Morgan Buyer's Guide

Morgan is the auction market's still point. The factory has built recognisably the same car in Malvern since before the war (steel chassis, ash body frame, separate wings) and the values behave accordingly: our eleven tracked sales run £6,500 to £43,875 with no model in freefall and none in a bubble. People buy Morgans to keep them, so the auction supply is thin and honest.

The story, briefly

Three-wheelers from 1910, four wheels from 1936, and continuity ever since: the 4/4 with small four-cylinder engines, the Plus 4 with larger fours, the Plus 8 with the Rover V8 from 1968 to 2004, and the modern Roadster and Aero line continuing both traditions. Factory waiting lists historically absorbed the depreciation before the first owner ever sold; the used market inherited that stability.

Which Morgan, for what money

Four Plus 8s made £11,500 to £27,600, median £14,417: the performance pick, with a lazy V8 and running gear shared with mainstream Rover products. Three Plus 4s span £6,500 to £40,500 (median £13,500); the top result shows what provenance and condition do in a market this thin. Two 4/4s at £6,670 and £8,395 are the entry, one Roadster at £30,500 and one Aero at £43,875 the modern tier.

What goes wrong

The ash frame is the inspection: rot in the sills, door posts and wheelarch timbers is repairable by the factory and specialists, but it is carpentry plus coachwork and priced as both. Chassis corrosion accompanies it. The sliding-pillar front suspension needs regular greasing and wears kingpins when it does not get it. Engines are proprietary (Ford, Rover, BMW depending on era) and the cheapest part of the car to sort.

Our view

A Plus 8 at our £14,417 median is the keeper: the most character per pound in the range, mechanically undemanding, and structurally inspectable by anyone willing to look under the wings with a torch. Budget for wood before paint, always. Morgans reward the long hold; our data shows no reason to expect the market to change its unhurried mind.