Originally Posted by JamesNJB

To the OP:

I also recommend taking the new supercharged 2009 S4 for a test drive. It looks quite promising and if finances permit I'll be looking to get one of these to compliment my 911. Won't sound as good as the M3's V8, but the interior is awesome, and having lots of torque down low is great in everyday driving.

Originally Posted by ng997

This is a heck of a thread for me to jump in here on my first post on this board, but I came from 25 years of owning BMWs and felt I had to jump in this one. I have owned two e36 m3s and the last m3, a 2002 m3. I drove the last one over six years and thourghly enjoyed it. Tracked it a couple of times. Great fun.

That being said, when the e92 m3 came out, I felt it had gained to much weight and at the end of the day it was still a 3 series. Don't get me wrong, the 3 series are great cars, but not sports cars.

Test drove the m3 and decided to stay in the same price range and looked at 06 997s'. After test driving the Carrera S, there was no question what my decision was.

I bought my 06 Seal Gray Metalic Carrera S last June. I have owned the car almost a year now and could not be happier. Never for one minute wished I had bought a new m3 instead. The steering feel and smooth shifting of the gearbox are amazing. The Porsche delivers the sportscar experience that the m3 cannot.

It's not my daily driver, but I have managed to put 6000 miles on it. I didn't buy it to be a museum piece. I've done 2 autocrosses this year and am registered to do my first DE at Road Atlanta June 6-7. This car begs to be driven. I have vowed to make it to the track with this one more often so I can drive it like it is intended to be driven and have fun.

Originally Posted by dcentric

Curio: It's a little strange reading your posts, it's not unlike a coyote that goes into a wolf pack and tries to defend it's position—it just doesn't make any sense. Yrallis makes good points as an owner of both yet you discount his opinion as if he's blowing smoke. Stop your attempts at being a proselytizer, you're not very good at it.

Originally Posted by CURI0

I did not say that, you did. There are many performance cars better than the M3, the base 997 and the 997S not being them. The same goes for any 911. These are not the top performance cars. I don't want to bring up the Z06, we know it mops the floor with either.

The last time you told me about your buddy in his m3, I told you about my experiences with 997's. Look, I'm not saying what you experienced did not happen, but my experience is completely different. All I know, is the M3 is continually picked by the automotive press over several variations of the 997. I also would never want a 996 GT3 instead. Seems there are people on both sides.

I'm sure there will be a number of 997 people that will argue the M3 is a porky sedan. It is not better handling, the M3 is.

There may be people who argue the 911 is nothing more than a fixed up VW bug based on an antiquated design whose best days are behind it.

Originally Posted by CURI0

I own a Porsche, the dealership experience is not any better, sorry, its in your head.

Originally Posted by Slow4s

Man that has to be a sick joke , the 997 GT3 and 997 GT2 put the e92 M3 to shame... But for the price difference, I will take the M3 since I am 22.

-Alex

Originally Posted by disruptek

You're right, it's in my head. Here's how I break it down up there...

I had an E60 M5 for 3 years, and this would be a long post indeed if I listed the many ways that the dealership(s) made even the simplest maintenance needs excruciating to fulfill. Seriously. Three years and a new $100k car and I was consistently made to feel as though I'd made a grave mistake every single time I had to interface with the dealership droids. The only positive "BMW USA" experience I had was doing the M Driving Experience -- obviously extraneous to the dealership network.

In contrast, I've worked with three Porsche dealerships on my (used) 997 turbo, and have actually met the people who work there (names, racing interests, cars they drive, personalities). Everyone I've dealt with has demonstrated a real passion for the cars, an interest in servicing the drivers, and knowledge and skill in their disciplines. To say that it has been a night-and-day difference would be an understatement.

It's funny, once you start sipping the kool-aid you find it really is quite sweet. Fill 'er up!

Originally Posted by yrralis1

Curio -

There is mutual respect between BMW and Porsche sentiment but it is not common to see a BMW owner reject the superior workmanship in Porsche . Most BMW owners that i have spoken with or posted amongst love their cars but also admire the Porsche .Many have chosen the BMW for practical reasons like space , price, free maintenance, lease programs and some like myself have both .

I don't dislike the M3 . I'm just not in love with it . I would pick an M3 over most small sedan/coupes . But I would pick a Porsche 911 above it .

I would be happy having my Porsche but had to give up my BMW.
I would not be happy if I had the BMW but had to give up my Porsche .

Originally Posted by yrralis1

BMWNA does have input . All dealerships face a BMW contract that ties specific (ultra high) customer serice scores to a variety of perks, mostly revolving around holdback money and access to additional (profitable) allocations of high demand cars.

This is why most dealers go to insane lengths to try and derive perfect 5's from their customers, because that's what's needed for them to get their money and allocations from BMWNA. This puts all the emphasis on perfect scores, and essentially none of it on providing actual good service.

They are not measuring customer satisfaction. They are measuring how good various dealers are at getting customers to say "5" .