Cars that should sell well but don’t…

[W12GT]

I’ve noticed over the years that there are quite a few cars that are rather special, yet they don’t seem to be particular sales successes. Z3M Coupe wasn’t popular but has ended up being a cult car. Same as the Alpine A110.

At the moment the Morgan Super 3 is one that I just can’t understand isn’t highly sought after. It’s individual, attainable, totally impractical, amazing to drive, in fact an absolute hoot, rather special to look at (IMHO) and certainly has the wow factor and yet having watched the classifieds for a while, they just don’t sell.

What others have surprised you by poor sales?

Edited by W12GT on Wednesday 19th July 21:13

[Don Roque]

Kia Stinger in all guises.

[normalbloke]

Lotus..

[aka_kerrly]

Suppose the gt86/BRZ fits the bill, a great car that people who've tried one really enjoy but not enough sold new. Hence loads of enthusiasts saying " when they get to 10k I'll grab one"

Reality is there are so few even the earliest 2013 ones are £10k with +130k on them at which point the same enthusiasts then think it's a bit too much for a "not that fast" car with those miles/age.

[Cloudy147]

I think it’s the ‘cool’ factor in the design and appearance. I don’t think any of those are ‘cool’ enough compared to their rivals.

Don’t get me wrong, I like them all! But I’d say they are ‘quirky’, rather than ‘cool’.

Cool sells.

[OoopsVoss]

All the examples thus far appear to be either low volume products or ones that appeared too expensive new to tempt buyers (but over time found a following). Was the Z3m Coupe ever a mass market option? The Morgan seems a bit, err compirinised for most.

One factor that seems missing is finance cost (residuals killing the Stinger perhaps?).

Ultimately, it might be a cost of ownership (finance) and supply issue more than enthusiasts missing the objectively brilliant but under rated drivers dream.

Plus buying habits change...

Controversial opinion incoming, latest BMW M3 and M2 might fall into this trap. Especially as finance costs have moon'd.

[Dog Star]

Alfas. Tgey really are low volume sellers and I really don’t know why.

I’ve a 159 estate as my normal “daily driver” and it looks absolutely brilliant from any angle, the interior is lovely and it’s a pretty nice thing to drive. The fit and finish is as good as anything else (I’m quite particular about squeaks, rattles and trim dropping off, and Ive had a lot of Mercs over the last 18 years, both new and used), so the build quality argument doesn’t really stack up.

I bought it on a bit of an impulse and I really don’t understand why they didn’t sell more. Baffling.

[Canon_Fodder]

I was going to get a Morgan Super 3 recently as It happens.

But in the end we needed a windscreen (wife!!) and a few other bits and bobs like a roof and 4 wheels and silly things like that

Like you, I'm astonished it was sold in vast quantities.

[Deerfoot]

Dog Star said:

Alfas. They really are low volume sellers and I really don’t know why.

In my experience the piss poor dealer network might have something to do with it..

[Lester H]

Don Roque said:

Kia Stinger in all guises.

Absolutely spot on. They are lovely cars with great presence and road stance. The standard reason for poor sales is usually given as service intervals, plus the sad gradual demise of saloons.

[Dog Star]

Deerfoot said:

Dog Star said:

Alfas. They really are low volume sellers and I really don’t know why.

In my experience the piss poor dealer network might have something to do with it..

That’s a fair point.

[Chubbyross]

Dog Star said:

Deerfoot said:

Dog Star said:

Alfas. They really are low volume sellers and I really don’t know why.

In my experience the piss poor dealer network might have something to do with it..

That’s a fair point.

I also think they never really fully recovered from their rust reputation (the sud), amongst non-petrolheads anyway.

[Cupramax]

Lester H said:

Don Roque said:

Kia Stinger in all guises.

Absolutely spot on. They are lovely cars with great presence and road stance. The standard reason for poor sales is usually given as service intervals, plus the sad gradual demise of saloons.

More like being in the highest tax band so walloped big £££ for road tax.

[heisthegaffer]

Fiat multipla - anyone that has spent time with one will probably agree that they are brilliant but the styling is a major challenge for most.

[TREMAiNE]

W12GT said:

At the moment the Morgan Super 3 is one that I just can’t understand isn’t highly sought after. It’s individual, attainable, totally impractical, amazing to drive, in fact an absolute hoot, rather special to look at (IMHO) and certainly has the wow factor and yet having watched the classifieds for a while, they just don’t sell.

As a Morgan 3 Wheeler owner, I test-drove a Super 3 with a view to upgrade. In my opinion, very few 3W owners will move onto a Super 3 and I imagine the majority of S3 owners will be new to Morgan ownership. While the S3 is better in every way than the older car, it has pretty much no character at all and in my opinion was not amazing to drive at all. They've improved upon the older car in every way but lost that spark that made the old 3W special.

I've seen a lot of Super 3s that would have been £62k+ from the factory listed for the mid-50s with a few hundred miles on the clock. Quite heavy depreciation even compared to when the 3W had just launched.

Having said that, while they are not selling overly well, neither are the used 3Ws. I watch the market a lot (to gauge the value of my own) and very few actually sell with a number of cars having been up for sale for 6-12 months or more. Ultimately, it comes down to price - values are strong, but if the cars aren't selling, the value is meaningless.