[vacri]

but I dread any warranty issues (and therefore dealing with > 6 manufacturers)... / here in Australia

In Australia, your warranty is with the entity you bought from. If they supplied you faulty parts, it is their responsibility to deal with the manufacturers. Buy everything from the one place, and the warranty is all with that one place.

You can, of course, try your direct warranty with the manufacturer, but you won't have the benefit of supplier channels. Similarly, dealing with a parts store is a bit more random than the usual "we're so big that we'll just replace the part" story you often get from Apple or Dell.

[elithrar]

> In Australia, your warranty is with the entity you bought from. If they supplied you faulty parts, it is their responsibility to deal with the manufacturers. Buy everything from the one place, and the warranty is all with that one place.

This is true, and I'm aware of this; however the store still has to deal with the manufacturer, and they aren't as bound to timeframes/timelines as the store is. Waiting 3-4+ weeks for a replacement part isn't unheard of, and although the store might have to offer you a "like" replacement, that may not be the same/compatible.

[madeofpalk]

> In Australia, your warranty is with the entity you bought from. If they supplied you faulty parts, it is their responsibility to deal with the manufacturers. Buy everything from the one place, and the warranty is all with that one place

From what I understand, the law is actually pretty vague about this one. In the advice the ACCC gives to businesses, it actually puts responsibility on both the retailer and the manufacturer.

Apple has taken this and will follow the same guidelines for their products regardless of whether you purchased it from Apple or not.

[vacri]

It's the retailer's responsibility - after all, the manufacturer might not even have a channel for the general public to access, or even go by the branding on their parts.

The problem is as elithrar points out - 'doing something about it' doesn't necessarily mean 'replaced right now'. Responsibility for the repair may lie with the manufacturer, but the retailer sold the goods - if they're faulty, then it is the retailer's responsibility to make good on them. Just as it's the manufacturer's responsibility to make good on faults encountered by the retailer.

MSY (a super-cheap retailer) got slapped for foisting warranties back onto the manufacturer, and 'now honour warranties' (see section 2 here http://www.msy.com.au/pdf/TermsofTrade.pdf).