Talk Morgan Forums Community For Sale & Wanted For Sale:1975+8 "28650 miles from new" New MOT/Tax

For Sale my late father's beautiful, ultra low milage, Rover four speed +8.

Just back from Mike Duncan's (Hartlebury Morgan) where it was awarded a fresh MOT and £500 refresh i.e. major service, all fluids including brake fluid, diff & gearbox oil etc). Six months tax on it as of today.

If you view my previous posts it will give you a pretty good picture of the 'whys and wherefores" which lead me to be offering this car for sale. In summary I inherited it along with a 1934 SuperSports in Feb 2010. The trike is long sold to a Japanese collector, the +8 has been mine ever since, beloved but receiving very little use. Dad said from being a young lad he always coverted a V8 Morgan; my passion is owning air-cooled 911's, and as much as I've tried to use the +8 as a weekend runner, its just not my thing (although I will readily admit, the roar of a mighty V8, beats the clatter of a flat 6 every time!).

My father brought the +8 from Heart of England Morgan on the 20th September 1989, it was showing 8600 miles, three owners and was sold with silver coachwork and light tan leather.

Throughout my fathers ownership he attended most MOG annual events and did some local hill climbing (I have all scrutineer's passes etc). In 1997 the car was treated to a £2.5k panel off re-spray in Bentley Racing Green. Bar a few stone chips the paint is exceptional. In the history file is a hand written note on the modifications he undertook to the car up to December 2003, this reads:

4 x Koni Shocks;
1/4 degree camber plates;
Gemma Steering Box;
High capacity oil pump;
Lumination Electronic Ignition + silicon leads;
R1 racing needles to carbs, K&N filters;
Series 1 Range Rover header tank fitted;
Safety Designs Roll Bar;
Copper Fuel lines (original plastic);
Brake reaction bars to crosshead;
Aeroquip brake hoses;
Organ accelerator pedal;
Quartz headlights;
Chrome bonnet stays;
15" Motolita wood rimmed steering wheel;
Clear front indicator lens.

The original "as new" steering wheel, air filter housing, steering box etc are still with the car. Apart from regular annual servicing / MOT's etc all expenditure ceased on the car from this point on as dad picked up a beautiful Trike in 2002 and never looked back. I have just run an Experion Autocheck report which confirms the +8 has never been stolen/recovered, written-off or has outstanding finance etc.

Downsides on this lovely car are it has very little service history. My father was from the chapter of Morgan enthusiasts which knew how to swing a spanner or two and therefore without exception he did every service and all maintenance himself (the only exception being body prep and re-spray, although he did reassemble it himself; New chrome screws, nuts bolts throughout). My father milled his own parts for the three-wheeler, and was the kind of bloke who always smelled of oil and had swarf in his hair.

Dad was also of the chapter of Morgan owners who drive with the roof down regardless of weather. In fact my mother can't remember a single instance that it was ever put on and to this end the interior has a lovely patina, but would not be described as factory fresh.

I am open to offers around £35k ono for the car. This weekend coming it is having a £200 detailing and going on Pistonheads and Ebay classified. PM me if your interested.

I'd be interested in what members thought of this price, too aspirational, undervalued?

Just added two photo's to the TalkMorgan Photobucket (user name Talkmorgan, password Talkmorgan), more to follow when its properly shiny.

http://s448.photobucket.com/albums/qq205/talkmorgan/?action=view&current=d3c1ab64.jpg

Regards Jason

Forgot to add, it also has a full stainless steel exhaust system.

You can add them into your post then, like this...

Nice car, I'm sure it will find a good home.

More info and many more pictures here:

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3923757.htm

Regards Jason

Advertised for three weeks in EBay classifieds, Pistonheads, Talk Morgan forum, over a thousand views between them but car still unsold (several px offers but no serious buyers)??? Have I completely miss judged the value of this car? Any comments / advice appreciated.

Regards Jason

Jason, let me start by saying that I am not a market expert on the Plus 8 and therefore, you may have priced it very well; however, equally, it was your Dad's car and thus I think you may struggle to be impartial about it (I know I would be!).

I was at SGT recently and they had 3 Plus 8s, ranging from mid £20ks to low £30s and those were dealer prices and prepped cars (2 of them were low owners and low miles). So, perhaps, and I say perhaps, your car is on the high side?

Also, I would also question whether the colour change is putting some potential buyers off? If you are going to ask at the top of the market, people will be looking for investment potential, or at least strong retained value; therefore, they will be looking for originality because that is what collectors want.

Have you spoken with any helpful dealers to discuss market values?

I've been hunting around Morgan prices for quite a while, so have a bit of a feel for current prices. £35k for a 37 year old +8 is a lot. It's the price of a mint +4 or a very good and recent 3L Roadster.

Have you spoken to any dealers?

Compared with this time last year there appear to be a lot of +8's for sale at the moment, approx 20 across the official dealer network alone. This makes pricing a critical factor in making a car stand out in a crowded market. Selling cars isn't my area of expertise but price points, ie £29,995 £34,995 etc are used by all car retailers rather than vague terms like 'offers based upon x '. Even MMC have marketed the new Aero Coupe at a sub £100k price point of £99,950

For what it's worth, I have been keeping a close eye on the Plus 8 market over the last 8 or so months. I swapped my plus 8 for an Aero S1 last year and then recently sold that to pay for some unexpected house renovations etc. I'm desperate to get back into a plus 8 when funds allow and therefor keep a close eye on values.

I can honestly say that the values of all Plus 8's increased quite dramatically over the last couple of years but those increases have now stopped and indeed, fallen back a bit.

There is, as has been said, a glut of them on the market and very few are selling. This is a reflection (IMHO)of the current state of the economy and overpricing the car in the first place.

As an example, Brands Hatch Morgan have a really nice Supercharged Plus 8 and have been trying to sell it for the owner for 10 months. In that time it has reduced in asking price by about £4-5K and they still havent sold it. I'd say about 15% to 20% has come off general asking prices in the last 8 months for these cars.

Other dealers have also reduced the asking price for their stock and this is the case accross the whole market I think.

It's not unique to Morgans, try selling a 996 Porsche!!

Your car is very very nice but the market has shrunk and if you want to sell, either hang on for a long time and hope the right buyer comes along, or review your price.

I tend to keep an eye on Plus 8s and their prices ( because I'm still looking for one and just can't find that elusive car which fits what I want)

Given the issues which other TMers have mentioned- including the fact that prices HAVE droppdd from the high of about a year ago, that in your case you don't ( albeit for very good reasons) have much in the way of provenance, service record, plus- if I recall your original post- it is a Rover four speed version which isn't eveybody's favourite, I think you are overpricing it
Dare I say it, perhaps you should realistically be looking at just below 30K rather than above it?

This is only a very personal view but I hope what I say is logical and helpful
bests wishes
G