Discussion
Lets just say I've taken a dose of brave bills and decided to buy an early 2000's M3 for weekend fun and the odd track day.
I like the idea of an SMG, having recently been lucky enough to have a drive in a California and being amazed by all this flappy paddle trickery.
I also like the idea of the reduced weight and better distribution in the CSL, especially as I'll be hoping to track it a little bit.
Anyway, the price difference isnt vast between manual, SMG and CSL, and there appears to be some 50-60k bargains to be had for less less than 10K
Firstly, am I going to get bitten in the arse with serious mechanical failure?
Is the SMG any good?
Is the CSL worth the extra money and lack of colour choice?
Cheers
I like the idea of an SMG, having recently been lucky enough to have a drive in a California and being amazed by all this flappy paddle trickery.
I also like the idea of the reduced weight and better distribution in the CSL, especially as I'll be hoping to track it a little bit.
Anyway, the price difference isnt vast between manual, SMG and CSL, and there appears to be some 50-60k bargains to be had for less less than 10K
Firstly, am I going to get bitten in the arse with serious mechanical failure?
Is the SMG any good?
Is the CSL worth the extra money and lack of colour choice?
Cheers
E30M3SE said:
Ferrari Cali's have double clutch gearboxes, BMW M3 SMGII is automated manual, quite a big difference.
Is a CSL worth the extra over a standard M3. yes, for the induction roar alone.
I wouldn't know one or other other if it landed on my foot I'm afraid, very much a luddite with all this not-very-new technology!Is a CSL worth the extra over a standard M3. yes, for the induction roar alone.
Looks like a 15k+ gulf between normal and CSL M3's it had better sound like angels having screaming orgasms for that money!
ILoveMondeo said:
I wouldn't know one or other other if it landed on my foot I'm afraid, very much a luddite with all this not-very-new technology!
Looks like a 15k+ gulf between normal and CSL M3's it had better sound like angels having screaming orgasms for that money!
CSL box is quite primitive compared to the modern double clutch boxes available today.Looks like a 15k+ gulf between normal and CSL M3's it had better sound like angels having screaming orgasms for that money!
I was going to mention that you'll never buy a CSL for £10K, their worth 50% more than that as breakers, but I wasn't sure if you were referring to vanilla M3's for £10K which are aplenty.
ILoveMondeo said:
Lets just say I've taken a dose of brave bills and decided to buy an early 2000's M3 for weekend fun and the odd track day.
I like the idea of an SMG, having recently been lucky enough to have a drive in a California and being amazed by all this flappy paddle trickery.
I also like the idea of the reduced weight and better distribution in the CSL, especially as I'll be hoping to track it a little bit.
Anyway, the price difference isnt vast between manual, SMG and CSL, and there appears to be some 50-60k bargains to be had for less less than 10K
Firstly, am I going to get bitten in the arse with serious mechanical failure?
Is the SMG any good?
Is the CSL worth the extra money and lack of colour choice?
Cheers
Was lucky enough to be taken out in Olly22's CSL round snetterton, was just as perfect as I expected. Utterly epic. Never forget the noiseI like the idea of an SMG, having recently been lucky enough to have a drive in a California and being amazed by all this flappy paddle trickery.
I also like the idea of the reduced weight and better distribution in the CSL, especially as I'll be hoping to track it a little bit.
Anyway, the price difference isnt vast between manual, SMG and CSL, and there appears to be some 50-60k bargains to be had for less less than 10K
Firstly, am I going to get bitten in the arse with serious mechanical failure?
Is the SMG any good?
Is the CSL worth the extra money and lack of colour choice?
Cheers
SMGII is all good just takes a bit of practice to really make it super smooth when driving in town. I love being able to keep mine in s2 or s3 to drive around normally in. Then when you want to push on put in s5 or s6 and it's a really brutal fast change and very much suits the s54 engine. A little bit of throttle on the down-change induces a lovely throttle blip by the computer as well which sounds fantastic and obviously smooths things up as well.
It's not an automatic either (obviously) it has an auto mode which is a b#@#%d but can actually liven up a journey when held up by traffic by trying to second guess the gearbox. Takes a lot of skill to make the auto mode work well any SMG drivers will testify to that!
The gearbox itself is the same as the manual M3 so is bombproof. The SMG gets a bad rep for reliability but from talking to a lot of people on here it seems to me pretty reliable.
CS is a great way of getting a taste of the CSL for about 10k less! The CSL steering rack adds a huge amount over a normal M3 it feels absolutely fantastic. ALso the M track mode from the CSL (depending on your ability) also adds a lot to the experience without turning all the help off
Cheers
James
It's not an automatic either (obviously) it has an auto mode which is a b#@#%d but can actually liven up a journey when held up by traffic by trying to second guess the gearbox. Takes a lot of skill to make the auto mode work well any SMG drivers will testify to that!
The gearbox itself is the same as the manual M3 so is bombproof. The SMG gets a bad rep for reliability but from talking to a lot of people on here it seems to me pretty reliable.
CS is a great way of getting a taste of the CSL for about 10k less! The CSL steering rack adds a huge amount over a normal M3 it feels absolutely fantastic. ALso the M track mode from the CSL (depending on your ability) also adds a lot to the experience without turning all the help off
Cheers
James
CSL prices are now bottomed out around £20k for the higher mile ones and except for desperate sellers don't seem to sell for less.
Low mile ones are still £35k plus and very low milers go for £50k.
What I think we are now also seeing is increased demand followed by the owners tending to hold onto good ones meaning prices now will start to rise. It may take a while but I think they are at this moment a good investment and a cracking drive, balance and noise.
Mine was bought for £33k in 2006 with 19k miles and would sell now for maybe £20k at 90k miles after 6 years use. That means it is at 1/3 purchase value and 10 years old ith 90k miles. See where I am going?
The best thing about the car is the Induction noise, absolutely brilliant.
Low mile ones are still £35k plus and very low milers go for £50k.
What I think we are now also seeing is increased demand followed by the owners tending to hold onto good ones meaning prices now will start to rise. It may take a while but I think they are at this moment a good investment and a cracking drive, balance and noise.
Mine was bought for £33k in 2006 with 19k miles and would sell now for maybe £20k at 90k miles after 6 years use. That means it is at 1/3 purchase value and 10 years old ith 90k miles. See where I am going?
The best thing about the car is the Induction noise, absolutely brilliant.
Is the CSL more than the sum of its parts, never had the pleasure but they seem universally lauded, appreciate they are lighter, have bigger brakes and a modest power hike but what makes the most difference, has anyone got close using a normal e46 M3 as a base, without spending more than a CSL ?
The normal M3 seems to have some fans but there seems to be some ambivalence towards them, available now for six grand up, they are going into limbo now, to be seen driven by yobbish looking blokes, is a CSL really worth several times more, have they been talked up like old 911s ? I guess it doesn't matter if that's what they cost and that is what people pay as they aren't making any more, I was thinking perhaps fifty percent more than the same age and mileage M3, the specialist car market baffles me a bit. I think there is a bubble at the moment due to crap interest rates, why put money in the bank for it to devalue by two percent per year so may as well put the money into a nice car, but there seems to have evolved a gulf between a chosen few models and everything else.
The normal M3 seems to have some fans but there seems to be some ambivalence towards them, available now for six grand up, they are going into limbo now, to be seen driven by yobbish looking blokes, is a CSL really worth several times more, have they been talked up like old 911s ? I guess it doesn't matter if that's what they cost and that is what people pay as they aren't making any more, I was thinking perhaps fifty percent more than the same age and mileage M3, the specialist car market baffles me a bit. I think there is a bubble at the moment due to crap interest rates, why put money in the bank for it to devalue by two percent per year so may as well put the money into a nice car, but there seems to have evolved a gulf between a chosen few models and everything else.
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