And again, most countries provide the same coverage just by virtue of their consumer laws. Know your rights under your country's laws to save a bit of coin.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Advice From A Genius: Should You Buy AppleCare?
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
And again, most countries provide the same coverage just by virtue of their consumer laws. Know your rights under your country's laws to save a bit of coin.
And unfortunately US doesn't seem to have any consumer protection laws, thus even I would recommend AC for Americans.
I am in Helsinki, if you want the name of the shop, I can gladly provide it to you. I was told that Apple does not like to do it but they know that they are compelled by EU law to fix factory defects. If the damage was done by me, then no, they would not have fixed it, however because the keyboard simply died they fixed it without charge.
They are obligated to fix it, I'm not arguing about that
I only said that the warranty is not two years (warranty is a contract between the OEM/seller and the consumer and the law doesn't obligate the seller/OEM to provide any warranty). However, the law does obligate them to guarantee a reasonable lifespan, which for computers is two years. There is a small difference and I'm only clarifying that Apple products do not have 2-year warranty here in Finland (but Apple is responsible for the product for at least 2 years).
They are obligated to fix it, I'm not arguing about that
There is a small difference and I'm only clarifying that Apple products do not have 2-year warranty here in Finland (but Apple is responsible for the product for at least 2 years).
Ah okay. Fair enough. They said that they are obligated to fix it according to the law. Either way, Apple Care is great if you keep your devices more than a year. I usually trade up every year. I have a slightly used MBP 17 inch with 8 gigs of ram if interested.
Nice of them, I do think sometimes Applecare does give you that occasional free fix if you've broken it. Someone I know spilt a cup of coffee over his Macbook and they fixed it for free, he had AppleCare - but it was the free student version in the UK.
I don't think that's unfortunate. The government shouldn't meddle too much in these affairs. If a company wants to sell a product with a 15 day warranty they should be allowed to do it as long as they are upfront and clear about it.
Consumer protection laws should be for DOA, not for something breaking two or three years after purchase. That's what service contracts are for.
Some years ago BMW only offered a 1 year warranty in Mexico. People who bought the cars knew they'd be on their own after the first year, it was no surprise. The cars sold anyway.
Do you feel worse if you bought an extended warranty and didn't need it or needed the warranty, but didn't buy it?
Unless Amex changed their terms for extended warranties, this statement is not true. Amex's purchase protection plan doubles the manufacturer's standard warranty (up to one year). If an extended warranty is purchased, Amex's coverage is nulled.
Also, the entire purchase price has to charged to the Amex card. I've never pressed them, but I think they can deny coverage if a portion of the purchase was on a gift card or something similar.
For MBA's...
The main reason I would buy AC is for the battery replacement for the MBA. Thanks to a previous poster, I read the AC program "fine print".
LIMITATIONS:
(ix) Consumable parts, such as batteries, except in respect of battery coverage under APP for iPod
or unless failure has occurred due to a defect in materials and workmanship;
My understanding is that this means the MBA battery is NOT covered under the AC program. Is this correct? I was told at the time of purchase that the battery was covered. I still declined the AC but as I was reading this thread started to consider it.
I would be worried if it would fall in my favor to have a battery replaced and think it was up to the Genius to decide if it should be replaced or not...technically it appears like it should not.
Any other MBA owners have issues with the battery and care to share the details?
The main reason I would buy AC is for the battery replacement for the MBA. Thanks to a previous poster, I read the AC program "fine print".
LIMITATIONS:
(ix) Consumable parts, such as batteries, except in respect of battery coverage under APP for iPod
or unless failure has occurred due to a defect in materials and workmanship;
My understanding is that this means the MBA battery is NOT covered under the AC program. Is this correct? I was told at the time of purchase that the battery was covered. I still declined the AC but as I was reading this thread started to consider it.
I would be worried if it would fall in my favor to have a battery replaced and think it was up to the Genius to decide if it should be replaced or not...technically it appears like it should not.
Any other MBA owners have issues with the battery and care to share the details?
God yes quality ear buds make a huge difference. Apple's stock ear buds are garbage compared to others out there. I personally use the monster turbines and the bass is great and the highs are fantastic. Sennheiser (sp?) makes some great ear buds for around $50, the turbines start around $150
So you think the manufacturers should be allowed to produce and sell faulty products without any responsibility? Service contracts are crap, just another cash cow for the OEMs. Nobody should need to invest more money to guarantee that the expensive item they bought will last longer than 365 days. The idea of extended warranty is ridiculous, you are basically paying for the manufacturer's errors.
And how do you ensure that they are upfront and clear about it? You make a law that requires them to be upfront and clear about it.
Batteries are covered if they perform abnormally bad. I just got a replacement after 18 months because my battery showed a check battery warning after only about 50 cycles (and 18 months of usage). Normal wear and tear of a battery is not covered, eg, if after 400 cycles the capacity has declined by 40% then this is just normal wear and tear, but my case of 60% capacity decline after less than 50 cycles was not normal and thus covered.My understanding is that this means the MBA battery is NOT covered under the AC program. Is this correct? I was told at the time of purchase that the battery was covered. I still declined the AC but as I was reading this thread started to consider it.
I would be worried if it would fall in my favor to have a battery replaced and think it was up to the Genius to decide if it should be replaced or not...technically it appears like it should not.
From what I recall, rules have changed somewhat on batteries. When all the portables had removable batteries, the coverage was for one year - period. AppleCare did not apply to the battery as that was considered a consumable part. Now that the batteries are not "user serviceable," the battery is covered for one year, but purchasing AppleCare does cover the battery for an additional two years. If you fail to purchase AppleCare, and the battery fails at 18 months, you are responsible for the cost of the battery. (again, speaking only to the US market - other markets YMMV)
Like all insurance, it's never worth it until you have to use it.
Had it on my G5. Used it constantly as the thing was a lemon. Had it on my MacBook Pro. Never needed it once.
Had it on my G5. Used it constantly as the thing was a lemon. Had it on my MacBook Pro. Never needed it once.
Thus far my never buy applecare policy has worked well for me for my last 12 ipods/iphones, and 9 macs. Its really scary how many Apple products I have owned... perhaps I need to get a long term machine.
My MBP warranty has not yet paid for itself, but at least half. The computer is only 18 months old and so far I got a no questions asked replacement of the power block (retails for $80?) At about 2 years old my iMac warranty more than paid for itself. I bought a 24" Core2Duo. It had video problems so they did about $1000 in repairs. When I got it back, the fans would race and never stopped. A few trips to the store later, they caved and gave me a new machine. So for a $400 upcharge I got a 27" i7 (they were going to give me a 27" with the base processor.)
I didn't buy AC on my Mini, any of our iPhones, or ATV's. Like the article says, I find they almost always pay for themselves on the larger machines and laptops.
I didn't buy AC on my Mini, any of our iPhones, or ATV's. Like the article says, I find they almost always pay for themselves on the larger machines and laptops.
In that time Apple vastly improved the battery life, from 300-400 charges to 1000 charges. You could easily use up the 300-400 charges in a bit over a year, depending on usage. The 1000 charges should last to the end of 3 years for most people.
It also depends on exactly what machine you have. On a MacBook or a new MacBook Pro replacing the hard drive is really easy (obviously having a backup is very important), on an iMac replacing it is a lot more challenging and you _might_ end up damaging it with some bad luck. And the ratio between cost of Mac and cost of Apple Care depends on the model as well. So for a top of the range iMac my decision would be different than for a cheap MacBook.
Last edited:
Disagree
Buying AppleCare for the iPhone isn't even a question for me anymore. I've owned every iPhone (skipped the current gen) since '07, and having AppleCare on my 3GS has been worth every penny. I've had it replaced 3 times, all for issues that didn't involve a repair. Broken home button, wouldn't turn on, etc. They don't do repairs in house anyway, just hand you a new one and say see ya!
This guy sounds like he's smart, but I'd recommend AppleCare for iPhones. I'd likely be paying out of pocket for 3 new phones at this point since the 1 year warranty was up.
Have it on my MB Pro as well. Won't regret that. Already had the SuperDrive replaced. Likely that by December 2012 there will be something else that needs to be fixed, and the cost will surpass what AppleCare ran me.
Just get it.
Buying AppleCare for the iPhone isn't even a question for me anymore. I've owned every iPhone (skipped the current gen) since '07, and having AppleCare on my 3GS has been worth every penny. I've had it replaced 3 times, all for issues that didn't involve a repair. Broken home button, wouldn't turn on, etc. They don't do repairs in house anyway, just hand you a new one and say see ya!
This guy sounds like he's smart, but I'd recommend AppleCare for iPhones. I'd likely be paying out of pocket for 3 new phones at this point since the 1 year warranty was up.
Have it on my MB Pro as well. Won't regret that. Already had the SuperDrive replaced. Likely that by December 2012 there will be something else that needs to be fixed, and the cost will surpass what AppleCare ran me.
Just get it.
I think it's worth it
AppleCare got me a brand new 8-core Mac Pro when my G5 had repeated problems.
AppleCare got my wife a brand new MacBook Pro when her 34 month old MacBook had repeated problems.
The Mini that I bought my father had a motherboard failure when it was 2 1/2 years old and they replaced it.
I just got a new iPad because of a vertical band of strange colored screen pixelation.
I can only think of one other Mac for which I had AppleCare and didn't need it.
AppleCare got me a brand new 8-core Mac Pro when my G5 had repeated problems.
AppleCare got my wife a brand new MacBook Pro when her 34 month old MacBook had repeated problems.
The Mini that I bought my father had a motherboard failure when it was 2 1/2 years old and they replaced it.
I just got a new iPad because of a vertical band of strange colored screen pixelation.
I can only think of one other Mac for which I had AppleCare and didn't need it.
Last edited:
Interesting. I'm gonna be a weasel and say that they must have changed the terms since I last researched it.
I do remember back in 2004 (when I bought my iBook), I looked into getting Applecare or just relying on my Amex card's coverage. I clearly do not remember Amex's coverage starting after Applecare.But the current policy is a real deal for Amex users.
One thing to bring up. Item 11 on "Purchases not covered".
Does anyone know if Applecare is considered a part of Apple or a separate entity? For example, this clause would not tack on a year on top of a BestBuy extended warranty since BestBuy (nor their warranty service provider) is not the original manufacturer.