BMW Z8 owned by Apple's Steve Jobs heads to auction, valued up to $400K

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A BMW Z8 luxury convertible once owned by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs is being auctioned at Sotheby's in New York next month, where it's expected to fetch between $300,000 and $400,000 or possibly more.




Jobs had a "penchant for German automobiles and design," the auction listing claims, noting that he also owned BMW motorcycles and Mercedes-Benz SLs. "According to legend," it continues, Jobs was persuaded to buy the Z8 in 2000 by Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, who suggested it was not just a high-quality car but matched Apple products and Jobs's psyche.

Jobs is said to have kept the car for just three years, selling it to a person in Los Angeles who in turn sold it a year later to a "Bay Area tech executive." The Los Angeles owner had remorse over that decision, and contacted the tech executive some 18 months later to buy the car back.

Although the car has actually been driven regularly for 17 years, it has just 15,200 miles on it, and has undergone service and maintenance to keep it in good condition.

One notable inclusion is a BMW-branded Motorola cellphone, which Jobs allegedly hated. The CEO eventually parterned with Motorola on a few iTunes phones before launching the iPhone in 2007.




The Z8 originally cost $128,000 before add-ons. Used models are potentially worth more, but the auction price is well above average.

Jobs's vehicle will go on sale Dec. 6 as part of a "New York -- Icons" event.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 20
    I am both a BMW fan and owner as well as a Steve Jobs fan.  I would LOVE to have Mr. Jobs' old Z8.
    edited October 2017 watto_cobraGG1argonaut
  • Reply 2 of 20
    Steve had better taste in boats than cars, that's for sure. Z8 is a monstrosity. 
    Agree to disagree.  (Not that I'd ever pay more than $20K for car.)
    edited October 2017
  • Reply 3 of 20
    The Bmw Z8 is the most beautiful car ever.
  • Reply 5 of 20
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    I'm fascinated by people that pay lot of money to collect items that have no intrinsic value other than being owned by someone famous, or, really, just collectors in general. At least with he first Apple computer ever built there's a uniqueness to being number one; this isn't likely the first Z8 off the line, but likely just one Jobs had to delivered to him from a dealer.

    I understand I'm in the minority here since even owning an original Mac wouldn't do anything for me except as an investment opportunity and I'd turn around and sell it right away so I could invest the profit into something with a better growth rate—I guess you need both sentimentality and a proclivity for idol worship in order to be a collector. Any serial killers here want to explain to me the importance of collecting trophies?¡ :smiley: 


    Steve had better taste in boats than cars, that's for sure. Z8 is a monstrosity. 
    I always thought that the exterior design of the boat he had built was very unattractive, but to each their own when it comes to aesthetics.
    edited October 2017
  • Reply 6 of 20

    I was just fascinated that a magazine with a cover price of $2 signed by Jobs would fetch $50k (25000 times the value) , but a car owned by him costing $128K would only bring in 300-400K (2-3 times the value).

    The final price may be more, but the numbers just fascinated me.

    Soliwatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 20
    So they claim the vehicle has been 'regularly driven' for the past 17 years, but it only has 15,200 miles on it...so it was only driven about 890 miles a year in California and they call that regular?  About 74 miles a month?  So they filled up with gas every 4 months?  Most people in California drive their vehicles on average 15,000 PER YEAR.  It has probably been sitting collecting dust for the past 13 years.  The LA guy probably put the 15K miles on it and then sold it.

    So Jobs only owned the vehicle for the first three years, then someone in Los Angeles owned it for a year, and now it has been owned by someone in San Francisco for the past 13 years.  Sorry, but Steve Jobs is so far removed from this vehicle, it shouldn't have much value at all.  That's like saying, "I am your father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate.  What's that make us?  Absolutely nothing!"  Now if Steve Jobs had been the original owner for the entire life of the vehicle, maybe you have something there.  But a 17-year old BMW is a turd.
    StrangeDayszoetmb
  • Reply 8 of 20
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    So they claim the vehicle has been 'regularly driven' for the past 17 years, but it only has 15,200 miles on it...so it was only driven about 890 miles a year in California and they call that regular?  About 74 miles a month?  So they filled up with gas every 4 months?  Most people in California drive their vehicles on average 15,000 PER YEAR.  It has probably been sitting collecting dust for the past 13 years.  The LA guy probably put the 15K miles on it and then sold it.
    Regular ≠ national average. All they're saying is that it hasn't been sitting in a garage the whole time. I bought a car a very long time ago from a woman in Florida that would drive hers even less yet it was driven several times a week to church and the store which were all less than a couple miles away. That's regular driving, just not a lot of driving. The interior, including the driver's seat, still looked brand new and this was an 15 year old car.
    edited October 2017 watto_cobrarandominternetperson
  • Reply 9 of 20
    Jobs could have had my car for half that price
  • Reply 10 of 20
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member
    Soli said:
    I'm fascinated by people that pay lot of money to collect items that have no intrinsic value other than being owned by someone famous, or, really, just collectors in general. At least with he first Apple computer ever built there's a uniqueness to being number one; this isn't likely the first Z8 off the line, but likely just one Jobs had to delivered to him from a dealer.

    I understand I'm in the minority here since even owning an original Mac wouldn't do anything for me except as an investment opportunity and I'd turn around and sell it right away so I could invest the profit into something with a better growth rate—I guess you need both sentimentality and a proclivity for idol worship in order to be a collector. Any serial killers here want to explain to me the importance of collecting trophies?¡ :smiley: 


    Steve had better taste in boats than cars, that's for sure. Z8 is a monstrosity. 
    I always thought that the exterior design of the boat he had built was very unattractive, but to each their own when it comes to aesthetics.
    I couldn't agree more on both accounts. I love to see a collection of beautiful objects, whatever they may be. But my criteria for buying would have very little to do with any previous ownership. A mass produced car would hold very little value for me no matter who the previous owner might have been. 
    Soli
  • Reply 11 of 20
    neilmneilm Posts: 985member
    Steve had better taste in boats than cars, that's for sure. Z8 is a monstrosity. 
    I presume you've never actually seen one. It's both exquisite in its own right, but was also built, in very small quantities, as a tribute to the BMW 507 of the 1950's (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_507).

    However much this celebrity car fetches at auction, it's going to be dwarfed by the $17.7 million just paid at auction for Paul Newman's Rolex Daytona watch.
  • Reply 12 of 20
    So they claim the vehicle has been 'regularly driven' for the past 17 years, but it only has 15,200 miles on it...so it was only driven about 890 miles a year in California and they call that regular?  About 74 miles a month?  So they filled up with gas every 4 months?  Most people in California drive their vehicles on average 15,000 PER YEAR.  It has probably been sitting collecting dust for the past 13 years.  The LA guy probably put the 15K miles on it and then sold it.

    So Jobs only owned the vehicle for the first three years, then someone in Los Angeles owned it for a year, and now it has been owned by someone in San Francisco for the past 13 years.  Sorry, but Steve Jobs is so far removed from this vehicle, it shouldn't have much value at all.  That's like saying, "I am your father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate.  What's that make us?  Absolutely nothing!"  Now if Steve Jobs had been the original owner for the entire life of the vehicle, maybe you have something there.  But a 17-year old BMW is a turd.
    I bought a new truck last year that I drove daily at a rate of about 12,000 miles per year. Four months ago, I bought a new car that I now drive daily to and from work. The truck gets regularly driven about 30 miles on the weekends for shopping and leisure - that's about 1,500 miles per year. My parents have three vehicles - one SUV as a daily driver, one truck that sees occasional use when needed, and another truck that holds sentimental value that is driven probably a few hundred miles per year. I used to drive even less than that when I lived less than four miles from work. So, it is very possible this Z8 was "regularly" driven and still has only 15,200 miles.

    As far as the vehicle itself - beauty is most certainly in the eye of the beholder. "Beautiful" is not an adjective I'd use to describe a Z8. Sure, it's a blast to drive, but so is a Miata that costs one-fifth the price. I do like some BMW designs and I wouldn't object to owning one, but I'd be sure to get rid of it before the factory warranty was up.
  • Reply 13 of 20
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    Out of curiosity I just ran the specs through KBB ... 

    here's the result ... 

    edited October 2017
  • Reply 14 of 20
    maestro64maestro64 Posts: 5,043member
    So they claim the vehicle has been 'regularly driven' for the past 17 years, but it only has 15,200 miles on it...so it was only driven about 890 miles a year in California and they call that regular?  About 74 miles a month?  So they filled up with gas every 4 months?  Most people in California drive their vehicles on average 15,000 PER YEAR.  It has probably been sitting collecting dust for the past 13 years.  The LA guy probably put the 15K miles on it and then sold it.

    So Jobs only owned the vehicle for the first three years, then someone in Los Angeles owned it for a year, and now it has been owned by someone in San Francisco for the past 13 years.  Sorry, but Steve Jobs is so far removed from this vehicle, it shouldn't have much value at all.  That's like saying, "I am your father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate.  What's that make us?  Absolutely nothing!"  Now if Steve Jobs had been the original owner for the entire life of the vehicle, maybe you have something there.  But a 17-year old BMW is a turd.

    It is called a Garagde Queen, yes it is driven but spend most of its days sitting in a garage. People who have cars like this take it out once a month or so and go out on the town. The importance of regularly driven, means the car is in working condition and has not just say so things like rub and such do not get flat spotted due to no use. It also sounds like the car was constantly serviced by BMW.
  • Reply 15 of 20
    It is a well known fact that Steve Jobsness rubs off on anything Steve previously owned. Children call this "cooties"
  • Reply 16 of 20
    foggyhillfoggyhill Posts: 4,767member
    maestro64 said:
    So they claim the vehicle has been 'regularly driven' for the past 17 years, but it only has 15,200 miles on it...so it was only driven about 890 miles a year in California and they call that regular?  About 74 miles a month?  So they filled up with gas every 4 months?  Most people in California drive their vehicles on average 15,000 PER YEAR.  It has probably been sitting collecting dust for the past 13 years.  The LA guy probably put the 15K miles on it and then sold it.

    So Jobs only owned the vehicle for the first three years, then someone in Los Angeles owned it for a year, and now it has been owned by someone in San Francisco for the past 13 years.  Sorry, but Steve Jobs is so far removed from this vehicle, it shouldn't have much value at all.  That's like saying, "I am your father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate.  What's that make us?  Absolutely nothing!"  Now if Steve Jobs had been the original owner for the entire life of the vehicle, maybe you have something there.  But a 17-year old BMW is a turd.

    It is called a Garagde Queen, yes it is driven but spend most of its days sitting in a garage. People who have cars like this take it out once a month or so and go out on the town. The importance of regularly driven, means the car is in working condition and has not just say so things like rub and such do not get flat spotted due to no use. It also sounds like the car was constantly serviced by BMW.
    Well, it's the south bay and peninsula too, not exactly exacting conditions for cars even if you drove it more than once a month.
  • Reply 17 of 20
    Soli said:
    I'm fascinated by people that pay lot of money to collect items that have no intrinsic value other than being owned by someone famous, or, really, just collectors in general. At least with he first Apple computer ever built there's a uniqueness to being number one; this isn't likely the first Z8 off the line, but likely just one Jobs had to delivered to him from a dealer.

    I understand I'm in the minority here since even owning an original Mac wouldn't do anything for me except as an investment opportunity and I'd turn around and sell it right away so I could invest the profit into something with a better growth rate—I guess you need both sentimentality and a proclivity for idol worship in order to be a collector. Any serial killers here want to explain to me the importance of collecting trophies?¡ :smiley:
    Can you possibly relate to wanting to hold on to something of a grandparent, parent or close friend or even someone you have deep admiration for and who has touched your life in an invaluable way, but who has pass away?  Perhaps you cannot relate to such a thing since there is likely no monetary value in such things, according to your post.  Sure money is great because it serves the purpose of getting us the things we need.  But some of us find even greater value in having a piece of something that belonged to someone who has enriched and fulfilled our lives in a way that money or investments could never match.  Personally, in this case, the pioneer. The visionary... the one Steve Jobs has been a part of my life ever since I was able to understand anything and I have become a tech geek and then become fairly successful in my field largely - if not mostly - because of him.  He has touched my life in a way that has tremendous value to me and of which no amount of money could compare. I get where you're coming from - it's just a car at the end of the day.  But if you don't get where those of us who find tremendous value in having something that belonged to someone who has touched our lives in an invaluable way, then respectfully, we are just 2 completely different kinds of human.
  • Reply 18 of 20
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    rrrize said:
    Soli said:
    I'm fascinated by people that pay lot of money to collect items that have no intrinsic value other than being owned by someone famous, or, really, just collectors in general. At least with he first Apple computer ever built there's a uniqueness to being number one; this isn't likely the first Z8 off the line, but likely just one Jobs had to delivered to him from a dealer.

    I understand I'm in the minority here since even owning an original Mac wouldn't do anything for me except as an investment opportunity and I'd turn around and sell it right away so I could invest the profit into something with a better growth rate—I guess you need both sentimentality and a proclivity for idol worship in order to be a collector. Any serial killers here want to explain to me the importance of collecting trophies?¡ :smiley:
    Can you possibly relate to wanting to hold on to something of a grandparent, parent or close friend or even someone you have deep admiration for and who has touched your life in an invaluable way, but who has pass away?  Perhaps you cannot relate to such a thing since there is likely no monetary value in such things, according to your post.  Sure money is great because it serves the purpose of getting us the things we need.  But some of us find even greater value in having a piece of something that belonged to someone who has enriched and fulfilled our lives in a way that money or investments could never match.  Personally, in this case, the pioneer. The visionary... the one Steve Jobs has been a part of my life ever since I was able to understand anything and I have become a tech geek and then become fairly successful in my field largely - if not mostly - because of him.  He has touched my life in a way that has tremendous value to me and of which no amount of money could compare. I get where you're coming from - it's just a car at the end of the day.  But if you don't get where those of us who find tremendous value in having something that belonged to someone who has touched our lives in an invaluable way, then respectfully, we are just 2 completely different kinds of human.
    I can understand why you would, but I certainly don’t need a talisman, horcrux, trinkets, idols, souvenirs, trophies, memorabilia, or any other physical objects to evoke sentimentality. What they mean to me are a part of my very being. If you can’t evoke a feeling using thought then we are very different people indeed.

    I’m also not festive and find traditions in the modern age to be a complete waste of my time. Even as a child I opted out of having birthdays and asked not to recieve gifts. I’d rather regulate gift giving to three primary categories: 1) Something they wouldn’t get for themselves but they believe would benefit you, 2) something they couldn’t get for themselves but need, and 3) when there’s an actual accomplishment so long as it falls into the first two categories. Obligatory gift giving is insincere, especially when the earth revolves around the sun again and it’s the day you happened to pop out of a uterus.
  • Reply 19 of 20
    Steve had better taste in boats than cars, that's for sure. Z8 is a monstrosity. 
    That is matter of taste and fashion. It is just as if you said that old Porsche or Ford TT was monstrosity. It was beauty of its times. If you like Tesla then it is your taste, but that does not compare in any way to older cars and classics. Z8 is a classic roadster of its times. I could think old Ferraris are ugly, but I would not be right. They are beauty f old times and I would not mind to own all generations of classic cars if I was rich collector like Leno, Gates or Seinfeld.

    As far as ownership I would say it is a bit of exaggeration and even Job's at his modesty would have problem accepting this type of love. It is about creative achievement - not who owns what. Different philosophy.
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