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AppleCare 3-yr Protection-Worth it?

D

DJKEWU

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 2, 2011
7
0
Hey everyone,

I'm the owner of a new MacBook Pro 13' 2011.....just finished registering it and I'm thinking I'm going to purchase the 3-yr AppleCare Plan for $249 but wanted to know if other MacBook Pro owners are doing that and if it's worth it......seems to me it would be......thoughts?
 
If you can afford it i would get it...especially for laptops. Has saved my bacon a couple of times.
 
I have a 2011 15" MBP and purchased Applecare. I think it's well worth it. I like to know my computer is covered just in case.
 
It depends...
Take these into consideration,
#1: Are you going to be traveling a lot with your laptop?
#2: Do you take really good care of your stuff?
#3: Are you sloppy? Such as, walking and somehow dropping your laptop?
#4: Do you eat while being on your laptop?

Other than those things mention, your MacBook Pro should last you at least 3 years if you take good care of it, but it's hard to predict stuff that might fail, such as your video card, even though it's not your fault.
If you don't mind spending $250, go ahead, otherwise, if you think $250 is too pricey, don't. That's just my opinion.
 
Chiuy said:
It depends...
Take these into consideration,
#1: Are you going to be traveling a lot with your laptop?
#2: Do you take really good care of your stuff?
#3: Are you sloppy? Such as, walking and somehow dropping your laptop?
#4: Do you eat while being on your laptop?

Other than those things mention, your MacBook Pro should last you at least 3 years if you take good care of it, but it's hard to predict stuff that might fail, such as your video card, even though it's not your fault.
If you don't mind spending $250, go ahead, otherwise, if you think $250 is too pricey, don't. That's just my opinion.
Click to expand...

AppleCare doesn't cover user damage though, it extends the manufacturers warranty by two years.
 
bpeeps said:
AppleCare doesn't cover user damage though, it extends the manufacturers warranty by two years.
Click to expand...

this is one of the reasons why I wait until about 11 months out before buying AppleCare. If I damage the computer or it gets lost/stolen in the first year, then I will have wasted my money on AppleCare.
 
I bought it for the 2011 MBP. The thing is, if you have a defect once without ACPP, the price for repairing will be at least the same as the ACPP. Also, if you want to sell it after 18 months or so, you'll get more money for it.
 
Thanks for the replies everyone:) I like the idea of waiting till the 11th month to purchase....it's a crapshoot as to if one will actually need it, but for me, I like to be "better safe than sorry!" I will look into trying to find it a bit cheaper though, for sure!
Right after I got my iPhone 4 last June I purchased Worth Ave Group ins ($95) for a yr ( they cover things Apple won't, like water damage, dropped, stolen etc)
Here we are almost a yr later, I still have the phone, will of course upgrade to the next iPhone whenever it comes out, so I didn't even need that ins.......BUT, ya never know:)
 
Applecare = smartest decision of my life. Yeah it may seem like a lot at first but in the long run a great investment! Plus if you have renters / homeowners insurance your rates go up when you make a claim, applecare doesn't affect that!
 
I had the fans get noisy on my early 2008 17" MBP and my co-worker with the same MBP also had them fail for him. This occurred at around 14 months of ownership. My son (in college) had a hard drive failure. All of these were fixed under AppleCare. For me, it has been worth it.
 
It is worth it, Macs are very expensive to repair and after paying thousands of dollars for one it should be worth it to pay 100-300$ for a guarantee that it will run perfectly another 2 years
 
I think it is...I renewed my Applecare (after 1 year) - and within 3 weeks I got 2 DVDs stuck in my dvd drive (don't ask.....) and it was fixed within a day even though I live in Asia (free). The cost would probably have been at least $80 for labour costs.

I've read before that manufacturers usually estimate the average time it takes for a machine to break and set the initial warranty period to be a little less than that. May or may not be true, but it was a great peace of mind when my mac had issues.

You can see one of my earlier posts, but you can consider buying your mac (if you did) on an Amex, which doubles your initial warranty.
 
bpeeps said:
And that's when you'll need it!
Click to expand...

Apple Care only covers manufacturer defects and it extends the warranty by 2 years. You're most likely to see an issue within the first year. And the only reason why I bought AppleCare for the 2008 MBP was due to the known graphic card issue. There hasn't been any known issues with the 2011 MBP.

I've own computers since the 80's and never had any issues with them. I'm either really lucky or it's because I'm constantly upgrading parts or machines so I don't give them a chance to fail. And since I work in IT, I know my way around a computer so I'm comfortable of doing my own repairs if I have too.
 
i always buy Apple Care and its paid for itself every single time. i personally would never buy a mac without Apple Care, its too risky. apple care has also always helped me in reselling my macs. i tend to get more money for my macs when i've got warranty left on them.
 
Vudoo said:
Apple Care only covers manufacturer defects and it extends the warranty by 2 years. You're most likely to see an issue within the first year. And the only reason why I bought AppleCare for the 2008 MBP was due to the known graphic card issue. There hasn't been any known issues with the 2011 MBP.

I've own computers since the 80's and never had any issues with them. I'm either really lucky or it's because I'm constantly upgrading parts or machines so I don't give them a chance to fail. And since I work in IT, I know my way around a computer so I'm comfortable of doing my own repairs if I have too.
Click to expand...

Not sure why you're quoting me in regards to your first paragraph, when I said the exact same thing earlier in the thread. Your second paragraph of anecdotal information is great, but only applies to you.
 
DJKEWU said:
Hey everyone,

I'm the owner of a new MacBook Pro 13' 2011.....just finished registering it and I'm thinking I'm going to purchase the 3-yr AppleCare Plan for $249 but wanted to know if other MacBook Pro owners are doing that and if it's worth it......seems to me it would be......thoughts?
Click to expand...
It really depends on what you want. A separate insurance policy is a lot less expensive and will cover your Mac for much more likely risks such as theft or damage.
OTOH, if you want to hedge repair costs in the unlikely event of a covered failure then Applecare is not a bad bet. (Get it at BHPhoto for less than Apple's price). I use my Mac daily and if it fails I need it fixed fast - and so Applecare gives me some peace of mind that's worth the costs. Since I am on a two year replacement cycle I'll either use it as a bonus to sell my MBP or get a pro-rated refund if it isn't used.
 
DJKEWU said:
Hey everyone,

I'm the owner of a new MacBook Pro 13' 2011.....just finished registering it and I'm thinking I'm going to purchase the 3-yr AppleCare Plan for $249 but wanted to know if other MacBook Pro owners are doing that and if it's worth it......seems to me it would be......thoughts?
Click to expand...

I'm going to be getting it for both my iMac and MacBook (all previous Mac's I've bought in the past I have always bought AppleCare) - believe me you'll be thanking your lucky stars if you need something fixed; motherboards cost up to US$800-$1000, not including labour. It is like insurance, it isn't until a disaster hits then you realise you should have gotten it when you had the chance.
 
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