather ugly efforts (but prettier) is the way to go...

I've had a very eventful 16 months but through a series of fortune/ misfortune have ended up with a 1012 car with all the 2014 bits on it.
Would have prefered the journey to have been less fraught but wouldn't have missed it either. Have 12000 miles of fun under my belt and as an ex biker ( I'm guessing an awful lot of 3W pilots are) it has delivered more than expected in driving fun and pleasure. Mines out of warranty so will be home serviced from now on. I'm determined to fettle the old girl towards a tolerable imperfection.
I think now is the time for talk morgan to come into its own by sharing our experiences and ideas. I will join the three wheeler club also. I did meet them recently and apart from some gentle teasing they seemed like a friendly bunch. The five speed needs a good club so I hope they will take us into the fold.

Yes, I think a lot of us are old (81 years this may) bikers. I started on Brit bikes and currently have 6 including one DBD BSA Goldstar. The Goldie in the present market is worth about 20K. So I ask you IS IT WORTH 20K? I don't think so, but it seems others do. Is the M3W worth what we paid for them, I don't think so----unless we factor the "blow me away fun"! On the West Coast USA a Morgan 3 wheeler with tax and license and transportation will cost about 60K. Are people buying them, you betcha. We've got to remember there is something besides money going on here. Has my 2012 got (and had) problems. Yes, and I have no plans to sell any time soon.

wait, where are these slightly used M3Ws which are being quoted as around $25K?!? I have yet to see this.

I will say I do enjoy that a lot of people are using the more money than common sense rational for why the M3W is a good value for money. Its something to be passionate about, but passions and finances often do not go hand in hand and trying to rationalize a toy as good value for money is comical at best.