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3 weeks to decide on applecare

M

MikePembo951

macrumors member
Original poster
May 25, 2013
37
0
UK
Hi,
I'm still considering getting applecare for my MBA 2013 13" 8GB. I've got 3 weeks until my year of warranty is up (UK). I've had to use the warranty once to replace the entire top display part last November when the clutch cover came loose from the screen.

This has been my first mac so i've never really had much experience in terms of apple products and applecare for Macs.

As a student money is tight but as i'm studying Computer Science my laptop is pretty critical to my work and used every day.

Any thoughts? I'm stuck in two minds atm.

Thanks,
Mike
(UK)
 
MikePembo951 said:
Hi,
I'm still considering getting applecare for my MBA 2013 13" 8GB. I've got 3 weeks until my year of warranty is up (UK). I've had to use the warranty once to replace the entire top display part last November when the clutch cover came loose from the screen.

This has been my first mac so i've never really had much experience in terms of apple products and applecare for Macs.

As a student money is tight but as i'm studying Computer Science my laptop is pretty critical to my work and used every day.

Any thoughts? I'm stuck in two minds atm.

Thanks,
Mike
(UK)
Click to expand...


You'll find many threads on this topic over the years which seem to break down fairly evenly on both sides of this debate; there are those, like me, who always insist on buying Applecare; others regard it as a waste of money and a money-making exercise on the part of Apple.

In any case, for Apple computers, and iPads, (but not iPods), I always get Applecare; I see it as giving me peace of mind for three years.

It also means that my 'buying cycle' tends to be based on a three year cycle (irrespective of what technological updates or innovations have taken place since I bought a computer).

I have found myself having to avail of it; my 2008 MBP needed repairs - the HDD died in late 2010, and Applecare dealt with that. Likewise, my 2010 MBA required both a fresh keyboard and a replacement for the Magsafe adaptor - both were dealt with under Applecare.

In fact, for me, Applecare has more than paid for itself, given the repairs that I have had done when availing of it.

This is because, Apple replacements are rather costly, should something go wrong.

Another argument in favour of Applecare is a rather subtle one. It makes it far easier to sell your computer, say, two and a half or almost three years down the line. It does not mean that it will enhance the value considerably, more that it reassure a prospective buyer that the computer is a safe purchase, as it will give them a certain degree of peace of mind.
 
Surely those hardware failures would be/should have been covered for up to six years.
(It's really confusing in the UK and was hoping for some clarification on how useful the '6 year warranty' actually is').
 
Scepticalscribe said:
others regard it as a waste of money and a money-making exercise on the part of Apple.
Click to expand...

So, do you think Apple offers this as a charity? Of course it's a money-maker for Apple. Why would they do it otherwise? I have no problem with that, but call it what it is.

It's a personal decision in the end. I stopped buying it on my Apple products back around 2005. Only used it once before that, for a motherboard swap on my Powerbook G4. Since then I have purchased at least 5 other Macs and have never needed to service any of them. So I've saved enough to buy another whole computer over that time period by not getting AppleCare.
 
I consider Apple Care "cheap" insurance for my systems. I had 2 logic boards replaced in a 2008 MBP which would have run me around $600 per instance.

I've also had a logic board replaced on a 2011 MBP, covered by Apple Care. Purchasing insurance for my MBA was a no brainer, at least for me.
 
MikePembo951 said:
Surely those hardware failures would be/should have been covered for up to six years.
(It's really confusing in the UK and was hoping for some clarification on how useful the '6 year warranty' actually is').
Click to expand...

I am not an expert but googling around the six year thing, it is a long way short of being a six year warranty. This seems the best description I have seen:

"The law simply states that you have the right to return an item for up to 6 years, if you can prove it has an inherent fault, present at the time of manufacture, and you would reasonably expect the item to last longer than 6 years"

Emphasis is mine.
 
Dweez said:
I consider Apple Care "cheap" insurance for my systems. I had 2 logic boards replaced in a 2008 MBP which would have run me around $600 per instance.

I've also had a logic board replaced on a 2011 MBP, covered by Apple Care. Purchasing insurance for my MBA was a no brainer, at least for me.
Click to expand...

Thats my thinking as well. I have have had to make use of Apple Care a few times on various machines. I believe the times where I have used it, have made up for the machines where I have purchased it and have not used it. It is kind of like health insurance or Roadside assistance. It never seems worth the money until you really need it. What does it work out to over 3 years? Like .23 a day? That is cheap peace of mind imho.
 
Again - Do we REALLY NEED another thread on this Topic:confused: I really don't think so!!!!

Lou
 
Get it. I always buy Applecare on Macbooks and iMacs. Unless you are super technically inclined and work for iFixit, trying to troubleshoot a wonky Mac is just not worth the headache. I'm not sure about the UK, but I think students get discounts on Applecare too.
 
MikePembo951 said:
Hi,
I'm still considering getting applecare for my MBA 2013 13" 8GB. I've got 3 weeks until my year of warranty is up (UK). I've had to use the warranty once to replace the entire top display part last November when the clutch cover came loose from the screen.

This has been my first mac so i've never really had much experience in terms of apple products and applecare for Macs.

As a student money is tight but as i'm studying Computer Science my laptop is pretty critical to my work and used every day.

Any thoughts? I'm stuck in two minds atm.

Thanks,
Mike
(UK)
Click to expand...

Buy Apple education through your Uni campus. You save 15% and get free 3-year warranty anyway.

The AppleCare addition (if you're buying as a student) only adds telephone tech support. 3-year built in warranty is for hardware. Again, that's free. On top of a 15% saving.

Please quote if you want more details.
 
MikePembo951 said:
Hi,
I'm still considering getting applecare for my MBA 2013 13" 8GB. I've got 3 weeks until my year of warranty is up (UK). I've had to use the warranty once to replace the entire top display part last November when the clutch cover came loose from the screen.

This has been my first mac so i've never really had much experience in terms of apple products and applecare for Macs.

As a student money is tight but as i'm studying Computer Science my laptop is pretty critical to my work and used every day.

Any thoughts? I'm stuck in two minds atm.

Thanks,
Mike
(UK)
Click to expand...

My 2011 MBA had never had any issues. Never purchased Apple Care, but not to say, you won't have issues. You just never know.
 
Just one thought I haven't seen stated so far.

Applecare costs £199 for both a base 13" MBP costing £999, and a maxed out model costing £2,239.

If I had a a base model I might think that if the worst happened I would just replace it (with the latest base model which usually costs the same). "just replacing" the maxed out one for £2,239 is a different proposition.

Applecare is much better value for higher spec'd models.
 
Mike Boreham said:
Just one thought I haven't seen stated so far.

Applecare costs £199 for both a base 13" MBP costing £999, and a maxed out model costing £2,239.

If I had a a base model I might think that if the worst happened I would just replace it (with the latest base model which usually costs the same). "just replacing" the maxed out one for £2,239 is a different proposition.

Applecare is much better value for higher spec'd models.
Click to expand...

OP is a student, he gets free 3-year AppleCare & saves 15% if he buys through his Uni. The only AppleCare component he doesn't get is the telephone support.
 
keysofanxiety said:
OP is a student, he gets free 3-year AppleCare & saves 15% if he buys through his Uni. The only AppleCare component he doesn't get is the telephone support.
Click to expand...

Can you clarify that please? If it is free how does the 15% off for buying through Uni come in?
 
Mike Boreham said:
Can you clarify that please? If it is free how does the 15% off for buying through Uni come in?
Click to expand...

Okay, first thing you do is go into your University campus, and login to Apple Education here: http://store.apple.com/uk/mac/education

It's 15% off RRP -- as in, a £1000 laptop will cost £850. This is only through University, college/teachers don't save anywhere near that. It also includes 3-year AppleCare free-of-charge (hardware warranty, not telephone support). There is also the option to buy AppleCare when you're purchasing through AE -- do not do this as you'll be paying £200 for telephone support. It comes with 3-year warranty built-in; Apple don't advertise this but they'll confirm it has 3-year hardware support if you purchase it through Apple education.

It's the same pricing/free AppleCare with Apple Business as well.

Hope this helps clarify matters.
 
Last edited:
I figured a lot of you will be dubious so I'm posting proof. You can see there's one-year telephone technical support, and 3-year hardware warranty. Again, this is done online, automatically, when purchasing through Apple Education. You don't have to do anything beyond giving Apple your money -- and DON'T get the AppleCare option.

UK only by the way, not sure about over the pond -- quote this if you need help sorting this out.

All you need to do is purchase through Apple education and not purchase the AppleCare. 3-year hardware warranty, and you save 15% on the computer. You can imagine why Apple doesn't enjoy advertising this.

proof.png
 
Mike Boreham said:
I am not an expert but googling around the six year thing, it is a long way short of being a six year warranty. This seems the best description I have seen:

"The law simply states that you have the right to return an item for up to 6 years, if you can prove it has an inherent fault, present at the time of manufacture, and you would reasonably expect the item to last longer than 6 years"

Emphasis is mine.
Click to expand...

Slight correction: If you would reasonably expect the item to last longer than it did. Generally computers are supposed to last two years. If your computer broke after 23 months and you put it away, in theory you could claim after 59 months, but you'd have to prove that it broke within 24 months which would be difficult. If you buy an item that is supposed to last 100 years (say a bronze statue), you have six years to claim.
 
gnasher729 said:
Slight correction: If you would reasonably expect the item to last longer than it did. Generally computers are supposed to last two years. If your computer broke after 23 months and you put it away, in theory you could claim after 59 months, but you'd have to prove that it broke within 24 months which would be difficult. If you buy an item that is supposed to last 100 years (say a bronze statue), you have six years to claim.
Click to expand...

Thanks for clarifying, so the oft-quoted six year UK warranty is even less appropriate for computers. (I took my quote from a non computing source)...and you have to prove the fault was inherent at time of purchase.
 
It all boils down to whether you think 2 more years is worth the cost. I let my rMBP's year anniversary slip by without adding AC. Do I regret it - not yet. I got it in 2012, so next year is when AC would have expired so I have a year on my gamble.
 
Mike,

This idea won't help you now, but it might save you lots of money AND give you more peace of mind in the future.

Buy used Macs from a reliable vendor.

You can buy about 4 five year old laptops for the price of a new one.

If reliability is your priority buy four used laptops. If one dies, just toss it and fire up the next one. If you have good backups you can be up and running again in 2 minutes, with no need to worry, diagnose, visit a repair shop etc. All of that kind of hassle goes away. There is close to zero chance that all four laptops would die on you.

If saving money is your priority buy two used laptops. In this case you'll save about half your money, and still have a fallback plan in case of a failure. You could always spend the savings later on two more laptops if needed.

This won't help you now, and it won't work if you really do need the newest features. However, for most people most of the time, buying used is the best value both in terms of price and reliability. I know of no other way to truly escape the lemon lottery problem.
 
Felasco said:
You can buy about 4 five year old laptops for the price of a new one.
Click to expand...

Sure, and you will be proving the old saying "you get what you pay for". The new computer may cost 4x as much but will be 4x faster. My daughter has an iMac with specs like the MacBook in your signature and the CPU on my 2013 MBA is almost 3x as fast, the SSD is 10x faster and the additional RAM makes it even faster. I also have a 2008 MBP with better specs than that and it just seems like a dog compared to the MBA - not to mention the extra size, weight and short battery life.

If your priority is saving money and you are satisfied with a low level of performance, a used computer is a good solution though.
 
The new computer may cost 4x as much but will be 4x faster.
Click to expand...

Yes, and some people may really need that speed for whatever tasks they need their Mac to accomplish. In those cases, I agree buying used is not a good solution.

My point is that while all of us would like to have the latest and greatest features, few of us actually NEED them. Thus there is an opportunity to escape the lemon lottery entirely, for those who find that option to be appealing.

My daughter has an iMac with specs like the MacBook in your signature and the CPU on my 2013 MBA is almost 3x as fast, the SSD is 10x faster and the additional RAM makes it even faster. I also have a 2008 MBP with better specs than that and it just seems like a dog compared to the MBA - not to mention the extra size, weight and short battery life.
Click to expand...

I have no complaint with any of this, and congratulate you on your happy experience. However, this does not address the question of the thread.

If your priority is saving money and you are satisfied with a low level of performance, a used computer is a good solution though.
Click to expand...

Yes, that's all I'm saying. For some people the opportunity to completely escape the lemon lottery will be an appealing feature. New Macs users, such as the person who started this thread, may not yet know that.
 
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