Discussion
want.Don't have one, but I wouldn't have though the running costs wouldn't be that much more unless you have an accident.
Tyres are those trackday type ones as standard, but if you were to put ordinary ones on it should be similar to any other M3 maybe better seeing as its lighter.
I take it you have seen this? M3 CSL Top Gear
I am considering changing my daily driver from a Porsche 993 C2S to a CSL and have been following the market closely. I wouldn't agree that prices are going up, though there have been a couple of freak sale prices achieved for incredibly low mileage examples. £30k appears to be a price hurdle, quite a few priced over this have been on the market a while.
I do think prices for low mileage well maintained examples will increase medium term based on rarity and how comparable offerings from BMW/Porsche have fared.
Either way, I consider them a performance bargain currently.
Get yourself over to cslregister.com, plenty of information there.
I do think prices for low mileage well maintained examples will increase medium term based on rarity and how comparable offerings from BMW/Porsche have fared.
Either way, I consider them a performance bargain currently.
Get yourself over to cslregister.com, plenty of information there.
matt21 said:
Talk to me.
Are they depreciation proof yet?
What are running costs like compared to regular M3's.
- Insurance
- Tyres
- Servicing
- Reliability
I would love one, and if sensible to run with minimal depreciation I must go a hunting!
Having owned one for a month now, I feel I can comment fairly accurately.Are they depreciation proof yet?
What are running costs like compared to regular M3's.
- Insurance
- Tyres
- Servicing
- Reliability
I would love one, and if sensible to run with minimal depreciation I must go a hunting!
Depreciation:
- No they're not depreciation proof yet; expect to see higher mileage cars out of warranty, creep into the teens over the next couple of years. Low mileage cars will start to level out around the mid twenties and as alluded to above, ultra low mileage minters will likely stick around the thirty mark for the time being. The only caveat with the low mileage cars however, is that if you drive them, you'll suffer come resale time. IMO your best bet (assuming you plan on driving it) is to get one with mid/average miles with a BMW AUC warranty, like I did.
Insurance:
No M-car is cheap to insure so you need to bear this in mind. Depending on what you're coming from, the insurance will either be epic, or quite sedate. For reference, the CSL was more or less exactly the same to insure as my previous Z4MC, but rather perversely, the GT3 was only £40 more to insure than my 3.0 M3!
Tyres:
If you track the car, tyres will be a killer. The OE fit Pilot Cups are at least £1200 for a set (which I've just fitted to mine). You can fit standard road tyres of course, but the car doesn't feel anywhere near as good to drive. Budget around £800 for a set of decent road tyres. How long they will last depends on your driving style of course, but don't expect to get much more than 10k from a set of standard rears; half that for the Cups.
Servicing:
Servicing is expensive and if you take the car out of the dealer network to a cheaper specialist, the value will be affected unless it's a higher mileage example. At current dealer prices, an Oil Service is ~£200; an Inspection I, ~£400 and an Inspection II, ~£800. If it's any consolation, these are the same prices as the standard M3 and the Z4M.
Reliability:
Can of worms time: How reliable the car is will depend largely on the mileage and how it has been treated. Contrary to popular opinion, the SMG II gearbox is actually very reliable and will only tend to fail with severe track use or regular use of the 'launch control' facility. Likewise the clutches also last a long time with sympathetic use (again contrary to popular opinion). The rest of the drivetrain is also fairly bombproof; just keep an eye on diff seals and diff mounts.
The engine is similarly strong, but again, abuse will take its toll. Try and avoid a modified car for starters. Some owners have reported head gasket failure after re-maps etc, so it's best not to risk it. For some reason, the only known weak point appears to be the alternator; failures of which are quite common, but relatively cheap to fix.
Other than that, how reliable the car proves will again depend largely on how you treat it. With sustained 'enthusiastic' use, the rear trailing arm mounts will deteriorate very quickly, as will the front control arm bushes and wheel bearings, but this is largely true for any moderately heavy performance car.
Finally, check any potential car very carefully. Most CSLs will have seen the track at some point and some will have had an off. I looked at a few cars purported to be genuine, which were in fact crashed examples. finding a straight one therefore can be a minefield, unless you know exactly what to look for.
To that end, I suggest you spend the next week or so absorbing the wealth of information that the CSL register has to offer. It's a great site, full of very knowledgeable people. They'll be sure to keep you right.
Happy hunting.
Great Pretender said:
matt21 said:
Talk to me.
Are they depreciation proof yet?
What are running costs like compared to regular M3's.
- Insurance
- Tyres
- Servicing
- Reliability
I would love one, and if sensible to run with minimal depreciation I must go a hunting!
Having owned one for a month now, I feel I can comment fairly accurately.Are they depreciation proof yet?
What are running costs like compared to regular M3's.
- Insurance
- Tyres
- Servicing
- Reliability
I would love one, and if sensible to run with minimal depreciation I must go a hunting!
Depreciation:
- No they're not depreciation proof yet; expect to see higher mileage cars out of warranty, creep into the teens over the next couple of years. Low mileage cars will start to level out around the mid twenties and as alluded to above, ultra low mileage minters will likely stick around the thirty mark for the time being. The only caveat with the low mileage cars however, is that if you drive them, you'll suffer come resale time. IMO your best bet (assuming you plan on driving it) is to get one with mid/average miles with a BMW AUC warranty, like I did.
Insurance:
No M-car is cheap to insure so you need to bear this in mind. Depending on what you're coming from, the insurance will either be epic, or quite sedate. For reference, the CSL was more or less exactly the same to insure as my previous Z4MC, but rather perversely, the GT3 was only £40 more to insure than my 3.0 M3!
Tyres:
If you track the car, tyres will be a killer. The OE fit Pilot Cups are at least £1200 for a set (which I've just fitted to mine). You can fit standard road tyres of course, but the car doesn't feel anywhere near as good to drive. Budget around £800 for a set of decent road tyres. How long they will last depends on your driving style of course, but don't expect to get much more than 10k from a set of standard rears; half that for the Cups.
Servicing:
Servicing is expensive and if you take the car out of the dealer network to a cheaper specialist, the value will be affected unless it's a higher mileage example. At current dealer prices, an Oil Service is ~£200; an Inspection I, ~£400 and an Inspection II, ~£800. If it's any consolation, these are the same prices as the standard M3 and the Z4M.
Reliability:
Can of worms time: How reliable the car is will depend largely on the mileage and how it has been treated. Contrary to popular opinion, the SMG II gearbox is actually very reliable and will only tend to fail with severe track use or regular use of the 'launch control' facility. Likewise the clutches also last a long time with sympathetic use (again contrary to popular opinion). The rest of the drivetrain is also fairly bombproof; just keep an eye on diff seals and diff mounts.
The engine is similarly strong, but again, abuse will take its toll. Try and avoid a modified car for starters. Some owners have reported head gasket failure after re-maps etc, so it's best not to risk it. For some reason, the only known weak point appears to be the alternator; failures of which are quite common, but relatively cheap to fix.
Other than that, how reliable the car proves will again depend largely on how you treat it. With sustained 'enthusiastic' use, the rear trailing arm mounts will deteriorate very quickly, as will the front control arm bushes and wheel bearings, but this is largely true for any moderately heavy performance car.
Finally, check any potential car very carefully. Most CSLs will have seen the track at some point and some will have had an off. I looked at a few cars purported to be genuine, which were in fact crashed examples. finding a straight one therefore can be a minefield, unless you know exactly what to look for.
To that end, I suggest you spend the next week or so absorbing the wealth of information that the CSL register has to offer. It's a great site, full of very knowledgeable people. They'll be sure to keep you right.
Happy hunting.
The car will be bought by my father, I always help him pick!, who is 58 full NCB and will do less than 3k pa. Hopefully a specialist insurer will help keep this down.
The car will not be tracked, so going forward it would seem reliability should not be a major concern.
I would worry about running costs on the tyres. I have just got rid of 2 BMWs with run flat sas they are killing me. I also had to replace 4 alloys as they shatter and bmw will not meet the warranty. Having been a die hard bmw fan i will never ever buy another bmw as their tyre policy is ridiculous. Sorry for the negative attitude. I know off 3 other people who have done the same.
matt21 said:
Talk to me.
Are they depreciation proof yet?
What are running costs like compared to regular M3's.
- Insurance
- Tyres
- Servicing
- Reliability
I would love one, and if sensible to run with minimal depreciation I must go a hunting!
Are they depreciation proof yet?
What are running costs like compared to regular M3's.
- Insurance
- Tyres
- Servicing
- Reliability
I would love one, and if sensible to run with minimal depreciation I must go a hunting!
I would worry about running costs on the tyres. I have just got rid of 2 BMWs with run flat sas they are killing me. I also had to replace 4 alloys as they shatter and bmw will not meet the warranty. Having been a die hard bmw fan i will never ever buy another bmw as their tyre policy is ridiculous. Sorry for the negative attitude. I know off 3 other people who have done the same.
matt21 said:
Talk to me.
Are they depreciation proof yet?
What are running costs like compared to regular M3's.
- Insurance
- Tyres
- Servicing
- Reliability
I would love one, and if sensible to run with minimal depreciation I must go a hunting!
Are they depreciation proof yet?
What are running costs like compared to regular M3's.
- Insurance
- Tyres
- Servicing
- Reliability
I would love one, and if sensible to run with minimal depreciation I must go a hunting!
Gassing Station | General Gassing [Archive] | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff