You are really describing what I would describe as a warranty covered repair. A company like Apple or Dell is going for the efficient, effective repair when doing warranty service. Replacing a system board or entire screen is far easier than replacing a subcomponent, in terms of both time and customer satisfaction. What it is not, is cheaper - however it is far cheaper for the OEM than the customer. If the customer is paying for the repair all reasonable repair solutions should be presented. Obviously that can vary by repair place. I used to do PC and laptop repair and we would routinely replace CCFL backlight inverters on laptops for half or less the cost of a new screen assembly. On a several year old machine that the customer really only wants another year or so on it is a resonable cost effective repair. Most customers are not going to spend more than 50% of the cost of a new unit on a repair.
