Published on August 18th, 2023 | by Sounder Rajen

Rare BMW M3 CSL Found Rotting Away In A UK Car Park, Will It Be Saved?

So many cars like this BMW M3 CSL are being abandoned all over and it is sad

These days, we see so many instances of cars being abandoned and rotting away in random corners or car parks. In fact, while I was still a university student, there was an abandoned Ford Telstar at a car park down the road. Well, now we have news of a rare BMW M3 CSL rotting away in London and it hurts so much more. Let’s explore.

Moreover, this very rare BMW M3 CSL left rotting in a UK car park and the story was shared on Facebook over last few days. While the sight of this alone is enough to put a tear in any enthusiast’s eye, the story behind it is even more sad. Do note that it is just speculation for now though so take it with a grain of salt.

Okay, so rumour has it, that on 4 August 2004, a businessman took a trip from London to Reading to pick up his brand new e46 generation BMW M3 CSL. He then drove his new car back home, putting only 37 miles on the clock before parking it up at an undisclosed, monitored underground car park in London, and left it there.

This M3 CSL has been parked at the aforementioned car park since the day it was collected in 2004. It has also never had an MOT, any sort of service and has only ever seen daylight the one day it was driven here. Considering here are so many people who cannot even afford a car, mishandling of cars like this just seems cruel.

On top of that, the rare BMW M3 CSL in question has also been clamped, twice, according to a private company which happened prior to the private clamping law change in 2019. The Facebook user who found the car assumes this is likely due to the owner losing contact with the car park owner.

To make matters worse, the front right wheel off this M3 CSL is scuffed, probably by the notoriously blind, tall and tight curbs that grace the entry of every underground car park in the city and the rear bumper has also taken a whack, presumably by someone failing miserably to navigate themselves back up the car park ramp.

What’s more, the front driver’s wing mirror was damaged as collateral damage too and records indicate a mysterious driver change in 2013, but the car stayed put. Perhaps it was handed down to a family member? The M3 CSL is not all forgotten though, as recently the 2004 tax disc in the window got flipped to hide the numbers.

Emotions aside, is this one of the lowest mileage BMW M3 CSL in the world? Will it ever see the road again? I hope so but I remain doubtful, what about you?