Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Aero 8, 2012< Plus 8, SuperSports, Coupe & Aeromax Is your Aero/Morgan reliable?

Pains and pleasures of using (not displaying) a car that is hand built but... after 44.000km, I can say this:

Major issues/faults? None.

Minor fixing, tweaking, adjusting, upgrading, improving? Often, most of all in the first two year after I bought it. Now that is driven on a regular basis (the previous owner drove it for 8k km in 3 years) and with the incredible support of the Italian Morgan dealer, it works like a charm.
Well... I still go at least twice per month to the dealer but mainly to drink an espresso and talk about which could be the next upgrade.

Hi Nick,
I must admit that I also anticipatethe S1 breaking down/not starting and my other half will only go on trips that are a "reasonable" taxi fare home if it fails!However, even though I have threatened to sell it she does not want to see it depart our household. I think its running at around £3500 pa to keep it on the road but it now has around 50k miles (oddometer still broken) and as the other posters say, regular running is the best cure for reliability!
Keep the faith
T

I certainly hope mine is reliable. My 45 year old TR6 has only "failed to proceed" on one occasion in the 7 years I've owned it and even then I was able to bump start it. Hopefully a considerably newer (and more expensive) should at least do as well.
No problems on my 300 mile trip to Norfolk and I'm quite happy to book in for the Powderham show in Devon next month the week after Blenheim.
Simon

Ps or am I just tempting fate......

So lets get a little perspective as it feels like your experience is as rollercoaster as mine was with the S2.

Your car was built how many years ago - it is not young. Whilst the big bits are rock hard the gaskets and other bits do perish.

As an S1 it was the first of a new generation, they were learning as they went and made many changes, some say they still do....ahem.

It has been a hanger queen for much of its life, no oil circulation etc etc so some things are going to make a break for freedom as they used again. We have threads on hanger queens on this forum and mine was the same (14k miles in 5 years.)

But they look so funky, you have to love them.
They go so well, noise, power, smooth, better ride than expected. Easier to drive than expected.
People are so nice to you when you go anywhere that it should be an NHS prescribed item.

Hence the highs to the lows make it damn difficult to release it back into the community.

So my experience was exactly the same in the first year. Quite a few bits needed replacing.

There are many Morgan owners that we will never hear from so sometimes it is hard to know whether TMers have typical experiences. It does bother me that the new cars do have their share of problems and that the older cars can be much more reliable but I guess that a trawl of other forums would yield a cache of dissatisfied owners of run of the mill cars. Can we find some solace in the fact that Morgans are not built by robots? I don't know the answer. I do however agree with all the advice to Nick that they are worth sorting and I hope that the likes of Dave will have problem free Tiggers. My Plus Four stopped due to a duff relay and once had a dead battery, but it was built in 1989 so I can't complain.

Ditto to all the previous comments, one plus 4 four seater four plus 8's and a plus 4 in over twenty years of Morgan ownership, none of them new.
the latest is a 1998 plus 8 4.6, which had only done 8000 when I got it in February now I've fettled it and put another 1200 miles on it it's running beautifully and really looking forward to a trouble free four days in Dorset next week with spanner juggler and graham (o great bearded one) and my old mucker Ian Simpson, then LMC in July, with no trepidation whatsoever.

Certainly buying new is a gamble because these cars need stroking to give their best. KevFitz bought new in 2014 and has had no issues. Owners don't post to say they've had no issues so you won't get a true perspective.
My Roadster was just three years old when I bought it. I've now had it eight years. Apart from a broken rear damper mounting and a slight coolant leak it's been trouble free. (I hope I don't summon the Genie of trouble by saying that).
But my cars get a lot of stroking, so I expect reliability.

Sorry for some reason my post did not come out complete.

So lets get a little perspective as it feels like your experience is as rollercoaster as mine was with the S2.

Your car was built how many years ago - it is not young. Whilst the big bits are rock hard the gaskets and other bits do perish.

As an S1 it was the first of a new generation, they were learning as they went and made many changes, some say they still do....ahem.

It has been a hanger queen for much of its life, no oil circulation etc etc so some things are going to make a break for freedom as they used again. We have threads on hanger queens on this forum and mine was the same (14k miles in 5 years.)

But they look so funky, you have to love them.
They go so well, noise, power, smooth, better ride than expected. Easier to drive than expected.
People are so nice to you when you go anywhere that it should be an NHS prescribed item.

Hence the highs to the lows make it damn difficult to release it back into the community.

So my experience was exactly the same in the first year. Quite a few bits needed replacing.

Missing bit....

So despite the number of problems I had (and the bills) in the first months the car is still in the garage. Little has gone wrong since. Every time I drive it the BIG GRIN that comes as standard with these cars.

Passed all MOT's.
Annual Service
Regular runs.

As always - buy on paperwork and condition.

I must admit that I would have expected a little better from a car that RTCC had inspected.

Its a bump. The next drive will fix it.

Looking forward to next week's trek

Nick, they all suffer problems at times.
My first 4/4 (a '76, purchased 11 years ago) took a while to sort out - regular St. Malvern's dance, eventually sorted by Tim Ayres and Darren at New Elms. Then a water pump (due to lack of use). Occasional carb problems and other little niggles. It had done less than a 1000 miles in the previous 6 years - one year only 20 which was probably a trip to the MoT station! However, once things were sorted it was a great little car and I do miss it.
Stick with your Aero, it will come right in the end!

But they look so funky, you have to love them.
They go so well, noise, power, smooth, better ride than expected. Easier to drive than expected.
People are so nice to you when you go anywhere that it should be an NHS prescribed item.

Hence the highs to the lows make it damn difficult to release it back into the community.




That's a great description!

Simon