Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) Panel Split - Centenary Roadster

I have owned my 2010 Morgan Roadster for just over a year. This is my first Morgan and after this experience will probably be my last. About 3 months ago I noticed that the boot panel had an approximate 4" split up near the hood where the panel is bent at 90 degrees down towards the rear wing. The split exposed the ash frame. The car has covered 9,000 miles. Both myself and the local dealer contacted the factory as the dealer had not seen this type of split before.

The factory response is just hiding behind the warranty, which indicates that the unexplained panel splitting is acceptable to Morgan.

Has anyone else experienced this with other Traditional cars and experienced the same lack of customer service from Morgan.

I feel for you V8Dave. Warranty issues can be tricky but most manufacturers have a sense of pride in their product and will react accordingly.

Some photos may help TM's to understand the problem.

Have you been in contact with a qualified automotive engineer to establish what exactly has happened after 8 years?

Poor workmanship or may be something else.

You have my sympathy but I dont know how many makers would pick up a body repair tab on an 8 year old car. Or to put it another way, how long do you think a body should be guaranteed for?

As its a 2010 car the fault may not originate from factory workmanship. Ie it could have been repaired by a third party after the 2 year warranty period expired.

That's a very good point it could have had a ding in the past after all it's 8 years old.

From what you say, that’s the weld area. Down to a poor weld. It must be understandably upsetting for you but due to age of the car you can’t blame Morgan not wanting to repair it for free.

I’d be mightily pissed off myself!

Just a thought!

It may be worth having a word with VSM?

Hi,
As far as I am aware the car has had no accident damage and when the frame was exposed to check the area for a cause there was no signs of any movement of the frame. The metal was thin along the edge of the seam.
Even though the car is 8 years old I would not expect the panel to fail for no apparent reason and was really looking for an explanation from Morgan rather than them to pay the cost of the repair. Unfortunately the only response was to hide behind the warranty and give no opinion on the cause of the failure.
The car has been repaired now and hopefully the panel will not split in another location.
All in all a disappointing start to Morgan ownership. I will post photographs, that were shared with the factory, of the split tomorrow

If you want that, you've come to the right place here..!!!

Glad you're all sorted now, though. I think we'd all be the same.. Looking forward to the pics.

Hi All,
It's good to share as it helps with the frustration. The photographs that were shared with the factory are now attached. The problem is along the seam and it would appear that it is not a common fault which is why I would of thought that the factory would have taken it a little more seriously. There is no explanation other than, in my opinion, the seam was ground down a little too far at the time of manufacture which has led to the split.
As I said the car is now repaired and will be back with me in a couple of weeks so that I can enjoy my trip through France in the middle of August.