Update on my rattle: I took it back to the dealer and took a drive with the shop forman. He hear the rattle loud and clear and agreed it wasn't something normal and nothing he had heard on other E70s. They are going to take the steering column apart again and see if they can see what's causing that hard ticking noise.

We drove another 4.8i Sport and this one seemed a lot tighter than mine. I'm not sure why, but I guess who ever put my car together had a bad day or something. But I'm happy to report that it seems like my issue is an isolated problem and not something across the board.

So...any future E70 owners on the board can rest assured that poor build quality is isolated to a few cars.

I also spoke to them about my creaking sports seats and the other car I drove didn't have even a squeek. But they're gonna try and adjust it and see if it goes away.

Chris