Discussion
Since the CSL is only being used for about 1000 miles a year now, I decided that I'd dispense with the extended warranty. This led me to have a review of how much I've spent on maintenance in the 9+ years I've owned it, as well as what I got out of the extended warranty. Unfortunately I couldn't get an accurate figure for the latter after being passed around various departments at the warranty company, but I think probably ended slightly ahead.
It looks like I've paid out at least £22,000 in maintenance while I've owned it, which came as a bit of a shock when I added it up !
The first year was particularly bad as there were quite a few wear and tear items that needed to be done. A seized caliper, rear ball joint, broken coil spring, top mounts, leaking diff seals. I also had the ECU flashed back to the standard map as I think it was running some unknown map when I bought it. And it needed an Inspection II service... I don't think I got anything from the warranty this year - about 5000 miles driven.
16/03/2010 £632.00 BMW Warranty Services, Croydon warranty
24/03/2010 £258.01 Cooper Group Reading, Reading brake caliper
26/03/2010 £57.35 Prince Bros, Twyford brake caliper
01/04/2010 £38.80 Cooper Group Reading, Reading side repeaters
07/04/2010 £82.00 Www.Thorneymotorspo.UK, Internet De-Map
07/04/2010 £30.55 Blackboots, Chesham wheel balancing
20/05/2010 £590.51 Cooper Group Reading, Reading Diff seals
30/06/2010 £460.46 MOTORWORX MARLOW spring, rear suspension ball joint
01/07/2010 £1,128.27 Cooper Group Reading, Reading Insp II, washer bottle
09/07/2010 £100.00 Sextons, Reading Ipod interface
02/10/2010 £99.99 Sextons, Reading Ipod interface
05/10/2010 £246.24 Cooper Group Reading, Reading steering hose
14/10/2010 £301.68 Grosvenor Motor Co, Reading rear top mounts, exhaust mounts
£4,025.86
2011 wasn't as bad, really just tyres. 4000 miles
10/02/2011 £54.00 Prince Bros, Twyford MOT
25/03/2011 £56.34 GSF Car Parts headlight lenses
11/04/2011 £1,228.61 Blackboots, Chesham Tyres + alignment
14/05/2011 £757.00 BMW Warranty Services, Croydon 6006/ BMW Warranty Services, Croydon
08/07/2011 £26.03 Cooper Group Reading, Reading ?
£2,121.98
2012 was 4500 miles and I started getting some value from the warranty as there are three warrantied jobs this year including a new alternator and a brake pressure sensor. Other big cost was the oil service.
09/01/2012 £30.78 Elms Cambridge, Cambourne Supplies
26/03/2012 £14.98 Halfords 0467, Reading South Supplies
11/04/2012 £100.00 Cooper Group Reading, Reading Warranty repair
19/04/2012 £100.00 Cooper Group Reading, Reading Warranty repair - alternator
19/04/2012 £228.61 Cooper Group Reading, Reading ?
10/07/2012 £649.75 Cooper Group Reading, Reading Oil service, new front caliper
10/08/2012 £100.00 Cooper Group Reading, Reading Warranty repair - DSC sensor
26/11/2012 £828.00 BMW INSURED WARR (year)
05/12/2012 £43.02 Grosvenor Motor Compan, Reading ?
£2,095.14
2013 was the year of the CSL Register forum 10 year anniversary trip to the 'Ring and Munich. The car got brand new discs and pads all round for this ! There was also a big warranty repair on the top end of the engine and rear driveline which must have got us closer to breaking even on the warranty overall. I also needed new tyres for my winter wheels. 4000 miles
09/01/2013 £154.85 Elms Cambridge, Cambourne MOT, Warranty repair (cam followers, driveshafts and rear hubs)
21/01/2013 £54.00 Prince Bros, Twyford 6006/ Prince Bros, Twyford
26/02/2013 £264.00 Specialised Paintwork, Reading Wheel refurbs
10/05/2013 £1,113.05 Grosvenor Motor Compan, Reading Discs and pads all round
10/05/2013 £102.07 Cooper Group Reading, Reading Battery
10/10/2013 £828.00 BMW INSURED WARR (year)
05/12/2013 £15.00 MICHAEL WEBER CSL PADDLES Paddles
22/11/2013 £745.28 Event Mobile Tyres Ltd, Henley-M-Tham Winter tyres
03/12/2013 £22.80 Paypal Richardbate, 35314369001 ? Brochure ?
£3,299.05
More later...
It looks like I've paid out at least £22,000 in maintenance while I've owned it, which came as a bit of a shock when I added it up !
The first year was particularly bad as there were quite a few wear and tear items that needed to be done. A seized caliper, rear ball joint, broken coil spring, top mounts, leaking diff seals. I also had the ECU flashed back to the standard map as I think it was running some unknown map when I bought it. And it needed an Inspection II service... I don't think I got anything from the warranty this year - about 5000 miles driven.
16/03/2010 £632.00 BMW Warranty Services, Croydon warranty
24/03/2010 £258.01 Cooper Group Reading, Reading brake caliper
26/03/2010 £57.35 Prince Bros, Twyford brake caliper
01/04/2010 £38.80 Cooper Group Reading, Reading side repeaters
07/04/2010 £82.00 Www.Thorneymotorspo.UK, Internet De-Map
07/04/2010 £30.55 Blackboots, Chesham wheel balancing
20/05/2010 £590.51 Cooper Group Reading, Reading Diff seals
30/06/2010 £460.46 MOTORWORX MARLOW spring, rear suspension ball joint
01/07/2010 £1,128.27 Cooper Group Reading, Reading Insp II, washer bottle
09/07/2010 £100.00 Sextons, Reading Ipod interface
02/10/2010 £99.99 Sextons, Reading Ipod interface
05/10/2010 £246.24 Cooper Group Reading, Reading steering hose
14/10/2010 £301.68 Grosvenor Motor Co, Reading rear top mounts, exhaust mounts
£4,025.86
2011 wasn't as bad, really just tyres. 4000 miles
10/02/2011 £54.00 Prince Bros, Twyford MOT
25/03/2011 £56.34 GSF Car Parts headlight lenses
11/04/2011 £1,228.61 Blackboots, Chesham Tyres + alignment
14/05/2011 £757.00 BMW Warranty Services, Croydon 6006/ BMW Warranty Services, Croydon
08/07/2011 £26.03 Cooper Group Reading, Reading ?
£2,121.98
2012 was 4500 miles and I started getting some value from the warranty as there are three warrantied jobs this year including a new alternator and a brake pressure sensor. Other big cost was the oil service.
09/01/2012 £30.78 Elms Cambridge, Cambourne Supplies
26/03/2012 £14.98 Halfords 0467, Reading South Supplies
11/04/2012 £100.00 Cooper Group Reading, Reading Warranty repair
19/04/2012 £100.00 Cooper Group Reading, Reading Warranty repair - alternator
19/04/2012 £228.61 Cooper Group Reading, Reading ?
10/07/2012 £649.75 Cooper Group Reading, Reading Oil service, new front caliper
10/08/2012 £100.00 Cooper Group Reading, Reading Warranty repair - DSC sensor
26/11/2012 £828.00 BMW INSURED WARR (year)
05/12/2012 £43.02 Grosvenor Motor Compan, Reading ?
£2,095.14
2013 was the year of the CSL Register forum 10 year anniversary trip to the 'Ring and Munich. The car got brand new discs and pads all round for this ! There was also a big warranty repair on the top end of the engine and rear driveline which must have got us closer to breaking even on the warranty overall. I also needed new tyres for my winter wheels. 4000 miles
09/01/2013 £154.85 Elms Cambridge, Cambourne MOT, Warranty repair (cam followers, driveshafts and rear hubs)
21/01/2013 £54.00 Prince Bros, Twyford 6006/ Prince Bros, Twyford
26/02/2013 £264.00 Specialised Paintwork, Reading Wheel refurbs
10/05/2013 £1,113.05 Grosvenor Motor Compan, Reading Discs and pads all round
10/05/2013 £102.07 Cooper Group Reading, Reading Battery
10/10/2013 £828.00 BMW INSURED WARR (year)
05/12/2013 £15.00 MICHAEL WEBER CSL PADDLES Paddles
22/11/2013 £745.28 Event Mobile Tyres Ltd, Henley-M-Tham Winter tyres
03/12/2013 £22.80 Paypal Richardbate, 35314369001 ? Brochure ?
£3,299.05
More later...
2014 seems to have been uneventful with just the Insp 1 service and a couple of tyres.
08/04/2014 £132.00 Specialised Paintwork, Reading Wheel refurb
27/06/2014 £902.36 Sytner Maidenhead BMW, Maidenhead Insp 1 + PDC repair
11/10/2014 £490.48 Event Mobile Tyres Ltd, Henley-M-Tham Tyres
15/12/2014 £54.85 Grosvenor Motor Compan, Reading MOT
29/12/2014 £828.00 Warranty total for year
£2,407.69
But 2015 was the cheapest year yet - pretty much no spend apart from MOT and warranty !
24/07/2015 £45.00 Paypal *Andrewrose0, 35314369001 Supplies
16/12/2015 £54.85 Grosvenor Motor Compan, Reading MOT
29/12/2015 £828.00 Warranty total for year
£927.85
And then it all got expensive again. It was time for an oil service, and I had a leakdown test done to check for any possible head gasket issues suffered by similar aged cars (it was all fine). The warranty paid for some engine oil leak repairs and a new diff, so that was good news after a couple of years of no claims.
It also had the usual E46 boot floor issue as detailed earlier in the thread, and some cosmetic items that needed refreshing.
26/04/2016 £14.58 BMW Reading, Reading14.58 POUND STERLING GREAT BRITAIN SMG relay
02/07/2016 £613.05 Chandlers Garage, Portslade Oil service + leakdown test, Warranty new Diff, engine oil leaks
09/09/2016 £1,398.00 Grosvenor Motor Compan, Reading Boot floor repair + MOT
14/09/2016 £78.00 Elite, Reading Suspension alignment
15/11/2016 £440.33 Cotswold - Parts, Gloucester Sill strips, misc fasteners
25/11/2016 £10.22 BMW READING READING Supplies
13/12/2016 £34.80 BMW Reading, Reading34.80 POUND STERLING GREAT BRITAIN Supplies
29/12/2016 £951.00 Warranty total for year
£3,539.98
And then back to a cheap year
10/06/2017 £8.10 Halfords 0837, Reading8.10 POUND STERLING GREAT BRITAIN Supplies
01/09/2017 £54.85 Grosvenor Motor Compan, Reading MOT
£996.00 Warranty total for year
£1,058.95
Now the Insp II was due, and I hit a pheasant which broke a grille and some other plastics. The Insp II discovered a leaky sump plug (that had previously been helicoiled) so I got that repaired rather than suffering double the cost for a new sump.
09/08/2018 £1,007.40 BMW Reading, Reading Insp II Service
20/08/2018 £54.85 Grosvenor, Reading RG1 MOT
09/10/2018 £531.50 Grosvenor, Reading RG1 Sump plug repair
24/10/2018 £260.53 Cotswold - Parts, Cheltenham Pheasant repair parts
01/11/2018 -£50.00 Cotswold - Parts, Cheltenham refund on wrong grille
£1,005.00 Warranty total for year
£2,809.28
That's more or less up to date. Without running the warranty, I'll probably increase the service intervals a bit since it's only doing low mileage, so that will also make some savings to store up against any future large bills.
08/04/2014 £132.00 Specialised Paintwork, Reading Wheel refurb
27/06/2014 £902.36 Sytner Maidenhead BMW, Maidenhead Insp 1 + PDC repair
11/10/2014 £490.48 Event Mobile Tyres Ltd, Henley-M-Tham Tyres
15/12/2014 £54.85 Grosvenor Motor Compan, Reading MOT
29/12/2014 £828.00 Warranty total for year
£2,407.69
But 2015 was the cheapest year yet - pretty much no spend apart from MOT and warranty !
24/07/2015 £45.00 Paypal *Andrewrose0, 35314369001 Supplies
16/12/2015 £54.85 Grosvenor Motor Compan, Reading MOT
29/12/2015 £828.00 Warranty total for year
£927.85
And then it all got expensive again. It was time for an oil service, and I had a leakdown test done to check for any possible head gasket issues suffered by similar aged cars (it was all fine). The warranty paid for some engine oil leak repairs and a new diff, so that was good news after a couple of years of no claims.
It also had the usual E46 boot floor issue as detailed earlier in the thread, and some cosmetic items that needed refreshing.
26/04/2016 £14.58 BMW Reading, Reading14.58 POUND STERLING GREAT BRITAIN SMG relay
02/07/2016 £613.05 Chandlers Garage, Portslade Oil service + leakdown test, Warranty new Diff, engine oil leaks
09/09/2016 £1,398.00 Grosvenor Motor Compan, Reading Boot floor repair + MOT
14/09/2016 £78.00 Elite, Reading Suspension alignment
15/11/2016 £440.33 Cotswold - Parts, Gloucester Sill strips, misc fasteners
25/11/2016 £10.22 BMW READING READING Supplies
13/12/2016 £34.80 BMW Reading, Reading34.80 POUND STERLING GREAT BRITAIN Supplies
29/12/2016 £951.00 Warranty total for year
£3,539.98
And then back to a cheap year
10/06/2017 £8.10 Halfords 0837, Reading8.10 POUND STERLING GREAT BRITAIN Supplies
01/09/2017 £54.85 Grosvenor Motor Compan, Reading MOT
£996.00 Warranty total for year
£1,058.95
Now the Insp II was due, and I hit a pheasant which broke a grille and some other plastics. The Insp II discovered a leaky sump plug (that had previously been helicoiled) so I got that repaired rather than suffering double the cost for a new sump.
09/08/2018 £1,007.40 BMW Reading, Reading Insp II Service
20/08/2018 £54.85 Grosvenor, Reading RG1 MOT
09/10/2018 £531.50 Grosvenor, Reading RG1 Sump plug repair
24/10/2018 £260.53 Cotswold - Parts, Cheltenham Pheasant repair parts
01/11/2018 -£50.00 Cotswold - Parts, Cheltenham refund on wrong grille
£1,005.00 Warranty total for year
£2,809.28
That's more or less up to date. Without running the warranty, I'll probably increase the service intervals a bit since it's only doing low mileage, so that will also make some savings to store up against any future large bills.
More CSL bureaucracy to give you an idea of running costs from last year. I decided to bin the extended warranty while I was breaking even or possibly ahead, as given the number of miles I'm doing, the risk of large bills has hopefully gone down a bit. And it also means I can safely steer clear of BMW for servicing now, and can relax the service schedule a bit too.
17/04/2019 £280 BMW Reading, Warranty repair of SMG actuator, and replacement oil pickup gasket and cover plate.
20/09/2019 £54.85 Grosvenor, Reading RG1 MOT
£830.00 Warranty total for 10 months
2019 Total £1164
The first expense of 2020 has reared its head though.
Nail in one of the rear tyres.
While all the tyres had at least 4mm left, they were over 9 years old MPSS and I'd started to notice more traction control intervention than I used to get. So I took the opportunity of Costco's current 10% off deal to fit Cup 2s all round. I've never had Cup tyres on it before, and I'm not planning to use it on track, but I thought it'd be good to experience the car with (more or less) the tyres it was designed with. Looking forward to dry roads in a couple of months to try it out !
17/04/2019 £280 BMW Reading, Warranty repair of SMG actuator, and replacement oil pickup gasket and cover plate.
20/09/2019 £54.85 Grosvenor, Reading RG1 MOT
£830.00 Warranty total for 10 months
2019 Total £1164
The first expense of 2020 has reared its head though.
Nail in one of the rear tyres.
While all the tyres had at least 4mm left, they were over 9 years old MPSS and I'd started to notice more traction control intervention than I used to get. So I took the opportunity of Costco's current 10% off deal to fit Cup 2s all round. I've never had Cup tyres on it before, and I'm not planning to use it on track, but I thought it'd be good to experience the car with (more or less) the tyres it was designed with. Looking forward to dry roads in a couple of months to try it out !
Edited by outnumbered on Sunday 19th January 18:24
Possibly the most boring CSL update ever. Another MOT today, no issues found.
A year or two ago I had the common E46 door seal problem, where the inner trim strip becomes unglued and hangs loose. I'd tried regluing it, which worked for a while, but it had started to fail again. So I decided to bite the bullet and get both seals changed while they're still available from stock, rather than bodging it again or waiting until they've gone up to a grand apiece or something. The price even these days is pretty shocking at £360 a side for parts only ! That's more than double what they were a few years ago.
A year or two ago I had the common E46 door seal problem, where the inner trim strip becomes unglued and hangs loose. I'd tried regluing it, which worked for a while, but it had started to fail again. So I decided to bite the bullet and get both seals changed while they're still available from stock, rather than bodging it again or waiting until they've gone up to a grand apiece or something. The price even these days is pretty shocking at £360 a side for parts only ! That's more than double what they were a few years ago.
How much do you use the CSL these days OP?
It’s always been my dream to own one but unfortunately was never in a position to get one while prices were low and now they seem too far out of reach even with the higher mileage ones.. shame
I’m now thinking bite the bullet and get a CS whilst a few are still under £20k..
It’s always been my dream to own one but unfortunately was never in a position to get one while prices were low and now they seem too far out of reach even with the higher mileage ones.. shame
I’m now thinking bite the bullet and get a CS whilst a few are still under £20k..
It's great to see you are still enjoying your CSL OP. 
And I can finally understand exactly why people get so attached to cars with an S54 engine!
After 5+ years of 3.0Si Coupe ownership last December I saw a Z4M Coupe for sale at a good price as it had to be gone by Christmas!
So I bought it.
It's definitely a keeper - it feels so special as soon as I start it up, even before I've pulled away. It even came with 19" CSL Replica wheels, but I'm not sure yet if they will be staying.
Anyway I hope your CSL treats you well, especially now you've stopped paying for the warranty!
And I can finally understand exactly why people get so attached to cars with an S54 engine!
After 5+ years of 3.0Si Coupe ownership last December I saw a Z4M Coupe for sale at a good price as it had to be gone by Christmas!
So I bought it.
It's definitely a keeper - it feels so special as soon as I start it up, even before I've pulled away. It even came with 19" CSL Replica wheels, but I'm not sure yet if they will be staying.
Anyway I hope your CSL treats you well, especially now you've stopped paying for the warranty!
A couple of weeks ago, I managed through a bit of over-enthusiasm to blow up one of the bass drivers in my HiFi speakers. So that had to go back to the factory to be repaired, and when it was done, I thought I'd take the opportunity for a trip out in the CSL over to Stroud to pick it up. A weekday morning trip through West Berks and the Costwolds, surely this would be a traffic nightmare ?
Actually no. The B4192 from Hungerford to Swindon was almost totally deserted, 12 miles of really fun and varied road with just one village. I had a big grin when I turned back onto the main road towards Cirencester. Even the A429 through Cirencester was enjoyable, it's a 70mph DC (unbelievably not yet hobbled down to 50) with a few roundabouts, so you can blast past the locals toodling along to the shops.
After picking up the repaired driver, I headed over to the Classic Motor Hub near Bibury, which I'd never visited. There was light traffic about, but the roads were open enough to allow some noisy but of course totally legal overtaking. I'd looked on the map in advance to see exactly where CMH was, and passed a couple of bikers and another car on the tiny road that leads to it, checking their phones, it really is in the middle of nowhere.
There's a small shop selling tasteful automobilia and a cafe, and the hangars are open to browse the cars they have in stock. They have some mouthwatering and expensive stuff !
This immaculate 2002 Turbo is up for 110 grand...
The gorgeous Bentley on the left had won in the Hampton Court Concours event at the weekend.
"POA":
Trying not to look a bit cheapskate against all the stock...
Then it was a cross-country drive back home. The first part through Lechlade was great, but it all got a bit busy from Faringdon and onwards.
All in all an excellent morning out.
And the excuse for doing all that, a re-coned bass driver:
Actually no. The B4192 from Hungerford to Swindon was almost totally deserted, 12 miles of really fun and varied road with just one village. I had a big grin when I turned back onto the main road towards Cirencester. Even the A429 through Cirencester was enjoyable, it's a 70mph DC (unbelievably not yet hobbled down to 50) with a few roundabouts, so you can blast past the locals toodling along to the shops.
After picking up the repaired driver, I headed over to the Classic Motor Hub near Bibury, which I'd never visited. There was light traffic about, but the roads were open enough to allow some noisy but of course totally legal overtaking. I'd looked on the map in advance to see exactly where CMH was, and passed a couple of bikers and another car on the tiny road that leads to it, checking their phones, it really is in the middle of nowhere.
There's a small shop selling tasteful automobilia and a cafe, and the hangars are open to browse the cars they have in stock. They have some mouthwatering and expensive stuff !
This immaculate 2002 Turbo is up for 110 grand...
The gorgeous Bentley on the left had won in the Hampton Court Concours event at the weekend.
"POA":
Trying not to look a bit cheapskate against all the stock...
Then it was a cross-country drive back home. The first part through Lechlade was great, but it all got a bit busy from Faringdon and onwards.
All in all an excellent morning out.
And the excuse for doing all that, a re-coned bass driver:
outnumbered said:
A couple of weeks ago, I managed through a bit of over-enthusiasm to blow up one of the bass drivers in my HiFi speakers. So that had to go back to the factory to be repaired, and when it was done, I thought I'd take the opportunity for a trip out in the CSL over to Stroud to pick it up.
Let me guess...AVI Hi-Fi?Been looking through some old photos during the lockdown, and found this one which must have been on the day my Dad got a new company car, and the previous one hadn't yet been taken back. He obviously liked the white 316 a lot as he's got practically the same car again. Although it looks like the budget allowance was a bit higher on the silver one as it has front foglamps, a sunroof and maybe an electric aerial !
So these are actually two very similar BMWs, in contrast to the rest of the thread.
So these are actually two very similar BMWs, in contrast to the rest of the thread.
Edited by outnumbered on Saturday 9th January 15:39
We took the CSL for a gentle trip out to the Bicester Scramble on Saturday. First of these I'd attended, in some ways a bit like a PH Sunday Service on steroids. A great location, lots of interesting cars to look at, as much in the car park as inside the event. Even Mrs Outnumbered, who is not in anyway a petrolhead, really enjoyed it.
CSL
CSL
CSL
CSL
OK, so this is not a BMW, but it'll soon be time to say goodbye to household car 3 out of 4. I bought this in 2015 because I wanted to stop using the CSL in the winter (tenuous link to thread). I'd previously owned a mildly tuned 9-5 estate which was a fun car, so already liked Saabs, and this fitted the bill for a cheap and reliable second car. I paid £3600 for it at 76K miles, and it's now on 94K. Servicing and consumables over five and a half years have been just £1150, and the thing never missed a beat. The seats are super comfy, and it's been absolutely perfect for what we wanted as a slightly-better-than-shed-class runabout.
It'll get replaced with some sort of new driver friendly vehicle as daughter #2 is now learning to drive.
I can't face dealing with the general public on such a low value car, so it'll be off to WBAC or similar.
It'll get replaced with some sort of new driver friendly vehicle as daughter #2 is now learning to drive.
I can't face dealing with the general public on such a low value car, so it'll be off to WBAC or similar.
Edited by outnumbered on Monday 12th July 09:33
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