Any bmw m3 csl owner here?

[Tony Lam]

What does the "sport" button do on this car? Is it "ok" buying this 6 years old car without any warranty?

[Benman]

Gote is lurking around here somewhere...

Ben:addict:

[Erik]

He has sold his, but I'm sure he would know.

I wouldn't hesitate buying the CSL, unless it's really seen the miles.

I think the S button moves everything into "stone hard" with shortest gear changes etc.

[Benman]

I wouldn't hesitate buying the CSL, unless it's really seen the miles.



LOL!!! You mean like Gote's? :D :applause:

Ben:addict:

[Erik]

Kind of :D

[Speedou]

It only makes your gas pedal reacting faster. Might be wrong but this is what I think.

[Mr Balsen]

nobody of course. We have taste on this forum !!!!!!!

Frederic

[Benman]

nobody of course. We have taste on this forum !!!!!!!

Frederic

ROTFLMAO!!! :applause:

[sallyh]

Hi

I own a black CSL. Beautiful car. Had a regular E46 m3 for many years but the CSL is truly something else. Buy one if you can. Australia only saw about 23 of them in 2003. I don't know about Hong Kong. That said, regards the out-of-warranty issue, well, you will not get one with a warranty. So, it is truly a wonderful car of a sort that BMW does not seem to be making anymore (grrr the current m5 and I'll have a Jeep over the stupid X5M and X6M anyday). Yes, you will have to pay for every repair yourself, but I think it is worth it. The sport button is like the regular E46 M3 sport button, makes every gear change "sportier" (remember the CSL is exclusively SMG II), and also maximises the sound of the engine that everyone goes on about.

[Tony Lam]

ic.. SMG works fine even after 6 years? no problem at all?

[sallyh]

Hi Tony

I bought it second hand with 20,000 kms and the SMG worked perfectly - just be aware that it is somewhat more "violent" than the regular E46 M3. But, to qualify this, sigh, I let someone else drive it at a track day and something has gone wrong with fourth gear. I think what happened was he put it on one notch (all, or nearly all) the notches is the requirement), put the sport button on, turned off the DSC and drove round the track, which totally confused the SMG and it made a funny noise, and well, is in the process of getting fixed. Never again! I had the regular E46 M3 from new in 2002 for years before the CSL, and nothing ever went wrong with its SMG. Perhaps the lesson is a lot of people get quite enthusiastic when they see a CSL - if you have paid money for it, don't let them drive it, ever! Probably quite a lot of CSLs have done track days etc, hopefully driven well, but I think a lot were bought by "collectors" who really looked after them (like the one I bought I think) so I guess I would say the SMG is very reliable except if it has been wrongly used. If possible, try and take two CSLs for a test drive just to compare and contrast and get a feel for it.

[Tony Lam]

thank you very much for your tip!! well, i have one more question about the three-spoke M sports steering wheel with the M Track Mode.....what does it do? should i press it every time before i drive the car or not..why?
again, a friend of mine had a E60 M5 SMG, and he told me that he need to repair the SMG almost every 3 months..... anyway so what u saying is that the SMG 2 is better than SMG 3?

[Speedou]

Every 3rd month is way too lot. Your friend is using it wrongly or there is something very wrong with his car.

[sallyh]

Hi Tony

The M track mode button on the steering wheel is for track days - allows you to go around at your free will without the DSC intervening until the last minute. I think this was a feature BMW were quite chuffed with as it certainly gets quite a write up in the CSL manual. Or you can turn the DSC completely off. Driving down the street, I'd not touch the M track mode button or turn off the DSC. In my opinion, whatever mode you have it in, it's a completely fascinating car. As for the E60 M5, the one we had, the transmission suffered the dreaded "red cog of death", aka a little message comes up "drive moderately" (when you already are) and then it just dies. As I sat by the road side waiting for the tow truck, at least it provided heaps of amusement for all the true blue Australian Holden and Ford drivers at the expense of the finest of German engineering. The E60 M5 is super loaded with electronics whereas the CSL is, as far as I can see, relatively basic and based upon the wonderful E46 M3 engine of course. Hope this helps and all the best!

[Tony Lam]

sallys, thank you so much for your info:bow:.....it helps a lot!!:thumb: btw, i've never seen any black CSL before, if u don't mind could u show me some photos please?!

[sallyh]

Hi Tony

Very glad that I could help a bit. As you probably know, BMW made fewer black CSLs than the silver. It is technically "Sapphire Black". When I get it back from getting the SMG fixed (user error, not an innate problem with the SMG!), I will post a photo.

[Tony Lam]

sallyh, it's very kind of u to tell me all the tips about the CSL, hopefully i'll be the new owner of it.....anyway will wait for the "full report" from the BMW service centre. thanks again!!