*slowly enters, says hi to hatmoza 2.0, and slowly backs away*

That's manufacturer warranty, I was talking about legal warranty in the EU. You as a buying from a dealer, you usually have nothing to do with manufacturer warranty, you didn't buy your product from the manufacturer anyhow.

The director of the consumer authority was right when she said many consumers are horribly misinformed.

Here again, you're pointing towards Sony's manufacturer warranty.

LOL, am I not allowed to have a few drinks with friends and sleep at night?

Director of the consumer authority in the Netherlands:

"Immers: als uw dure LCD TV kort na de fabrieksgarantie van 1 of 2 jaar stuk gaat, heeft u nog wel degelijk recht op kosteloos herstel of vervanging, mits u het apparaat normaal heeft gebruikt. "

http://www.telegraaf.nl/overgeld/experts/marijehulshof/3711613/__Bijkopen_garantie__uw_recht_wordt_duur_betaald__.html?p=8,1

Translation: if your expensive LCD TV breaks down a short time after its 1 or 2 years manufacturer warranty, you still have the right of free of charge repairs or replacement, if you used your product properly.

Something what people also may not know, is that even after 3 years, for years you still can expect the dealer to pay part of the costs and they have to take care of everything for you.

Duh, why do some people have imaginary friends, who promise them virgins etc. in afterlife, and defend them even if they do not exist?

Consuwijzer:

"Voor Europa is bepaald dat iedereen volgens de wet twee jaar garantie heeft. Dit staat in de Europese Richtlijn Koop en Garantie. Die twee jaar is een minimum. Het kan dus zijn dat in sommige Europese landen de garantieperiode langer is.

In de Nederlandse wet staat niet hoeveel jaar garantie u hebt. Maar in Nederland hebt u vaak langer dan twee jaar garantie. Hoe lang u garantie hebt, hangt af van het product dat u koopt. Voor een paar schoenen voor uw kind hebt u bijvoorbeeld korter garantie dan voor een wasmachine. Gaat uw wasmachine na vier jaar stuk, en is het niet uw schuld? Dan hebt u volgens de wet nog steeds garantie. U kunt dus nog teruggaan naar de winkel."

Summary: For Europe there's a minimal warranty of 2 years, this is the absolute minimum, it can be more.

For the Netherlands, warranty depends on the type of product you buy. For example if your washing machine breaks down after 4 years and you're not to blame, then you still have warranty.

@ kowenicki

The PS3 is a complex product, for example it has a harddrive. (Just one of many things which can be faulty, just an example)

"Een harde schijf moet bijvoorbeeld bij normaal gebruik vijf jaar meegaan en een mp3-speler drie jaar"

http://www.zibb.nl/10213291/Bedrijfsvoering/marketing-sales/Nieuws/Marketing-sales-nieuwsbericht/Winkelier-ook-aansprakelijk-na-afloop-garantie.htm

Summary: A harddrive's life expectance is 5 years with normal usage, a MP3's life expectance is 3 years. (thus that's how long the warranty lasts here in the Netherlands, with normal usage)

There are near always faulty products amongst the bulk of products which are fine, regarding mass production. There's delivery and storage involved, etc as well.

mikeb, you cannot win on this point you were wrong mate. In the EU there is indeed a directive that states a 2 year warranty on electrical equipment but the directive is only there to be enforced if a country doesn't have a suitable local law. In the UK the SOGA is deemed suitable protection for the consumer so the directive isn't enforced. It's worth pointing out the SOGA does allow the consumer to claim outside of the first year if the defect is proved to be a fault caused through a manufacturing fault.

The only way your statement would be correct is if there was a specific dutch sales directive which stated all electronic equipment had a 3 year warranty, given no such thing exists conceed the argument as being wrong and don't discredit yourself anymore. You tell people this often enough when discussing hardware it's time for you to show you can be humble enough to admit you were wrong on this occasion. Taking companies to court to get a replacement or repair does not imply a extended warranty period.

No quibble, cannot be guaranteed, it may take some effort with some dealers, like writing a well reasoned letter (which is enough in the bulk of cases). With regard to a dealer having to cover all costs (and take it up with the manufacturer). Yes, that's the case here in the Netherlands, assuming normal usage. It's an open market, you're free to get your products here.

For example Dynabyte has been punished by the consumer authority for misinforming its customers, hiding behind manufacturer warranty.