Is Apple Protection plan for iPad 2 worth the cost?

[JenBen75]

I was wondering if this was worth paying for? Has anyone had any experience with it or is it just a waste of money?

[miamialley]

Originally Posted by JenBen75

I was wondering if this was worth paying for? Has anyone had any experience with it or is it just a waste of money?

Statistically it's a waste of money. The vast majority of devices will have no issues which would merit AppleCare. They make money off of selling it and that's why it's offered. It's only the 1 person out of xxxx who says it's worth it, and for them it was.

[Zethca]

Exactly.

No, statistically it is not worth it at all. If they added accidental damage protection MAYBE...

[MykullMyerz]

It's good for a peace of mind depending on how long you plan on keeping your iPad, but I personally never buy an Applecare Protection Plan because the product comes with a 1-year warranty anyway, and I usually don't keep anything any longer than that, so it's pointless to pay for another year. However, if you plan to have your iPad for a while, then maybe you should.

[saving107]

How often do you plan on upgrading?

I didn't buy it last year because Apple provides 1 year of free warranty and you technically have 365 days from the date of purchase to get warranty, and since this year I had until April 3rd to buy I was going to wait on the iPad 2's announcement to see if I would upgrade or use that money to buy extended warranty.

I opted to upgrade.

Its only $99 and it will give you an extra year of warranty if the battery ever goes bad, or if you have screen has issues or... you never know what could happen. I think it is worth it, unless you plan to upgrade next year, then just skip it.

[shareef777]

Originally Posted by JenBen75

I was wondering if this was worth paying for? Has anyone had any experience with it or is it just a waste of money?

It's like asking if gambling your house on red is worth it. It is if you win lol.

Ideally, hold off until near the end of your one year original warranty (as that's how long you have to purchase AppleCare). If you see that your battery doesn't hold a charge well or any other issues that may be covered under warranty, then buy it.

[dmaul1114]

No.

If you must pay for a warranty, then get one of the third party warranties that also covers accidental damage.

Otherwise, if it has defects, they'll most like come up during the first year when it's under warranty anyway.

[Paul S]

I don't normally, but I got one on my iMac. Hard drive crashed in year 3, so free replacement, which paid for itself there. Also had some pixels go out in year 2. For the iPad, I wouldn't have gotten one, except the dealer offered free overnight shipping ($55) and AppleCare for $79. No brainer for $24 extra.

[RadicalxEdward]

I ended up doing a squaretrade warranty. have heard nothing but good things from them and it DOES cover accidental damage with no deductible. Not a bad deal for $72 on a 64GB 3G ipad.

[edk99]

I view all extended warranties as a waste. If a product is going to become defective there is a 99.99% chance it will happen within the manufactures warranty period. My iPhone4 had a SIM issue and that happened within a few weeks of getting it and they replaced it.

Some people will say it is peace of mind and others will say it is a waste like me.

Over the years I've come to the conclusion that it is not worth ever getting extended warranties for the simple reason that if I took all the money I would of spent on extended warranties for electronics, cars, appliances and so on and put that money aside in a jar I could easily cover the cost of replacing or repairing an item if it went bad. Even for the few items that this has happened I'm still way ahead of the game in cost saving by not getting these extended warranties.

[iStudentUK]

It would help if you told us where you were... for example I'd not bother here (UK) because consumer protection laws are very strong. In the US AppleCare is more worthwhile, but not a must. Chances are you are US, but you could be from Canada, Australia, UK, France...?

[ovrlrd]

Not worth it, got the SquareTrade plan with the 40% off code. It covers accidental damage so it works for me.

[RadicalxEdward]

Originally Posted by edk99

I view all extended warranties as a waste. If a product is going to become defective there is a 99.99% chance it will happen within the manufactures warranty period. My iPhone4 had a SIM issue and that happened within a few weeks of getting it and they replaced it.

Some people will say it is peace of mind and others will say it is a waste like me.

Over the years I've come to the conclusion that it is not worth ever getting extended warranties for the simple reason that if I took all the money I would of spent on extended warranties for electronics, cars, appliances and so on and put that money aside in a jar I could easily cover the cost of replacing or repairing an item if it went bad. Even for the few items that this has happened I'm still way ahead of the game in cost saving by not getting these extended warranties.

so if you drop your ipad tomorrow and the glass shatters, you'll be able to replace it with the $99 you saved by not getting apple care? I dont' get it.

[Richmond1958]

We have purchased Applecare on our Macs and iphones (not ipods). Purchased it for my 64G ATT iPad2 for peace of mind. My experience is that you just seem to get more latitude at the Apple Store when things go wrong.

[Paul S]

Originally Posted by RadicalxEdward

so if you drop your ipad tomorrow and the glass shatters, you'll be able to replace it with the $99 you saved by not getting apple care? I dont' get it.

I don't believe accidental damage is covered by AppleCare.

[RadicalxEdward]

Originally Posted by Paul S

I don't believe accidental damage is covered by AppleCare.

It's not but he said he doesn't believe in extended warranties at all. (which squaretrade is, which does cover accidental damage)

[edk99]

Originally Posted by RadicalxEdward

so if you drop your ipad tomorrow and the glass shatters, you'll be able to replace it with the $99 you saved by not getting apple care? I dont' get it.

I would replace it with the money I saved by not getting extended warranties for *any* of the products I buy. $99+$149+$79+whatever I would of dished out for these things over the years. So for the 2 TV's, laptop, iPhone, Washer/Dryer that I bought last year adds up really quick to easily replace or fix the screen on a broken iPad.

[spinedoc77]

Originally Posted by zethca

exactly.

No, statistically it is not worth it at all. If they added accidental damage protection maybe...

+1

[nixiemaiden]

Originally Posted by RadicalxEdward

It's not but he said he doesn't believe in extended warranties at all. (which squaretrade is, which does cover accidental damage)

Accidental Damage is charged separately from an extended warranty. The plan that square trade is offering just happens to include Accidental Damage and the price of it is less than 1 year of extended Apple Care.

To me, SquareTrade (including accidental damage) is worth it.

AppleCare...not so much.

[RadicalxEdward]

Originally Posted by edk99

I would replace it with the money I saved by not getting extended warranties for *any* of the products I buy. $99+$149+$79+whatever I would of dished out for these things over the years. So for the 2 TV's, laptop, iPhone, Washer/Dryer that I bought last year adds up really quick to easily replace or fix the screen on a broken iPad.

My mistake, that makes much more sense. I never understood the point of them with non portable devices. (unless you bought a tv and wii at the same time lol)

Originally Posted by nixiemaiden

Accidental Damage is charged separately from an extended warranty. The plan that square trade is offering just happens to include Accidental Damage and the price of it is less than 1 year of extended Apple Care.

To me, SquareTrade (including accidental damage) is worth it.

AppleCare...not so much.

agreed

[JenBen75]

Originally Posted by iStudentUK

It would help if you told us where you were... for example I'd not bother here (UK) because consumer protection laws are very strong. In the US AppleCare is more worthwhile, but not a must. Chances are you are US, but you could be from Canada, Australia, UK, France...?

I am in the US

[JenBen75]

Wow so Squaretrade will replace if the screen gets cracked? That is a pretty good deal and would rather go that route. The things I am mainly worried about are dropping it and/or spilling something on it. I plan on keeping it for at the very least two years.

What is the discount code to the Squaretrade thing?

[iStudentUK]

Originally Posted by JenBen75

I am in the US

Well goings sans-AppleCare is more of a risk. There isn't a great deal of consumer protection law to fall back on. However, some people get 'good faith' repairs out of warranty especially if it is for a known issue.

I'd consider 3rd party deals that include insurance etc, as others have been posting.

At least wait until towards the end of the first year (you can buy AppleCare anytime in the first year) to see what the device is like- if you have a lemon you may want to invest!

[RadicalxEdward]

Originally Posted by JenBen75

Wow so Squaretrade will replace if the screen gets cracked? That is a pretty good deal and would rather go that route. The things I am mainly worried about are dropping it and/or spilling something on it. I plan on keeping it for at the very least two years.

What is the discount code to the Squaretrade thing?

Yes squaretrade covers spills, drops, etc. You can get either a 2 year or 3 year warranty. There's lots of 20% off codes around the web but you get 40% off if you order it for your ipad before the end of the day today (you don't have to physically have your ipad yet but when you submit a claim they'll want proof of purchase (which you can send to them in advance if you don't want to hold on to the receipt) and it has to match up with what you told them when you bought it. (what you bought, who from, etc))

The code is ipad40

[RadicalxEdward]

I've also noticed you get treated much better at apple when you have questions or have to replace/repair something if you have apple care. but I don't think it's worth $100 just for that.