Apple Care?

[Voiteur]

I just ordered a G5 iMac the other day... does anyone have any recommendations on whether I should get the Protection Plan? I never needed it for my old iMac and well, have people out there found it useful? Or, is it just a way for apple to pocket more money?
It seems to me that if your mac makes it to the one year mark it will probably go three.

 

[alexf]

I just ordered a G5 iMac the other day... does anyone have any recommendations on whether I should get the Protection Plan? I never needed it for my old iMac and well, have people out there found it useful? Or, is it just a way for apple to pocket more money?
It seems to me that if your mac makes it to the one year mark it will probably go three.

Since you are buying a Rev. A model, I would recommend AppleCare. Traditionally Rev. A models can have some unresolved issues...

Then again, remember that you do have a one year warranty without AppleCare.

 

[wdlove]

The iMac G5 is a Rev. A model, so increases the reason to purchase AppleCare. IMHO no matter the Rev. number it's worth the cost. You will also continue telephone support for the three years. AppleCare allows peace of mind. The repair could end up paying for AppleCare.

 

[kgarner]

Always on a Rev. A and always on a laptop. I reccomend it for all purchases, but I consider those situations a must. I will be getting it with my iMac G5.

 

[dorqiekat]

Always on a Rev. A and always on a laptop. I reccomend it for all purchases, but I consider those situations a must. I will be getting it with my iMac G5.

Why always on a laptop? I have a powerbook and it took a big chuck out of me to get it too, and I'm not sure if I can affored to get applecare when my year is up. Especially if I'm not going to need it.

 

[wordmunger]

It has more to do with whether you can afford making repairs yourself if you need them. It's like car insurance: you go for the highest deductable you can afford, because you know the company is making money on the insurance.

Personally I can afford to repair my computer when it breaks. Over almost 20 years of Mac ownership, I've never bought the Applecare, and I've spent perhaps $500 fixing my Macs. Definitely cheaper than buying Applecare for all those years.

 

[kgarner]

Why always on a laptop?

Because they are portable. They are constantly getting bumped and jostled, increasing the likelihood that something could go wrong. Also, the repairs are outrageous. If you video card or ethernet port or similar thing goes out you have to replace the whole logic board, not just the broken component. This is not cheap. I would rather have it paid for and not worry about it for 3 years than curse my bad luck that I am spending another $2500 (assuming 15" Superdrive model, my favorite) one year a three days after I bought it.

 

[jxyama]

Always on a Rev. A and always on a laptop. I reccomend it for all purchases, but I consider those situations a must. I will be getting it with my iMac G5.

ha ha, i have a Rev. A PB and i've been doing fine without APP... (knock on wood.)

probability-wise, it's a waste, obviously. apple is making money off of APP. but like any insurance/warranty, some people value the piece of mind in knowing that even if they are unlucky, they are covered. many others are willing to take the chance they won't be so unlucky. obviously, you are one of the former. i am more of the latter.

for laptops, because many parts are integrated, it may make more sense to buy APP. one part breaking may necessitate more than just that broken part to be replaced, resulting in higher repair cost. such cases are rarer for desktops because not as many parts are integrated...

just remember that it's not an insurance, it's a warranty. if you break something by accident, APP will not fix it for you.

 

[dorqiekat]

ha ha, i have a Rev. A PB and i've been doing fine without APP... (knock on wood.)

probability-wise, it's a waste, obviously. apple is making money off of APP. but like any insurance/warranty, some people value the piece of mind in knowing that even if they are unlucky, they are covered. many others are willing to take the chance they won't be so unlucky. obviously, you are one of the former. i am more of the latter.

for laptops, because many parts are integrated, it may make more sense to buy APP. one part breaking may necessitate more than just that broken part to be replaced, resulting in higher repair cost. such cases are rarer for desktops because not as many parts are integrated...

just remember that it's not an insurance, it's a warranty. if you break something by accident, APP will not fix it for you.

Thats my problem... I don't take my PB to school or anything, but I move it around the house and take it home for the weekend and stuff. Other than that... it doesn't do much but sit on my leg while I attept at my work. Also, as you said.. it isn't insurance.. its a warranty. I think I have a higher chance at dropping it than something going wrong on the inside. (well, at least thats what I think.) I've had a Sony for a year, and it has recieved the same treatment.. moving around and going home for the weekends. And I haven't had a problem with it at all. I don't want to have to give up the $300+ for the extended warranty if I'm not going to use it and get my moneys worth. Also, if you get it, you have the first year and the 2 years of apple care.. then what? Can you extend that again once its over?

 

[kgarner]

Yeah it is totally a probability thing. There are those (like jxyama) using a rev a powerbook without any hiccups. The reason i think it is worth it on laptops is becasue IF you ever need to use it, it will likely pay for itself. Even one time. And when I say bumped and jostled, I don't mean dropped. jostling is considered normal with laptops and can result in problems down the road.

 

[jxyama]

Also, if you get it, you have the first year and the 2 years of apple care.. then what? Can you extend that again once its over?

i think that's it for the warranty. max. is 3 years, which sort of makes sense, because while the laptop will still be very usable, it's getting quite old at that point.

for laptops, it's a difficult call. i waited for nearly a year and didn't see any indication of something going wrong - so i didn't bother with APP. from then on, i decided it was worth taking a "risk" that my laptop will last me two more years. if it fails after year three, i figured i got good use out of it and i would feel ok about spending the money on another laptop. (i'm hoping it will remain useful for total of around 5 years, though.)

anyway, after a year and a half with my laptop, i've also realized that the laptop itself is hardly worth anything, in some sense. i can always save and buy a new one. it's just hardware. the things i absolutely cannot live without are my data - photos, movies, music... those, i have backed up, and it would be wonderful to be able to insure those!

 

[seamuskrat]

I have found that in general Macs are reliable. Rev A problems usually crop up early on, so they can be fixed in the 1 year period. That said, Applecare treats you better when you do need repairs. I remember trying to get a repair on a Pismo without Applecare in the first year and they gave me the runaround. With Applecare, a similar Mac got fixed ASAP.
You could gamble and not et it. Since the G5 iMac seems to be very user serviceable it may be a good choice to forgo it as you could replace parts yourself. While a powerbook is harder to user service, especially if you have no technical experience.

The good thing is you have 1 year o purchase it. So, skip it today and see what happens over time with it.

 

[Macky-Mac]

Depends on how much "peace of mind" you want I would say.

For an iMac it's only, what? $170? If you are totally new to Macs then maybe the additional telephone support might be a good value?.

Myself, I've never bought Applecare for any of the 7 new computers I've had at home or work. Only one of them had any hardware failures during the 2 years that would have been covered by the extended warrenty....and that amounted to one CD burner that had to be replaced..... so that's less than $300 of repairs for 7 computers which is way less than the cost of Applecare would have been for all those machines.

Of course others will have stories about how Applecare saved their wallets from distruction.....so it's a bit of a gamble

Wait to see how the first year goes.....if you're having a lot of problems you can always buy it anytime during that first year

 

[wdlove]

Why always on a laptop? I have a powerbook and it took a big chuck out of me to get it too, and I'm not sure if I can affored to get applecare when my year is up. Especially if I'm not going to need it.

It all comes down to wether you can afford to make repairs or not. My wife purchased 15" PowerBook this past October. The power cord has been replaced once. The airport card, entire lid, and the mother board had to be replaced. I'm sure that is much more than the cost of her AppleCare.

 

[Voiteur]

thanks

thanks for all the replies...
this should be a macrumors poll: Did you ever use your extended warranty?
or: Was it a donation to Jobs' retirement fund?

 

[Macmaniac]

As someone who works in an Apple Repair shop I do recommend AppleCare for any student, or anyone who buys a new mac, one the phone support is an underused resource, if you have AppleCare you can call them for help with your computer when ever you want, like how can find new fonts for Appleworks, or what are some features they recommend in iPhoto, AppleCare is not just tech support it can be a free help line as well. And after 90 days you lose that support with the standard warranty, it then becomes $50 a call.
AppleCare is not like that crap warranty that they sell you at BestBuy to cover an alarm clock. Its well worth the cost if you even get one thing fixed.