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

Annual mileage. Look at how many low mileage Morgans there are. It looks like the cars were bought but rarely used. That’s a decent chunk of money sitting in the garage. Only a few Morgans actually increase in value. The majority are run of the mill cars with the brand enjoying low-ish depreciation. As we are in a slump the lower depreciation Morgans enjoyed has also declined. Add in the seasonal influence and bingo! Sellers market in decline and buyers less willing to put their money in. A double whammy.
At one time it might have been a “nice to have as we have some money” indulgence but not used a lot. That feeling wears off but in current times getting a quick decent return doesn’t seem to be the case. If you NEED the money from the sale then the price will drop., but is someone able to buy anyway? The car is only worth what someone will pay for it.

Your car was better than new when you sold it, that helps.


I don’t think there’s much wrong with the market other than the usual gloom of the approaching winter. At my recent visit to Scotland’s Morgan dealer, “Revolutions” there were several sold cars being prepared for the new owners, business looked brisk Having now driven a CX car, I can easily see why they cost the money they do, they’re a completely different quality, they’re very appealing.

In my humble opinion this is more than the usual end of season glut of cars for sale, as I said earlier just based on the CC Morgan listings pages there are about 50% more cars for sale than this time last year and considerably more than before the war in Ukraine, which has triggered the current inflation and interest spiral. I'm not sure whether the effects of Covid which may restricted disposal of cars during that time has now lead to more being released recently or a combination of the two....but there is certainly more choice out there at quite reasonable prices. I've just checked Car and Classic listings and the number of pages listing Morgans has gone from 23 to 29 in the last week or so.

The only times I felt that the Morgan prices held steady was during the days when the waiting list ran into many many years., When I bought my 4 year old 1985 4/4 from Lifes, Dave just set the price from its specification in the new 1988/9 Morgan price list and added a further £500. I bought it in the spring, used it all summer toured Scotland and Ireland put 5000 miles on it and sold it at the end of the autumn and only lost £500 when I sold it back to Dave. That has not been the case with the more recent Morgans I have enjoyed, not that its a problem as I never saw the Morgan as an inflation proof asset and depreciation was just in effect the cost of my enjoyment during ownership. If i wanted a bullet proof asset I'd have bought a fast Ford instead, and joined the group of bitterly underwhelmed crowd of Ford car owners instead.

True but the guy who bought it never even lifted the bonnet or looked underneath. He wasn’t bothered how clean it was 🤷 he liked the colour

I agree that the market has changed significantly I have been looking for a long time and recently purchased my plus 4 for about £10k under dealer price it sat for sale most of the summer. A few years ago it would have gone in a heartbeat. I do think the current financial crisis has hit these type of cars hard as people are holding on to their money instead of buying pleasure vehicles. I think buying in August is better than buying in the spring but like anything if you don't sell you don't lose money as the market will fluctuate. It is definitely a buyers market at the moment

Ewan, I agree that the CX is well ahead of the trads. After 4k miles in the Plus Four it is a clear step up. Expensive...yes. Do I regret it? NO !
I bought Morgans to use not garage and polish. My Plus 8 had 74k miles when traded in. Patina yes but looking good. I was ok with the trade in deal, more so now after driving the car.
The payback I get from the cars is enjoyment and pleasure. What price do you put on that? The depreciation which currently is in a trough mainly due to the economic downturn is higher. This makes demand tighter as buyers shy away and sellers look to drop the price to entice a sale.
MMC recently made the colour discount offer. A well proven tactic in any industry to stimulate sales.
How deep will the current economic trough go? How long will it stay?
There’s a strong case of doing something while you can. You can’t enjoy things when 6’ under! Put things off then discover it’s too late.

Whilst agreeing with many of the points made, I see the issue as having been started by MMC demanding their dealer network take certain levels of new stock. Trade terminology is ‘being stuffed with cars’

This policy results in over supply and hence weakened prices.
It also adds financial pressure onto the dealer.

The days of MMC purely making cars to order ended probably 25 years ago.


I bought my 2003 4/4 in 2005, from a dealer, with 6,000 miles on the clock, for £19,500.

According to the ONS, (not sure if I believe them!) allowing for inflation, that price should now be £28,275

A new Morgan today for circa £30,000!!
I think there would be quite a waiting list.


Bud
4/4 - Stanley

It's different times and a generation on from the demand days, they all want hybrid/electric now .

Uncle Melvyn wouldn't be offering a 2021 Plus Four for £64,995 otherwise if it hadn't burst. With only 214 miles on it..

I was in the company of some baby boomer car enthusiasts last night and when Morgan was mentioned, one there seemed to think that there was still a waiting list of years from order to supply....! Seems motoring myths can take rather a long time to die..?

That's a good point George. I used to get a number of people on my tours who still believed the waiting list for a new car was measured in years