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First mac, Applecare question

murdercitydevil

murdercitydevil

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Feb 23, 2010
1,561
0
california
I'm planning on buying an MBP when they get refreshed and have some questions about applecare.

1. All macs are covered by a one-year warranty, right? So essentially when buying applecare you just extend that warranty for another two years? In that case, it would make sense to only buy applecare at the end of that first year, and probably only if the computer has problems during that time?

2. Is it really worth it? I plan on being very, very careful with my MBP. I have owned many computers in the past, including laptops, and have babied all of them. Not once have I needed to utilize a warranty, expect for one time - upgrading the wireless card on an old dell laptop (not really a problem, just an upgrade). That said, I have heard that Macs tend to have more problems. It might not be true; all computers have problems, maybe Mac users just aren't able to fix them themselves?

3. I heard that you can buy applecare from sources other than apple, such as ebay. Is this fully legit? If it's the exact same thing, is there any reason at all to buy from Apple?

Thanks very much for any feedback!
 
I'm planning on buying an MBP when they get refreshed and have some questions about applecare.

1. All macs are covered by a one-year warranty, right? So essentially when buying applecare you just extend that warranty for another two years? In that case, it would make sense to only buy applecare at the end of that first year, and probably only if the computer has problems during that time?

You only have 90 days of phone support. Apple care gives you unlimited for 3 years. If its a desktop, you also get the option for in home service with Applecare (so moot point with MBP)

2. Is it really worth it? I plan on being very, very careful with my MBP. I have owned many computers in the past, including laptops, and have babied all of them. Not once have I needed to utilize a warranty, expect for one time - upgrading the wireless card on an old dell laptop (not really a problem, just an upgrade). That said, I have heard that Macs tend to have more problems. It might not be true; all computers have problems, maybe Mac users just aren't able to fix them themselves?

-None of the problems that apple care covers has anything to do with how you treat it (for the most part), i.e. manufacturer defect.

3. I heard that you can buy applecare from sources other than apple, such as ebay. Is this fully legit? If it's the exact same thing, is there any reason at all to buy from Apple?

Well, you can get good deals. But you can also be screwed on ebay. Caveat emptor...


Thanks very much for any feedback!
 
In regards to your first post, I don't really care about phone support. If the problem is serious enough that I can't fix it myself, I can always drive down to the store. But what I really was asking is that all problems will be covered by the included warranty for the first year, correct?

Second, what I meant is how likely is someone like me going to use it, assuming there's no user fault? In other words, do macs break more often than self-built PCs or windows boxes?
 
For a laptop, I would always get Applecare. There seems to be a fair bit more that can go wrong with the miniturized components on laptops. For a desktop (27'' iMac issues aside) you might get away with just the free one year.

-Nick
 
1) Yes you only need to buy applecare before the 1 year expire. And no you dont just buy applecare depending on whether you have problems during the 1st year. You can have an excellent mac during the 1st year without a single problem yet encounter problems during the 2nd or 3rd year ;) You're trying to account for what you cant predict by buying applecare, ie: the black swans. Repairs are quite expensive if you dont have applecare. A single logic board replacement would cost ~$1200 so if you dont have applecare, you're screwed!
2) Yes it is worth it, its my 2nd macbook pro and i also have a 24" imac at home and I have applecare on each of them. Look. Applecare costs about $250-400 depending on where you buy it from and if you get a deal with it. Thats nothing compared to the $1200 you would pay for a logic board replacement! And yes they happen! Or a $150 superdrive replacement, personally on a macbook pro, i'd say you replace the superdrive at least 2ce, thats $300! + labour charges if you dont have applecare! So basically you get back the applecare's value fairly easily.
3) Well you cant prove or disprove applecare to be legit or fake from ebay. Better to be safe than sorry! As if an ebay seller sells u applecare and you activate it and later the seller decides to cancel the applecare(this normally happens after the 1 year of your mac expires), he gets a refund and it gets cancelled from your machine. Since you bought it from ebay and dont have a proper receipt, apple wont believe you and you cant even re-buy applecare from apple as its passed the 1 year period. So again you're screwed.
 
AppleCare is only useful if your computer breaks.
That said, I bought it for both my MBP and my iMac. I'm betting I'll need it, and Apple is betting I won't. Most times Apple wins. It's insurance.
I bought mine from LA Computer - less $ than Apple, more trustworthy than eBay.
 
I'd say don't get the AppleCare. Sure, it's a gamble, but the odds are in your favor.

Since 1998, I've personally owned 4 Macs (including 2 laptops) and used 3 employer-purchased Macs. I've only had one real hardware problem, and I'm not sure AppleCare would have covered it. I had to replace a hard drive in a MacBook Pro. Replaced it myself ($0) and drive cost about $100.

Let's say I bought AppleCare religiously, for 4 Macs what would be the total cost, $1000? Assuming AppleCare would have covered the drive, that would cover $100 cost of the drive plus I'd have to wait (days?) for Apple to fix it.

I, too, baby all my machines. (That sounds bad. :)
 
I say go for it. I mean why take the chance. Its a laptop and laptops break down more than desktops no matter who made it.

And the piece of mind knowing your covered if something goes wrong, and the telephone support makes applecare worth it.

Obviously there are people who never experience issues with any of their computers, but those seem to be the exception, no the majority.

If your a student you get a discount on applecare, i paid $183 for mine for my 13" MBP and i got a $100 student discount when i purchased my mac, so overall i paid $1283 for everything. Now if your not a student then its more expensive.

My favorite part is the telephone support, anytime i have an issue i call up apple and someone always bends over backwards to help me solve my issue.

Also apple is ranked among the top when it comes to customer support.
 
You'll hear a mixed response to this question as this is an on-going debate but consider this. Its like insurance, just because it hasnt happened or the probability of it happening is low doesnt mean you ignore it or that it cant happen. EG: How many people thought that the world trade center could be attacked? How high was the probability? Imagine the situation the owner of the building would be in if he didnt insure the building :p He would be totally screwed :p

If you want a story, heres one. I had a mbp 07 model and I had alot of repairs on it, most repairs after the 1 year period. I had 2 screen replacements, 3 logic board replacements, 2 superdrive replacements and 2 fan replacements. Towards the end of my 2 year period with my mac, i got a free replacement for it from apple. Would it be possible if I didnt have applecare? No. I got a brand new umbp :D

EDIT

If its your 1st mac, all the more reason to buy applecare! You have no idea on how things work or what problems you might actually encounter!
 
Yeah, I think I will be buying applecare. But I will wait until the first year warranty is almost up and I will try to possibly get it somewhere else for cheaper (unless Apple's student discount is enough to where the difference is marginal). Thanks guys for all the comments!
 
I say get it so your not like us. 24" Imac paper weight. 16 months in the Invidia Graphics card goes. At least 500 hundred to fix if that is the problem. Also could be the logic board. We lived and learned. Getting it for my MBP for sure. The Imac was my wife's machine and she loved it.
 
I've never had a problem with macs. If it breaks, dump it and get a new one. After all said and done I got my MBP 13" for $900 or so, used the student discount, got rid of the ipod, same with the printer.

As soon as the new MBP's come out, in July or August at least, I'll probably buy a new one, use the college discount, ect ect, and it will end up costing me barely anything. MBP's sell for 900+ right now anyways, I get back what I paid and throw it at a new mac. It's like leasing I guess, get a new car every two years. Even if you don't come put even, the discrepancy will only be a couple hundred dollars, think of that as a 'happiness tax' and budget for that. Every year spend 0-200 and get a brand new computer. Get to open that sexy box and smell that plasticy-cardboard smell and feel the foam.... the foam..


Yet I do baby my computer, I love this machine. I have a Speck Case that's amazing, I've never dropped it which is also amazing, I bought two more one for the GF and one for my mom, It's been all over China and still is perfect. 8 hour+ battery in 'ebook mode' 3ish hours when everything is on/movie. Great computer, I'd say it's the best HARDWARE you can buy, the whole platform is. When you consider money/the complete package. This computer feels like one solid unit, not like the old Polycarb MBs, or any HP/Dell.

I have had a great experience with dells, nice keyboards, shiny, cute, thin, I have a 11z Inspiron which is nice, for 'toy use'. Win 7 is okay, I used to love it, and there's stuff I miss about it, but expose and spaces really changed the way i compute. I have like a million windows open, with maby 20 programs running, I turn on my PC and it boots in 15 seconds, then 20 programs open. (I have a SSD). It's not instant, I think it's slow, but I've never used OSX on a HDD.
 
Personally I would say that it is well worth buying, even when you are in your first year of included warranty. The service they give you (especially in the UK) is much improved with applecare. For example, a few months ago my iMac broke due to a hard drive failure (it was within the 1 year included warranty). Anyway, I rang apple support and they said I had to take it to an Apple store or authorized repair centre, the nearest of which are 100+ miles away. I asked them if they would collect it, but they said that the warranty didn't cover that. I then said, if I buy Applecare, now, over the phone, will you pick my machine up? That wasn't a problem. The machine was picked up and returned to me repaired within 4 days turnaround.

So yeah, you maybe don't need to buy it until the end of the first year (or until a problem occurs), but I would say it is definitely worth buying to extend the warranty as Apple products can be quite pricey to repair out of warranty.

Not sure about buying from ebay, instincts would tell me to stay clear as you don't get the actual applecare certificate and sometimes Apple require this to prove that you have got the cover.
signature_silverapple.jpg
 
I think that Applecare is worth it. I have had to use it for 3 repairs on my iMac. Harddrive failed, Superdrive wouldn't create DVDs, logic board failed. All occurred after the first year of use.
 
I bought it

From Amazon. A good price, the same as LA Computer IIRC.
I think I used it once. And you know what? I'd buy it again in a minute. Just for the peace of mind, the cost was worth it. It's still under coverage in fact. Cheap insurance.
 
I just purchased it for my 11 month old iMac. Problem free so far, but I realized the all-in-one configuration means I could have a costly issue and I thought it was worth it. I have had really good experience with minor issues on other Apple products (within the original warranty period), and I do believe that Apple wants happy customers. I never buy extended warranties on anything else because I think in most cases, the strategy is to keep from helping you, but I think Apple is more customer focused. I plan to buy a new MBP in the next year and will likely spread the expense out, but buy Applecare before the 1 year is out.
 
What about AppleCare for a cheaper Mac Book

I have a cheap(er) Mac Book do you still think the Apple Care is worth it? Mostly I use my Mac Book for surfing the web, research, and heavy programming. Rarely does it leave the house. I have been struggling with the Apple Care purchase because I hate extended warranties. This is my first personal Mac Laptop that I have ever owned.
 
Hi,

I had Apple Care for my iBook (2004) that I am still using everyday. The HDD failed under the Care and Apple replaced it! Woo Hoo!! Unfortunately, it was 2006 by then and a 30GB HDD they were replacing was about $15. I ended up paying the difference for an 80GB. The only other hardware problem I had was the power plug failing, but that occurred within the first month of purchase.

I convinced a friend NOT to buy Apple Care with his iMac G5 and he had nothing but problems. After 3 years Apple gave him a brand new Intel iMac.

So in answer to your question.

I don't know.

s.
 
Apple computers are the only things that I buy extended warranties for. I get AppleCare for each of my macs. My suggestion is to go for the AppleCare. It has paid off for me several times on one of my machines (iMac), and luckily, not yet on the other two (MB and MBP). But hey, they're covered for another 1 and 2 years respectively.

Good luck with your purchase of the MBP. Enjoy!

m&c
 
I have a MBP (my first Mac, too) and I strongly recommend that you buy Applecare (I did). A number of posters have pointed out that you do not need to buy Applecare during the first year, as Apple's own warranty covers the computer, but you will need to buy Applecare before the expiry of the one year warranty.

Yes, the very act of buying Applecare is a gamble between Apple and the consumer, but buying it gives peace of mind, - as Apple honour their guarantees, and it means that the Mac is covered for three years, not one, which is reassuring should anything go wrong.

Besides, it also means that it may be more easy to sell your computer should you need to do so.

Cheers and good luck
 
Applecare Beware!!

Okay, so I purchased the applecare warranty when I purchased the macbook in 2007. I lost the box. I visited Apple hell as they will not honor the warranty with a receipt. You must register your expensive applecare within the first year.

In the third year of ownership, I realized that the cracked case was a known issue and got it repaired. Three cases, two hard drives and a lot of attitude from Apple later, I still have issues. There is NO lemon policy at apple. Call who you want, they don't care if you have a lemon. Apple just hopes your problem will expire with your warranty. Buyer beware, hundreds of thousands of crackbooks are out there and unfixed!

Get a Asus or Sony. At least other warranties will cover lemons. So, the answer is, it doesn't matter if you get a warranty, they won't fix the stupid thing. Viva la microsoft!:)
 
Applecare

Forget to mention, I found the box my daughter hid in her toy box and had applecare for 3 years. It didn't matter b/c the "apple-dosen't-care" warranty left me with an overpriced paperweight! Too bad I spent $1500 large for nothing.
 
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