Not sure - I went 993 to M3 to now I'm eyeing...

...a 996. I bought my first PCar without my wife's discussion and so history may repeat itself. The M3 is a fantastic car but it is NOT a Porsche. I'm just venting because I'm going to eat some 'neg' of the M3. No question just talking (typing) out loud.

I just picked up a '05 M3 and I must say it feels...well...Slow compared to my 996. BUT, for some reason i like it alot!!! I think I'm just more relaxed when I drive the M3...not as many stares and it's more low key. But, your are right, it's no 996!

Kirby - isn't your car s/c'd?

It's funny that you guys are writing this because I've been considering selling my 996 to get an M3. Honestly there aren't any cars out there that excite me right now (and that I can afford to use as a daily driver)...BMW's are so common in my area that I don't think I'd go for it, but honestly I'm concerned about the long term realiability of the 996's. I want fast and reliable...is that so hard?

I considered a M3 before I bought my 996. Glad I didn't do it. I love my 996.

I don't know about you guys - but I am on my 5th porsche and have never ever ever (want to stress the ever) had a reliability problem - could it be that I am very lucky?? Do any of you have bad experiences with a Porsche?? Say it aint so. I must also clarify that I have never put more than 12000kms on any given porsche I have owned - so my persepective might be quite irrelevant here. Oh and actually I can recall one item - my turbo's engine light was on for most of the 10K I put on it - dealer would check it, reset it and say no problems - I would drive away and light would come back on???? soon after I was hit from behind while at a light causing almost $30K in damage making taking care of the whole "engine light" problem. But again light was on, but car was reliable. My plans were to eventually disconnect that yellow bulb ........ but never got that far.

Thanks for your perspective, but since you haven't kept most of your cars long enough for an oil change it's hard to compare realiability experiences (I'm jealous!). I've only had minor trouble (RMS, coilpacks) but these issues at only 50,000 miles and the stories of others with replaced engines and transmissions has got me concerned about the long term dependability of the car.

oh yea, oops

The motor of my (E46) M3 is so sweet but there is something intangible that pulls me back to Porsche. I don't even try to justify with friends because they think I'm nuts. One of my Porsche friends said once bitten the Porsche bug never goes away. So true...

I hang out with a bunch of guys in a local BMW club, which gets me thinking about buying an M3 with some frequency. I resist the temptation, however, because most of them dream about owning a Porsche. Thus, I have concluded that a Porsche (particularly a TT) is higher on the food chain than an M3.

I've driven a Porsche from 130k km to 200k km, and am now 1 month into my 996 with 3000 km on it (from 43k km) - and apart from the usual wear&tear parts I have nothing but high praise. Might change - and I do plan to sell it before it hits 80k km to get a 996 TT - but no complaints from me

Well...I went from a 03.5 e46 M3 to my 996 and I don't regret the switch. As for reliability issues, BMW sent me a letter 2 months after I made the trade informing me that my engine had been built with a defective connecting rod that could result in an engine failure. The S54 failures apparently were not solved.

I spent this past weekend at California Speedway at the BMW club's DE. I had an instructor who owns the curent M3 (E46?) and he loved driving my 996. He kept commenting on how stable the car felt... especially on the 100 mph+ banked Nascar turn. I also had a couple of M3 guys and a M5 guy surprised that I wasn't in their mirror when they got on the straight-aways but appeared prominently in their mirror at the breaking zone at the end of the straight aways. To some, SMG is a benefit that the 911 can't match. However, I prefer to drive my car myself instead of letting Hal (think space odyssey) drive for me. But hey, that's just me. Enough of the tangibles. As for the intangibles, the exhaust note of the 911 (with PSE) can't be matched by anything you can put on the M3. Don't know how to put a dollar value on that but it sure keeps me grinning from ear to ear. A couple of M3/M coupe guys commented on how great my exhaust sounds when I passing them with WOT. I LOOOOVVVEEE MY 996!!!!

A friend has the previous generation M3 with supercharger and a bunch of other Dinan mods. Both he and his son have driven my stock 996 and prefer it to their BMW.

[QUOTE=nota_troll]...a 996. I bought my first PCar without my wife's discussion and so history may repeat itself. The M3 is a fantastic car but it is NOT a Porsche. I'm just venting because I'm going to eat some 'neg' of the M3. I just ate $6K of "neg" to get out of my '04 M3...a ruthlessly competent & quick car that was nevertheless boring me to death. After test driving my lowered 40th Anniversary 996 with 19s and big Brembos, the M literally felt like a truck. They're both great cars, but as they say "there is no substitute".

I looked at the M3 (and the S4 and the S-type R Jag) but fell in love with my Porsche.

[QUOTE=triode] triode - Funny you say that because I drove the 996 and got into my car afterwards and the seats are so soft in comparison. The ride is less 'connected'. chronos - My S4 was a lemon. Hate Audis. M3 was a compromise from my S4 and 993 but it's so wrong to do that. Not that the M3 is a bad car just never a Porsche. We'll see what happens. Thank you all for your help.

I am on my 3rd 911, have put collectively 107,000 miles on them, and have never had a problem of significance. They are generally built for longevity rather than short term reliability. Each model seems to have its trouble spots, which are well documented. If you know what they are and perform regular maintenance, you rarely get a negative surprise.

I went from a 40th Anniversary 911 to a 2004 M3 Coupe with SMG and after 6 months I'm now in a 2005 Boxster S. I really liked the SMG and my M3 was a unique color (Velvet Blue) but it just wasn't a Porsche and I really wanted a convertible and the M3 convertible weighs too much.

Next to the rear tire wear my biggest gripe with the Porsche is all the little BS things that break or crap-out on the car. Mine's a fun daily driver but all the chintzy little breakages are annoying. coolant expansion tank-check MAF-check hood latch-check airbag light-check plastic horn contact frame(?!)-check center console hinge-check sun visor mirror/light cover-check Individually none of them are a big deal but collectively it's just a bunch of annoyances. Just part of the experience I guess.

the only way i would own another M3 is if i kept the 996. I find it just as comfortable, almost as versatile and far more sporty. It will do circles around an M3 when you compare cornering aspects.

personally I find myself driving the sl55 9 out of 10 times over my 996 c2... the porsche is a wonderful vehicle (regardless of what i've been through), but it just doesn't give me the refinement and kick in the seat that the sl55 has with the accelerator down.. of course a TT or 997 is a different story.. which I don't own and might change that.. but for me, the sl55 has my heart over a c2 or c4.. and no i'm not biased.. as i own both.. :>