A mate of mine had one for 4 months and got so fed up with it locking him in the car/out of the car and not starting because it would be stuck in gear and he would have to get out and rock it backwards and forwards (if it hadn't locked him in of course) that he complained, bmw replaced it with another new one, he kept that for a month and sold it 3 weeks ago for a 330 coupe sport in stead which he thinks is a much better car if you do any miles and in day to day driving not that much slower.
He said it was a lovely car but had 2 faults, one was it's electrics the other it was so bloody fast he was amazed he still had a licence.
Saying that another mate here at works had one for about 18 months and loves it to bits and says it only has one fault - too bloody fast!
2 of my mates also run 996's both carrera's and they love them more than life itself, given the choice I think I would go for the porker. But you need a major bank balance to keep them on the road. They say that you need to keep about 3 grand in the bank for THAT service, the one that they find a fault, apperentley your not a true porsche owner until you get the big bill.
J.