PS3 phat lasted 2.5years, before the laser gave up on me got the slim while the phat was being swopped out. Hav the slim for 3years now, and the replacement phat for the same amout of time. Both work great.
As for the swop out its kind of instant provided they have stock to give you so no real waiting except for the paper work to be complete. If its under warranty get it in immediately.
Best thing to do is send it to Partserve in Edenvale,JHB. http://www.partserve.co.za/warrantydetails.php?id=3. I think they are still the official RMA partner for Sony Playstation.
My 1 year old PS3 slim had an issue with the blueray drive not reading disc's very well. Had it swapped out within a week and never had a problem since, had my new one for over a year now.
