[NZ_M3]

Mine was almost accidental and I have a Porsche dealership to thank for ending up with the CSL.

Had an E46 M3 since 2001 then another in 2003 and at the time had my deposit down for a CSL, but ownership was to be ruined by the less than stella magazine reviews back then so I ended up forfeiting my spot and bought a standard M3.

Come 2005, I walked past a dealership with a prestine 996 GT3 Mk1 in black with basically delivery km and one collector owner - it was a car I long lusted after. Went in and checked out the car and an agreement with the dealer to be back in the afternoon to put down a deposit. Silly me, I didn’t sign any paper work, just a hand shake and a nod of agreement on purchasing price.

I duly returned to the said Porsche dealership in the afternoon beaming with my cheque book, only to be confronted with a big “Sold” sign on the car. Slightly confused and thinking it was for me I quickly approached the sheepish looking sale person only to be told “I am too late, the gentleman that was in here at the same time as you this morning gave us the full price for the car the moment you left”.

Gutted, slightly bemused and a little peeved I walked across the road to the BMW dealership only to be confronted with the most glorious car I’ve had the pleasure of owning for the last 12 years. A single owner CSL with just 10k km owned by an old guy that no longer liked the car due to the “uncomfortable seats”. A deal was hashed together in around a week, helped by a thorough inspection of what really was an almost brand new car inside and out. A deal with swiftly done this time with no omission on my part paper work wise!!!

The rest they say is history.