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hayden21

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 14, 2008
44
0
I bought my MBP at Best Buy and I have 14 days to decide whether to get the Best Buy Warranty or the Applecare Warranty. I did purchase the one year accidental warranty from Best Buy just incase something does happen to it.
 
From what I've read about BB's warranty treatment with LCD televisions and the like, stick with AppleCare. At least you get somewhat timely service with AppleCare with all the service providers and Apple Stores around.
 
Store warranties are almost always overpriced.

For electronics, I would tend to stick with third party or manufacturer warranties.

Applecare seems to be one of the most solid and affordable programs around, so it is HIGHLY unlikely the best buy warranty is a better deal.

Go to Amazon and get the Applecare warranty.
 
+1 for AppleCare.

I had a Futureshop (BestBuy) extended warranty before. While they eventually covered my replacement, it took ages and many phone calls for me to get that replacement.
 
Not to jump on the bandwagon, but you get more with AppleCare. For the three years you have it, you get full customer service. Not just for repairs, but for any questions/problems/issues that arise.
 
AppleCare. Got it with my MBP and after about 2 weeks my charger stopped working. Walked into and Apple store, talked to one of the reps on the floor, and metioned I had Apple Care. She walked me to the front, put me in the front of the line where they tested mine real quick, pulled a brand new charger of the shelf and handed to me and said here you go have a good day. Didnt ask for a receipt, or to look up my info or anything. Right then I knew it was a couple hundred well spent.:)
 
AppleCare. Got it with my MBP and after about 2 weeks my charger stopped working. Walked into and Apple store, talked to one of the reps on the floor, and metioned I had Apple Care. She walked me to the front, put me in the front of the line where they tested mine real quick, pulled a brand new charger of the shelf and handed to me and said here you go have a good day. Didnt ask for a receipt, or to look up my info or anything. Right then I knew it was a couple hundred well spent.:)

This is a good example. From personal experience and experience from friends and family, you don't get this with BB care. It's always "leave it with us and we'll get back" and you have to trust them that they know what they're doing. Plus from my understanding, most of the Apple support is outsourced and sent away.

If you have access to an Apple store, for a lot of thing its' done by them there in the store, unless it's something more complicated.
 
AppleCare is great but I also have had TREMENDOUS luck with Best Buys service plans. I have heard a lot of bad things about them but I have had four products break in my house and they were all fixed no questions asked because of the warranty! :)
 
AppleCare is great but I also have had TREMENDOUS luck with Best Buys service plans. I have heard a lot of bad things about them but I have had four products break in my house and they were all fixed no questions asked because of the warranty! :)
Were they computers, and were they fixed quickly?
 
Best Buy is one of the worst companies when it comes to taking care of the customer..

I run a mobile pc repair business here in my home town, and you don't know how many times i have fixed comps after the Geek Squad either couldn't figure it out,, or the worst case actual broke their laptop (physically) and took them months to get a replacement because they would lie and tell them "no that bottom case was in two pieces when it came in here"

AppleCare for sure man.
 
AppleCare is great but I also have had TREMENDOUS luck with Best Buys service plans. I have heard a lot of bad things about them but I have had four products break in my house and they were all fixed no questions asked because of the warranty! :)

The Best Buy warranty is good with the iPods because they will instantly replace it even if you just get the battery wet, however with computers they are slow, which is one thing that Apple is not at it. Think about it Best Buy has to send the computers out to Apple, wait for Apple to fix it,s hip it back to the Best Buy service center and then back to the Best Buy store. Apple will either fix the comptuer on sight or send it out very quickly to where it needs to go. Just use some common logic here.
 
The Best Buy warranty is good with the iPods because they will instantly replace it even if you just get the battery wet, however with computers they are slow, which is one thing that Apple is not at it. Think about it Best Buy has to send the computers out to Apple, wait for Apple to fix it,s hip it back to the Best Buy service center and then back to the Best Buy store. Apple will either fix the comptuer on sight or send it out very quickly to where it needs to go. Just use some common logic here.


JUST FYI, Best Buy sends almost all of their computer products for repair to their own service center. Either Best Buy or contracted out. They rarely send it to the Manufacturer. All they do is have the parts covered. Even if it is under the Manufacturer Warranty they send it to their own service center. They honor the first year warranty because you purchased the product from them.

Personally I would just stick to the Apple care for the extended warranty. As for the Best buy, I would only buy the ADH (Accidental Warranty) from them. That covers a cracked LCD or spilled liquids on your MBP. Apple Care does not cover that.

Both has its pros and cons. I don't think Apple offers accidental on any of their machines.
 
Having worked for BestBuy for two years I would not buy the PSP (bestbuy warranty) on an apple product. It is overpriced in general and is sent to a repair center so it will take a longer time to get back. I personally have apple care and have had no problems when dealing with them.
 
The Best Buy plans are great. For my 32" Panasonic HDTV, if I want to get another TV in the same price range, I can trade my TV in for a newer one. The plan was I think like $100 but it is great!

For my 360 I just bring it in. They test it and if there were 3 red lights, they told me to get a new one. However, they dont have that plan anymore. I think that was like $70.
 
The Best Buy plans are great. For my 32" Panasonic HDTV, if I want to get another TV in the same price range, I can trade my TV in for a newer one. The plan was I think like $100 but it is great!

For my 360 I just bring it in. They test it and if there were 3 red lights, they told me to get a new one. However, they dont have that plan anymore. I think that was like $70.

My sister was told that exact same thing when she bought her TV until she actually used it. Long story short, she won't buy their warranty again.

As someone said earlier, each plan has it's pros and cons. We're actually referring to computer support and it's been stated and it's pretty much a fact, they'll send the Apple out pretty much 100% of the time.

I've had one issue back when the iMacs were freezing, and the genius asked me "do you have it with you" and I said yah, it's in my car, I drove up to the back the building, we ran it up in the store, he compared it to the floor models, and we determined it wasn't my iMac but a graphics driver issue (since all the iMacs we tested had this issue) and he was more than friendly. I was in and out in about 2hrs and they were very accomidating.

Same situation at Best Buy would take a bit longer since they'll send it out to get diagnosed and troubleshot.

I don't think the OP mentioned if he/she had an Apple store nearby which would make a lot of our Genius Apple store examples and experiences moot. But I'm pretty sure there is a certified tech nearby that can provide onsite support for most things.
 
There are several Apple stores in my area so I guess I luck out there. :)

That being the case, I would look for Applecare on like eBay or something. Be wary but you don't have to buy it when you buy your machine.

You also (unless Apple changed it) have at least a year to buy Apple care not 14 days. Maybe that's different if you bought it from BB but I don't think that's the case. Last I heard it was up to 1 yr from original purchase of your Mac.
 
Best Buy is one of the worst companies when it comes to taking care of the customer..

I run a mobile pc repair business here in my home town, and you don't know how many times i have fixed comps after the Geek Squad either couldn't figure it out,, or the worst case actual broke their laptop (physically) and took them months to get a replacement because they would lie and tell them "no that bottom case was in two pieces when it came in here"

AppleCare for sure man.

An unbiased opinion from a Best Buy competitor. :rolleyes:
 
+1 for AC

best after sales assistance i have ever experienced. the guys on the phone are super willing to help and do try their hardest to get you righted over the phone.

in the shop, if somethings obviosuly wrong, they take a look, check the serial no and they sort you out with no qualms

my only criticism is they tend to try keep u on the phone longer than necessary. last guy i spoke to, whilst being very sure and clear about what the warranty covered must of repeated himself about 5 times.

i almost told him... yeah i get the friggin picture can i stop spending money on my mobile now?
 
That being the case, I would look for Applecare on like eBay or something. Be wary but you don't have to buy it when you buy your machine.

You also (unless Apple changed it) have at least a year to buy Apple care not 14 days. Maybe that's different if you bought it from BB but I don't think that's the case. Last I heard it was up to 1 yr from original purchase of your Mac.

i thought it was if you bought AC you had a year to register it for your machine before it became void?
 
i thought it was if you bought AC you had a year to register it for your machine before it became void?

Last I checked this statement was still true:

Do I have to buy AppleCare when I purchase my device? This is something that most people don't know. You can wait up to one year from the date of purchase to buy AppleCare. You'll get the same 3-year plan as if you bought it when you first purchased your device.
 
This is a good example. From personal experience and experience from friends and family, you don't get this with BB care. It's always "leave it with us and we'll get back" and you have to trust them that they know what they're doing. Plus from my understanding, most of the Apple support is outsourced and sent away.

If you have access to an Apple store, for a lot of thing its' done by them there in the store, unless it's something more complicated.

Yea, cant go wrong with it. Especially if you are a student! As the discount basically pays for the apple care.
 
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