Like many others I have been keeping an eye on rumor sites waiting for today. Now that the Core 2 Duo Mackbooks are out I have a question... Should I get Applecare? If I save the £150 it costs to buy it here in the UK (Higher Education Price) I'll have enough to buy the blackbook instead of the 2.0 white macbook and still have £50 spending money. 3 months of phone support is quite long and if anything was to go wrong with my Macbook I'd assume I'd notice within 12 months. So is Applecare really worth it? Thanks for the advice in advance.
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Applecare - Need Your Advice
- Thread starter dik2312
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backsidetailsli
macrumors 65816
^^ yeah good call. get the one you want, if you dont have the money now for the care get it later. but yeah its a good idea to have it, i hear so many stories of people accidentally spilling water etc
Thanks for your advise. However, now on the website the choice to select Applecare has gone and it has been replaced with a 'HE contract uplift'. Instead of being £150 this is £58. Is it the same thing?
Hi,
It is the exact same thing. The only difference is that if you purchase Applecare at the same time as your iMac, you get it at this ridiculously good price. In addition, there is no need to register Applecare when you get the iMac the way you would have to if you purchased it seperately.
If you are an education customer and want Applecare, definately get it at the time of purchase. You are losing out big time by getting it afterwards.
However, as an education customer, you actually get Apple's 3 year warranty as standard for no additional cost. This extends hardware support to 3 years whilst telephone support stays the same as the normal 1 year warranty.
Therefore, the difference between Applecare is continual telephone support (both hardware + software) and also the possibility to get your machine uplifted in the need of a repair. If you have the standard warranty, they will tell you to take it to the nearest Apple Authorised Service Provider.
Hope this helps. I tend to just get Applecare at the time of purchase as it is such a steal in terms of price.
David
iW00t
macrumors 68040
It means they will come to your home and collect it (well they will send a courier), and at the same time as picking up your old Mac, they will give you a new one. It is basically just a swap. I've had it every time I had a problem with my Macs as there is no AASP near me. Well the one that is close are a bunch of losers.
David
With regards to the 3 yr warrenty that comes as standard for HE students. I looked into that earlier and noted that in the actual terms&conditons it said nothing about 3 yrs. So I called up and Apple sales rep and he said 'the key word is "limited" parts and labour. The limited means that it only counts if your macbook is repaired by the university.' I didn't quite understand that so I asked him to expand and he said 'basically, if you want cover for more than one year, you have to buy Applecare.'
Can I just add, this call was made before I saw this 'Contract Uplift' so I didn't ask about that at the time. Will hopefully be placing an order tmr and will confirm everything via the phone before I order.
Thanks for the imformation.
interlaced
macrumors 6502a
From what I remember, high ed. customers get a discount on Applecare. It's not free or standard. For example, Applecare for a Macbook Pro is $349 retail, whereas it is $249 with the educational discount.
That's in the US, and prices you quote are for a MacBook Pro. Most people here are talking about the UK Higher Education Store.
Well to be blunt, the guy is lying. He is obviously eager to get another Applecare sale. What I told you about the HE 3 year warranty is in fact, all true. It covers your hardware for 3 years if it is a manufacturing fault. Simple. No buts or maybes. It is limited in the sense that you don't get some of the extra privileges that Applecare gives you like I explained before (Uplift, telephone support etc...).
So basically to summarise...
1. If you want Applecare, you should 100% get it at the time of purchase. As I said before, this is the EXACT same Applecare you would get by purchasing a retail box seperately. The ONLY difference is that Apple register it on your machine before you get it, so there is no need to call when your machine arrives. (Oh, and of course, you also get it ALOT cheaper than buying afterwards).
2. If you don't want Applecare, you will still be covered by Apple's 3 yr parts & labour warranty. This means that if ANYTHING mechanically goes wrong with your machine, Apple will fix it completely free of charge for 3 years (providing it is not your fault - but Applecare doesn't cover you in this instance either). There is NO exceptions to this. It is simple, if your machine develops a fault within 3 years, you can call for repair (without being charged) and thats that.
I would probably get the Applecare anyway just for the extra support and benefits I previously explained. However, it does kill me to suggest this when I know I am putting a smile on a smug sales reps face who will tell you ANYTHING to get you to purchase Applecare.
David
Macky-Mac
macrumors 601
just be aware; spilling water into the computer isn't something covered by the warranty....damage from accidents is not covered by applecare
I would wait to buy it until later. When you buy the warranty immediately with no immediate benefit, you're essentially giving Apple an interest-free loan for a year (that's why they "reccommend" it). It's much better to invest the money yourself for a year (i.e. a savings account) then buy the warranty at the end.