2014 Fiesta A/C compressor issues

[Paul22]

My daughter purchased a new Festiva Trend auto in 2014 and since then has had issues with the transmission which, seemingly, has been fixed notwithstanding she's had to return it several times for the fix to be effective.
Now, since she purchased the car she has had it serviced at the recommended intervals.
She lives in Melbourne and driving to Adelaide yesterday she heard an unusual noise from under the bonnet which, when I heard it, seemed to come from the compressor. It has since been confirmed by the dealer as a failed compressor and so the requisite parts have been ordered. The dealer confirmed that the car was out of warranty and therefore she would have to bear the cost of repairs. Having travelled only 58,000kms to date I feel this is a little unfair. In fact, I'd go so far as to say it comes under the umbrella of 'Goods not of merchantable quality'.
I'm going to the dealer (which, as it happens to be my dealer) with her tomorrow to see if I can persuade them to cover this cost. I shouldn't have to do this but as the dealer has rebuffed her protestations regarding the short life of this component I will have to.
First the transmission and now the airconditioning; what's next to fail?
For the record she loves the way it drives but this is largely negated by the appalling reliability.
Has anyone experienced this type of dealer behaviour regarding claiming recompense out of warranty?
I'm not cranky (yet) but I feel very disappointed for her.