Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms The Ownership Experience

For me the ownership experience is best expressed/summed up by what would be missing in your life if you no longer had one in the garage.

One area which is most important it's something that you share with others, from perfect strangers to family. Its always great to let perfect strangers and their children sit in the car, have their photo taken and watch the smile and enjoyment it gives to them. In the late summer we meet a family on the beach who were into Morgans, the father had a serious neck operation a few weeks before and was convalescing. the 2 sons took it in turn to have their picture taken in the driving seat, I could see the father was really envious of their opportunity. I mentioned want to try and like a flash but quite gingerly he in was in the driving seat, photo taken, it made their day. They had done the factory tour be never sat in a Morgan, so more than willing to oblige

I bought my car at 10 months old (the car not me) apart from the wings cracking around the headlight nacelles requiring returning to the factory twice curtesy of the late lamented Peter Constable it has been very reliable. It also saved me from serious injury when T boned by a drunk driver doing 30mph out of a side turning, the car absorbed all the impact with no intrusion into the cabin and not so much as whiplash. The car was rebuilt by Melvyn at a cost of £24k (insurance pay out) and is as good as new. Now approaching 48k miles and turns heads where ever we go, used most weeks for shopping etc.

I came into Aero ownership from a Skyline R33 GTR which could best be described as a contrast. It was the fun car whilst I put mileage on a diesel VW for work.

My wife loved it (not the GTR) which was probably a first for a car I had at that time.
Instead of a few knowledgeable people knowing what it is and getting very excited a lot of people think they know what it is and love it. Also a few excitable ones that hear the V8.
You are given parking spaces. There is love not blah.
You see so many more smiles which lifts your own mood.
You don't want to rush things like you would in a modern missile.
If you ask someone how much they think it is worth they always over adjust by >25%
Given the performance over grip they are very cheap to insure and run (or were)

Challenges.
Aero's appear to be getting driven out of existence by Morgan now. Spares?
There is usually stuff rattling, some of it may be a warning but it's never terminal.
The good dealers are getting fewer and servicing does not occur over a single day (or week)

I have never kept a car this long.

I think it's sad that Morgan lost the plot with spares years ago. It's even sadder that they are disinclined to support the Aero range, especially as it was the halo product from 2002 until 2020, and that's a good run.

But they got into the "just in time" manufacturing ideology, which drives efficiency and profits, but unique items which are only produced in numbers to fit production is a death sentence in the future.

For the trads it's the bespoke ECUs and printed circuit boards, but each model has it's achilles heels.

But none of that gets in the way of the ownership experience!

+1

Thats funny, Clemens👍

Indeed, there is a risk this becomes an effect like with Matryoshka dolls

Very well said Heinz. Very recognizable.

I bought my first Morgan from Dave Randall at Life’s Motors. He said I was not only buying a car but a way of life. He was bang on the nail. This is the ownership experience.

The many very good friends that have been made as a direct consequence of Morgan ownership.

The young lads at the kerb jumping up and down with excitement as the Mog drives by.

The thumbs up from the bikers as they slow down to get a long look as they pass on the road.

The knowledge that each car is unique in its own way.

The delight on the face of the admirer when a sit in the drivers seat is offered.

The moments spent in the garage admiring the craftsmanship of her bodywork. Unashamedly made in England.

You have a vivid imagination, Bert. So my 4/4 is the small core doll. Which one comes next, out of the Morgan world?🤠 Hopefully it will end up being a Morgan sports car of great performance and not a Morgan SUV like Lotus which of course could easily swallow all the previous ones.

The common experience seems to be the benefit of a gained community alongside the purchase of a vehicle, all of which I would agree with. I would go on to add, and with an attempt at negating my own bias, it is also the quality of the community which one becomes part of. Many cars have passionate enthusiast clubs and communities; however, most people on TM, and the wider community, will have had experience in other niche car social environments and all I have spoken with relay that the Morgan community is inherently different to all others. For the most part, there is a total lack of snobbery, jealously, negativity and generally the factors that detract from other communities; everyone is welcomed and you do not need to be part of a formal organisation to be accepted.

Which leads me to another part of the ownership experience, and one that was very important to me personally. I purchased my first Morgan because I was tired of owning a vehicle which caused an instant reaction in other road users or the public. Yes, you shouldn't care what people think but most people do to one degree or another and the instant reaction grows tiring, whether you care or not. For instance, people not letting you out at junctions, boy racers driving like maniacs because they want to race you, etc. All things which even if you don't care what the people think about you/your car, still create issues when you are driving it. Driving a Morgan is the antidote to this. At worst you are met with indifference but more often than not you are met with positivity. If the car is stationary, it is common for it to become a pleasant talking point; so much so that we all joke that filling up is often a slow job as people want to talk about the car and tell you their own Morgan related stories. In my years of driving one, I have never had a negative reaction. The car is the celebrity, you are just the chauffeur!

So, if I had to sum up the ownership experience, I would say it is like a Labrador puppy

Loved by almost everyone, can give vast amounts of joy, will provide you with many stories and experiences and every once in awhile may create a small mess for you to clean up (because we all know as much as we love them, Morgans aren't perfect!)