Got 4 days before my time is up with Best Buy (geek squad is beat, but that accident coverage looks good). I was leaning towards apple.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple care or Best Buy Coverage?
- Thread starter Alienworkshoper
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
This.You already have AppleCare for the first year ... BestBuy is a waste of money
You have to be very careful on Best Buy "warranties" - the fine print usually trumps the awesomeness of the large print.
The only real benefit to the best buy coverage is that the warranty can be extended past three years. As with any warranty read the fine print and remember all apple repairs sent out by Best Buy still go to apple tech centers.
Wait does the first year of apple care cover as much as the extended coverage does? And how long after the original purchase can you buy it? I know that the best buy is 2 weeks after the original purchase.
You have 1 year from the date of purchase to buy applecare. Don't push it though. get it a month early. It doesn't really go on sale, its an apple product after all, so there is no reason to wait.
Depends on you particular Best Buy. Our local stores allow warranty purchase as long as the product is in the original manufacture and in working conditions as determined by the geeks.
I only know about this because my parents love buying their desktop windows units there.
You can buy AppleCare at the same time you buy your Mac, or anytime during the first year, while the first year warranty is in effect. Telephone support under the warranty expires after 90 days, but AppleCare extends it to 3 years, along with the other warranty coverage. AppleCare doesn't cover anything that the original warranty doesn't cover. It simply adds 2 years to the coverage.
Apple will waive the 90 days of phone support if you have a previous problem and it is ongoing (speaker tahts).
Generally the phone support has been wonderful for me in the past, the apple store thats another area all together.
The best buy warranty is actually really good. It covers surge protection, which the apple warranty does not cover. They also give you a brand new computer after three repairs. Its their policy, and I have used it a couple of times. Its a great benefit to the consumer. Either warranty is fantastic, and both give you great coverage. Go with whichever one you want.
They both have their pros & cons. After carefully researching Best Buys offering, I still prefer Apple Care. I always buy mine when I get a new Mac. That way I have constant uninterrupted access to telephone support. I've never been disappointed with Apple Care.
Bestbuy sucks
I'm telling you DO NOT get bestbuy, they're staff is lousy, and they'll go to all extremes to argue with you. I'm telling you this beacause I spent the last 3 days trying to get my faulty iPod 4th gen replaced, they didn't do anything about it.
I let them test out my battery and according to them the battery is completely fine, even if it is about 20 hours off of what the Apple website says it should be, how stupid
What can you expect... I bet they hate their jobs.
Yesterday I went to my local Apple store, made an appointment, went today and they quickly discovered the battery issue and offered me a new replacement. This all took 10 minutes, no arguing, no hassles.
Def. go with Apple Care, try getting it from a third party, they said there was no issue getting it this way. Just make sure the third party seller is trustworthy.
I'm telling you DO NOT get bestbuy, they're staff is lousy, and they'll go to all extremes to argue with you. I'm telling you this beacause I spent the last 3 days trying to get my faulty iPod 4th gen replaced, they didn't do anything about it.
I let them test out my battery and according to them the battery is completely fine, even if it is about 20 hours off of what the Apple website says it should be, how stupid
What can you expect... I bet they hate their jobs.
Yesterday I went to my local Apple store, made an appointment, went today and they quickly discovered the battery issue and offered me a new replacement. This all took 10 minutes, no arguing, no hassles.
Def. go with Apple Care, try getting it from a third party, they said there was no issue getting it this way. Just make sure the third party seller is trustworthy.
How long is the coverage on your 4th generation iPod? I had one of those purchased from BestBuy with 4 year coverage that ran out in 2008.
...
If you are like me you have dealt with several salespeople at big box stores who know nothing about the products they sell. Especially if the products they sell are macs. These same people who know nothing are the people you rely on to help you with problems if you have a bestbuy warranty. I would get the applecare for sure because in general you deal with people who know alot about the product. I was at futureshop (best buy in canada and futureshop are basically the same thing) and there was a guy returning a PS3 because it gave him a hard drive failure error. The guy said it was going to take two weeks for them to try to fix it lol. Do you really want to be without a computer for two weeks if that happens to you? Apple would just swap the drive and you would be good to go the same day
If you are like me you have dealt with several salespeople at big box stores who know nothing about the products they sell. Especially if the products they sell are macs. These same people who know nothing are the people you rely on to help you with problems if you have a bestbuy warranty. I would get the applecare for sure because in general you deal with people who know alot about the product. I was at futureshop (best buy in canada and futureshop are basically the same thing) and there was a guy returning a PS3 because it gave him a hard drive failure error. The guy said it was going to take two weeks for them to try to fix it lol. Do you really want to be without a computer for two weeks if that happens to you? Apple would just swap the drive and you would be good to go the same day
Not true...I picked up Applecare from B&H for my MBP 13 for $174...just saying...
Good point. It seems they still have this price. $9 cheaper than the Apple Education discount price, and if you're outside NY no sales tax (saving another $10 or so depending on your state/local sales tax).
Personally, I wouldn't buy it until month 10 or 11 of the included first year warranty.
You definitely have a point about waiting, deeddawg. I've done that before with other computer purchases. Call it impetuousness...I decided not to wait because I did not know how long the sale would last at B&H.
...and you're going to think I'm really nuts because with the savings (and adding some more), I also purchased a Square Trade Warranty...even though there is some duplication, I wanted the ADH.
Both warranties together (Applecare and SquareTrade) cost less than the Best Buy warranty...and I'm a fan of Best Buy but I'm not crazy about their "plans."
Makes sense if you don't have the ability to get the Edu discount price. No guarantees how long BH will have that price.
That can definitely make sense depending on your past history with accidental damage.
My son has a Dell Studio 15 that we made good use of the accident protection on after his laptop slipped off his lap onto the dorm room floor and busted a corner of the display.
I understand why you wouldn't buy Apple Care right away, since it's covered for that 1st year anyway, but if something goes wrong with your Mac during the 1st year and it's repaired/replaced wouldn't the 3 year Apple Care still cover the repaired original or replacement Mac for years 2 and 3?
It would. I'm talking more about the situation where one might sell the current machine to buy an updated or different model within the first year. I bought my MBP13 in November and there's a distinct possibility I might change it out in summer 2011 depending on what changes Apple makes.
