2005 BMW M3 CS

The current owner has had the car for the past 27 months, during which time he has continued to have it serviced by his local BMW main dealer; its next service isn’t due until August 2019. The M3 CS is HPI-clear and MOT’d until February 2019.

Beautifully presented in Interlagos Blue, it has only very minor stonechips and a perfect interior. More importantly, the painstakingly accrued service history ensures that it is mechanically perfect – and even the vulnerable subframe, one of the car’s few weaknesses, has been certified as being in good order.

Really, we can’t think that buying a BMW M3 CS doesn’t come any less risky than this.

The Interlagos Blue coachwork is in stunning condition being free of any significant blemishes, scratches, and dents. The panel gaps are as even and tight as they were when the car left the factory back in 2005 and there are no marks to the exterior glazing or the lights, which leads us to believe that the car has escaped the fate of so many of them and has never been crashed, a conclusion that the HPI certificate endorses.

In fact, the only fault we could find bar a few minor stonechips to the front bumper is a minor scuff on one of the CS alloy wheels (please see the photograph of this minor blemish). It really does look as good in the flesh as it does in the photographs and we’d strongly encourage potential bidders to make their way to Essex to see it in person; we are confident that it will be worth the small investment in time and money you’ll need to make to get there, especially if you are fed up with seeing the sort of thrashed and abused examples that abound in the classifieds…

The underside is as clean as the coachwork and needs no work whatsoever thanks to recent attention from BMW in the form of a checkover and underseal. Importantly, the subframe was checked by the BMW main dealer in August 2017, who checked whether it showed any sign of cracking. We are told that BMW confirmed, in fact, that the condition of the subframe and underside of the vehicle is one of the best he has ever seen.

Speaking of which, you’ll note that the tyres are matching Continental ContiSportContact, which is another indicator that this car has been owned and used by someone who appreciates the value of investing his money wisely to keep the car running and driving properly.

The car has the rare, factory fitted M Power motif Alcantara and leather interior, complete with memory driver’s seat and side bolsters that adjust for width. The seats are in fine condition with only very light creasing to the offside edge of the lower bolster of the driver’s seat. There is none of the usual bobbling of the fabric on the centre of the front seats that we’ve seen on so many other examples, and the rear seats look to have been only sparingly used.

The trim, carpets and rubber seals are in excellent condition and all the electrics work as they should, including the navigation system (which was updated in 2016) and rain-sensing wipers.

It has the Harman Kardon high-fidelity sound system, complete with six-CD multichanger, dealer-fitted auxiliary input, and Bluetooth connectivity. It is working perfectly and sounds very nearly as wonderful as the inline-six engine does at full chat.

The boot is very clean and has retained the luggage net. The tool kit still looks like new and the compressor is still wrapped in plastic and appears to be unused.

The owner tells us that the car drives “extremely well in manual and automatic, and remains tight and in keeping with its low mileage“. A full wheel alignment was carried out in February 2016, plus the SMG pump was replaced and four new Continental tyres were fitted in August 2016.

The diligent servicing over the years has ensured that the M3 served him faultlessly over the past couple of years, which goes to prove that even high performance BMWs can provide unimpeachable reliability when they’re serviced and maintained properly. As a result, he can’t provide any details of any other huge bills that he’s incurred since he’s owned the car simply because the car has been 100% reliable and hasn’t needed any other work doing to it.

The engine bay itself is clean and tidy as you would expect of a car with this kind of impeccable service history. It’s a credit to its former owners, as well as the guys and gals that have kept it running so sweetly over the years.

The M3 comes with a full BMW main dealer service history supported by both stamps and the original invoices. You’ll note from the photographs of the service history that even the brake fluid has been changed according to BMW’s recommendations.

The car will be supplied with its complete owner’s book pack, along with both a spare and the original valet key.

The car also comes with all its expired MOT certificates and it’s a reflection of the car’s condition that it hasn’t picked up a single MOT advisory point since 2012, and only lights and tyres troubled the testers before then. This can be easily verified online and is quite remarkable really considering how many neglected examples there are out there being passed off as ‘near concours’…

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of this and other paperwork to support our claim that this car has been maintained to the very highest standard.

The E46 version of the BMW M3 remains strangely unloved on the second-hand market, which remains something of a mystery to us because it has all the good stuff: a hot engine, great interior, and some of the most sublime handling this side of a bona fide supercar. It won award after award in its time, with some even suggested that it is the finest M3 model the company has ever built.

And while the CSL might be the ultimate iteration, we can’t help but think that the CS’s increased everyday usability makes it the better all-round car. Still, regardless of your opinion, you have to admit that the CS’s lower values make them far more accessible, especially if your intention is to actually drive the car rather than keep it in an air-conditioned cocoon while it slowly increases in value (and deteriorates in condition…).

And how attainable is the M3 CS? Well, we think this impeccably maintained and beautifully presented example will sell for between £15,000 and £20,000, at which price point it offers outstanding value and incredibly accessible performance; we can’t think of many sub-£20,000 cars that could beat it around a track, and none that would provide more entertainment in everyday use.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this car can be seen in Southend-on-Sea; to arrange an appointment please use the ‘Contact Seller’ button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

If needed, please remember we have a network of trusted suppliers we work with regularly and can recommend: Classic & Sportscar Finance for purchase-financing, Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car, AnyVan for transporting it, and Footman James for classic car insurance.