i must say, i hear a lot of people having issues (other than heat) from the panigale on the forum and also 1 other person i know personally. I however, have not had one real issue with the bike, its amazing how different people can have with the experience of the same bike... maybe it is the fact that it is hand built (I worked for HD when I was in college and it was completely automated so they could mitigate failure).
I have had one issue with my bike, I changed the windscreen out, left the bike outside for a few hours in the blazing florida sun, and i melted the dash. Dash was replaced with no questions asked by my dealer. That was my one and only issue i have had. Heat...well i owned an R1 prior and that was also hot. As for the rapid bike or PC, i planned on getting the bike tuned anyway so it wasn't a thought.
I have thrown a lot of money into my bike with CF wheels, exhaust, upgrades, track fairings, subframe, etc etc but that was bound to happen regardless if i owned a ducati or any other bike, its part of the passion of riding... is there a ducati tax so to speak? absolutely! do i want to pay it, not exactly. But i will say, with the thousands and thousands i have put into my bike, it is by far my favorite bike I have ever owned, hands down.
I feel bad that people have issues with their bikes, regardless if its a panigale, Kawi, BMW (and i know my BMW friends have some stupid funny issues with their bikes, consistently), Honda, Yamaha etc... But i see the bike for me as what it is, it is a toy. It is a greatly fun, amazingly fast, loud grunting toy. As with all toys, they cost money.