AV8 Z3 MEET

On Saturday 9th July we were privileged to join the Z3 lads at Kemble air field on the edge of the Cotswolds. Originally myself and Dave P had responded to a post on FB asking if we would be able to join the Z3 guys or whether they would prefer us to head off to Coventry. With the sun smiling down we decided to take three cars. Dave in his Cobra, Belinda and Emily in the Isabella and me in my blue car. Myself and Belinda took the relatively short journey along the motorway to meet up with Dave and Ali at the garden centre in Cirencester before heading off to join the Z’s. Any dash along the M4 is usually pretty uneventful but this definitely wasn’t the case on this occasion. We were filmed continuously and had some waves from a few super car owners as they buzzed past. Its always an odd feeling when a car worth 100’s of thousands slows down to check your plastic creation. After about an hour we were at Dobbies and yes myself and Dave had to have an old man wee before heading off. It was as I followed Dave and Belinda out of the carpark that I realised that I probably should get around to topping up the air con as its rather hot in the coupe. The occupants of the two soft tops didn’t have this problem with their hair and beards blowing in the wind. From Dobbies it took about ten minutes to get to the air field and if you haven’t been this is well worth a visit. As you enter the airfield you wind your way through to AV8 restaurant which is close to the runway. There is loads of parking and plenty to look at. There is a huge 747 parked up for good measure and there was quite a lot of aerial activity with small light aircraft and helicopters buzzing about over head. As we approached the jumbo we could see a fantastic array of Z3’s parked up on the grass. I have to say these cars are a credit to their owners and were amazingly turned out. There were plenty of colours represented and their proud owners were happy to talk and share their experiences. From our point of view we are often seen as the guys to break up Z’s but this group of like minded owners accepted us and made us feel really welcome. As we often point out we actually save more Z3’s by recycling and providing low cost spares than we do breaking them up. We really only actually break up a car if it is no longer road worthy and un economic to repair. Once we had done the introductions we headed into the restaurant for a coffee and some cake. AV8 is obviously a very popular venue but after a small wait we were served and secured ourselves a great seat outside watching all the planes come and go. We stayed with the Z’s for well over an hour before they headed off for their lunch meet and we drifted back towards home, stopping in Malmesbury ghost town for a spot of lunch. Thanks to Dave and Ali and all the nice Z3 owners who allowed us to crash their party. We do own a few Z’s ourselves so next time it is probably only fitting that we attend in one of those rather than a rebody…….