Early CSL's

[dxb335d]

Who has a realy early CSL, when was it registered? are the earliest ones Sept 2003?

[MrOnTheRopes]

Picked mine up in Aug 03 and still have it.

[dxb335d]

What month was it registered in? dont see many 03's. Thats cool you still have it mate. Wonderful car thats for sure.

Was yours a Press car or demo?

[m12_nathan]

They were all built between July and December 2003.

I've got an 03 plate, registered mid August, two weeks before 53 plate came out.

[dxb335d]

So the earliest Uk registeed ones will be aug 03? Some of which press cars or demo?

was yours?

Some were left and not registered till after sep 04 which is a long time if the very last were built dec 03.

[m12_nathan]

Yeah the later cars were just sat around for a year.

No idea if mine is a press one or not, has the makings of one, BMW were first owner, registered in Bracknell, plate starts RD03 like many of the press cars I've seen.

[jpivey]

I work as an instructor on track and drive some pretty nice cars, but the CSL still rates as one of my favorite road car to drive on track.
When Rockingham was the BMW performance centre we must have had at one point or another at least 10 to 15 CSL there never raced or rallied.

[MrOnTheRopes]

dxb335d said:

What month was it registered in? dont see many 03's. Thats cool you still have it mate. Wonderful car thats for sure.

Was yours a Press car or demo?

No it wasn't a press car, I ordered it in May 2003 when we got the emails from BMW. The first UK registrations were July 03. A few cars (mine included) arrived in July but were slightly delayed at BMW's Thorne plant, due to BMW forgetting to fit washers to Xenon optioned cars. They had to be retro-fitted at Thorne - hence mine being registered in August, when it finally arrived at the dealer.

[m12_nathan]

jpivey said:

I work as an instructor on track and drive some pretty nice cars, but the CSL still rates as one of my favorite road car to drive on track.
When Rockingham was the BMW performance centre we must have had at one point or another at least 10 to 15 CSL there never raced or rallied.

And a further load at prodrive too.

[dxb335d]

MrOnTheRopes said:

dxb335d said:

What month was it registered in? dont see many 03's. Thats cool you still have it mate. Wonderful car thats for sure.

Was yours a Press car or demo?

No it wasn't a press car, I ordered it in May 2003 when we got the emails from BMW. The first UK registrations were July 03. A few cars (mine included) arrived in July but were slightly delayed at BMW's Thorne plant, due to BMW forgetting to fit washers to Xenon optioned cars. They had to be retro-fitted at Thorne - hence mine being registered in August, when it finally arrived at the dealer.

So you were the very first owner on the logbook.

Cool, ust dont see many 03 about, Mainly 53's and 04s.

Thanks for telling me. Were all the July cars delayed or just a few?

[Andyt25]

Lots of potential buyers put their name down but then cancelled when BMW decided to charge 20k more than a standard M3, which is why a number of cars were registered in 2004 as they could not sell them. I believe BMW discounted some of the last cars by around 10k to sell.

[MrOnTheRopes]

dxb335d said:

So you were the very first owner on the logbook.

Cool, ust dont see many 03 about, Mainly 53's and 04s.

Thanks for telling me. Were all the July cars delayed or just a few?

Yes I'm still the only owner on the logbook

Not all cars were delayed - only the ones with the optional Xenon headlights. A friend local to me got his in July because he didn't tick the Xenon option.
I think after that initial batch BMW got the problem sorted and shipped them correctly spec'd.

[TIGA84]

Mate of mine (L1ARR on here) has got a 54 plate registered one, so must have been a very very late car.

Edited to say, its an 05. not a 54.

Edited by TIGA84 on Wednesday 14th January 12:42

[StevieS]

TIGA84 said:

Mate of mine (L1ARR on here) has got a 54 plate registered one, so must have been a very very late car.

Edited to say, its an 05. not a 54.

Edited by TIGA84 on Wednesday 14th January 12:42

Presumably it was sitting in a compound for 2 years doing nothing then. They were all built within a few months of each other in 2003.

[Nords]

Indeed!

[Loteuk]

Mine.......Nov 2003
There's another a mile away with 800 miles covered, makes mine look tame with its bespoke wheels and sensible aftermarket exhaust!!

[johnzo]

Well that blows my thoughts apart, as I was sure that the BMW 3.0 CSL was first seen around 1973, following the 3.0 CSi ...

[dxb335d]

johnzo said:

Well that blows my thoughts apart, as I was sure that the BMW 3.0 CSL was first seen around 1973, following the 3.0 CSi ...

I meant early M3 csl's

[TimJMS]

Andyt25 said:

Lots of potential buyers put their name down but then cancelled when BMW decided to charge 20k more than a standard M3, which is why a number of cars were registered in 2004 as they could not sell them. I believe BMW discounted some of the last cars by around 10k to sell.

Correct. I paid £8k under list for mine. Everything on it, except auto wipers and xenons.