Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Aero 8, 2012< Plus 8, SuperSports, Coupe & Aeromax How many miles are 'normal' for an S1?

Have enjoyed reading the thread on the air intake/ power upgrades/ originality or otherwise of early Aeros ... got me thinking ...

When I bought th S1 in June past I learned about the concept of 'garage queens' and that it was necessary to allow some 'fettling'. This has certainly been my experience ... my S1 is March 2002, and had 12500 miles when I got it ... now up to 16250.

I am enjoying the usage and it seems to have been good for the car, issues have been ironed out and it feels like an even better car than when I got it.

So ... now thinking ... for a mix of optimum use/ enjoyment and holding/ growing value ... what do the rest of you think is a 'reasonable' total mileage for these 2001/2002 S1s? What sort of mileage do the rest of you have? Do we care?!

I.

April 2002, 35k miles

Jan 2002, 30k miles.

Interesting question. With my toy car there are half decent statistics because there are far more about. The difference between a 10k miles car and a 30k miles car is near enough 20% price wise. There are very few on offer above 30k and the last of this model is dated 2009. Typical mileage seems to be between 1000 and 2000 pa.

Daft when you think about it, but when you have a reasonable sum invested in a car, as you do with an Aero, then you are rather more conscious of potential resale value than if you had a Focus. Coloured I suppose by whether you are in a job which allows you to replenish your funds or are retired.

So for most of us I guess the choice is between a really nice car that you are conscious of not being able to use maybe as much as you would like or a standard mass produced item you dont give a hoot about.

You are of course quite right, Howard. When has spent spent that much money on a car, it's important to do what one can to maintain its resale value, even if that might mean denying oneself the pleasure of using it as often as one might like.

But what I find faintly bizarre is the way that the market places such a high value on low mileage. Anyone who knows anything about cars all agree that it's failing to use cars enough that causes most of the problems - which kind of implies that 'the market' is primarily composed of people who don't understand much about cars and the way they work, maybe?

I would think that a couple of thousand miles a year is a good working minimum, and more than a year or two sat without any significant mileage is a bad sign, regardless of the make and model of the car.

In the days when my mates and I were buying stuff privately rather than through the trade, we always used to say "Don't look at the car, look at the guy's workshop" on the basis that you could tell much more about the seller's maintenance skills that way.

Still, good for people who know their stuff, if they can pick up nicely-used cars for a 20% discount, maybe?

The question is - "did you buy the S1 as an investment or to enjoy?". When you have answered that the annual mileage will sort itself out.
If it were me - I would use it as my inverstment was in fun.
Priceless as the adverts say!

I have had my 2002 S1 for 11 years now, between 4k & 5k miles a year. Up to 65k miles now, and I take her out every week if possible.

When I had my S3 I used to sorn it from Oct until March each year, I like to get away in the winter months to a warmer climate!! This also gave me something to look forward to in the spring, I then used it as often as I could not even thinking about residual values, it was the pleasure and fun of driving it that made me buy it in the first place. When you go to the pub and buy a quality beer/wine, you pay for it, drink it, enjoy it and at the end all that is left is the memory, apart from the price surely it's the same for the car?
I do the same for the slk, sorn through winter then drive and enjoy in the warmer months,
Ian

If you wanted an investment, buy gold or diamonds, a lot easier to keep clean and maintain. Cars are for driving when the mood takes you.

Glad to hear that all of the initial bugs are over and you are now realising the investment of time and money. I would prefer to buy a lower mileage car but given their age now I don't think 20,000 miles should be expected. I would prefer something that shows regular mileage on the MOT to show it is being maintained and driven as they get to this age.