wondering about applecare? read this...

[Keebler]

Hi,

I know there will, no doubt, be posts saying 'don't buy applecare', but.....buy it.

if you buy a car, do you insure it? if you buy a house, do you have house insurance?

buy it.

i've had to use applecare 3 times over the last few years. 1 time for my ipod...actually twice so make that 4 times. both times - had a new ipod within 4 days of making the call. another time was on my g4....optical drive died. new one within 2 days.

this time, looks like my g5 dually 2.0's logic board died. sucks, but i still have applecare so everything will be taken care of without charge. it was nice peace of mind knowing it would be done without issue. i didn't have to worry about taking a 2nd mortgage out to pay for repairs. done...

and, i should have it back by Monday or Tuesday at the very, very latest...maybe friday if the shipping gods are nice to me.

so, buy it. you'll regret it if you don't and something happens. i was told by the apple dealer that anyone buying an imac or mac mini, should have it right away. i didn't want to ask why, but my feeling is that they are seeing alot of issues.

anyhoo, buy it. well worth it.

cheers,
Keebler

 

[iKwick7]

I think it's worth it, even though I don't have it..... yet. Speaking of which, how does one go about buying Applecare for a mac previously purchased? I bought my iMac in September.... from Macmall... new... do I just buy it online or in an applestore? Do I buy applecare for a new mac (not refurb)? I know I have within a year to do it- it's something I plan on getting in the next month or so.

 

[Zwhaler]

Well, house insurance is a bad example, because thats talking about much larger sums of money than when dealing with an iPod, but I agree. I bought AppleCare for my iPod and have had it replaced 3 times since I bought it, so it was well worth it.

 

[Keebler]

Well, house insurance is a bad example, because thats talking about much larger sums of money than when dealing with an iPod, but I agree. I bought AppleCare for my iPod and have had it replaced 3 times since I bought it, so it was well worth it.

no...i disagree about the house insurance. it's not about the amount of cash..it's the example of insuring something valuable. that's all.

glad you had it on the ipod. they are wonderful little gadgets, but prone to issues

 

[Keebler]

I think it's worth it, even though I don't have it..... yet. Speaking of which, how does one go about buying Applecare for a mac previously purchased? I bought my iMac in September.... from Macmall... new... do I just buy it online or in an applestore? Do I buy applecare for a new mac (not refurb)? I know I have within a year to do it- it's something I plan on getting in the next month or so.

i think you can buy it online, but i would call apple just to make sure. good luck.

 

[cynerjist]

i think you can buy it online, but i would call apple just to make sure. good luck.

my friendly advice is to buy it on e-bay. i got mine for $118 shipped.

i bought the applecare more for resale value than peace of mind, and it helped to get it for much less than retail.

 

[macpro2000]

I do think AppleCare is a good thing but I see absolutely no reason to purchase it until right before the end of the year if you are having no issues. Why throw out $150+ when you can buy it any time within the first year? Makes no sense to me why you would or unless you need phone support after the first 90 days. My opinion is wait until the last months of your warranty.

 

[spork183]

I think it's worth it, even though I don't have it..... yet. Speaking of which, how does one go about buying Applecare for a mac previously purchased? I bought my iMac in September.... from Macmall... new... do I just buy it online or in an applestore? Do I buy applecare for a new mac (not refurb)? I know I have within a year to do it- it's something I plan on getting in the next month or so.

Buy it from the apple store. Education price is $119 for the imac. If you buy it on ebay, you risk getting an older version of the included software. Any student or teacher can get the education price. Not hard to do.

 

[erikamsterdam]

I have had PC's for over 10 years now and had *never* anything die, not even a HD. I don't get these stories of people having all these issues with their computers. And if an optical drive dies, you can easily replace it for not much money anyway.
And: Apple makes money on Applecare, they must. So on average it's not worth it.

 

[D0ct0rteeth]

You are absolutely 100% right... I couldnt agree more.

Extended warranties are absolutely trash.

BUT... Every apple CPU I have ever bought had died and catastraphoically broke many many times. - and repairing powerbooks are a fortune and I always buy applecare for my powerbooks/Macbookpros

This is my one sole exception

- Doc

I have had PC's for over 10 years now and had *never* anything die, not even a HD. I don't get these stories of people having all these issues with their computers. And if an optical drive dies, you can easily replace it for not much money anyway.
And: Apple makes money on Applecare, they must. So on average it's not worth it.

 

[spork183]

I have had PC's for over 10 years now and had *never* anything die, not even a HD. I don't get these stories of people having all these issues with their computers. And if an optical drive dies, you can easily replace it for not much money anyway.
And: Apple makes money on Applecare, they must. So on average it's not worth it.

what price we pay for (peace) piece of mind. It's because of Apple's inferior product development and design. (before I get the pc haters off their chairs, I love my mac...)

 

[WildCowboy]

Yet another thread on this topic...

Whether AppleCare is worth it or not is very much contingent upon the buyer's perception of "expensive."

Most people have homeowner's insurance because a house is expensive and having to unexpectedly spring for full replacement value out of one's pocket should something happen is something most people want to guard against. That makes sense.

No one is going to buy insurance on a gumball in case it gets damaged and becomes inedible...the expense that would be incurred in the loss of said gumball just isn't worth the cost of insurance, and so the buyer elects to "self insure" against the loss of it.

On average, you will not get back the cost of your insurance premium...that's how the insurance companies make money. But what you are doing that can be very valuable is lowering your risk. You are trading the possibility of paying large repair fees for the certainty of paying a lower (compared to the maximum possible repair fees) insurance premium, and that has value for many people.

Finding out information about repair fees, typical failure rates, and premium prices are certainly legitimate questions that can help you decide whether or not AppleCare is worth it, but it is up to the individual consumer to weigh everything and decide whether it is worth it to them. Outsiders giving blanket statements about whether it is or isn't worth it can't know all the priorities someone else is weighing and thus can only answer the question for themselves.

 

[dusanv]

You are absolutely 100% right... I couldnt agree more.

Extended warranties are absolutely trash.

BUT... Every apple CPU I have ever bought had died and catastraphoically broke many many times. - and repairing powerbooks are a fortune and I always buy applecare for my powerbooks/Macbookpros

This is my one sole exception

- Doc

Same thing here. My TiBook went in a couple of times after the first year (and once in the first year). Newer PowerBooks and MacBook Pros should be more reliable but I'd still buy it for the laptop. I'm not sure whether I'll get it for the Mac Pro.

 

[Macky-Mac]

no...i disagree about the house insurance. it's not about the amount of cash..it's the example of insuring something valuable. that's all.

glad you had it on the ipod. they are wonderful little gadgets, but prone to issues

the whole point of insuring something valuable is to protect you against a major financial burden if you have to replace the object. If your house burns down, that's obviously going to be a huge huge financial burden if it isn't insured. But replacing an ipod?? well, it's certainly a convenience to have insurance to cover it, but is it really going to be a financial burden that you need to protect against?? For some people the cost of repairs to computer might be more than their current financial situation would allow, for others it would be an annoying inconvenience but not financially devasting if they had to pay for repairs.

for most people, the point of insurance is financial protection, not convenience

 

[erikamsterdam]

Well, I must admit, the difference is probably that I am a technician, and *if* something breaks I can just repair it myself, I only have the cost of the parts. Also here in NL you have 2 year standard warranty.
Funny thing is though, I have a 5 year old iBook sitting here that I have owned and used for 1,5 years now. No issues at all

 

[Keebler]

Yet another thread on this topic...

Whether AppleCare is worth it or not is very much contingent upon the buyer's perception of "expensive."

Most people have homeowner's insurance because a house is expensive and having to unexpectedly spring for full replacement value out of one's pocket should something happen is something most people want to guard against. That makes sense.

No one is going to buy insurance on a gumball in case it gets damaged and becomes inedible...the expense that would be incurred in the loss of said gumball just isn't worth the cost of insurance, and so the buyer elects to "self insure" against the loss of it.

On average, you will not get back the cost of your insurance premium...that's how the insurance companies make money. But what you are doing that can be very valuable is lowering your risk. You are trading the possibility of paying large repair fees for the certainty of paying a lower (compared to the maximum possible repair fees) insurance premium, and that has value for many people.

Finding out information about repair fees, typical failure rates, and premium prices are certainly legitimate questions that can help you decide whether or not AppleCare is worth it, but it is up to the individual consumer to weigh everything and decide whether it is worth it to them. Outsiders giving blanket statements about whether it is or isn't worth it can't know all the priorities someone else is weighing and thus can only answer the question for themselves.

i know cowboy..it's another thread, but plenty of newbies have been coming here so i thought it would be good to post again.

i disagree about the outsiders, being me in this case, giving advice as to whether or not it's worth it. some people need to know why it's good and of course i can't know everyone's personal decisions, but it makes sense to protect yourself.

but then again, i married into a family of insurance based folks...life insurance, rrsps, disability plans etc..etc.. all too often, i hear of people not buying the right protection plans and then, unfortunately, a family tragedy or illness happens and people face the brink of poverty as they face life threatening situations. one can argue that who cares if someone has to sell a car or your house or something to pay for bills if one can't work, but it's an unwanted and easily avoided extra stress.

anyhoo, i'm glad i bought mine. i'm going to ask the tech how much this would cost w/o APP just for the fun of it.

 

[ChrisA]

[Compared to what is offered by other first teir companies Apple's service is quite poor. For example Sun's standard warenty says that your computer will be repaired the next bussines day. The service tech comes to your location.

If you want to pay more you can get a contract for 1 hour response time. Yes ONE hour and the gyu will be on-site.

Apple needs to have an on-site service network if they are to sell mission critical computers in to business.

Of course ALL extended warranty plans are rigged to turn a profit and the only way this happens is if on average the customer pays more for the plan then the repairs would have cost. People buy these plans not to save money but to reduce risk.

 

[spork183]

Well, I must admit, the difference is probably that I am a technician, and *if* something breaks I can just repair it myself, I only have the cost of the parts.

I do my own repairs. Apple sent me the replacement superdrive, harddrive and midplane assembly. The Apple Store replaced free of charge the powersupply. Yeah, I got my money's worth on applecare this time.

Prior to this imac (G5 ALS), minimal problems with old imacs, Quicksilvers, Quadras, Powercomputing, Umax. Never bought applecare until this one.

Maybe the act of buying Applecare, triggered the problems

 

[Edge100]

I have had PC's for over 10 years now and had *never* anything die, not even a HD. I don't get these stories of people having all these issues with their computers. And if an optical drive dies, you can easily replace it for not much money anyway.
And: Apple makes money on Applecare, they must. So on average it's not worth it.

On average, extended warranties are NEVER worth it.

http://blogs.consumerreports.org/shopping/2006/11/resist_the_pitc.html (check out what one of the "exceptions" to their rule is...Apple computers!)

Similarly, on average, most of us never have a fire, flood, tornado, earthquake, burglary etc. affect our home, thus making home insurance unnecessary.

That is, until YOU get affected...then you're screwed. Let's face it, if you had a 49% chance of needing insurance, would you buy it, even though that also means you have a 51% chance of not needing it? I'm sure that most people would buy it. The question is, what is YOUR cut-off? 40% chance of needing it? 30? 15? 5? This is the game the manufacturers/insurance companies are playing with you.

I bought Applecare for my wife's iPod. Why? Because they DO break down and, all things considered, the money isn't that much (as a percentage of the cost of a new iPod it is, but not in absolute terms). I didn't buy it for my G3 iBook, and the iBook is still going. I didn't buy it for my G3 iMac, and it's still going. I MAY buy it for my Intel iMac, just because I'm in a better financial position now, but I still don't want to have to replace my iMac.

Odds are, I'll lose. But we're not playing a "50% plus one" game here. You're playing a bigger risk/reward game, the dynamics of which is an interesting topic in its own right.

 

[WildCowboy]

On average, extended warranties are NEVER worth it.

http://blogs.consumerreports.org/shopping/2006/11/resist_the_pitc.html

Somebody didn't read the entire article...their second exception to that rule is Apple computers. Because the standard coverage is so crappy.

 

[IJ Reilly]

Somebody didn't read the entire article...their second exception to that rule is Apple computers. Because the standard coverage is so crappy.

Well, not quite -- one year parts and labor is industry standard. CU thinks Apple's telephone tech support is worth the extra money. Does anyone who knows that places like these forums exist, actually believe this?

We carry auto and home insurance for two reasons: (1) these are expensive items to replace if lost, and (2) liability, which covers loss caused to others.

A good rule of life (according to me), is to buy as little insurance as possible, as little as you need to cover major losses and liability claims that could strike at your other assets. Everything else, beyond that, is a waste of money -- with the possible exception of life insurance, and then only for people with dependents. Even if you try to follow this rule, you'll still end up buying a lot more insurance than you want, because that's how the system works.

 

[WildCowboy]

Well, not quite -- one year parts and labor is industry standard. CU thinks Apple's telephone tech support is worth the extra money. Does anyone who knows that places like these forums exist, actually believe this?

But then you have to deal with people like mad jew and myself who go around purposely giving bad troubleshooting advice. Tough waters to navigate, my friend...I can see why Consumer Reports doesn't acknowledge us.

 

[IJ Reilly]

But then you have to deal with people like mad jew and myself who go around purposely giving bad troubleshooting advice. Tough waters to navigate, my friend...I can see why Consumer Reports doesn't acknowledge us.

Check. I forgot, I've been misleading people for years.

Buy more AppleCare. Stay as far away as possible from people like us.

 

[yellow]

I require all my clients to purchase it.
Some moan, some bitch, but it's a requirement.

Typically once I explain the cost of a motherboard or LCD replacement (laptops), they're on board.

In a corporate setting, it's worth the extra $.

I can't remember the last time I called AC. Years ago.

 

[THX1139]

I love how people are comparing buying Applecare to buying home or life insurance. It's apples and oranges, especially when you are talking about iMacs and iPods. If your Apple product craps out on you, you're not talking about thousands of dollars of loss or being left out in the cold after a house fire or flood.

I suggest for low cost replacment items such as the iPod, just put 5 bucks a month in the bank for an emergency fund. If you wind up not having to use the savings for repairs then you have a down payment for the next iPod version when it comes out. Takes discipline though.

Insurance is for people who run great risk of financial hardship if a loss occurs. It's much easier to replace an iPod than a 4 bedroom house that burned down. For computers, that means you have invested heavily and your business will suffer if you lose your computer for even one day. However most businesses will cover their computers within another policy.

Beware of buying extended warranties. It's just a way for companies to generate cash flow. The other day I bought a cheap coffee maker on sale for $12. The salesman tried to sell me an extended warranty.

It's all a game of odds. Do you feel lucky! Then don't go for the warranty and live on the edge.... but put some money in a bank account to offset chance of loss. If I would have bought Applecare for everything I've bought over the years, it would have cost me thousands of bucks extra. To date, I've never had something fail beyond the 1 year period, so my Applecare would have paid me back nothing. Guess I've been lucky so far (knocks on wood).