Funny, my M3 constantly needed the dealers. Broken SMG box/clutch, diffs, 2 dampers, steering creak. My mini is not too keen to keep out of dealers either. The RS4 on the other hand has only been in for routine servicing and I drive that MUCH harder than I ever drove the M3 (as I was always afraid it would keep breaking...which it did).jbtco wrote:Don't know about the better built. Prior to my RS4 I had 2 E46 M3s and a Z4 M coupe none of which were near a garage between scheduled visits. My RS4 (4,500 miles) has been in 3 times before oil leak finally fixed and stll have to get the full lock grunching noises fixed. Love the car but very disappointed at reliability.
From my own experience, the E46 has shocking build quality. I've even yet to see one with properly flush fitting of the rear bumper. What a crap design that was.
People will always have different experiences in terms of build quality and reliability.