Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms Trad prices ..versus owners dreams..

FWIW at the recent Iconic auctions a " 1997 Morgan 4/4 1800 - 2,200 Miles From New and One Owner" sold for £20250 inc auction premium.

Looking through the sale results there are a lot of surprising prices, some very high ( fast Fords aka Dagenham Dustbins) and some really quite low. Have a look https://www.iconicauctioneers.com/t...rs/2024-11-09/page-2/session-118/ipp-100

Quite a few interesting prices eg 2012 Morgan Plus 4 Super Sports 60th Anniversary for just £31500 inclusive..

I would be very happy if I got £18k for my '93 4/4

I think the sums achieved look pretty good, some very good.
The biggest bargain/shocker is the +4 super sports.......!!

I agree with that. I also had a P4SS new, and sold her after three years because of an emerging problem with the German TÜV (no OBD2, too loud etc.) Otherwise I would have kept her. From then on she only drove on the racetrack with her new owner. I always thought that this P4SS was one of the Morgan's that would always hold her value, or even increase at some point. It's more than sobering to see it now for so little. But that's the world and that's the market.

The thing with most auction sites is that they are not known to the wider audience and with some, it's retailers who end up buying stock for their showroom. There is a local LR dealer who often buys late example with low mileage from some of the better known auction sites, slaps on a hefty margin and puts it on their forecourt and for the most part, sells close to his asking price!

In short, I would take some auction sale prices with a small grain of salt.

I dont know what you are saying there Perry. The prices shown are the prices at which real people have bought real cars but in mentioning your Range Rover pal you are mixing up two trades. The dealer trade you mention is the normal channel. As much as 90% of cars are on finance / lease and lease companies almost always sell through auctions to get rid quickly and cleanly. These auctions are where big dealers get their forecourt stock. Sometimes those auctions are limited to dealers only, though I have bought that way myself several times. Its also the standard sales route for the likes of "we buy any car" etc - they buy from you at auction price less a margin and then sell through the auction. Might a dealer then add a margin to cover his extra costs like the guarantee he has to give? Of course , so the buyer pays more and gets more.

But auctions are also used as in this case for the sale of rare / unusual items for which there is no volume trade. Morgan cars, or exotica like Ferraris are a case in point. At a time like this when such cars are not moving off the forecourt or even being accepted for sale by dealers, its the only way to establish what a car is worth. Give the auction lots of publicity, as in this case, and see what interest there is.


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Unless you are really into Morgans and understand the significance of the different specifications +4 Super Sport looks basically like any other Morgan. Although it benefits from its uprated performance when compared to normal +4's, its performance and only 200bhp is not that outstanding compared to other performance cars for the money.

Sometimes we all get caught up in our own little Morgan bubble, and then something like this bursts it and we all scratch our heads as to why, in part what we see as exceptional, may not be shared by the wider population and hence falling prices.

Sorry Howard, not everything is black and white and I am not mixing anything up. I work in this industry and see it daily. Many trades buy off publicly available auction websites. Collecting Cars for example has a high rate of sold vehicles being scooped up my retailers who then mark them up and sell them on their forecourt. But as you say, private owners also buy off the same sites. Do most offer a sale price lower than what you find on Autotrader and retailers, for the most part yes.

I was privy to a focus group study on car buying habits and it was interesting that a significant amount of those we spoke to understood that buying from an auction can result in saving but felt nervous about doing so. Most of it came down to not being able to take it for an inspection, a proper test drive, too far to go to even inspect etc.

As for the cars like a Morgan or exotica examples, here too a retailer can make a tidy profit on a public website offering in buying something that isn't mainstream when they see the selling price is below what they perceive as market value.

Can you Afford to keep it? No then you probably have to sell it, Otherwise

Do you enjoy Driving it? Yes, then you can afford it and enjoy driving it so keep it, Otherwise

Do you enjoy owning it? Yes then you can afford it and enjoy looking at it so keep it until you decide to move it on. Otherwise

Would your Family like to keep it after you are gone? Yes then decide who will get it and whether you want to give it to them while you are alive or afterwards. Otherwise

Would you enjoy the selling process to someone who you think would the next good custodian of the vehicle? Yes then sell it while you are alive. Otherwise

Just sell it and realise whatever money it you lost over the ownership has hopefully given you good memories.