2.4 Penryn/AppleCare/nvidia

[britney69]

My 1 year is about to expire and am seriously contemplating whether I want AppleCare or not.

I am, as of right now, leaning towards not getting it. The only reason why I would want to is if my GPU fails. Everything's been pretty good so far. It is my first mac and given the experience so far, I will never go back to PC.

So... I'm sure you know what I'm getting at. If my GPU fails w/o AppleCare, will Apple repair it regardless? (Due to very well known defects)

Why should I as a consumer, be obligated to buy AppleCare for this reason alone? I only found out about the nvidia issue shortly after purchasing my unit.

If I don't end up getting AppleCare, I am obviously willing to accept anything else that may happen beyond my first year.

 

[Sirus2400]

Apple has extended warranty for the GPU for an additional year, so if your GPU fails in another year you will be fine. However, I would just get AppleCare. For the price, it's definitely worth it IMO. Just my two cents.

 

[tobyg]

Personally, I'd still get it too (and I did for my 17" 2.4ghz with the 8600 GT). It gives you even more of a peace of mind. Not only that, but if/when you do have the issue you won't fight with them about repairing it as much, as it's still covered under Applecare. I've heard stories about people calling in to get support for their broken GPU and Applecare people on the phone not as willing to talk to them as they don't have phone support for their Mac any longer. They have to convince them that this is a hardware issue and still covered, which may not be the easiest thing to do. With applecare, they have to talk to you.

But even if you don't get it, I have a feeling this is going to end up much like the leaky 2.7ghz G5's, where they will repair or even replace them out of warranty. Of course that's something you can't count on, so if you use your machine for anything important, such as work, get the insurance.

 

[iBookG4user]

Typically electronics either fail in the first month or two or last for a long time. Thus if your laptop has survived this long it is likely that it will serve you for a long time without needing repair. I personally like to buy AppleCare because of the peace of mind, as I've had MacBook Pros fail on me before and Apple replaced each of them with new ones. Although if you can't scrounge up the money for it then it shouldn't cause you too much grief.

 

[SFStateStudent]

You shouldn't feel obligated to purchase AppleCare on any of your Macs; as other posters reveal, they like the peace of mind that AppleCare brings to the table. God forbid that your 2.4 Penryn should take you to the cleaners next week... *knocking on wood*

 

[wesrk]

I bought mine a year ago in 3 weeks, and I just got AppleCare, for peace of mind at the moment, but it's good to know that I'm covered for another 2 years.

 

[Quu]

Get the Apple Care you can pick it up off ebay for around £110 for a MacBook Pro. What I advise people to do is buy Apple Care after 6 to 8 months of ownership as then you don't have the burden of buying it right up front with the machine (Which is already very expensive) whilst having enough time left on the first year of warranty in which to get a copy without cutting it close to the deadline.

 

[Macmel]

I am waiting for my AppleCare package right now (I think I will receive it today). I have the exact same model and my GPU seems to be OK, although a couple of strange things happened, always at waking up from sleep or coming back from the screensaver.
Personally, I think AppleCare is too expensive: 350 euros in Europe. That's like 400 dollars for a computer I bought for 2000 (I bought it in the US). It's 20% of the total price!. I'm buying it because I don't have to pay for it (company pays), otherwise, I would try to get it cheaper in eBay, or not would not buy it at all: the only thing I'm worried about is the GPU and that has extended guarantee

 

[wesrk]

for those that are close to the deadline, if you get it from ebay, as long as it's a good seller of course, you'll get the code within minutes so you can register.

 

[britney69]

Apple has extended warranty for the GPU for an additional year, so if your GPU fails in another year you will be fine.

Thanks! This is ultimately the answer that I was looking for in helping me decide whether to get it or not.

Thanks for everybody's take on my matter. I will definitely take the next couple of weeks to mull this over.