Talk Morgan Forums Thread Like Summary - Shocked by Trade in Price of Morgan

Finally, age and health conditions have caught up with me and I now find driving the Morgan to be a painful and difficult process. I took the leap and went to look at a more practical option at a local dealer with a view to trading in the Morgan. The dealer was very up front saying he wouldn’t be looking to keep the Morgan but would get it underwritten which may take a couple of days to work out.

I know this time of year is difficult but I was shocked when he came back saying that none of the UK Morgan dealers wanted it or would give a price and the only car trader that had come back to him had made an offer of £22K.

I was expecting a hit but that is bad. I need to review where to go next, the future doesn’t look good for ownership

Has Morgan desirability fallen that low, my car is a 2016 Plus 4 with 20k miles, FSH with power steering, air con, SSL suspension and every option on the Morgan list.

Having spent my entire 'driving' life worrying about cars, and often not driving them because: 'where will I be able to park it without it getting a door opened onto it', etc, there is something extremely liberating about owning a less than perfect vehicle.

Every car I've owned has ended up going to the next owner in better condition than when I purchased it and it took me nearly four decades to work out how little pleasure that gave me. Cars are meant to be used and enjoyed and I now fall into the 'driven, not hidden' camp.

Life is far too short to own things that create more anxiety than pleasure.

Obviously having been in the market to buy a Morgan, I'm somewhat pleased by the marked drop in prices, and got myself a bargain, compared to many for sale at the moment. It's had a few teething problems, but I expected that for a low mileage car having been stored for nearly 6 years, now being brought into regular service, In the 3 months or so I've had it I've doubled the annual mileage it used to do, and had it not been such a wet autumn, it would have seen far more under its belt. I wont SORN it, jut use it on salt free dry days as and when, It's had a few minor parking taps since I've owned it, nobody owned up, so I'm decided to be a little less precious about it.

I had a long list of improvements I wanted to do eg BRB, SSL front suspension and so on and I've put that to one side, I'm just going to enjoy it for what it is and not try and make it into something it isn't and use it accordingly. I'll put some new tyres on in the spring and then see how it goes. Too often its too easy to spend a fortune on them and still not get what you want from it, so I'm settling more for what it is and enjoying it all the more for that reason.

My 4/4 drives just as I wanted it to in every respect, I had ten years to get everything springs, power etc sorted, with one exception. I would like to have a shorter rear axle ratio, another story. But even as it is, the car is a lot of fun. I have everything nicely balanced and fine-tuned. I resisted the temptation to get caught up in the spiral of increasing performance, suspension and brakes. It's fine the way it is. What matters more is how beautiful the company, the road, the landscape, the dinner, those are the icing on the cake. Of course I enjoy tinkering and the technical aspects of the 4/4, but once everything is sorted it's no longer so centrally important. But back then that was the point where I changed cars to start with a new challenge and new goals, now I'm a bit older and more relaxed and I'm enjoying my 4/4.

Have had the trad Plus 4 for five years now. My third Morgan. It has never let me down, has very many embellishments and I happen to love the colour. Others clearly think likewise as “The Landladies Choice” is among its awards! It even had the audacity to overtake a 3.7 Roadster past the pits at Snetterton…

The temptation was mulled over at length for exchanging to CX. However, to replicate the current spec and colour would necessitate a new car and that is not an option. Reliability issues were also a consideration for a used CX, especially once out of warranty.

Bottom line for me is this: The current car’s market value is immaterial, so long as I can continue to tinker with it, enjoy it and get a hell of a buzz out of making progress down the open road 😊

Looks like the best move is to list for private sale at a sensible price reflecting the current climate, I still reckon in the 29 to 30k band
Might try on the for sale here first

Our local Mini dealership offered me the same £22k for my 2016 4/4 when i was looking at a new JCW. I put it on auto-trader and got £35k, that was summer 2023 though

By Easter next year the market will probably be worse..........!😆
PLUS, more elderly potential buyers might not have survived the winter.........🤷🏻‍♂️

Agreed.

I believe that my 2014 4/4 is peak trad. It has taken some sorting but I think I now have it how I want it. The itch of a 5 link rear end still raises its head from time to time, but all the time the Mulfab rear springs continue to work as well as they do - more than ably assisted by Roger's spring assisters, I think I will leave the rear end alone.

It goes very well and is (now) comfortable over long distances and it averages well in excess of 40mpg.

In the words of the wise saying: "Happiness is liking what you have"

Same for my 4/4. I bought it for £10.5k in 2000, it might currently be worth £12k. Over the years I must have spent well over £25k on it but now it's exactly what I want, fast, agile, and fun. Membership of my local golf club over the same period would have cost around £36k so I reckon I've got a bloody good deal. It doesn't owe me anything now.