Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Plus Four, Supersport & Plus Six (CX & CXV Generation Vehicles) Part Exchange Support from Morgan

It's complicated. Four years of CX production with continuous improvements to seats, soft tops, and goodness knows what else means that the demanding consumer will be picky and ignore earlier cars. Then depreciation, as you point out, makes a used CX way better value than a new one. Even at 700 cars a year, we are around 3,000 units available in a slowing market for all hobby cars.

MMC seem to think that continuous improvement such as the recent facelift will drive demand. Maybe it will but it will also deflect some buyers into that latest incarnation, rather than into a nearly new old spec. Reducing demand equals falling secondhand prices, which for some is far more appealing than buying new, and the cycle continues.

The Midsummer may be the way to go for MMC. Super low volume specialist models. Aero V, CX Max, and so on.

Perfect many thanks - I’m also on their mailing list I will have a check back. Cheers

I'm somehow reminded of the academic/career advice I was given many many years ago on the dangers of specialisation:
"A generalist knows less and less about more and more until he knows nothing about everything. Whereas an expert knows more and more about less and less until he knows everything about nothing".

It's odd that no one got the email, I didn't either...🤷🏻‍♂️

Manufacturers waaaaay bigger than MMC are finding things 'tricky' at the moment.
A quick look at the Porsche website shows the huge numbers of used cars available right across the range.
The end of finance deals or folk no longer being able to afford the repayments and handing cars back are reasons for the cars coming back in. Expensive finance and the fact that there are no new buyers in the market is probably why the stock is sticking.....

The Italians in Malvern possibly picked a 'bad time' to buy a historic old English brand and try and turn it into a modern sports car manufacturer. Global circumstances aside, I've always said, many times on here in fact, it was the wrong way to do it and probably would (will) end, one way or another, in failure.

An extra £5k off along with any colour/leather shows how hard it is to sell very niche and expensive cars in a market with a hell of lot of choice. If you've got £80 to £110k to spend and don't but a 911 you're........, I'm not sure what the correct word is.........😁🙃

CX's and 3 wheelers are depreciating quite dramatically, and there is much further for them to fall, there certainly are some bargains to be had if the used world if someone is looking to get in to a more modern Morgan.

'Doing a caterham', a trad by any other name, proper retro could be the savior of MMC, although trads aren't immune to depreciation at the moment, there's lots of stock and few buyers.

I, along with many on here thought that MMC were foolish just to dump the trad, but I guess the Italians wanted a fresh start and to make their mark.
Well they have made their mark......!

Unfortunate timing, total misreading of the market, ambitions above the capacity of the brand, yes to all, to some extent, but how do they turn it around before the inevitable sell off or management buy out.

They can't be profitable and survive just making one off's for the mega wealthy, there must be a backbone of steady turnover selling affordable cars to enthusiasts......

Which is where MMC were pre Italian takeover and is what kept them in business for so long........................!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!😤🤬

Second rant...........😁

The Italians tried to treat MMC like a propper, grown up, professional car manufacturer...... It wasn't and never really was.
MMC just pottered along doing their own thing, hopelessly outdated, oblivious to changing trends and styles. New innovation, modern materials were hardly even entertained for around 80 years of production, even then it was only really superform wings.

BUT....... it worked, they made money, stayed in business when many didn't, had a rabidly loyal customer base and made exactly what the buyers wanted at a price they were happy to pay.

Where did it all go wrong...!🤷🏻‍♂️

I drive a Plus Six a first edition, with so called uncomfortable seats by mostly people who have never sat in one, the original hood which I prefer as I have more shoulder room when the roof is down (most of the time), ABS yes but no traction control, I can drive a sports car so don't want it anyway, air bags? Nope don't see how they would be much use.
To trade up to a new Plus Six would cost me in excess of £30,000 even with P/ex support, for a car with no extra performance over what I already have, which is a modern sports car that is much more comfortable, economical and faster than any so called trad Morgan, my car compares well with any of my previous Porsche 911s which are great cars but only come alive when flooring the throttle which on British roads is almost never, the Plus Six is interesting to drive all the time and when required is just so exciting to drive, a trad is not even in the same book let alone same page.
MMC problems relate to not being able to sell them in the USA, the business model for the CX cars would have called for it, let's hope they survive long enough for the exports to the USA to begin.

Agreed the business plan was for US exports. Biden stopped the Trump legislation that would have allowed imports.

However with no critical mass or dealer network in a famously litigious country I'm not sure how well MMCs quality would have gone down, so maybe the delay is a blessing

There is a potentially pivotal development for existing trads (a joint effort) of the community and the Works. A "Heritage" initiative. This would be a striking change from
the MMC policy adopted in 2004..namely not to directly serve non-current production any longer. (This area is the new automobile industry goldmine. There is no greater
a profit margin in any other sector than serving the collector market. Sadly there are many predators out there.)

Many things to be worked out along with sources and lore to be re-established. All going well, they shall need our support. Fingers crossed.

gmg (always hopeful)

Just to follow on from Mikemog6 Plus Six points.. There does seem to be a bit of early CX "bashing" going on. As the owner of a mid 2020 car I can only agree with MikeMog6 comments.. I know there were a fair amount of CX early cars with QC issues that should not have left the factory ( ours included ), however we kept the faith and our cars QC problems were addressed by the factory or the dealer. We had at one point over an A4 paper of raised points, but over 18 months they were all sorted. Now talking about the seats, which always seems to be a target of comment.. Our cars seats which appear to be MK1A design are great, no issues with comfort or support.. my wife agrees that her passenger seat is good.. we go long distance in the car with no issues, I do not get to our destination knackered and there is not a side support problem, plus my eye line is exactly at the right height in the screen. I tried our seats in comparison with the latest seat design and actually prefer ours.
The cars handling is good, we have upgraded our car suspension with the SSL kit, which in my opinion gives an improvement. The Mk 1 hood design is fine, it does not leak and interior space with it up or down is good.. So what is there not to like...

A sorted early CX car can be just as good to drive and live with as the latest batch, ok it may not have the bells and whistles of traction control or airbags, but its still a damm good car, plus sometimes in vehicle design the first designs over time prove to be the better.

Has the radiator problem been fully sorted yet. Would love to know what the cause was as this was one of the reasons I got rid of mine.
Three radiators, brake problems, leaking roof, electrical faults, I gave up in the end and cut my losses it was spending more time at the dealers than on the road. Shame because it was fun to drive when it went. It was a 2022 Plus Four and the money I lost on it would have paid for a new MX5.

Sir P