Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms Brake Recall - A Related Issue

Interesting experience DaveW

The guy who bought my 4/4 was a little concerned when I told him that I had done ALL service work once the warranty expired.
He was much more relaxed when he actually saw the car and looked under the bonnet.

I then handed him three items
1) the completed Morgan Logbook, initially dealer signed but the bulk of the services signed by me.
2) The one and a half-inch thick "Provenance Folded" containing the original order/delivery invoices together with every insurance, parts and repair docket since new.
3) A glovebox-size log book that recorded every journey, fluid change and suspension greasing since day 1.

He then looked straight at me and said "the money will be in your account in an hour".....

I can see the argument for dealer stamps if you're going to sell within a few years, but for a car which you want to keep and be sure everything's been done properly then you need to either do it yourself or take it to an independent who you trust.

We bought our Defender in 2002, paid around £14.5k for it IIRC. It's never been near a LR main dealer, has no stamps at all in the service book, and we've been offered £18k for it. We chopped our Fiat 500 in against the Mini, they dropped £500 off the value as it had no main dealer stamps. It was a 7 year old car, and the main dealer service costs would have been far more than £500 over that time.

My Morgan must be practically worthless on paper as it's been so extensively modified from original, but to an enthusiast who knew what they wanted and understood what they were buying, it would be a good bet. No amount of service stamps would make any difference at all.

When I sold my ten year old Plus Four via Revolutions with eight years non Morgan servicing ie using local garages, it made no difference to what they paid me and they sold it immediately for a good price.

Not sure about other main dealers - maybe with only one dealer in Scotland they have to be practical on servicing options.

I did have the Aero serviced at Ledgerwood and will continue main dealer servicing for the Plus six.

Distance is a pain but manageable with one car rather than two.

Ha, beat me to it!

Tim, AKA Hamwich, I suspect you may be spot-on in your assessment.

Apparently, much has changed over the years as investment thinking seems to have crept ever more into that which was formerly just an old car hobby, as it once was in simpler times..? It seems that prior to purchase of a recreational vehicle, it`s possible value come time of re-sale can be very much part of the decision to buy or not to buy, and that which may be hyped by the trade when selling can be this that or the other, and which may in reality be worth not quite as much if anything, when we may be selling at some later date..?

Anybody buying a Morgan or any other machine should make the decision to purchase on three primary factors ... A bit like the TV house purchase programmes advice, though in the case of a machine those factors are CONDITION, CONDITION, CONDITION.

As for determining condition, despite my many decades of restoring, repairing and maintaining my own vehicles of many types, when it came to buying my Porsche I paid to have it inspected by an official Porsche agent who is undoubtedly far better equipped to understand the generic and other issues likely to crop up on a Porsche of it`s age and mileage, perhaps more so as a Porsche based extended warranty was to be purchased..?

Having also spent quite a few years on automotive related forums, it seems rather obvious that stamps in books while important to us as private buyers, are as Tim suggests perhaps not worth much more than £500 to the trade even in the world of Porsche.. And as for fake histories it seems there may be a market for those too and the term patina comes from the antique trade who well understand the many and varied ways of applying or detecting a bit of fakery..

Add to that if you will my recent 4x4 failing apparently caused by software detecting a wheel sensor issue on a car that was in for main dealer servicing circa three months and perhaps 1500 miles ago, and where a support bracket designed to hold wiring to such wheel and brake sensors was found to be dangling from the cables it was supposed to be holding clear of damage... What then the real world value of full main dealer service ..?

I've just had my roadster MOTed and full service done at Ledgerwood's, I booked it in as soon as I heard that there was a big recalled. Yes there were very busy, but I alway book it in for two days so if there are busy I wouldn't want then to rush the service, we get aloan car and have a little mini break touring around the local grand houses and gardens
I bought my car from Ledgerwood's over 4 years ago, after years of looking for the right one from around the country
Ledgerwood's make you feel very comfortable and I'm more than confident using them than my local non Morgan garage.
We find the personal little touches very important and knowing that my Morgan as had a thorough checking over and that makes us drive 220 mile round trip to get our Morgan services.


I do my own services and repairs on my other fleet of cars, dont trust most of the local garages to carry out the work after years ago one of my cars went in the a service oil change etc, only to find they didn't change the oil filter, ( I Mark my oil filters) that how I new it hadn't been done. Plus a mechanic snapped my power steering pump bracket when changing the belt, he forgot to unlock the locking nut. (and that was a main Ford dealer)

I suspect this depends on the age of the likely buyer. Kiddies of say 40 or less often put value on dealer stamps. Old farts like me put greater value on another old fart pottering around doing service in his garage. Morgan customers, by definition almost, fall into the latter category.

You try selling a Ferrari without dealer stamps for every year (and usually every 1000 miles) and you will find a big difference.

Its ridiculous I know but thats life.

Yes that makes sense, it's very much a generational thing as you say.

The Plus Four and Six generation I suspect will be left without the option of hands on but that's the way it is all going really.

When and if I can no longer service my own Morgan if I still want a Morgan at that stage I would go for a CX generation.

I would have a chat with Henry and order one up through him and take it to him for servicing. He is a gentleman I respect and have had very positive experiences of purchasing my new Sport from him and the warranty back up was excellent.

If I lived closer to BHM I would do the same through them as I have similar respect for Sarah.

And that to me is the really bizarre thing. Modern cars need far less servicing that old stuff, and it's easier than ever for home owners to do it themselves. No need to adjust tappets or carburettors or ignition systems, spark plugs need changing every 50k miles, modern synthetic oils last 12k miles or more. Brakes and running gear are just as they have always been, just need cleaning and checking.

All you need is a laptop and a copy of the relevant software (I bet Bimmercode would work for the CX cars) and away you go. Plug it in , read the diagnostics, reset the service counters, do an oil and filter change, and away you go. I did all the servicing on our Fiat 500 for the 7 years we owned it and I think I needed 3 tools (brake bleed spanner, oil drain plug wrench, screwdriver). I bought a copy of the software that will do pretty much all Fiat models for £125, and the Mini SE doesn't even need that, just a brake inspection and fluid change every two years, and the cabin filter changed.

What a dealer stamp will never tell you is how long the mechanic spent just pottering around the car, cleaning, inspecting, and adjusting all those tiny little bits and pieces that make the difference between a car that's been properly looked after and one that has been merely maintained.

I do find it worrying that the people who know the least about their cars, and therefore need to have the most trust in whoever it is that has been looking after it, seem to put their faith in the most unreliable means of assessing it. Dealer stamps mean bugger all. This is why you need to build a relationship with a trusted dealer like BHM and listen to what they say, or be prepared to pay for a professional inspection from an independent.

I have my + 4 MOT'd at a local garage that has always done my bikes. Servicing by Cain at Wolf Performance who probably knows more about Morgans than most "service technicians".