I had a similar problem with a Macbook from around 2009. The graphics became defective right after the 3 year Apple Care expired. This was a known motherboard issue with extended coverage, but I didn't know, so I went out and bought a new Macbook.
What I would like to know is, why doesn't Apple inform the owners of affected hardware? It's not like they don't know, since they have everything they'd need for that in their customer database (Apple ID and contact info, Macbook serial numbers).
I suspect they happily leave the onus on the consumer to discover that their out of warranty hardware has a serial defect who's repair is covered. I've seen this behavior with other manufacturers (Onkyo). I think that we need better laws to force the manufacturers to contact their customers, similar to safety recalls in the automobile space.
Personally I go to the Apple Store even if I know I am out of warranty because they will lay out all of the options you have. Sometimes they offer free services because of recalls
What I would like to know is, why doesn't Apple inform the owners of affected hardware? It's not like they don't know, since they have everything they'd need for that in their customer database (Apple ID and contact info, Macbook serial numbers).
I suspect they happily leave the onus on the consumer to discover that their out of warranty hardware has a serial defect who's repair is covered. I've seen this behavior with other manufacturers (Onkyo). I think that we need better laws to force the manufacturers to contact their customers, similar to safety recalls in the automobile space.