Is Applecare worth it?

[macffooky]

I had a call last Saturday saying that the replacement screen for my 2006 24"er was not of acceptable quality so they would order another with pick up possible on maybe Wednesday. The Genius who was dealing with my case had told me that that the header on my HD was screwed, requiring a reformat but that the data could probably be rescued and this was reaffirmed in the phone call. When I received the email receipt it included an HD so I was a bit surprised/disappointed. I had been dreading the process as I was triple booting OS X/Ubuntu/XP and getting all three partitions off and on safely would not be much fun.

I went to pick up my repaired iMac from Regent St. today despite not having received a call that it was actually ready and was told that my machine had been "crewed" (sp ?) and they are going to give me a brand new iMac and my removed original HD.

Best £135 I ever spent and another very positive experience of Apple and their customer service.

 

[WizardHunt]

I'm not a fan of extended warranties (as much for the miss-selling of them as anything) and have avoided them for my PCs and not had reason to regret it.

So is Applecare worth it or should I save my cash?

I'm getting an iMac BTW

Dunmail

It is piece of mind that you are buying. Besides a investment like this needs to be protected. How would you feel if something happened to the Motherboard, not that it would happen, but if you had AppleCare then you are protected and covered. I would not buy a Mac without it. However you don't always have to buy it from Apple. You can get it cheaper from 3rd parties if you look for it. Sometimes saving up to $40 or more.

 

[doublesupercool]

A warning to double check your dates of purchase and warranty information with Apple directly, rather than using their online warranty checker:

https://selfsolve.apple.com/GetWarranty.do

I purchased my laptop while visiting my GF in Hong Kong. She put a deposit down on March 3 2008 and the computer then took several weeks to arrive due to wanting it customised (7200 hard drive and HD screen).

Apples online checker advised that my 12mth warranty would run out around 16th April 2009. As you may know, you have to register Applecare within the initial 12mth period. When my Applecare agreement was not accepted I disputed and Apple stated that my 12month warranty started on 2 March, the day before money had even been paid for a downpayment, let along actually getting the computer.

I have accepted that I have wasted my money on Applecare, though I could resell it I guess, but this is a warning for you to take precaution and actively check when your 12mth warranty period with Apple actually expires.

Matt

 

[iboost79]

I'll throw in my 2 cents as a former Apple employee. I see valid points on both sides. Applecare (APP) is worth it to some people and not worth it to others. Plain and simple. True, you can buy APP on eBay/Craigslist for a lot less than retail. Heck, I bought all my APP from eBay while I was working at Apple. I mean, I paid $150 for my MBP APP, whereas, as an employee, I'd be paying $260.

You should just ask yourself, "Is it worth it for ME?"

And for me, my MBP and iPhone was the only Apple product worth getting APP for. I never got it on my iPod Nano, iPod Shuffle, or my Mac Mini. Why didn't I get APP for my Mac Mini? I voided the warranty as soon as I bought it. The only thing APP would have covered was the Logic Board. I replaced the combo drive, RAM, hard drive, and Airport chip.