FOUND MY DREAM BMW M3 CSL...BUT THE PRICE!?

The BMW M3 CSL is one of my all time favourite cars - I'm on the hunt for the perfect example but this one...is expensive!
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[@tutelarius]

Before anyone else says it… E30 M3 had 4 cylinders. 🤓

[@djneils100]

how can anyone who calls themselves a car enthusiast not know that?!

[@mcximus]

Thank you and it's one my favorite car besides the 90's NSX.

[@993mike]

Yeah, the E30 M3 was pretty much a shortened 4 cylinder version of the BMW’s 6 Cylinder M motor. Any German performance car guy would know that.

[@DrDave77]

Thanks!

[@kurtbarker3303]

Blokes a chimp. He needs a better script writer. I’m not a subscriber.

[@barrywakefield4942]

£130k for a CSL 😳wow !For what you want to do just look at a RHD version here in the UK for under £100k. If you’re going to drive it and not hide it, then you don’t need a super low mileage example. Then go to “Everything M3” in Banbury for the manual conversion & add AP Racing brakes all round. I have an E46 M3 CS because I couldn’t buy a manual CSL. I have added the CSL parts to make the car I originally wanted👍🏼

[@lechprotean]

At that price it stops making sense especially if modifications are involved. You could tune a lesser BMW for less money and still get better results maybe even a more lightweight manual car with more power.

[@barrywakefield4942]

@@lechprotean yes - you’re so right. Like buying a good low owner/low mileage E46 M3 Coupe manual and add the CSL parts to make the same car in all but name.👍🏼

[@junkfoodeater]

Yeah for driving go for a regular, these CSL's in stock form are super sloppy compared to modern cars so yeah there is a lot you gonna wanna change

[@boulderghost4457]

You buy an original CSL for the name and collectibility. Swapping out the SMG on an CSL is monumentally stupid and offensive. Don’t get me wrong, mods are great , but just buy a high mileage e46 m3 and rice it out, throw carbon AliExpress trim all over it and start a KZbin channel showing how to launch your m3 or how to supercharge your m3….but leave the fn CSLs alone. Just because you can afford to buy one doesn’t mean it’s for you. Philistine.

[@jkchong5164]

The era of electrification has taught us to appreciate analogue cars even more. Love it!

[@993mike]

For me the N/A M3’s were the peak before turbos went on everything. I’ve had them all through my current E92 M3, and the sounds and frenzy at high RPM are magic much like a GT3 vs a boosted 911.

[@adammoonface]

I'm an absolute E46 nut and I wouldn't deny that a CSL is the ultimate, but the prices are so high now I genuinely wouldn't want to own one even if I had the means. Personally I'd rescue a leggy M3 for £10k and spend £30-40k building my own custom lightweight to rival a csl... But you can actually drive it. You can take 50kg out of a standard M3 just by removing the old sound deadening and replacing it with a lighter modern alternative. You could even have a carbon roof put in if you wanted (I wouldn't bother). They are like Lego, with so many after market performance parts available.

[@DCPEvo]

I prefer these walk and talks to a heavily produced vid. Keep it up.

[@cephasmakuzva]

Hey we like a production style video too dont get it twisted. But a video like this thats a chilled walk round is very much welcomed.

[@rabmc]

I have a manual silver grey e46 m3, csl wheels etc, but my friend has a zero option silver grey csl with only 12k on the clock, absolutely unreal car.

[@y2kazan868]

The appeal of that Box is timeless and sadly most people don’t know how to properly operate a SMG box, they treat it like a double clutch and that’s the problem. Treat it like a manual with a bit of lift off before shifting and keep in mind there’s a few sweet spots along the way.

[@mitchellsteindler]

Lame

[@iSpyCars]

exactly

[@gh0str1d3r00]

Have you considered the M3 CS (E46) that came after the CSL. They are available in manual and rarer

[@benpenagonzales6014]

Smg is brilliant to use like a manual. Just upgrade the paddles to aluminium ones from the plastic to feel so much better

[@destienyman]

i love how mr james straight up says imma rip out that smg soooo LOLOL what a king move

[@latbeast]

Obviously doesn’t have a clue. Smg2 is great if driven hard

[@UKCheeseFarmer]

My brother has 90k on his CSL which he purchased new with delivery mileage. My nieces learned to drive in it! My M5 is around 600bhp but still can't keep up with my brother on the tight and twisty roads of Portugal. Has had a few minor modifications like an inconel exhaust and custom map but other than that it is pretty standard. I've just pointed him to this video as he has absolutely no idea of its value whatsoever!

[@AnaInTh3Sky]

I spent my teen years in the mid 00s looking at every single 3 series that looked moderately sporty hoping when it got closer I'd see the an M3. The excitement when you finally saw one (which to be fair, was often in SW London)... my god such a beauty!

[@appgenie6845]

As James knows “Manual Conversion” is easier than it sounds. Gearbox is same…. Just adding a clutch pedal and master, slight mod to a spring in the gearbox casing and voila!

[@startingtech3900]

there is some custom mounting plates that need to be bought w it

[@ghazaqudzammi7363]

Please do it James !!! Make a series like the Aston Martin series it would be a banger !

[@SterlingMess]

I would love an E46 M3 CSL one day, too, but... you just walked past an Alfasud!

[@AAlx77]

Thank you for another great video! I own my M3 CSL since 2011. I considered a manual conversion many times, but I also like the SMG (more than a PDK actually). I like its rawness and brutality. It contributes positively to the CSL's character. The standard brakes are also more than enough for road use imho.

[@galazoulay8498]

Agreed on smg add to character, even aventador is still single clutch. Would you say his statement is accurate at the end about the air box and driving compared to a standard one e46 m3?

[@AC-wl7ve]

Yeah I disagree with how he says it just feels like dated tech. It’s a very different experience than a pdk. It’s much more raw and analog and takes a bit of skill to drive properly. I had one and I loved it. the problem for me isn’t how it drives, it was the reliability. It was supper finicky as well, it would act up in hot weather or if I was sitting in traffic for a long time. Once the pump went I swapped it for a manual, but I really enjoyed how it drove.

[@AAlx77]

@@galazoulay8498 I never compared with a "regular" E46 M3 with the CSL air box installed. I'm sure they sound pretty good as well.

[@wodenuk6700]

The Dutch have more money that us.

[@andyohara1393]

I was offered an E46 M3 CSL at 10% discount back in 2003 as the dealer who I bought my manual carbon black E46 M3 couldn't sell the CSL...reason being that SMG gearbox, and that's also the only reason why I didn't buy the CSL at the time. Fast forward 20 odd years and you can convert the SMG to a manual gearbox which the CSL should have had from the factory and SMG should have been an option like it was on the normal E46 M3.

[@HellcatDreaminJosh]

Mr JWW Great Video I'm glad you had found those M3 CSL and I think the price difference is crazy although I definitely get why and I hope you end up getting one

[@bergwerffautomotive]

Thanks for including us in the movie! It was a pleasure!

[@georgekumpis250]

I had a e46 M3 SMG then converted to manual. Best move ever! I put a ActiveAutoWerks SC on it and was over 500HP. Loved the car but bought a F87 M2 with DCT and its just as great. I have an original NSX for lightweight manual fun. 😎

[@ianwhitlock1920]

Drove the manual CSL with P1 car club back in the day - wonderful . no one believed how much better it was over the standard M3 - until they drove it

[@greekcs]

I actually preferred the SMG. It was quirky and somewhat unrefined but it gave the car character and was always a fun conversation with passengers.

[@LCOF]

Prices are a quarter to a third cheaper in RHD. So that conversation is about resale values and you may feel LHD is a better bet.

[@gouldnj]

What’s mind-blowing is that some of the fastest cars during touristfarten on the Ring are E46 M3s.

[@davidfernandes7254]

Go for it. I love the E46 CSL, and I do have the same opinion, black is the way to go and manual conversion.

[@markopolo9559]

BMW nailed the E46 body design, timeless design.

[@GVCRSA]

Brother. Come to South Africa. We got 65 units. There a few fantastic examples here. They were not much more expensive than the standard E46 M3 at the time so there will be some floating around with lots of aftermarket mods!

[@scottmackenzie827]

I’m all over that Polo Harlequin. Pure 90’s nostalgia ❤

[@cj41079]

I think it was Evo who reviewed the company that manual swap CSL, they said it was a perfect car ❤❤ E46 ❤❤

[@prolapsed5104]

Here's my thinking, if a buyer has the money, buy the CSL and ask Koenigsegg to put their new manual/automatic CC850 gearbox in it. Blammo, perfect CSL.

[@liammartin4612]

There was a guy who worked for Overclockers in Fenton that had one of these from new. Terrified him if there was even a hint of moisture in the air

[@victorydiaz11]

hey a valid reason to whip out the weather app in a group of people

[@mikewilson1957]

Drugged up or too much champagne James? What an investment that CSL 1st customer car would be!

[@barrywakefield4942]

You’re right : but you couldn’t modify it or even drive it so apart from trying to make money, what’s the point 🤔?

[@jamesthesilver]

M3 CSL is so cool! Looks like that black one needs a full paint restoration though

[@mw7492]

Unless you insist on having a genuine CSL (apparently up to ~$200k these days?!), I feel like I would rather start with a fully depreciated regular M3 and build that into an even better car than what the CSL is. I don't know the UK market but here in the US you can find a smg version for like $20,000, so that's like ~$180,000 left over to customize the car however you want! Since the SMG gearboxes are the same as the manual just with the autoshifting mechanism I'd rather start with a SMG car that wasn't abused by unskilled manual drivers. So do the manual conversion, refresh the engine with upgraded parts and carbon airbox, upgrade the brakes and suspension, and of course convert the roof and other body panels to carbon. Surely all that work could be done for less than $100k? IDK, just what I would do.

[@pilarbojorquez1080]

You should definitely get an E46 CSL.

[@jimminycrockett5762]

Me and a couple of mates drove to BMW in Inverness from Essex to pick up one of these. Incredible car!

[@markwalton8644]

Id love to take a Standard Manual M3 Santorini Blue or Phoenix Yellow and turn it into my version of the CSL. I just think Black and Silver are just plain boring plus I'm pretty sure, with quality aftermarket parts you could do a better version of the CSL for half the price. 130k is a lot for a what is essentially an M3.

[@animal355]

I must say, I preferred the M3cs, but then if it wishing time, it would be the original M3 e30 Evo 3. But with any special M3, you need deep pockets.

[@nadeemm429]

dont ruin a csl by manual swapping it ! the SMG in the csl is part of its character

[@sspkt]

Just drive well maintained SMG a bit. It is not the fastes, absolutly not smoothest experience, but as he said, drive it like manual, get used to it. It is quite a nice experience in its way. It made me desire N/A automatic cars like GT3 with PDK or 458 instead of 488.

[@Tunsgate123]

Very top heavy prices in Europe, it’s the same as the construction plant market- obviously don’t sell a lot

[@rossco247]

Not sure what’s possible but why not go down the lines of pdk / sequential instead of manual conversion to keep the car to its roots

[@Agolchehreh95]

Why not buy a basic manual e46 and convert to a csl? There’s like a 100k difference, you can definitely use that extra capital to make the dream e46

[@irevisibel9237]

3:32 You nailed it. Nowadays its a rare occasion to see a new car with an attractive and unique design - mostly you can exchange the brand-emblems and a Renault becomes a KIA becomes a Hyundai becomes a whatever.

[@peterbennett4759]

I have driven a few CSL’s. The SMG gearbox even back when the car was launched was absolutely terrible.

[@Andreas_AF14]

Clear recommendation to buy😉 A doubling to a quarter of a million should be possible in the next 10 years

[@bco529283]

Nice video 👍 go for the black one

[@ianmason3040]

Almost bought one on eBay in 2016 - it was a two owner, never been tracked car with 28k miles for £29k - doh (story of my life)

[@TheRedcroatian]

SMG is superior as all around transmission compare to the ordinary manual.

[@markdawes9640]

Does he know anything about M3s

[@marekcizmar1195]

Saw your senna in bham at car show...man that green carbon is fantastic 👌🏻

[@alexandereriksson4956]

The E46 M3 CSL is such a nice car! 🔥

[@jordyvanderpers3787]

Very cool car, modern classic, definitely needs a manual transmission. The black one is sold, so either you bought it or somebody else did... we will see on the channel 😉

[@k.h.i8465]

The CSL is my favorite M3 of all time

[@ridingdriving]

do a crashed or cheapest e46 m3 rebuild series and convert into a manual swapped e46 m3 csl...make sure we get lots of sounds for that 6...there is another scope to gather views

[@mrdanielknight]

Personally, I’d stick with the SMG but then I’m use to driving mine.

[@DenfMotorsports]

Aaah there's nothing like a salesman talking about a shorter "diff" that does not exist on the CSL. Come on dude..the basics... you've got two of them... The CSL has a shorter steering ratio. The diff is the same. Your are welcome. PS: The best thing about the CSL is that it is based on the E46 M3. If the goal is to scratch an itch, I would suggest buying a fairly used manual M3 with no sunroof and do the following: - Engine "overhaul" (gasket + road bearings) - Suspension with camber plates - Bucket seats - Carbon airbox - Brakes (Ap racing, stoptech etc.) - Lightweight wheels (Apex, BBS etc.) All this sets you back 20-22k on top of the price of the car. The CSL is a good car, but it still basically needs the same mods as a normal M3 to become a truly great car on track (besides having to do the manual conversion). Yes, at the pub it is cooler to say that you have a CSL, but is that really worth the premium? The story is similar to the 996 GT3 and GT3 RS. The RS is an awesome car, but is it 3 times better than the normal GT3? Nope, it isn't. It has a collectors value, that is utterly insignificant in terms of drivability. If the goal is to transmit to the channel what a CSL is like on track, then buying a CSL is kind of mandatory and makes sense. If the goal is to transmit how good the E46 chassis can be on track, then a normal M3 with proper mods will achieve better results in that regard (unless you do the same mods on the CSL but at that point there really is no difference...).

[@cigarjefe]

That’s a steal at that price.

[@aboutthecurves]

You need to try an e92 gts..... unbeatable.

if you are going to mod it anyway... why not get a clean super low mile e46 M3, manual from the get go, and put some aftermarket CSL parts on it, purist please forgive me🙏 but is exactly the same thing for a quarter of the price.. edit: and we could enjoy the build*

[@R19Robbin]

Love to see some classics

[@ianmansfield8885]

I had a sapphire black e46 m3 competition..wonderful everything csl with sunroof heated vibrating seats and of course forged wheels

[@latbeast]

Wow

[@garysimpson8860]

You can keep all your hyper cars I’d rather spend 2 million on probably a dozen classic sports cars that you showed in this video a the first two would be the white m3 and the silver csl , what a shopping trip that would be , heaven , and hope you find one by the way to convert as I still remember vividly been driven in a CSL many years ago by a famous motorcycle racer

[@awdbean]

Living the dream man!

[@carbide1]

Check under the boot for cracks,

[@iMo4s]

"You can't track day a house" gonna need that on a t-shirt 🤣

[@vacuums16]

i thought by the way you were talking, that you were going to buy one .. ? ps i own a M3 smg 74k and a M3 manual 87k and a few other bits 'n' peices the smg (with the csl flash) is a better driving car than the manual ... in my opinion. was told NOT to buy smg, but after id drove one the past is history.

[@Tavault]

What does Chub have to do with the video? Was it there show ? Did you crash your car and they delivered a new car ?

[@James-vb4iz]

There’s an M3 CSL near me in north west UK with the reg plate ‘M3 CSL’

[@latbeast]

It’s mine lol, where you from?

[@andrewg7576]

5:27 that Harlequin...

[@WayApp]

Simply elegant

[@paulcruse]

2:38 4 cylinder

[@MadeoN]

DAMN that black one needs a polish, holy. The silver one too but the black one.. yikes.

[@MrJWW]

It does! 😅

[@MrElvo86]

Don't convert it to a manual, please. The SMG is part of the soul of the car. Once you get used to it you will appreciate it more.

[@rosscarruthers]

2 on autotrader at the moment and steering wheel on the right side

[@Solidous281r6]

Please tell me you bought it. It’s one of my dream cars aswell.

[@vinalan6643]

1:08 don’t think she appreciated being recorded lol

[@USA79999]

Where is this show and the name please ?

[@DollaB410]

130 Is Absurd

[@barrywakefield4942]

Agree - you should beable to get a 30k mileage example for under £100k here in the UK.

[@F41LZZz]

lol as someone that owns a smg e46 m3. its not as bad as they say but its the worst of both worlds. slow and clunky, without the engagement of a manual. 150% worth doing the manual swap.

[@ethanbowie3050]

HI JAMES this BMW M3 CSL is one of my favorite BMW s ever. this design and this shape belong to the golden era of this epic german brand. MR CHRIS BANGLE was a real artist. now BMW is loosig it s glorious identity with some ugly designs.....i mean the very recent models. the new design direction don t show any respect to the glorious past of the brand....it s a loss. as you said my brother....now all cars shares the nearly SAME DESIGN. the orinality is lost in this recent fake era of auto-design. i think that the unique solution is in the retro-modernized designs. as the new RENAULT 5. KEEP IT UP MY BRO .

[@roel.vinckens]

And the weight of that spaceship? Clise to 7 tons I reckon...

[@terminatedphil]

That car is also on my list, prices are nuts though 😆

[@jpvdw1961]

@2:22 .... that 959 tho.....

[@HotTakeHQ]

Had to watch IMMEDIATELY ❤

[@tomspottz]

they are so underated

[@TfRsmokinmasta]

Damn they've shot up in price

[@nicholasmiron1960]

People were enjoying them, then prices exploded and no one used them properly… Sad story

[@lloydbellis7360]

That was great to see 😎😎😎👍👍👍

[@stevenpike7530]

3x RHD for sale in Aus…

[@justincharles6585]

Get one and put a b58 in it

[@Leos-World]

So, I have a near mint black CSL with a little over 23T kilometers on the odo. Now, if the black CSL with the terrible conditioned steering wheel costs 130T €, what would mine be worth then? HHmmmmm....

[@Argiers]

First thing I would do is swap out that disgusting Alcantara steering wheel for a leather one. They only make sense on track with race gloves. Otherwise a totally impractical sweat trap!

[@peterkogoj7028]

Go for the e46

[@howardgreener4176]

S14 Mr.JWW 4 cylinders...

[@LukeSkywalker522]

Where is this car sale showroom ?

[@dappergent9422]

E30 M3 2.3 Six cylinder? I beg to differ, sir.

[@203fitz6]

did he really say the e30 m3 was a 6cylinder?? Oh dear.

[@AceKinG2024]

You have been planning for a manual csl for years now lol😅

[@dennispatrick4999]

I miss my 740i.