i passed on getting the Best Buy protection plan (they will give you a new replacement if ***** happens) for $150 for 1 year, cause i thought i might be better off going through Apple for it. now that i'm looking at Apple Care.. it looks like the $249 plan is the only option, and it doesn't cover the "***** happens" protection like Best Buy. so do you guys think i should just go with Best Buy's plan?
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Best Buy protection plan vs. Apple Care
- Thread starter radiohead14
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Say, if I ordered through Apple.com and did decide to go with some sort of insurance... would Best Buy sell me their protection plan even though I purchased directly from Apple? And does their plan extend 1 year out from the normal warranty that comes with the MBA?
no you must purchase it from BB and it's parallel to the Apple warranty.. but i do like their replacement with a new one feature. not sure if Apple offers that w Apple Care
AppleCare offers an extended hardware warranty (3-years) but it has no "protection coverage" against physical damage.
You might take a look at SquareTrade's warranty, too. Haven't used it personally, but seems like people like it.
You might take a look at SquareTrade's warranty, too. Haven't used it personally, but seems like people like it.
In the case of SquareTrade, accident protection is a $150 add-on to their $199 warranty. You need to buy it at the same time you get the warranty. They sometimes have coupon codes that can reduce the price by $30-50.
Since my credit card doubles my manufacturer's warranty, I sometimes wish I could just purchase accident insurance. But I haven't seen any such policies.
Check with your homeowners/renters insurance agent. With most policies you can add the MBA to the policy for $30 or so a year. That will cover theft or a total loss from *****.
Maybe others have had better luck but I would stay as far from BB's coverage as possible.
We had it for my wife's Sony laptop a few years back, which was a real lemon. After having it fixed multiple times (by their in house techs) they decided there was a more serious problem and they would exchange the machine. The guy told us to go take a look on the floor for similarly priced models while he took care of the processing.
Over an hour goes by, and they apparently decided they couldn't exchange it and were going to have to ship it to their regional repair facility. It was over a month before we saw that machine again. It was still broken when we got it back.
On the other hand, something is wrong with my Mac and I take it to an Apple store. They usually fix it on the first try or walk out of the back with a replacement machine. The worst thing to ever happen was they told me they'd have to order a part and it would take a week, but they called me a day later to say my machine was ready. Get AppleCare. Worth the extra cost.
We had it for my wife's Sony laptop a few years back, which was a real lemon. After having it fixed multiple times (by their in house techs) they decided there was a more serious problem and they would exchange the machine. The guy told us to go take a look on the floor for similarly priced models while he took care of the processing.
Over an hour goes by, and they apparently decided they couldn't exchange it and were going to have to ship it to their regional repair facility. It was over a month before we saw that machine again. It was still broken when we got it back.
On the other hand, something is wrong with my Mac and I take it to an Apple store. They usually fix it on the first try or walk out of the back with a replacement machine. The worst thing to ever happen was they told me they'd have to order a part and it would take a week, but they called me a day later to say my machine was ready. Get AppleCare. Worth the extra cost.
thanks for your reply! yea i decided, after reading some situations online, that i shouldn't jump into the BB plan yet. what was hooking me was the part they said that if i drop it, spill on it, or even dent it a little.. that they would replace it with a new one.. made it sound as if it's not gonna be a painful ordeal. but yea.. they are salesmen, so i'm sure they were trying to butter me up.
ps.. all of a sudden, i'm craving cheese steaks
I used to work at a similar electronic store that offered warranty for stuff happening to the computer. The catchphrase always used to be, "you can bring (insert electronic device here) to us in a million pieces and we'll fix it or replace it for free". Let me tell you this - you need to read the fine print on that warranty.
There is a high number limit for the amount of times they will attempt to fix your computer. Furthermore, every time they do it will inconvenience you and put you out of a computer for days to months at a time. Did I mention they can put refurbished parts in there that are not equal or better to the original part i.e. video cards. One of the worst decisions you can make in life aside from not choosing an aisle seat is to buy an electronic store protection plan.
There is a high number limit for the amount of times they will attempt to fix your computer. Furthermore, every time they do it will inconvenience you and put you out of a computer for days to months at a time. Did I mention they can put refurbished parts in there that are not equal or better to the original part i.e. video cards. One of the worst decisions you can make in life aside from not choosing an aisle seat is to buy an electronic store protection plan.
On portable Macs, Applecare has always been beneficial for me, in both small and big ways. I, for one, will always get it.
You can gets little better price on Applecare from some retailers like B&H Photo $190 there.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/582542-REG/Apple_MC246LL_A_3_Year_AppleCare_for_MacBook.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/582542-REG/Apple_MC246LL_A_3_Year_AppleCare_for_MacBook.html
If you are worried about accidental damage - get an all risks electronics rider or separate insurance policy for your Mac - not only will it be cheaper; but it will cover loss / damage / theft - and not just on your MBA. BB plan is a poor choice if you are looking for insurance.
If you want warranty extension - many credit cards do that already.
BTW - they don't give a new replacement - they give you what you paid for the MBA as a credit - which you can use to buy a new one. If you paid a discounted price then you'll only get that back.
Call your insurance agent - they write all risk electronic riders for homeowners / renters plus offer standalone policies as well.