Macs Effectively Now Have a Three-Year Warranty in Australia and New Zealand Under Consumer Law

[buyerites]

Here is a link to an, official, plain English version of the most relevant provisions of the Australian Consumer Law in relation to your non-excludable statutory rights, in Australia, when purchasing goods (and services):-
http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/ftw/Consumers/Consumer_guarantees_warranties_and_refunds.page?

 

[Thunderbird]

Huh? Are you treating US and Canadian dollars as equivalent? I quickly checked a couple of computers and accounting for currency exchange the price on the Canadian Apple Store was less than 5% more in each case.

The exchange rate is between 25-30%. Apple products are 35-40% more in Canada. That's a difference of about 10-15%, not 'less than 5%'.

 

[Allards]

In the Netherlands Apple is complying to the 2 year European Warranty.

Dutch law goes even further than that and states that products should be covered throughout; what one can expect to be a reasonable economical lifetime.

example : For an iPhone it's reasonable to expect that the product doesn't brake down for a period that is much longer than 2 years.

 

[Tomisawesome]

From personal experience, the Apple store near me in Australia has known about the coverage of consumer law on MacBooks for a couple of months. I took my MacBook in for repair about 2 months ago and asked if it was worth buying AppleCare, and the genius told me that there is no point in Australia because consumer law coveres most things that AppleCare coveres for just as long

 

[DaveP]

The exchange rate is between 25-30%. Apple products are 35-40% more in Canada. That's a difference of about 10-15%, not 'less than 5%'.

So first off, hopefully you can at least agree that stating "Apple products are 35-40% more in Canada" is wildly inaccurate, and at the very least your position would be that Apple products are priced 35-40% more in Canadian dollars, which obviously is a big difference.

And here's a few numbers instead of inaccurate estimates and handwaving:

• Mid-range MacBook Pro: $1499 USD which is $1929 CAD. Canadian Apple price is $1979, or 2.6% more expensive
• Mid-range 21" iMac: $1299 USD which is $1672 CAD. Canadian Apple price is $1729, or 3.4 % more expensive
• The new iMac Pro has gotten a lot pricing attention lately and is $4999 USD which is $6435 CAD. Canadian Apple price is $6299 CAD, or 2.1% cheaper

These are just a few and I'm sure that there are examples with larger differences, likely some more than 5% more expensive. However, the initial evidence is, at least at the moment, that the 10-15% more number is pretty inaccurate. Obviously the numbers change on a daily basis and the Canadian dollar is slightly weaker that a few months ago, but stronger than most of 2017 and nearly all of 2016.

 

[Defthand]

But personally I don't need to government telling me I can only buy products with certain length warranties and deciding how long a warranty should be based on the perceived quality of an item.

You misunderstood. I’m not proposing that products must be made to the same standard and have the same warranty. Manufacturers would continue to decide the quality level of their products, and even charge premium prices for subpar products, BUT a manufacturer can’t advertise that the product will meet certain expectations UNLESS he backs up that claim/perception with an appropriate guarantee defined and enforced by consumer law.

Think of it this way… warranties should be a certification of product quality, much like UL labeling is a certification of product safety. And like UL testing, it would still be voluntary. Warranties could reflect two tiers of quality assurance and manufacturer liability: Premium for products whose parts meet high manufacturing tolerances, Value for typical and acceptable tolerance deviations. As it stands now, brands like Apple can promote their products as premium products—and charge accordingly—with no mandatory guarantee of superior service. Similarly, a brand like Acer can promote their products as being equal in quality to Apple’s. Yet their warranties don’t provide the same assurance. A manufacturer shouldn't be able to imply his product is as risk-free as another without an equal warranty. A manufacturer shouldn’t imply his product is superior in quality without a superior assurance.

I’m for smaller government too, but you need laws to protect consumers from deceptive marketing practices and powerful businesses. Without lemon laws and product standards, you would have no recourse if you bought a flooded vehicle, or if your child dies in a poorly assembled car seat.

 

[Thunderbird]

So first off, hopefully you can at least agree that stating "Apple products are 35-40% more in Canada" is wildly inaccurate, and at the very least your position would be that Apple products are priced 35-40% more in Canadian dollars, which obviously is a big difference.

And here's a few numbers instead of inaccurate estimates and handwaving:

• Mid-range MacBook Pro: $1499 USD which is $1929 CAD. Canadian Apple price is $1979, or 2.6% more expensive
• Mid-range 21" iMac: $1299 USD which is $1672 CAD. Canadian Apple price is $1729, or 3.4 % more expensive
• The new iMac Pro has gotten a lot pricing attention lately and is $4999 USD which is $6435 CAD. Canadian Apple price is $6299 CAD, or 2.1% cheaper

These are just a few and I'm sure that there are examples with larger differences, likely some more than 5% more expensive. However, the initial evidence is, at least at the moment, that the 10-15% more number is pretty inaccurate. Obviously the numbers change on a daily basis and the Canadian dollar is slightly weaker that a few months ago, but stronger than most of 2017 and nearly all of 2016.

Yes, that's what I meant, that Apple prices are 30-40% more in CDN dollars. Not sure what conversion rate you're using because $1499. US to $1929 CAD does not convert by a round number. It works out to something like 28.4%.

But it's also obvious Apple is not using a standard conversion across the board for all its products. The iPad mini 4, for example, is $399. US, which converts to $510 CAD. (@28%). But the Canadian Apple store price is $549. CAD, or 8% more expensive.

 

[DaveP]

You misunderstood. I’m not proposing that products must be made to the same standard and have the same warranty. Manufacturers would continue to decide the quality level of their products, and even charge premium prices for subpar products, BUT a manufacturer can’t advertise that the product will meet certain expectations UNLESS he backs up that claim/perception with an appropriate guarantee defined and enforced by consumer law.

Think of it this way… warranties should be a certification of product quality, much like UL labeling is a certification of product safety. And like UL testing, it would still be voluntary. Warranties could reflect two tiers of quality assurance and manufacturer liability: Premium for products whose parts meet high manufacturing tolerances, Value for typical and acceptable tolerance deviations. As it stands now, brands like Apple can promote their products as premium products—and charge accordingly—with no mandatory guarantee of superior service. Similarly, a brand like Acer can promote their products as being equal in quality to Apple’s. Yet their warranties don’t provide the same assurance. A manufacturer shouldn't be able to imply his product is as risk-free as another without an equal warranty. A manufacturer shouldn’t imply his product is superior in quality without a superior assurance.

I’m for smaller government too, but you need laws to protect consumers from deceptive marketing practices and powerful businesses. Without lemon laws and product standards, you would have no recourse if you bought a flooded vehicle, or if your child dies in a poorly assembled car seat.

"A manufacturer shouldn't be able to imply his product is as risk-free as another without an equal warranty. A manufacturer shouldn’t imply his product is superior in quality without a superior assurance." I guess there is a just a large difference of opinion. You aren't even saying an advertising is claiming superior quality, but merely "implying" superior quality. The local amusement parks advertised that their roller coasters were the most fun. Well, I don't think that is true. I would like the government to force them to give me a refund. False advertising laws already exist. If you are not familiar, I would recommend looking up the legal definition of "puffery" as it pertains to advertising.

Fraudulently claiming a car has not been flooded is not equivalent to not offering repair/replacement services at no additional charge as based on certain expectations based on some sort of consensus of expected lifespan based on perceptions of advertising.

 

[seatton]

I wonder if I buy a Mac there and it is broken within 3 years, can I get it repaired in the US at no cost?

 

[tillsbury]

I wonder if I buy a Mac there and it is broken within 3 years, can I get it repaired in the US at no cost?

No, the law only applies to consumer goods (not used in business) and only while they remain in the country. A US Apple store is not going to honour a NZ/Australian consumer law.

 

[mr camouflage]

If you bought and own a Mac in Australia or New Zealand, your computer effectively now has warranty coverage for up to three years from its original date of purchase, even without purchasing optional AppleCare+ coverage.

This is WRONG.

Australian consumer law provides protection for 24 months from the time of purchase. It is concurrent with Apples warranty, not consecutive.

https://www.apple.com/au/legal/statutory-warranty/

 

[tillsbury]

It's certainly misleading. In Australia it's 24 months without question. In New Zealand it's "a reasonable time", which depends on the product and its price and its expected life. Certainly three years, and for an expensive laptop, that's been shown to be up to five years as the law has been tested.

 

[BananaX]

I brought my MBP 2016 from Gumtree.
Brand new, $1000 cheaper, and I had the MBP fixed under the 1 year warranty.
Do you guys think my MBP is under the Aus 24 months extended warranty?
I am not the original purchaser, I don't have the original invoice either.
1 year limited warranty expired in 1.5 months.

 

[b5stephen]

I brought my MBP 2016 from Gumtree.
Brand new, $1000 cheaper, and I had the MBP fixed under the 1 year warranty.
Do you guys think my MBP is under the Aus 24 months extended warranty?
I am not the original purchaser, I don't have the original invoice either.
1 year limited warranty expired in 1.5 months.

Legally you would not be covered in NZ as the law requires that you have proof of purchase. So it would really be up to Apple

 

[Tonmeister]

I purchased a refurbished 2015 15” MBP retina at the start of 2019 from Apple New Zealand.
2.5 years in, the LG Retina display died, they happily replaced this and the top lid at no cost to me, plus put a new battery innit. (Battery recall).
Unfortunately the technician failed to tighten one of the logic board screws properly, and this came loose, shorted something and fried the logic board. Even though I was 9 days past my 3 year period , they gave me an exemption and replaced the logic board at no cost as well.
None of these issues were my fault, I am grateful that we have this consumer law here.