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Applecare to buy or not to buy?

D

Dingo Dave 69

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 23, 2007
329
92
I got a macbook last June and wondered if many people would recommend I take out the applecare for it? Is it worth getting?

Also I assume once I have applecare if anything went wrong with my macbook I could just take it into the applestore? Lastly, where is the best place to buy it from?
 
I have to agree with the piece of mind comment especially because it is a laptop. So I would recommend getting it. You have up to one year after you purchased it to get the Apple Care so I always wait. They send you a reminder in the mail as well so you don't have to remember it.
 
I purchased it a week before my year was up and already had to use it for the bottom case...so it paid for itself with the one repair-- ebay seems to be the way to go
 
For a portable, I think it's a must. Too many non-user-replaceable and/or expensive parts. The piece of mind is worth it.
 
Buy! It's a good investment. L.A. Computer online had it for $119. I mentioned this at the Apple Store where I purchased my iMac and asked if they could match the price. They did, so I bought it from them.
Morod
 
I think it is worth it on a portable, definitely.

Dingo Dave 69 said:
I got a macbook last June and wondered if many people would recommend I take out the applecare for it? Is it worth getting?

Also I assume once I have applecare if anything went wrong with my macbook I could just take it into the applestore? Lastly, where is the best place to buy it from?
Click to expand...
 
If you think you'll keep it significantly longer than "after June".. I myself rarely stick with one machine for a year plus.

Oh, and no point buying it until your free 12 month window is almost up
 
Its a gamble pure and simple. Its a lot of money to put down for something you may or may not use. If you do use it then its like you win $1000 after betting $300 or whatever it costs. If you dont use it then you just lost that money. Your odds are also slim that youll actually need the warranty, so its like betting money on a crippled horse with a good payout but very low chance of winning.

Are you a gambling man? Im not which is why I never buy extended warantees and have never once in my life needed them.
 
I was wondering that same questions as well....to buy or not to buy...in Canada for a MBP its $399 + 13% tax for 3 years....Since I purchased it with my credit card, I get 1 year additional to manufacturers warranty as part of having my visa....so I thought for another $400 for 1 year...might not be worth it...and with such a great forum here....hopefully if you have problems that is not hardware related, you can find help instead of a "apple guy at the store"

Keeping in mind....i might still buy in before my year is up...LOL
 
scienide09 said:
For a portable, I think it's a must. Too many non-user-replaceable and/or expensive parts. The piece of mind is worth it.
Click to expand...

Yep. I get it for all laptops and for the more expensive iPods as well. Some will say to skip the iPods; I like extending their warranty another year.

But, for people who know they are just careless with their stuff: don't bother, because they're not going to fix a MacBook or iPod touch that got tossed in the general direction of the couch and landed on a tile floor.
 
stainlessliquid said:
Its a gamble pure and simple. Its a lot of money to put down for something you may or may not use. If you do use it then its like you win $1000 after betting $300 or whatever it costs. If you dont use it then you just lost that money. Your odds are also slim that youll actually need the warranty, so its like betting money on a crippled horse with a good payout but very low chance of winning.

Are you a gambling man? Im not which is why I never buy extended warantees and have never once in my life needed them.
Click to expand...

Here we go again with the "gambler" logic.

When those who deem it worthy buy AppleCare they instantly attain peace of mind. This has a value in and of itself. For me that value is cheap at the $119.00 it cost me for an additional two years of coverage. Yes, you may or may not actually put it to use but one LCD panel or logic board gone bad and you will most definitely appreciate it.

As for all the "for a portable I definitely recommend it" while I agree with this logic I think that the only Mac that shouldn't be grouped into the "portable" category is the Mac Pro. The iMac, while marketed as a desktop, is essentially a notebook computer. It is not user-serviceable aside from RAM upgrades and uses notebook computer components. No, you don't move it around like a notebook but then again AppleCare isn't going to cover you if you drop your MBP onto the floor either. It's all about the expensive, non user-serviceable parts that can and sometimes do go bad.

My last iMac was a 20" Core Duo that I decided wasn't worth "rolling the dice" for AppleCare coverage. 6 weeks out of warranty the logic board died. I've got AppleCare on my current 24" aluminum iMac and it's already paid for itself in terms of peace of mind even though I still have 6 months left on the included warranty. I intend to use this machine for at least 3 years.
 
klcc88 said:
I was wondering that same questions as well....to buy or not to buy...in Canada for a MBP its $399 + 13% tax for 3 years....Since I purchased it with my credit card, I get 1 year additional to manufacturers warranty as part of having my visa....so I thought for another $400 for 1 year...might not be worth it...and with such a great forum here....hopefully if you have problems that is not hardware related, you can find help instead of a "apple guy at the store"

Keeping in mind....i might still buy in before my year is up...LOL
Click to expand...

L.A. Computer has some of the best "retail" prices for AppleCare out there. Yes, I know you're in Canada but I bought mine from them and it works fine and dandy on my Japan-Apple Store purchased iMac. ;)

According to my calculations it is $220 Canadian for the MBP coverage.

Then again I'm American so I had the order shipped to my parents who shipped it on to me. I guess you'd have to have a US address for them to ship it to. :confused:
 
I'd advise it. On my first PowerBook i was contemplating getting it and then i eventually did. My SuperDrive died on that computer about 2 years in and they did the $600 repair for nothing. So even if you use it once, it's likely to pay for itself.
 
Thanks....going to get it and try....just want to go back to the apple store in toronto first to see if they will give me back the $100 or take back my MBP that I purchased 2 days ago for no fee and then I'll get another MBP with the newer specs...if not, I'll just take the $100 and put it towards the care plan.....

sorry to steal the thread from the originated!
 
klcc88 said:
Thanks....going to get it and try....just want to go back to the apple store in toronto first to see if they will give me back the $100 or take back my MBP that I purchased 2 days ago for no fee and then I'll get another MBP with the newer specs...if not, I'll just take the $100 and put it towards the care plan.....

sorry to steal the thread from the originated!
Click to expand...

:confused::confused::confused: Why did you buy an old one after the new ones came out??!
 
I bought mine when I bought my MBP.. But i waited until today -less then a month before my first year runs out to activate it. I think it is a nice piece of mind and am glad I purchased it.
 
My macbook has gone though two different cases (colouring and cracking), as well as two inverters. Each repair would have been several hundred dollars, which was all covered by Apple care.
Do it.
 
I bought Applecare on my new Mac Pro - if anything fails in there, you can bet it's gonna cost more than the $250 for the protection....

...except that I didn't pay $250 (but gladly would've, or however much it would cost at L.A. Computers) - I got mine at 60% off from CompUSA's going out of biz sale, so talk about cheap protection and peace of mind :):apple:

-Bryan
 
jnc said:
:confused::confused::confused: Why did you buy an old one after the new ones came out??!
Click to expand...

I didn't buy a new one about a newer version came out. I purchased my MBP last Sunday. The one with the new spec just came out on last Tuesday, when I spend sat and sun at the apple store discussing with the folks there, no one there told me there was a better model coming out with the same in this case $100 cheaper and to wait a couple of days.....trust me, I'm going to be no so happy when I show back there this Saturday! :mad:
 
AppleCare for an MBP in Europe costs about 439.00 EUR which equals 666.00 US-$ !
That's just a booby trapp :eek:
Especially if you consider that there is a 2 years warranty by law (in EU).
 
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