Uhm, back to topic a litte…
Seems like warranty experiences with Apple vary. A lot. I bought a Mini 2 years ago in October. Last year in December it broke. I took it to an authorized dealer (not an Apple store; the only one in the entire country is Munich), and according to a technician there, the logic board was broken and he told me it would cost, including a half hour of work, around 400€, because my warranty expired two months earlier.
He said he would call Apple to see if they couldn't do anything as the warranty just recently expired, but said he couldn't promise they'd pay for it. A few days later he called me and said that Apple is paying for the hardware and I only had to pay the half hour of work, which was like 50€.
So they covered it, even though it didn't have any warranty anymore. Guess it does make a difference where you take it to, and if I should ever have a problem with my new MBP, I know where to go.