If gov't really cared about the environment instead of just pretending, they could make durable goods have a reasonable warranty (eg 10 years). If manufacturers were on the hook to keep them running for a decade, design would improve. Right now they are incentivized to make fancy crap you throw out often. I think Australia is the closest to this as you can argue that it wasn't fit for purpose if it failed in less time than expected. No explicit length of time laid out but you are free to make a claim after warranty has expired.
Based on the wording below, I think you have a reasonable case for a decade for durable goods. Maybe their interpretation doesn't agree with me though. Considering that most appliances built in the 80's are still working with minimal repairs along the way, it's hard for a manufacturer to whine that five years is a reasonable lifetime or they are constrained by engineering and can't do better.
Information on guarantees and consumer rights under a manufacturer’s warranty (warranty against defects), express warranty and extended warranty.
www.consumer.vic.gov.au
Example only (outcome may differ in individual cases):
Matt buys a television for $6,000. It stops working two years later. The supplier tells him he has no rights to repairs or another remedy as the television was only covered under the manufacturer’s warranty for 12 months.
Even if Matt had purchased an extended warranty, he may still have the right to a remedy under the ACL because a reasonable person would expect a $6,000 television to last longer than two years. Matt has a statutory right to a remedy on the basis that the television is not of acceptable quality and the supplier must provide a remedy free of charge.
Understand Australian Consumer Law and your business obligations and rights under it.
business.gov.au
There is no specific time when the consumer guarantees no longer apply to products. They may apply even after the manufacturer's warranty period has past. The length of the consumer guarantee period depends on a number of factors including:
- how much time has passed since the consumer bought the product
- the type of product
- how a consumer is likely to use the product
- the length of time for which it is reasonable for the product to be used
- the amount of use it could reasonably be expected to tolerate before the failure becomes noticeable.
