Is AppleCare for Imac really necessary?

[Katyusha]

Hi everyone, this is Katyusha from Japan.

Yesterday I went to the nearest apple store,and the staff there told me that over 70% of people chooses to buy the 3-year AppleCare for their iMac because the inside of the iMac is very delicate.

Do you think the AppleCare is necessary?

Sorry for my poor English....hope that you can understand my question.:p:p:p

[thegoldenmackid]

Given the amount of Logic Board failures, it seems like a good idea.

mroogle. (http://www.google.com/cse?cx=011016119145480959114%3Akuv1aq0hily&ie=UTF-8&q=imac+applecare+site%3Aforums.macrumors.com&hl=en&as_qdr=y&meta=)

[GeekAtBirth]

If anything fails internally, your done. You may be able to use iFixit but it is very unlikely you will. I would just use up the free One Year Apple care provided, then with a week before the expiration of the free on year, then buy the three year.

[Katyusha]

I said to the staff if he means that the Imac has more hardware problems than a normal Windows PC, and he asked me in reply "if you buy a PC from DELL or SONY,will you choose an extended warranty?":eek::eek::eek::eek:

[Hellhammer]

I said to the staff if he means that the Imac has more hardware problems than a normal Windows PC, and he asked me in reply "if you buy a PC from DELL or SONY,will you choose an extended warranty?":eek::eek::eek::eek:

I would say iMac's failure rates are average, but if something fails, fixing it costs more than AppleCare, that's why I got it and you should.

[willcodejavafor]

I would say iMac's failure rates are average, but if something fails, fixing it costs more than AppleCare, that's why I got it and you should.

They would only sell apple care if it was profitable, which means as a consumer you get shafted :)

[Hellhammer]

They would only sell apple care if it was profitable, which means as a consumer you get shafted :)

That's the main target of a company of course, make money :p

But seriously, most of the AppleCare buyers never use it because they don't have to but at least they (including I) can sleep their nights well :cool:

[300D]

AppleCare is only good for laptops.

[ditzy]

Buying a warrantee is always a gamble, you're betting that your computer will break within three years. If it doesn't you lose your stake, if it does, you get it fixed, and possibly the jackpot of a brand new up to date computer.

[mreg376]

Hi everyone, this is Katyusha from Japan.

Yesterday I went to the nearest apple store,and the staff there told me that over 70% of people chooses to buy the 3-year AppleCare for their iMac because the inside of the iMac is very delicate.

Do you think the AppleCare is necessary?

Sorry for my poor English....hope that you can understand my question.:p:p:p

I was, and still am, a big Windows box builder and repairer. But the iMac is a pain to disassemble and parts are expensive. I haven't needed my Applecare for my 18-month old iMac and hope I never will, but I would buy Applecare again. Nothing can beat having an Apple store available to bring the machine to for repairs.

[dwd3885]

Buying a warrantee is always a gamble, you're betting that your computer will break within three years. If it doesn't you lose your stake, if it does, you get it fixed, and possibly the jackpot of a brand new up to date computer.

Don't forget the phone support. If you have any questions with iPhoto or iMovie, all you have to do is call Apple and they'll help you.

[iGary]

It's cheap here in the states. $169 is almost a no-brainer.

[willcodejavafor]

It's cheap here in the states. $169 is almost a no-brainer.

In Europe we have more rights as a consumer compared to the US. Not sure about Japan though.

[Katyusha]

It's cheap here in the states. $169 is almost a no-brainer.


I envy you!!!!!!!!!

In Japan I have to pay 22,050 yen for "AppleCare for iMac".

As Japanese Yen is going high now, 22,050 yen = over 240 USD!!! (converted by Yahoo! Finance Currency Converter)

:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

[dXTC]

I would say iMac's failure rates are average, but if something fails, fixing it costs more than AppleCare, that's why I got it and you should.

I got it for my iMac for the same reason. Luckily, I got my iMac around the same time that CompUSA went out of business. On the last week of their liquidation sale, I got AppleCare for 50% off, a rare B&M bargain indeed. (Circuit City's closing sales couldn't hold a candle to CompUSA's.)

Like mreg376, I like knowing I can simply drop the thing off at a repair shop in case something indeed goes wrong. I've built a system or two, but I don't relish taking apart my iMac, especially since OS X doesn't allow using just any old replacement part that happens to be lying about.

[Hellhammer]

I envy you!!!!!!!!!

In Japan I have to pay 22,050 yen for "AppleCare for iMac".

As Japanese Yen is going high now, 22,050 yen = over 240 USD!!! (converted by Yahoo! Finance Currency Converter)

:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

I paid 179€ for it which is around 265$. IMO it's worth every penny I paid

In Europe we have more rights as a consumer compared to the US. Not sure about Japan though.

Like what? That depends on country. In Finland, we have somehow better rights but that doesn't mean that everything I buy has lifetime warranty

[MacHamster68]

just calculate even if it is 240$ the iMac cost more does he ?
so every system if mac or pc can fail for one reason or another ,
just the old example with the capacitor problem on the g5`s and g4`s
couple years ago , most of them did not fail within the first year :eek:
so as bringing in a iMac for repair can be a costly thing which is
certainly more then 240$ and its not likely that you can fix it yourself
so get the applecare and rest in assurance
if it breaks they fix it free of charge

[ditzy]

Don't forget the phone support. If you have any questions with iPhoto or iMovie, all you have to do is call Apple and they'll help you.

That is true. But I don't believe that is the primary reason that people buy applecare

[Hellhammer]

That is true. But I don't believe that is the primary reason that people buy applecare

Not if you are a member of MacRumors :p

[thomanjones]

On my current iMac, this is what I've had replaced over the past 2.5 years in 3 separate trips:

Midplane - 2x
Screen - 1x
PSU - 1x
iSight - 1x

OTOH, I've never had to take my mid-2008 MBP in for repair.

I always buy Applecare, so far it's saved me thousands.

[TJRiver]

I bought a MacBook and an iMac at the same time w/o Applecare. No problems with either for 12 months, but just before the 12 months ran out, I bought Applecare for the laptop. It ended up being money well spent, as the repairs it needed exceeded the cost of Applecare by a factor of 5x. Typically, extended warranties are a sucker's bet. Your mileage may vary.

[linkycat]

Hi there,


I have a 24 inch 2007 iMac. I've thus far had to replace the LCD screen, Hard Drive, and Power Supply. Thank goodness for the warrantee. If I didn't have it (come on, its not too expensive) I'd basically have had to purchase a new computer by the time I'd paid for parts and labor.

[MadCow42]

Buying a warrantee is always a gamble, you're betting that your computer will break within three years. If it doesn't you lose your stake, if it does, you get it fixed, and possibly the jackpot of a brand new up to date computer.

The cost of the iMac Applecare is very reasonable IMHO... $129. Yes, it must be profitable on average for Apple to offer it, but so is life (and health) insurance. But I'd argue that at least with my experience the value delivered is pretty good compared to most extended warranties.

I did hit the jackpot on it myself - they replaced a 2006 white iMac with a brand new 2.93ghz aluminum one this spring (2.5 years into the 3-year period) because of recurring video issues. They didn't even cheap-out on the specs - they gave me the mid-range model when the base model would have exceeded what I originally had in all respects. They were great about the whole process.

I don't think I'd spend more than 10% of the item price on Applecare (as is the case on some items like iPods/etc.), but $129 for a iMac is pretty reasonable.

[dwd3885]

The cost of the iMac Applecare is very reasonable IMHO... $129. Yes, it must be profitable on average for Apple to offer it, but so is life (and health) insurance. But I'd argue that at least with my experience the value delivered is pretty good compared to most extended warranties.

I did hit the jackpot on it myself - they replaced a 2006 white iMac with a brand new 2.93ghz aluminum one this spring (2.5 years into the 3-year period) because of recurring video issues. They didn't even cheap-out on the specs - they gave me the mid-range model when the base model would have exceeded what I originally had in all respects. They were great about the whole process.

I don't think I'd spend more than 10% of the item price on Applecare (as is the case on some items like iPods/etc.), but $129 for a iMac is pretty reasonable.

It's only $119 for students in the US as well! So I'm definitely getting AppleCare on my new iMac. On the MBP's, it's a lot more, something like $350 from Apple. But I really think it's worth it on any Apple computer just because it's so hard to get replacement parts or have someone fix it or fix it yourself.

[Mike Macintosh]

Well their is those so called technical probs that could occur, and its always a good idea to get it, just use up the first year, then right before it expires purchase the 3 years.

[ditzy]

The cost of the iMac Applecare is very reasonable IMHO... $129. Yes, it must be profitable on average for Apple to offer it, but so is life (and health) insurance. But I'd argue that at least with my experience the value delivered is pretty good compared to most extended warranties.

I did hit the jackpot on it myself - they replaced a 2006 white iMac with a brand new 2.93ghz aluminum one this spring (2.5 years into the 3-year period) because of recurring video issues. They didn't even cheap-out on the specs - they gave me the mid-range model when the base model would have exceeded what I originally had in all respects. They were great about the whole process.

I don't think I'd spend more than 10% of the item price on Applecare (as is the case on some items like iPods/etc.), but $129 for a iMac is pretty reasonable.

I want to make it clear that I do not think that applecare is a bad gamble. Especially if you get one of the higher spec iMacs. As they replace a top of the range iMac with a top of the range iMac. However as with any gamble you should always remember that the house usually wins.