Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms Annual mileage?

Hard to give you a realistic answer with my sense of valued firmly anchored in the 60s ! And being born in Gods Own County.

Insurance cost is high because the car value is high and you need agreed value cover. Road tax is high at £500. Service - well it depends on what extra they find. The basic annual service is about £800 but thats for the same change of oils etc that costs £250 on the family Merc.And if they find anything else, then the cost can easily get to 2k or 3k.

The first big cost trap for me is that the car has a 2 year Ferrari guarantee that is linked to dealer service so I cant use the indies yet. Yes I know about the EU rules but they dont cover the issue of full dealer service history and resale price, and Ferrari buyers are obsessive about condition / history / records in a way that I hadnt realised.

Which leaves the last cost trap - mileage. There is an owner called Aldous Voice who does a good service for all fellow owners with statistics on asking prices, trends etc. His data shows a 50% increase in asking price from mid 2013 ( beat that Morgan ) but also a delta on prices of £1 per mile recorded. Add in the 20% mark up that the dealers work on and I reckon that if I dont use the car at all but service it every 12 months, I might break even sometime in 2021! As long as the bubble doesnt burst of course. See this.

In financial terms its stupid. But the car is gorgeous and the performance is epic. Which is why racing versions of the same basic 430/458 design win at le Mans.

Last comment. Yes some of the owners are rich or at least successful self made businessmen with several Ferraris and a trophy wife. But at my end of the spectrum there are lots who scrape the money together to run a Ferrari and are every bit as obsessive / enthusiastic about the breed as Morgan owners are, if not more so.

Dont know whether that answers your question. Its in the same cost ballpark as an Aero. FWIW I am budgeting £5k pa but we shall see.

Over 30 years of owning Morgans I have averaged 15,300 or so p.a.

I hope that's miles and not £.

I am doing 7k per annum. 2002 Plus8 with 50k on the clock. Previously it had low/negligible mileage for 3 years before I bought her. Less than 3k average for the first 8 years.
My previous car was a 1993 4/4. Again low annual mileage before I bought her but 7k a year over the 2 years I had her.
I couldn't leave a Morgan in the garage, the driving is great and is why I want one.
I sometimes wonder about Morgans with low mileages and resale values. Yes, if the car has a unique special history but for the average car simply not used? OK the car should be in pretty good condition but I don't really fall in with low mileage keeping the value overly high for what is essentially a "run of the mill" car
Keep the car in good condition by all means, but accept that mileage affects resale value and get the enjoyment of the miles you have done as an offset.
When seeing cars of all sorts sold " low mileage" I wonder why the mileage is low and yes, it is attractive but not the bottom line.

I've had a few nice cars in past which have been and gone, looking back, I regret not using them more. I'm not convinced you get that much more money and you still have the annual running costs anyway. A while back, I had a 1985 911, sold it having only driven it a couple thousand miles during the two years I owned it and thought Id done well to make some money on it. Turns out, I could have rung its neck for ten years and still made more than twice what I'd paid for it!

Honestly chaps, look after your cars, but don't be afraid to use them, if you really don't want to loose money, don't sell them!

I reckon its the other way round. Write them off in the family accounts as soon as you buy them. Then anything you sell them for is a profit. Man maths.

Well its only like SWMBO saving 2k by buying a mink coat at a sale, isnt it?

Or when they buy a cushion in the sale (£40 instead of £100) but the colour does not match and so you have to redecorate the whole room.

Woman maths also exists

One of the best things I ever did was to marry a Yorkshirewoman.

She's dead careful with money.

Sad to say this year only 500 miles or so. However it has only been working a few months so far, so doesn't paint quite a fair picture with the random weather also.

Would have used it this weekend but felt ill so she stayed locked away..

As A Yorkshireman that's why I bought a new 4/4...best mpg,low road tax and best value in my opinion with regard to fun per pounds sterling.

Its in our DNA unfortunately..to be careful with money !!!
I could afford a V8 but would resent the running costs.
I stand by for your comments !!!....