15" rMBP from CZ + AppleCare?

[Petulka]

Simple question, I'll be buying MBPr in Czech Republic where apple care isnt officialy sold. I've heard you can buy it on ebay and apply it globaly.
Will it work? Won't I get any message like "We are sorry but apple care is not supported in your country?"

There is Czech version of apple site, so they know we exist

Edit: I will be buying it without the 21% margin which means I get only 1 year warranty.

 

[Petulka]

Bump

 

[Mr MM]

bad idea to buy apple care on ebay

try BH photo video, they usually sell it cheaper and deliver globablly

regarding the extended warranty, its worldwide

 

[endhalf]

Hello, Peťulka,

I'm from CR as well. The apple care is available, however, only at a local shop alza.cz. I believe it might be possible to order it from apple.cz as well but I haven't tried it yet. Applecare from Alza.cz costs 4000Czk -> around 200 bucks. I didn't go for it as I think it's quite expensive though it you are prone to spilling something on your notebook/loosing your notebook, then by all means, order at alza.cz .
Edit: I see you want to go for 15" version. Then count with higher cost - probably 50+ USD...

 

[Petulka]

bad idea to buy apple care on ebay

try BH photo video, they usually sell it cheaper and deliver globablly

regarding the extended warranty, its worldwide

Ok, thanks. So there shouldn't be any problem with applying the AC bought from any state to new MBPr?

Hello, Peťulka,

I'm from CR as well. The apple care is available, however, only at a local shop alza.cz. I believe it might be possible to order it from apple.cz as well but I haven't tried it yet. Applecare from Alza.cz costs 4000Czk -> around 200 bucks. I didn't go for it as I think it's quite expensive though it you are prone to spilling something on your notebook/loosing your notebook, then by all means, order at alza.cz .
Edit: I see you want to go for 15" version. Then count with higher cost - probably 50+ USD...

Could I get link to the alza AC offer? Couldn't find it.

 

[endhalf]

Surely...

http://www.alza.cz/macbook-pro-15-retina-cz-d392154.htm - click on "buy" (koupit) and then you have the "Pojištění proti rozbití a krádeži" which is apple care. When I was buying my MBP 13" at Alza (like a week ago), I was contacted by a technician that I haven't selected this option and that he strongly suggest me to select it because everything I do to the laptop, they will immediatelly exchange it for a new one. He also told me that this service is valid as "apple care" in foreign countries so that's the real deal . On the other hand, with this MBP, it's 7000 extra... That's a lot of money. If you have any questions that I might answer for you, you can write me a message (in Czech, if you want to) and I'll try to answer you as best as I can .

 

[paulCC]

Greetings from Hostivice

I am afraid that the Alza warranty is NOT the official Applecare.....as someone in the thread mentioned spilled drinks....that would certainly not be covered by Applecare. My guess is that this is an Alza coverage, similar to Datart, Mironet etc.

I would advise to get the original Applecare. I have it on my 2011 15 Pro. About 6 months ago, I got an error on the battery - message was that I need to replace it. Strange, as I did not notice any issues.

Sure, Apple covered it. I did get a new battery. But compared to an Apple Store in the US, this was a hassle, as service is handled by the few third-party outfits. One outfit wanted some 700 Kc to do this within 24 hours. In the end, I did this at the service center at the Casablanca building. They had to first get the replacement authorised by someone in The Netherlands. Then they wanted to keep the Macbook, so the bad battery could be shipped out, before new battery arrived. I was able to keep the Macbook without the battery, running on AC, for some 4-5 days, before the new battery arrived.
Even with this "bad" service, i do think I will get Applecare when I get an MBPr later this year.

For comparison - my daughter had bright spot in the middle of the screen. She made an appointment in an Apple store in Denver. The "Genius" looked at it, stated, that she probably bumped the screen, but as she was an Applecare customer, they would replace it free of charge. Sent us home, called in 3 days, when the replacement screen was delivered, exchanged it the same day.

PaulCC

Surely...

http://www.alza.cz/macbook-pro-15-retina-cz-d392154.htm - click on "buy" (koupit) and then you have the "Pojištění proti rozbití a krádeži" which is apple care. When I was buying my MBP 13" at Alza (like a week ago), I was contacted by a technician that I haven't selected this option and that he strongly suggest me to select it because everything I do to the laptop, they will immediatelly exchange it for a new one. He also told me that this service is valid as "apple care" in foreign countries so that's the real deal . On the other hand, with this MBP, it's 7000 extra... That's a lot of money. If you have any questions that I might answer for you, you can write me a message (in Czech, if you want to) and I'll try to answer you as best as I can .

 

[endhalf]

True, true. I originally thought that applecare ment that basically anything you do with the laptop is covered by apple (so losing it, getting it stolen etc. etc.) but then, I searched the web and it's basically only prolonged warranty, right? Sorry for the misunderstanding, my bad... in CR, you get 2 years worth of warranty right now (by law) so it seems a bit expensive to have apple warranty for around 300 bucks (or 150GBP if you fancy ebay applecare) for only 1 year extra warranty... Though if you're going to travel, apple care might be worth it.

Another thing is that we don't have any authorised apple stores in CR (only authorized resellers) so I have no idea how would you deal with repairs in CR done by Apple directly... Any thoughts on that? Also, if you buy apple product in CR, do you automatically have the warranty for 1 year that apple provides globally?

Greetings from Hostivice

I am afraid that the Alza warranty is NOT the official Applecare.....as someone in the thread mentioned spilled drinks....that would certainly not be covered by Applecare. My guess is that this is an Alza coverage, similar to Datart, Mironet etc.

I would advise to get the original Applecare. I have it on my 2011 15 Pro. About 6 months ago, I got an error on the battery - message was that I need to replace it. Strange, as I did not notice any issues.

Sure, Apple covered it. I did get a new battery. But compared to an Apple Store in the US, this was a hassle, as service is handled by the few third-party outfits. One outfit wanted some 700 Kc to do this within 24 hours. In the end, I did this at the service center at the Casablanca building. They had to first get the replacement authorised by someone in The Netherlands. Then they wanted to keep the Macbook, so the bad battery could be shipped out, before new battery arrived. I was able to keep the Macbook without the battery, running on AC, for some 4-5 days, before the new battery arrived.
Even with this "bad" service, i do think I will get Applecare when I get an MBPr later this year.

For comparison - my daughter had bright spot in the middle of the screen. She made an appointment in an Apple store in Denver. The "Genius" looked at it, stated, that she probably bumped the screen, but as she was an Applecare customer, they would replace it free of charge. Sent us home, called in 3 days, when the replacement screen was delivered, exchanged it the same day.

PaulCC

 

[paulCC]

True, true. I originally thought that applecare ment that basically anything you do with the laptop is covered by apple (so losing it, getting it stolen etc. etc.) but then, I searched the web and it's basically only prolonged warranty, right? Sorry for the misunderstanding, my bad... in CR, you get 2 years worth of warranty right now (by law) so it seems a bit expensive to have apple warranty for around 300 bucks (or 150GBP if you fancy ebay applecare) for only 1 year extra warranty... Though if you're going to travel, apple care might be worth it.

Another thing is that we don't have any authorised apple stores in CR (only authorized resellers) so I have no idea how would you deal with repairs in CR done by Apple directly... Any thoughts on that? Also, if you buy apple product in CR, do you automatically have the warranty for 1 year that apple provides globally?

I ended up going to:
ITS akciová společnost
Vinohradská 184
130 52 Praha 3
Czech Republic

The other company I contacted was "Cesky Servis". They were the ones trying to charge me more for doing the job faster.

These are authorised service centres, so you can get service under Applecare done there.

Not sure about the Apple 1 year global warranty - my guess is it should work.

 

[Petulka]

I live in CB and we have iWant here. I've been told that buying online gets me 1 year warranty while buying it personaly in the shop gets me 2 years. I won't be buying it with VAT which means I will get only 1 year so the apple care makes sense here.
I was thinking about buying it here http://store.apple.com/us/product/APPLECAREMBP-102583/applecare-protection-plan-for-macbook-pro but I'm not sure if they would ship it to CZ (I would rather spend extra $100 than get screwed by asian guy on ebay). Any thoughts?

I'll visit the iWant soon and ask them about it.

 

[Petulka]

Also, is there time limitation I have to apply apple care within after purchasing the mbpr?
What about those bottom holes which are supposed to be intake? How does it work? I'm probably missing something since putting it on blanked would kill the laptop in no time...

 

[KevinC867]

bad idea to buy apple care on ebay

try BH photo video, they usually sell it cheaper and deliver globablly

regarding the extended warranty, its worldwide

I have actually had good luck buying AppleCare through eBay. I have done it several times. As long as the seller is highly rated (99+% positive reviews) I feel comfortable I won't get ripped off. On one purchase, I needed the coverage quickly before I left on a trip and the seller offered to email the AppleCare serial number to me. It worked perfectly and a year or two later, I used it to have a major repair done on my MacBook Pro.

That said, B&H Photo does have good pricing on AppleCare and if they can ship it to you for a reasonable price, that may be the best thing to do.

 

[paulCC]

Also, is there time limitation I have to apply apple care within after purchasing the mbpr?
What about those bottom holes which are supposed to be intake? How does it work? I'm probably missing something since putting it on blanked would kill the laptop in no time...

You have to purchase Applecare within 1 year of buying the computer. I guess this means registering the warranty online within one year.

About the "bottom holes" - it is not a good idea to run the computer with those covered. But I would not expect that you would "kill" the computer - there should be sufficient thermal protection to shutdown before the temperature gets to a limit value.

Having said that, you would be probably hurting long term reliability of some of the parts in the computer, if you run it this was, and the temp gets high.

PaulCC.

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I live in CB and we have iWant here. I've been told that buying online gets me 1 year warranty while buying it personaly in the shop gets me 2 years. I won't be buying it with VAT which means I will get only 1 year so the apple care makes sense here.
I was thinking about buying it here http://store.apple.com/us/product/APPLECAREMBP-102583/applecare-protection-plan-for-macbook-pro but I'm not sure if they would ship it to CZ (I would rather spend extra $100 than get screwed by asian guy on ebay). Any thoughts?

I'll visit the iWant soon and ask them about it.

The standard warranty in CR should not depend on where you buy ( online or in a store ).

If you buy it for business ( which you are probably doing, as you want to deduct the VAT/DPH ), they you loose the 14 day buyer's protection for online purchases for sure. And - your warranty will be only 1 year, AFAIK.

Apple will not ship from US to CR. They do have an online store at apple.cz.

I have bought Applecare from L.A. Computers several times. They have the best prices I have seen ( other than the deals B&H Photo sometimes offers for Applecare purchased together with an computer ). If you know someone in the US, have the Applecare delivered to their US address. All you need is the registration # on the warranty. When I went in for service in CR, they just looked up the serial number online, saw the computer is covered, and did not ask for any proof of purchasing the warranty.

PaulCC.

 

[Petulka]

I have actually had good luck buying AppleCare through eBay. I have done it several times. As long as the seller is highly rated (99+% positive reviews) I feel comfortable I won't get ripped off. On one purchase, I needed the coverage quickly before I left on a trip and the seller offered to email the AppleCare serial number to me. It worked perfectly and a year or two later, I used it to have a major repair done on my MacBook Pro.

That said, B&H Photo does have good pricing on AppleCare and if they can ship it to you for a reasonable price, that may be the best thing to do.

Okay, thanks. I will take close look at it after purchasing the mb. I will probably do ebay + get the box shipped to me if that helps me somehow incase of scam.

You have to purchase Applecare within 1 year of buying the computer. I guess this means registering the warranty online within one year.

About the "bottom holes" - it is not a good idea to run the computer with those covered. But I would not expect that you would "kill" the computer - there should be sufficient thermal protection to shutdown before the temperature gets to a limit value.

Having said that, you would be probably hurting long term reliability of some of the parts in the computer, if you run it this was, and the temp gets high.

PaulCC.

----------



The standard warranty in CR should not depend on where you buy ( online or in a store ).

If you buy it for business ( which you are probably doing, as you want to deduct the VAT/DPH ), they you loose the 14 day buyer's protection for online purchases for sure. And - your warranty will be only 1 year, AFAIK.

Apple will not ship from US to CR. They do have an online store at apple.cz.

I have bought Applecare from L.A. Computers several times. They have the best prices I have seen ( other than the deals B&H Photo sometimes offers for Applecare purchased together with an computer ). If you know someone in the US, have the Applecare delivered to their US address. All you need is the registration # on the warranty. When I went in for service in CR, they just looked up the serial number online, saw the computer is covered, and did not ask for any proof of purchasing the warranty.

PaulCC.

I really ment dust getting in my laptop trought the bottom. I asked about the shipping because AC isn't sold at apple.cz