Stray Saturday

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After 1,300+ posts it is difficult to think of post titles that haven’t been used before.

My wonderful wife and I decided to “stray” from the opening day of Barrett-Jackson today. Not to sound like a curmudgeon, but today is Family Day with kids 12 and under being admitted for free. Add in some rain and we decided to pass even though our favorite breakfast spot is almost within walking distance of Westworld, the venue for the auction.

We did head over to the site of “specialized” garage spaces about which I have written before. As we arrived later in the morning than usual and as it was raining, the turnout wasn’t great. While I would never again own a German car (my father watched his family murdered by Nazi troops, the one German car I did have was the least reliable vehicle I have ever owned), BMW does develop very sharp designs.

 

 

As you can see from the badge on the rear, this is a BMW Z8 Alpina model. These were only available in the 2003 model year and just 555 of them were built, 450 of which were sold in the US and Canada. These were only available with an automatic transmission and were slightly different from previous Z8s in terms of the engine and suspension.

These cost about $140,000 when new, about $210,000 in today’s dollars. On Hemmings only one 2003 Z8 is currently listed with a price; that asking price is $485,000. On AutoTrader, four of these are shown for sale nationwide with list prices between $199,999 and $349,995.

When I had my Z4 I would occasionally take the car to a local shop that specialized in German cars instead of to the “prestigious” BMW dealer in another state. Once when I arrived to pick up my car I mentioned to the proprietor how much I liked the Z8. He said I should be grateful that I didn’t own one. Take that for what it’s worth.

 

A tangent…the number of new blog followers, which used to be double digits per month, has trickled down to next to nothing. Please let your friends know about Disaffected Musings and share the URL with them. Thanks.

 

#StraySaturday

#BMWZ8

#somanycarsjustonelife

#disaffectedmusings

If you like this blog please tell your friends and share the blog URL (https://disaffectedmusings.com). Thanks.

 

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Published by rulesoflogic

Empiricism over ideology!

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4 thoughts on “Stray Saturday”

  1. We are excited to visit the auction on Thursday. Part of our family group is already here, and they have never been there before. I know they will have a fantastic time.

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  2. I’m disappointed to find I cannot find auction coverage here in Canada. I’m sure I could try to find some stream online but I’m not that moved to bother.
    On a ‘slight’ tangent, it’s frustrating that auction coverage is not available. I do realize realities… it’s a business, rights are negotiated, and businesses are free to make choices despite what their customers may want. That said, I pay for these channels. To see that between Discovery Velocity and History Channel (the only channels that really carry car-based programming), the schedule for the week is basically hours of Graveyard Carz, Roadkill and Rust Valley Restorers repeats, makes me question whether I shouldn’t just cancel them.
    Then again, I just may be in a bad mood since we got 22 inches of snow last Monday and it’s all of 15 Fahrenheit outside.

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