Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms Has the bubble burst?

Good day All,

As some of you know, I am on the hunt for a Defender and was/am thinking of selling my 4/4. Well, after a few weeks of research, watching what is selling and isn't, plus some talks with a few retailers etc, I am thinking the bubble of use car pricing has finally burst.

A few points

1. Whilst I appreciate this is the wrong time of year to sell a Morgan, the few retailers I contacted had zero interest in taking on my car due to high stock and only one gave an offer that was less than the cheapest 4/4 currently on sale! (long door that is)

2. I bought my now sold Defender back in 2017 for £31,000 and sold it just over two years later for about the same. Shortly after Defender-mania took hold with the current version being released and prices sky-rocketed. For example, there is one Defender I was looking at with low miles but missing key options that mine had and it's on offer for £39,995! However, it's been sitting since July. There is another with even less equipment but a 2016 with low miles going for £45,000 and has been sitting for a year. My guess here is they were bought at the tail end of the inflated used car prices of certain brands/models. I talked to one retailer who is helping me source a Defender and the prices he's quoting a vastly lower and confirmed CAP clean pricing has been dropping drastically across the board.

3. I've noticed at least two Morgan dealers running promotions to shift used stock. While I've seen prices being lowered on some lagging models, I don't recall price cuts across the board on the used front.

4. I have been using Collecting Cars to gauge transaction prices and had a look at Morgan and was a bit shocked at what I say. For example, a Super 3 with less than 1000 miles sold for £37 including auction fees. I estimate aprox. £6k savings. Quite a few others on there to look at.

So, if you are in the marketing for a used car I would give it a few months if possible as it will take a bit of time to clear out dealer stock that was acquired at the inflated prices. Must be really tough at the moment for specialist car brands.

I've been watching this one https://www.carandclassic.com/auctions/2006-morgan-44-anniversary-edition-8EVD9g
(for "market awareness" you understand). Even spoke to the very honest sounding vendor.
At £24.5K it seems like a bit of a bargain to me.

That indeed appears to be a great buy , nice colour too, the engine bay just needs a squirt of WD40 or car dealers silicone, maybe she lived near the sea.

Correct. The car is in Camborne in Cornwall, so about as far away from anywhere as you can get in England. (When I first saw the auction listing, I thought it was Cranborne, in Dorset, about half an hour from where I live....should've gone to Specsavers).

There are 5 Aeromax for sale at the moment.
This plus 8 is immaculate but been for sale for a least 12 months now been reduced by 10 k!
https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1617145

That's a nice looking 70th Anniversary car, I've always liked yellow since, years ago my BinL had a +8 in for repair.
Bit of cleaning up underneath needed but salty air does wreak havoc
List price was £28k (though, of course, there may be extras).

Thread drift... I've only ever seen one anniversary car with wires - mine and compared to steel wheeled cars has a narrower track!

Is it not always the same, whatever you’re selling, nobody wants, whatever want, nobody has.😂

With my recent waste of money , I’d accidentally arrived at a strong buying position, an uncomplicated purchase and a choice of alternatives from other main dealers. Added to this, if I’d waited until next summer, bank interest at 6% APR kills their argument that I’ll miss a bargain. In return for accepting my low offer though, they all demanded an almost instant decision and a paid deposit to secure the deal. I’d agree the market is actually softening, so I’ll still end up losing a fair chunk, you never really win.

I blame it partly on many dealers' lack of writing skills, have a look at https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/15429028
Maybe they should get someone other than Yoda or Jabba the Hutt to write their blurb.

My 70th anniversary also had chrome wire wheels..........

The market is softening, you can tell with the numbers of Morgans for sale at the moment. A very simple indicator, a year or so ago the Car and Classic Morgan for sale listings was about 15/16 pages long its now about 23 pages long......much more Morgan for sale and prices even on the ever popular trad plus 4's are definitely softening with the exception of very late 2018/19 registrations which seem to hold their prices well. You see examples of now over priced Morgans sitting in the showrooms, there are lots of Roadsters out there that are just not moving.

Could be time to pick up a bargain vehicle over the coming winter months, but I get a feeling that high interest rates may be here to stay for a while and if you are not a cash buyer, the higher monthly financial repayments might undermine any savings on the current lower sales prices., which may soften further with the number of Morgans listed for sale. There must be a point in the next year or so when interest rates soften and sales price still remain relatively low due to oversupply in the market place, to take advantage of the current glut of Morgans for sale. Who knows for certain how this is going to evolve, clearly the continuing war in the Ukraine and the potential economic turmoil that may unfold in China will be an economic drag on inflation, resultant interest rates and economic confidence to partake in luxury spending on items like a Morgan.