Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) Plus 4 or Roadster?

Over the years I have had 4/4, +4, 3.0 V6 Roadster and have recently bought a new GDI +4, the +4 hopefully will be a keeper, I have to agree some parts of the Morgan are of poorer quality/reliability than some of my earlier models, especially the electronics!! modern cars are so reliable these days, why has Morgan reliability/quality slipped?? (surely they could buy in proven reliable electronic systems)

Great informative post as always Peter.

I must say, that during the time, the 3.7 was launched, I was wondering why they offer servo steering (is she much more heavy weight?) why rev hang resolve would cost 1000plus GBP and so on.
I thought at the time that the 3.0 was a propper made car and will become a sought after keeper in the future. Even the service was good because I had not to pay "add on spec" money to quit the rev hang of my 2008 Series 2 Roadster. Retrospectively I would say my Series No 1 2005 had the best engine and even more important, a very good working! - in terms of feel and ratios - Getrag gear box. My last Roadster 2010 Sport was the most reliable of the three ones. If I would seek for a nice cruiser, I would immediately look again for a 3.0 but I decided after this nice years of Roadster experience to swap for a light weight 4/4.

Re. the perceived quality of current Morgans, it has been my experience so far that my new 2015 GDI is having an oil seal and the light switch replaced under warranty but the general quality in terms of fit and finish plus water tightness is better than my previous 2 cars which were both +4's, a 2009 and a 2011.
IMHO, for what I want from a fun car, the +4 suits me perfectly, I can still loose my licence if I so desire or I can get well over 40mpg if that's what I want, but as with all things, you pays your money and makes your choice.
Good luck with which ever you choose, they are both brilliant cars, it's just that the +4 is better !!!!!!!

Which oil seal Reg? Maybe something I should look out for?

Steve - from a previous post'

"Got the car back yesterday after it had spent 5 weeks at the dealer's while they, and MMC tried to correct the sudden lapses into limp-home mode and the regular appearance of the engine management light. A faulty throttle position sensor was replaced, several wiring issues were "corrected"and the fuel tank breather positioning was also corrected. The time that this took was intensely frustrating to me as the owner because the Roadster 3.7 has now spent a total of 2 months of the 11 months I have owned it (from new) off the road for warranty issues. I can only hope that the time that this has taken means that any other owners whose cars are blighted with these faults will get a quicker solution to their problems. On the 100 mile return journey there was no indication of any associated problem but my confidence in the car is at zero level. "

In addition, we had a failure of the circuit board and lighting switch which resulted in the only lighting available being main beam accompanied by the hazard flashers or no lights at all, at the same time the indicators stopped operating, the airbag warning light illuminated although there are no airbags fitted, the hood tore in two places because a reinforcement piece had been omitted at the factory, the heated screen stopped working, the interior lighting stopped working (and no, it was't the fuses), we had a flooded passenger footwell because some strategic sealant had not been applied at the factory, and an oil leak had appeared from the bell housing area. Getting to the dealer's (who was just as frustrated as I was) involved a 200 mile round trip and I grew tired of that very quickly.
In the end, I cut my losses and moved on.
Don.

Being a Plus 4 owner since 2010, 6 years and 30.000 kms later I can only say good things about this car. It's the perfect package, a good car for traveling with the wife, a good car for a lively drive because of its lightwheight nature coupled with some torque and power, and even a good car to do the odd hillclimb and get some scores nobody expects.

It's even a car that allows you to squeeze quite a bit more from, and the only reason I don't do a full overhaul ( Williams Morgans Style ) or at least follow Peter (Gambalunga)'s step by step upgrading is because I feel the car is "good enough" for what I need and so I save the money to other "more needy" ventures.

So, nothing against a Roadster, would probably love to own one, but I'm quite pleased with the Plus 4 and feel no need to change.

One final word about quality of build. I have absolutely no complaints, maybe it was luck (considering Peter's problems, but I'm not sure if his car having A/C has something to do with it) but my Plus 4 has been 100% trustworthy. So far it only needed the scheduled maintenance and the fuel to perform its duties without flaw.

This is the point of course where everything goes pear shaped but apart from a duff relay causing instant cut out , my 89 Plus Four has been faultless over the last fifteen years. I am thinking as some of you will know what to do next because next will probably be last as I keep my cars a longish time. If build quality can be called into question it may be that the money will be spent on my present car. I will be reading peoples comments with interest.

With a hand built car there will be good and bad builds. I always go to the dentist first thing. This is because by five o'clock, most normal people will have had enough and I don't want my teeth drilled by somebody who is thinking about what's for tea.

So where a critical job is done at the end of shift, it's likely to be 'rushed' more than at the start of shift. That's human nature.

Buying a new Morgan is a huge gamble. It could be heaven or it could be hell, but it's a risk worth taking.

Steve,
It is the gearbox output shaft oil seal ( Mazda G/box ) It manifests it's self with a small drip after a run. I took the car back to Krazy Horse where, initially the tech. tightened everything which resulted in a much smaller leak but when it was on the hoist last Wed. I could see that it was still weeping therefore it is being changed on Friday.
The fault with the light switch is that each time you use the indicators, it flashes the headlights. Not really very safe !!
I hope you don't have the same problem as it will probably result in another Japanese worker being sacked !!!!