Maybe it's because I live in Silicon Valley, but my repair experience with Apple has been quite different. I took my six year old laptop in for a recall on the video card, which required a logic board replacement. They did that at no charge. In the process, they broke the power unit, so they replaced that and my six year old battery, both at no charge. They also replaced the top case at no charge while doing the second repair because they said they damaged it during repair. I never even saw the damage or had to complain.
It took three weeks, but in the end I basically had a new laptop, except the screen.
It took three weeks, but in the end I basically had a new laptop, except the screen.