I agree with you. I owned 2, Z4's and they were just built terrible. Talk about loose side shirts and the like. And rattles and squeaks.
Forgetabloutit.

My E46 and 5 series were built well. But I think the quality has dropped on the E90 series.

 

If you have driven many 911's and did not experience these kinds of issues on the test drives, then maybe it's just your car. In any event, it's worth giving a dealership a shot at fixing them. However, with the suspension as tight as it is, it's only a matter of time until new ones develop.
If you do end up looking to make a change, take a look at the 5's before you settle for an M3. While the M3 feels competent if somewhat sterile, the 5, to me, feels like a huge step up. Sounds to me like you're looking for the automotive equivalent of "the mama, the good wife, and the hooker." The 535i sport manual and 550i sport manual are really nice cars, while the M5 (or 6) is a beast, and I think any of these cars might satisfy your expectations better than either the 911 (hooker only!) or the M3.
Good luck.

 

Yeah, but a high class hooker.

 

High class for sure. I'm quite happy with her.

 

Let me give you my 2 cents worth.

I own an '08 M3 and am actively pursuing an '98 993C4S. Yesterday, just to convince myself I'm not about to make a $68,000 mistake buying a 12 year old car, I drove to my local dealer in my M3 and test drove a new 997S.

The car drove nicely, but buzzed and rattled everywhere. WTF? For a car with a $112,000 sticker (YIKES!!!), the inside just was not up to par. It did not strike me as being overly fast (remember, the M3 has 420hp) or as handling that much better (the M3 suspension is sublime and unflappable) than my car. The porsche did shift better than the bimmer (6m vs 6M) as my M3 1-2 shift remains a bit stiff (my ONLY minor quibble with the car). Steering was a wash.

My M3 with about 12k miles on it felt much more solidly built. It is also a much smoother car. What struck me was how far out of control Porsche has gotten with sticker prices. It is a very emotional car... looks nice, drives nice, gets lots of attention...but 112 grand??? Come on.

On the other hand, the 993's I've been driving are as solid as tanks... even cars that are worn with 150 thousand miles... not a rattle. The doors close like a bank vault. The cars that are perfect and have very low miles are pricey, but after driving a new 911, appear to be a bargain. They also look so much nicer.

Go drive the new M3. At 72 thousand it is a relative bargain, and you will pay ZERO to maintain it for the first 50 thousand miles (including brakes and wipers). With the 40K you save, go find yourself a nicely kept air cooled 993 to love and dote over. Both the M3 and the 993 combined will rattle far less than your current 997.

Sorry guys.

 

Wow...interesting stuff.

Very difference from so many posts you see where many the new 997.2 owner writes when comparing it to a 997.1 that its....

"so much faster"... "much, much better"....etc.

I have test driven two 997.2; i don't think for a second there is anything wrong with the interiors.. And I really don't recall any bad rattles...but with the dealer talking who knows.

I did think the 997.2 felt a little ( and I mean lttile) less connected to the road.

I have not driven a new M3...I can't get over the ugly exterior. I have driven the older M3 (E46?) and I don't think they are smoother at all.

Just different strokes...

 

I would start by speaking to the Service Manager, and if I could not get the issue resolved, escalate it to the General Manager, and if necessary - send a letter to the head of PCNA. Hopefully you will not have to go beyond step 1!

These cars are worth the trouble and so I wouldn't give up without making a considerable effort to have them make it right for you.

As for my experience, I just came back from a 5 1/2 hour morning 'spin' in my '08 C4S. Would you get up at 4:30 a.m. to go out in an M3?

Best of luck, and keep us posted on the result.

 

A lot of the rattles are due to cheap plastics. Not light, but cheap. It does bother me. The reason the E93 M3 is heavier than my porsche is because 1) it is bigger. A lot bigger.(a foot or two in the wheelbase, where the weight adds quickly) 2) it has actual sound insulation 3) it has speakers for the stereo. 4) it has stupid things like that robot arm that hands you a seat belt. 5) it has coins holders, storage bins, and adaptive headlights.
Well, there is the 300 lbs difference in weight right there.
The plastics in the 997 are just hard, cheap and flimsy. Porsche has bragged for years that they had the highest profit margin in the business. That sort of arrogance looks bad today, now that the CEO is working at Denny's.
I knew about this before I bought the car. Consumer reports has reported that the 997 is a rattle trap and many forum mention it. Your dealer will help you here and get rid of a number of the rattles. Give it a try and see what happens first.
BUT, give the car a chance for chrissakes! The posters who mention that you will look for excuses to drive the car are correct. I look for roads to drive on and test out the car and feel the dynamic differences between this chassis and "normal" cars. Porsche spent a lot of time perfecting the controls. The brakes, steering and shifter are sublime. The chassis is very special. Maybe not "perfect" like the cayman or M3, but it does some cool and interesting things when you push it. Setting the car up perfectly in a corner is like the perfect golf swing...get it just right and it is very rewarding. Do it like a ham-fist and well.......

Final note-It is silly to believe that they invested in the chassis and could not afford a good interior. Rather, they just pocketed the extra cash that they could have spent on the interior and overall material quality. I predict that it will haunt porsche if they don't squash this problem soon...

 

Quite interesting observation as I drive Lexus which is totally silent, then my 997 06 which has one single little buzz coming sometimes somewhere from left door, so I drove 3-4 weeks ago new 09 PDK just out of curiosity and if was completely silent. No rattles, no resonance, I can hear tires, engine, suspension, but nothing was banging or rattling inside.

My friend`s 1 year old leased 328 (i think) bmw squicks and rattles at every bump and has much more cheap plastic inside (some of it was falling apart already) than 997.2, bmw design is not nearly as stylish and plain as in 997 Porsche. 997 reminds me of aircraft ****pit - very functional and nothing extra, a perfection as it is.

I am not saying you are trolling here but your observation is completely not on par with mine.

Again, if anyone is obsessed about tire/suspension/engine noise and wants totally quiet car - get GS or LS Lexus.

PS funny as hell - it ***ed out C_O_C_K_P_I_T. Amazing how this stupid hypocrisy makes its way in automatic fashion...

 

IMHO - trolling.

 

I assume your not saying I'm trolling and you are referring to the post I responded too.

 

naturally.

PS. your original message made its way over email - you`re way too emotional, dude. calm down, it`s just a forum.

 

Not emotional...just didn't see the whole thread and when I saw troll I was like...WTF...what did I do now...I was defending the 997.2!

my bad.

 

that`s OK.

on a serious note - I do not dislike 3 series BMW but all but one I saw and know about according to people I know have some issues with interior, noises, cracks, issues of different sorts, so I do not know if M3 has completely different interior or not but I just extrapolated there. From what I saw in M3 myself I did not see much different compared to regular 3 series BMW but who knows, I`m not an expert in new bimers.

 

I would not touch a new 3 series platform bimmer. Not only lots of plastic and dull interiors but even in terms of performance with fuel pump issues among others.