Talk Morgan Forums Thread Like Summary - Has the bubble burst?

Good day All,

As some of you know, I am on the hunt for a Defender and was/am thinking of selling my 4/4. Well, after a few weeks of research, watching what is selling and isn't, plus some talks with a few retailers etc, I am thinking the bubble of use car pricing has finally burst.

A few points

1. Whilst I appreciate this is the wrong time of year to sell a Morgan, the few retailers I contacted had zero interest in taking on my car due to high stock and only one gave an offer that was less than the cheapest 4/4 currently on sale! (long door that is)

2. I bought my now sold Defender back in 2017 for £31,000 and sold it just over two years later for about the same. Shortly after Defender-mania took hold with the current version being released and prices sky-rocketed. For example, there is one Defender I was looking at with low miles but missing key options that mine had and it's on offer for £39,995! However, it's been sitting since July. There is another with even less equipment but a 2016 with low miles going for £45,000 and has been sitting for a year. My guess here is they were bought at the tail end of the inflated used car prices of certain brands/models. I talked to one retailer who is helping me source a Defender and the prices he's quoting a vastly lower and confirmed CAP clean pricing has been dropping drastically across the board.

3. I've noticed at least two Morgan dealers running promotions to shift used stock. While I've seen prices being lowered on some lagging models, I don't recall price cuts across the board on the used front.

4. I have been using Collecting Cars to gauge transaction prices and had a look at Morgan and was a bit shocked at what I say. For example, a Super 3 with less than 1000 miles sold for £37 including auction fees. I estimate aprox. £6k savings. Quite a few others on there to look at.

So, if you are in the marketing for a used car I would give it a few months if possible as it will take a bit of time to clear out dealer stock that was acquired at the inflated prices. Must be really tough at the moment for specialist car brands.

I’m not so pessimistic, Morgan cars have that very special attribute, they’re almost unaffected by ageing in the aesthetic sense, the shabby old trembling wreck to the sparking new rocket, they’re all lovable. I’ve a soft spot for some Italians for the same reasons, most other cars are about as appealing as an old tea bag once the next new one comes along.
Buy the car you desire, keep the car you cherish, just like your house, the monetary value will fluctuate, you’ll still own the same number of bricks or in the case of a Morgan, moments of enjoyment, past, present and yet to be.

From a Morgan dealers perspective, look at the stock in the good ones, rather the needing a whole range of cars to serve different purposes, the best ones have a huge range of cars designed solely for the purpose of enjoyment, spend what you’re comfortable with and you’ll still be buying the same quantity of pleasure.

We shouldn’t begrudge a good dealer a bit of margin either, even £10k isn’t really that much considering how many can realistically sell through. From that £10k vat has be deducted and wages/overheads covered, even future liability for the car sold.

Buying privately is fine if you can find a Perry or Craig with the car you want but the auction value for me is irrelevant for a car like this, I see that as the value of the raw product, buying a dead cow from a farmer isn’t the same as buying a meal from a restaurant!

I’ve certainly never seen as many Morgans for sale in the back of Miss-cell-lal-nan-ann-ny as there are in this months issue

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.

I do see your point and agree with much of it but my observation would be that it does not include a more significant factor in the situation - pool of prospective customers?

If we look at it in the form of people with cash and how they make decisions. It is a living company that needs to move forward and make money in a changing world?

I believe your comments are totally right for the people who love Trads and the traditional MMC? As you outline the driving experience, individuality, honesty of the Trad cannot really be compared to anything available commercially. I was certainly surprised when the CX cars appeared and replaced the Trad as well as the Aero models. I don't think the Aero was a commercial success even if I love mine to bits.

I think the issue is that over the years and especially in recent (10) years the prospective customer pool has changed. Cars have become rotatable every 2-3 years and not something you considered as your second biggest investment. Today, desire in the eyes of the younger customer brings images of eco driven battery cool. Manufacturers have been legislated towards BEV, so they have dumped their marketing budget into making it as cool as they can to win the next wave. Or be whacked by the Chinese, Nio, Geely, BYD, GWM, etc etc

The tacit acceptance of subscription based "ownership" through PCP, monthly rental (Jaguar Pivotal, Volvo Subscription) giving access to better cars for a given budget in a changing world. Our sad disposable approach to life. Want to have a child next year, need to cut that monthly bill?

More importantly the values, interests and fashion driven lifestyles that a younger generation are drawn to through the sochul medier lead them to different decisions. Dare I say it but fashion has replaced quality/culture/taste/select your chosen word. Perhaps best indicated by the recent InIn/MMC advert with cultural influencer Challenge Sophie. Maybe they could have done this 15 years ago but hindsight is a swine and maybe they had higher priorities and limited budgets at that time. A car has definitely become part of the vanity culture that social media drives towards us. All the influencer sponsorship frankly makes my stomach turn and I pity the youth suffering it. Peer pressure is horrible.

The regulatory environment in motoring has also gone from headlamp and bumper height to a frightening level of intrusion on driving. Actually I don't think driving has anything to do with it which is horrible. When I see a hedgehog my natural instinct is not to pick it up as I know this will hurt. The same could be said of not aiming a car at a tree, you should not need to be told it's a dumb move. But is seems we do, along with "cup maybe hot, drink may be hot" on a coffee cup. Natural selection has failed us? Yet most of the things being done to cars now seem to be about removing the drivers involvement, self drive, lane collision avoidance, automatic emergency braking. They are now part of of the mandatory test values that go to a car's design goals. Should I just wear a cotton wool onesie as well. Hang on there is probably a sign for that on the sun visor. I suspect that is also the reason the Trad remains popular among a certain profile on the board, quite rightly.

The challenges in front of Morgan remain significant. Look at the loss of Alpina, a true home of petrolheads. They even had BMW make most of the car for them. Worse, look at the recent release by BMW M, the XM. Sorry I was a little sick in my mouth.

Maybe the customer has become very different. Sir John HJ was not a stupid man.

(I aspire to achieve Luddite level posts)