The great thing about German luxury cars is that, while they’re usually pretty expensive when new, they also tend to get hit pretty hard by the depreciation hammer. Can’t justify spending a bajillion dollars to get the latest and greatest? Well, just wait a few years and it’ll be half off. Wait a few more years and you’ll be able to pick one up for far less. Sure, the parts are pretty expensive, and there are all sorts of potential reliability issues, but at least you won’t have to pay much upfront. Unless you want a BMW Z8.
Sadly, as the latest BMW Z8 auction on Cars & Bids reminds us, even more than 20 years after its debut the BMW Z8 is not a cheap car. This particular example has 28,000 miles on the odometer, and at the time of writing, there are seven days left on the auction. Even with all that time left, bidding is already up to $75,000. For a car that, two decades ago, had a base price of about $130,000. Odds are, it’ll end up selling for more than its original MSRP by the time bidding ends.
Granted, that $130,000 base price back when it was new would be more like $230,000, so you can’t exactly say the Z8 hasn’t depreciated, but still. Used German cars from the Bush era are supposed to be ridiculously cheap to buy and then bankrupt you later. That’s the deal we worked out with them after WWII. On the other hand, can you really be mad? The BMW Z8 was way too gorgeous to ever actually get cheap.
It’s basically perfect
Don’t get me wrong, I would love to live in a world where you could pick up a used Z8 for $20,000. It would be wonderful to be able to drop the top and enjoy the 4.9-liter V8’s 394 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque for less than the price of a new Toyota Corolla. It would make me so happy to listen to the exhaust as I shifted my way through all six gears in the manual transmission. I’d even happily deal with the crumbling plastic parts and expensive replacements. It was just never going to happen.
I mean, look at it. You could say the low production numbers kept the prices high and talk about the design taking its inspiration from the legendary BMW 507, but if it hadn’t been so nice to look at, the Z8 probably wouldn’t be nearly as valuable. It’s basically perfect. Say what you will about Henrik Fisker and his ability to run an automaker, but the man has designed some absolutely beautiful cars, and the Z8 might be his crowning achievement. I mean, it certainly wasn’t the Fisker Ocean.
Unfortunately for all of us, a big part of growing up is realizing you won’t always get what you want. I’d like the Z8 to be a car I could afford, but it isn’t. Simple as that. Heather Graham also never fell in love with me, and I’m not as tall or as jacked as Alan Ritchson. And you know what? That’s OK. At least we can all admire the pretty Z8 photos included in the listing.
Cars & Bids
Cars & Bids
Cars & Bids
Cars & Bids
