I agree and disagree with a lot that is said here..
Porsche service seems to have a LOT to do with the dealership itself. The experience differs from one to the next. The dealer CAN fight for the customer and even make the discussion transparent to the customer IF they choose to. This has a lot to do with why enthusiasts choose one dealer over another.
As for the engine failure issue, reality is, most people don't seek out forums like this one until they have a reason to vent, thus the first appearance in places like this is to announce something catastrophic. To that end, it makes things seem much worse than they really are. I have a number of friends with porsches new and old and none have ever had so much as an engine light come on (same applies to me 3 porsches later). It does puzzle me how many people have 98-2001 cars that do have issues and complain to the heavens about engine failures or other problems as if it should be under warranty. The cars are approaching 10 years old at this point in some cases, nearly double the normal factory warranty time frame. Why do people expect porsche to put a brand new engine in a 10 year old car for free? Even if it's got 10 miles on it, it's still 10 years old. Mileage is one thing, time is another. You hear all the RMS/IMS noise constantly from those that feel the need to be vocal after it happens to them, but i'd be willing to bet it effects less than 1 percent of the cars out there.
Anyway, i'm ranting, I know
Just try to put the whole RMS/IMS issue in true perspective and BUY THAT WARRANTY on a used car!