Sounds like a warranty working as it should.
But, was it an issue under manufacturer’s warranty, or extended warranty?
You do not say, and if the former it is not germane to the topic.
I think I should put in a thumbs up for Bosch. We bought a dishwasher from HN three and a half years ago, with a 2 year manufacturer’s warranty, which recently developed an intermittent fault on the control panel. (No extended warranty as I never accept them).
On calling the Bosch Help Desk for advice, they offered to replace the control panel free of charge if I paid for installation, which cost me $60 from the local agent.
If I were being cynical I would say that Bosch knew that under the ACL the two year warranty could be challenged, but it seemed to be a very fair proposition which I was happy to accept. More goodwill for them, less stress for me!
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Bosch would engineer their dishwashers to last for far longer than two years, the warranty period.
A failure at three and a half years is still a failure of the product to meet the engineering standard they would set. And they have done what any manufacturer that values their reputation for quality should do.
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That is quite remarkable. It is hard to get a tradesperson or technician to attend for even a short simple job for less that $100, often more.
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Yep, I was pleasantly surprised. This was in Proserpine NQ but we are not far from the agent.
He was prepared to send the bill but I was so pleased I paid him cash - which he seemed happy to accept! 
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A local looking after locals?
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Every appliance I have owned has come with Manufacturer / Distributor warranty contact information so buyers have 2 choices 1. Contact the Manufacturer / Distributor to claim warranty, or 2. Go back to the seller and claim warranty remembering that going back to the seller is adding just an extra step in the warrant process as they will have to hand ball the claim back to the Manufacturer / Distributor when they get time (the seller does not have the technical capacity to repair an item). I know that the seller must process the claim in a reasonable time, but what is a reasonable time when the seller has to go back to the Manufacturer / Distributor (just don’t hold your breath).
From reading the comments above, our family must one of the few who use extended warranty facilities. The cost to us has always been a low consideration as when we negotiate a price at say, The Good Guys, we make sure that the majority of the Extended Warranty cost is covered in the final quote. We were advised years ago that the quoted price for extended warranties is also negotiable. With Extended warranty on a cheaper item (I think less than about $500) any warranty claim will result in the exchange of item, and you do not have to go through the hassles of paperwork and production of receipts plus waiting for item to possibly be return to Manufacturer for testing / repair. We also found the Extended Warranty company had the details of purchase. I suppose it may come down to how prepared you are to wait for a warranty claim to be processed through the seller to the Manufacturer / Distributor. One point I did not note in the text is that Extended Warranties are generally not provided via the Manufacturer / Distributor but are covered by the Extended Warranty company who, by my experience, have arranged repairs very quickly through their own contract repairers.
Nonetheless the retailer, not the maker, that has legal responsibility for claims regardless of stated warranty.
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One of the main problems with the Consumer Guarantee Laws is that he ACCC has done virtually nothing to educate consumers and businesses as to their rights and responsibilities under Australian Consumer Laws. I have a brochure that I downloaded from the ACCC site that I carry whenever I have deal with retailers and it is amazing what a difference it makes!
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For those who elect to bypass the retailer/seller the following advice from the ACCC is relevant.
Some distributors, importers, manufacturers have a system in place to support their warranty. Others rely on customers going through the retailer. Hopefully a wise consumer, does their research in advance and does not waste money buying a useless product protection/extended warranty plan.
EG Fujitsu offers without any extra cost 5 years parts and labour for their residential air conditioning products. https://www.fujitsugeneral.com.au/help-centre/warranty-information
Not the only example or manufacturer.
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Morning
I agree totally that is important to research / deal from known reliable sellers preferably in a face to face transaction (against on line). Our family, as a general rule only purchase from these sources. We have found that Extended Warranty costs are also negotiable and we have in each case built the cost into the item purchase price. We have also found with The Good Guys that the Extended Warranty is covered by a separate entity (not manufacturer) who on each claim we have made, have handled the claim in a speedy efficient manner. Eg. If item purchased was less than $500 (I think this was the amount) then they arranged for an immediate exchange of product from where the original was purchased. If more expensive, eg. our washing machine, we had a technician contact us within a couple of days (I guess to identify parts required) and at our place a day or so later. Similar with a freezer, except, we also received a Visa Cash card for the estimated value of lost food. Maybe we have been lucky, but we do have quite a purchase history with the one company. Our extended family have established that you do not have smaller items sent for repair as you may be waiting for months Eg. Coffee machine sent by Myers for repair took 2 months to return after much pressuring them, then it appeared to be a new item returned. To recap, research is everything plus dealing only with reliable sellers who can ensure that warrant claims are quickly and efficiently dealt with, in the quickest possible time.
Even Appliances Online have an extended warranty available. It’s automatically applied to your cart if you don’t check Standard Warranty first, but you have another chance to kick it out before you head off to pay. The unwary may well be caught out.
I still come back to what is a major failure and what is a reasonable time period that an appliance should last? The Good Guys seem to have addressed this question somewhat in their Voluntary Warranty Guide available Here
Thanks for the link. TGG refer consistently and more fully to their document as the “Minimum Voluntary Warranty Policy Guide”.
The coloured pictograms of warranty periods reflect what is typically offered as a store/manufacturers warranty. None of the time periods appear to be any longer than a bare minimum.
TGG consistently point out that their voluntary store police guide does not in any way limit a purchaser’s consumer rights provided for by Australian Consumer Law. The only reference to time limits and the ACL is the following which is almost word for word from the ACCC web resources.
I’m not sure how to respond to TGG’s advice concerning products that develop a fault or defect when the “voluntary warranty policy” time periods have passed.
… if you’re offered an extended warranty while shopping in the summer sales, the best advice I can give is to just say no.
@AlanKirkland on extended warranties:
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Our recent survey shows that many Australians still misunderstand extended warranties and their consumer rights:
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Oh so true how people are being misled to spend more for protection that is free under ACL and they think it provides an extra protection!!!
I have family members who spout the extended warranty protection drivel at me and remain convinced that it adds more than ACL does even in the first couple of years. I just nowadays save my money, keep my mouth shut when the blurb starts, and use my ACL rights when needed.
Thank you for putting the facts in print, sadly there will be some who remain steadfastly unconvinced and will eagerly part themselves from their money for no real benefit.
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I had a major fault my so called car was pretty pathetic. Seems to be way to common. Fair trading is useless. I hardly have faitin the system when the manufacturer seems to be in charge. Maybe some things, are different depending on what have purchased.
I got sucked in years ago with the fridge sales person convincing me it was needed the extended warranty. I would say no now. Hardly seems fair to consumers
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