I am astounded and rather chuffed by the replies. Thanks guys. Okay I suspected I might get a few brickbats about spending £200k on a car let alone a z8. As most people might realise, you can get a nice Series 1 E type 4.2 AND a McLaren 570s for the same money. But one is old and one is often a money pit.
So a Z8 it is. Always wanted one, will now get one. Truth be told, itās viable as I have the money and it seems likely that I will inherit a lot at some time in the future. My thinking is do it now as I could pop my clogs earlier - my mother is a tough old bird! But if I donāt I could sell the car anyway.
I am lucky (or not) to have two super low mileage garage queens and I REALLY donāt want another. So the intention here is to have a really nice example but which is usable. And for this reason, and while I will view them, the Ā£200k plus cars with everything will probably not be bought. There are two currently in the U.K. and both have the book (good) but are US imports (less good). But they are silver/red my least favourite colour combo - but itās less garish in real life. And SWMBO loves it sadly.
Another car has 70000 miles, is a U.K. car and while I have still to be given a video of the soft top up and the underside, it seems clean. Itās silver/black - more appealing to me. And is very usable. Itās one owner.
The last current contender is 17000 miles and UK and silver/red. All great but as Iāve said before lacking in all of the stuff you get with a a Z8 (hard top, lots of paperwork (thereās enough), tool kit, etc). Another good thing is itās been used every year. Most Z8 sit in a warehouse.
Itās a toss up between these two. What I would really like is a topaz blue/cream example with all of thff etc stuff and say 30009 mikes fit Ā£180k but thin on the ground.
Final bit of factoid stuff on these cars. āThe bookā. Each car came with its own big hard back book showing its chassis plate coming off the line in Dingolfing. These are routinely missing and cost up to Ā£3500 to buy on EBay - for a book!! Second, z8 interiors donāt last well as owners had them because the just had to, not because they were enthusiasts. Luckily you can still buy everything if you have enough cash. On the other side of the coin, undersides are usually very clean as itās all aluminium other than the bolts and steering arms.
Finally, the aim is to use this car to go down to Spain every year so 2000 left hand drive miles a year. And while I so so so want a hard top (as it looks nice) the reality is that is sits in a corner in the garage on its standā¦.. so thatās why I can consider the 17000 miles car if I am being pragmatic. But I still WANT ONE.
Today I will find out if the 70000 miles car passes muster. BTW I have now looked at 10 of these thingsā¦..