MBP 15" is already coming out to $1924 for me.... is another $300 for Applecare really worth it?!
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Applecare worth it?
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I would say no to applecare if you have any portable device they are easy to drop and applecare does not pay for accidental damage. Look into square trade. they will charge a little less and pay for breakage.
AppleCare is a personal decision. Right now where I stand, is that I'm ahead with AppleCare. And I would get it on almost any Mac I bought. I don't think it's worth it on things like the iPod Touch however.
It all depends on what risks you want to take. Also, AppleCare for a base Mini is a poor value. AppleCare for an iMac gets to be a better deal and if you get a fully loaded 27" system, it's a not a bad deal at all based on the percentage of the purchase price AppleCare costs.
On a laptop, I tend to think it's worth it. Although as others have stated, if you have drop damage on the your system, it's not covered.
It all depends on what risks you want to take. Also, AppleCare for a base Mini is a poor value. AppleCare for an iMac gets to be a better deal and if you get a fully loaded 27" system, it's a not a bad deal at all based on the percentage of the purchase price AppleCare costs.
On a laptop, I tend to think it's worth it. Although as others have stated, if you have drop damage on the your system, it's not covered.
Yes.
And for portable stuff get some from of accident damage protection if it's offered where you buy.
And for portable stuff get some from of accident damage protection if it's offered where you buy.
Does this get you a second year of warranty from Apple or is the second year done by a 3rd party selected by Amex?
Yes. Apple inflates their repair prices so much, even a simple hard drive replacement will probably pay for Applecare.
I went with Squaretrade. I think it was cheaper (it was $262 after 25% coupon) and has accidental protection, so if I drop it or spill a coke on it, it will be fixed. It also lasts the same 3 years.
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For me, applecare is all about use and maximization
Use : If you use your box for business (i.e. freelance, work etc) or do alot of critical personal stuff (i.e. strictly online banking, paperless workflow) and you would undisputedly be affected by a computer outage (as I would) then you would benefit from the peice of mind and added protection offered by Applecare.
Maximization: Applecare also covers displays purchased on the same invoice. Accessories such as an Airport, Keyboard+Mice etc are also covered (though I think they may be getting a little more strict on this as of late). Hence if you have tons of Apple gear but none of your household boxes have Applecare, it may be worth it.
Also gauge your propensity to actually utilize the coverage. Some folks I know get caught up in the frenzy and buy Applecare on the same day they buy their mac. Then they come to me 13 months later and complain that their disk drive is busted and their screen is falling off, not having contacted Apple at all. I on the other hand call up if I merely suspect any issues. It annoys them some times, but i've only been wrong once (out of 8 times).
For max protection I recommend Applecare + Personal articles policy from Statefarm (The Double Threat ™) . This way, Applecare picks up if something breaks down. If something srs happens like your box gets jacked or your angry (ex?)girlfriend throws it in a lake, Statefarm will throw some cash your way. The above policy isn't a replacement for Applecare. Would you really want to make a claim for a $50 dollar disk drive repair? Save it for something serious.
Use : If you use your box for business (i.e. freelance, work etc) or do alot of critical personal stuff (i.e. strictly online banking, paperless workflow) and you would undisputedly be affected by a computer outage (as I would) then you would benefit from the peice of mind and added protection offered by Applecare.
Maximization: Applecare also covers displays purchased on the same invoice. Accessories such as an Airport, Keyboard+Mice etc are also covered (though I think they may be getting a little more strict on this as of late). Hence if you have tons of Apple gear but none of your household boxes have Applecare, it may be worth it.
Also gauge your propensity to actually utilize the coverage. Some folks I know get caught up in the frenzy and buy Applecare on the same day they buy their mac. Then they come to me 13 months later and complain that their disk drive is busted and their screen is falling off, not having contacted Apple at all. I on the other hand call up if I merely suspect any issues. It annoys them some times, but i've only been wrong once (out of 8 times).
For max protection I recommend Applecare + Personal articles policy from Statefarm (The Double Threat ™) . This way, Applecare picks up if something breaks down. If something srs happens like your box gets jacked or your angry (ex?)girlfriend throws it in a lake, Statefarm will throw some cash your way. The above policy isn't a replacement for Applecare. Would you really want to make a claim for a $50 dollar disk drive repair? Save it for something serious.
I bought Apple Care for my MBP on the month that the standard 1 year warranty expired. 2 months later (which was about a week ago), the SD card reader stopped working and they changed out the whole logic board, which costed about $500. So yeah... it's definitely worth it!
How did you get Squaretrade down to 262?
I have a new 15" 2.2ghz macbook pro, and when I apply for it even with the 25% off I get a price of $337
On Amazon I see a price of $349 and the person I was on the phone with said that was probably the cheapest price.
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Depends on the price you put in. $1999 is $350 inc. accidental (before 25% coupon). $2000 is $450 before the coupon. Putting a slightly lower price isn't a problem (especially since $1999 is the normal price from the Edu store), but of course your laptop is only covered up to that amount. If you spent a lot more than $1999, it may be worth the extra coverage.
$350 - 25% is the $262 that I paid.
How much do refurbished Apple parts cost? I'm fairly adept with repairing laptops, but the one reason why I would get Applecare is so that I don't have to buy a refurbished motherboard from eBay, etc. etc.
I know Apple ridiculously over-inflates repair prices to make Applecare look more worthwhile ("that'll be $1000 to fix your macbook! oh wait, you're on Applecare? looks like you saved $1000..." sounds much better than saving $320 lol). However I'm wondering if replacing Apple parts also costs more than it would if it were another laptop company.
I know Apple ridiculously over-inflates repair prices to make Applecare look more worthwhile ("that'll be $1000 to fix your macbook! oh wait, you're on Applecare? looks like you saved $1000..." sounds much better than saving $320 lol). However I'm wondering if replacing Apple parts also costs more than it would if it were another laptop company.
They are a lot if it's a recent model. MBP logic boards seem to be in the $700 range on eBay (I haven't checked recently though, it could be different now).
The more expensive the computer, the more valuable AppleCare is. Two things that are almost never worth replacing on your own are the logic board and the display, as both are over the cost of AppleCare (and that assumes only one thing breaks down at a time). Plus, if you ever plan on selling your Mac, AppleCare increases its value since it can't be added on by the buyer later on in your Mac's life.
I can only give anecdotal evidence. Back when I was having problems with my MBP, they wanted over a grand to fix a fan, due to a dent, which meant a replaced bottom case, new hard drive, etc...
The bottom case was $25 off eBay, a hard drive (which didn't even need replacement) is $50, and the fan, what I wanted replaced originally, was $4.
However, in order to get Apple parts, for a newer (not 3-year old laptop), parts are much more expensive. Casings are a $100+, motherboards are 350+, etc... It's almost impossible to get Apple parts for current computers, for less than Apple prices.