Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Apple Care extended waranty

M

MacMan01

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 8, 2008
6
0
Hi All,

Im looking to buy a Mac Book Pro and have read somewhere that you can purchase the Apple Care extended waranty at any time during the first year of ownership - is this true?

I dont want to buy this straight away if I do not need to, as this means that I can buy more accessories / software etc ;)
 
Yes it is true. But make sure you remember. Because apple care really is a good deal. I have had a lot of very sad customers after 2 years when something goes wrong and they forgot to or thought they didnt need applecare. Better safe than sorry I say.
 
You can get Applecare so long as your MBP is in warranty. Also you can try getting it online as it's alot cheaper than getting from stores.
 
WHile you can buy it at anytime within the first year of ownership, keep in mind that you initial phone support in only 90 days. I always thought this pic explained it best.



acpp_barspro20061024.jpg
 
Also, remember that if you buy/bought your computer with a VISA/MASTERCARD/AMEX, the warranty will often be doubled for free by the credit card companies, after which VISA (not sure about the others) has something called VISA peformance guarantee which covers the same things as the original apple warranty (though not phone support as far as I know) and is very affordable. If you're interested, do a search since it's been talked about a lot before.

Highly recommended - I've had only great experiences with the VISA service.
 
PDE said:
Also, remember that if you buy/bought your computer with a VISA/MASTERCARD/AMEX, the warranty will often be doubled for free by the credit card companies, after which VISA (not sure about the others) has something called VISA peformance guarantee which covers the same things as the original apple warranty (though not phone support as far as I know) and is very affordable. If you're interested, do a search since it's been talked about a lot before.

Highly recommended - I've had only great experiences with the VISA service.
Click to expand...

Is that an added service you pay for later on after your Apple warranty and 1 year extended warranty through your VISA card run out? How does it work? How much does it cost? I bought my MBP with my Amazon VISA since I got it from Amazon.com.
 
I personally don't think applecare is worth it. For one, it doesn't really cover anything useful like accidental damage. Its my opinion that if you don't have any problems with a laptop within the first year, you're probably not going to have any at all. Lemons tend to show their ugly heads pretty early on. Furthermore, it only covers the first 3 years after which most laptops begin to develop problems. Therefore unless you have a lemon (and you'll know before that first year is up) then Apple is simply ripping you off.
 
wk127001 said:
I personally don't think applecare is worth it. For one, it doesn't really cover anything useful like accidental damage.
Click to expand...
Disagree. Support and insurance are two very different things. They should not overlap.

wk127001 said:
Its my opinion that if you don't have any problems with a laptop within the first year, you're probably not going to have any at all.
Click to expand...
Disagree. I've had problems with my MBP after a year. Looking at the posts here, it appears others do as well. While it's not a usual thing, it still happens. Better to be safe than sorry.
 
Applecare is a bit misleading too I think. It ought to cover you for 3 years on top of your original 1 year warranty but it doesn't. Instead you're paying for only 2 years of coverage. If your credit card has good extended warranty coverage then really Applecare is only going to give you 1 more year.
 
burningrave101 said:
Is that an added service you pay for later on after your Apple warranty and 1 year extended warranty through your VISA card run out? How does it work? How much does it cost? I bought my MBP with my Amazon VISA since I got it from Amazon.com.
Click to expand...


I have an amazon visa card too. Yes, before the end of the second year you have the option to buy the visa performance guarantee - the cost depends on how much the laptop costs, but for me it has generally been under $200 for an additional two years (total 4 years) on a $1999 laptop. You can take your computer to any authorized repair center to have it fixed, including sending it in to Apple, of course. You do have to pay up front, but they reimburse within a week so it's alright, or at least for me it has been.

The great thing about it is that it includes batteries and a no-lemon policy which means that if your laptop has to be fixed more than three times, they'll replace it with a new one. They also don't fuss about anything, meaning they really don't question the defect. Uneven illumination could be one, for example, and that's one that Apple may or may not recognize as a defect.


Anyway, check it out. As I said, it's one of those services that I can't recommend enough! A real deal in a world of non-deals.
 
have a look on ebay, and buy applecare on there with somebody with a good rating.
 
tip said:
Disagree. I've had problems with my MBP after a year. Looking at the posts here, it appears others do as well. While it's not a usual thing, it still happens. Better to be safe than sorry.
Click to expand...

Statistically, you and the other forum members having problems after one year is irrelevant. It's not a large enough sample size to generalize any sort of conclusion. However, statistically it has been proven that if electronic circuitry is going to fail it happens with the first 90 days of intense use.

I believe the best advice is to wait. If you have trouble with your laptop within the first year, then by all means purchase Applecare.

But... others will argue that it gives peace of mind. So if you absolutely can't sleep at night because you're worried about your laptop imploding into a fiery ball of doom and eating your living room carpet, then you should probably buy Applecare
 
There are other things that can go out or become defective over a period of 2-3 years that didn't in the first year though. The keyboard for example may need to be replaced in a 3 year period if you used it a lot. Keys can sometimes become unresponsive. The MBP keyboards are also backlit so the lighting could go out. Your LED backlit display could also have issues down the road. Fans fail too. Hard drives are notorious for dying in a 2-3 year period of time but that's something you could upgrade and fix yourself I suppose. The battery is something else that wears out with time and will need to be replaced. If I'm going to buy a laptop that's worth $2,000+ then I wouldn't want to be still hanging on to it down the road with no coverage at all because if it seriously crap out that would be an expensive loss even though the chances are usually in my favor of it not happening.
 
wk127001 said:
Statistically, you and the other forum members having problems after one year is irrelevant. It's not a large enough sample size to generalize any sort of conclusion. However, statistically it has been proven that if electronic circuitry is going to fail it happens with the first 90 days of intense use.

I believe the best advice is to wait. If you have trouble with your laptop within the first year, then by all means purchase Applecare.

But... others will argue that it gives peace of mind. So if you absolutely can't sleep at night because you're worried about your laptop imploding into a fiery ball of doom and eating your living room carpet, then you should probably buy Applecare
Click to expand...



My general principle is that if the computer has problems in the first year, I get it repaired under warranty and sell it! You lose $3-400, but then you buy a new one and don't have to buy Applecare!

I hate when I bring in a computer that's a few months old for repair and the smug Apple genius tells me that I better get applecare because the cost of repair is so high and if I don't have AC later, I'd have to pay myself. Well, that's insulting! I mean, these computers should last three years without any issues and Apple SHOULD have a warranty that reflects confidence in its products. It's really pathetic that they don't and that they try to push you to get applecare and pay more when you've just paid a premium and are already having problems. If you can, use the VISA option. Getting a replacement battery for free is already worth 2/3 of what the extended coverage costs.
 
wk127001 said:
Statistically, you and the other forum members having problems after one year is irrelevant.
Click to expand...
Whether it's relevant or not is irrelevant. Statistics isn't the issue here. Think about it - if the majority of buyers had quality issues after the first year of ownership, do you think that would look good for Apple? Of course not - there was a pending class action suit against Dell last year in Canada for that very same issue.

Like I said, while problems occurring after a year aren't usual, problems may still happen. Electric circuitry isn't the only factor; last month I had use AppleCare for halo spots on the screen and broken points on the case. None of these were visible within the first year of ownership.

For a desktop machine, I'd agree with you - wait and see how it goes. For a laptop, I'd recommend getting AppleCare.
 
kockgunner said:
what is the difference between phone support and simply calling the apple number? If you call them, they'll refuse to help you?
Click to expand...

There's only one number to call for tech support from apple. If you call that number, they will always ask for your serial number before anything else. If you've already used up that one phone call during the first ninety days they will ask you whether you want to purchase applecare or pay 60 dollars for that phone call.
 
f1 said:
There's only one number to call for tech support from apple. If you call that number, they will always ask for your serial number before anything else. If you've already used up that one phone call during the first ninety days they will ask you whether you want to purchase applecare or pay 60 dollars for that phone call.
Click to expand...

Unless things have changed, you have unlimited free phone support during the first 90 days. After that, they start hassling you....
 
If you simply want to make this an emotionally guided debate then so be it, I'm done. I'm terribly sorry to hear that your laptop had issues after the first year, but as it stands you are one person, one opinion and one unfortunate story. One person's misfortune does pull at the heart strings, but it has no business making decisions about spending money, possibly needlessly. Please try to use a little critical thinking before you dismiss statistics so easily. How do you think car insurance companies sell their service? By showing big car crashes on TV, convincing people that it might happen to them! In a way the members on this forum who tell their sad stories are a lot like those car insurance ads but for Applecare.

I for one will not fall so easily to the business of betting against myself.
 
PDE said:
Unless things have changed, you have unlimited free phone support during the first 90 days. After that, they start hassling you....
Click to expand...

That is the biggie Apple Care offers, less hassle during the phone support and being able to do it without a credit card in hand.

Depending on how badly they want to sell you Apple Care with the computer, they may be willing to knock some money off right then -- never hurts to ask if they go through a sales pitch.
 
MacMan01 said:
Hi All,

Im looking to buy a Mac Book Pro and have read somewhere that you can purchase the Apple Care extended waranty at any time during the first year of ownership - is this true?

I dont want to buy this straight away if I do not need to, as this means that I can buy more accessories / software etc ;)
Click to expand...



as long as your in the first year. yes, purchase it!
 
I have a question about the VISA extended warranty coverage option. Once you're outside of your 90 day phone support with Apple would that VISA warranty pay for phone support with Apple? Or only the hardware replacement? I guess once your 90 days is out then you would contact Apple via e-mail or something to schedule a repair?
 
You'll have to contact VISA about that, also keep in mind NOT all visa cards offer this benefit, please check with your card issuer FIRST before assuming that they'll provide extended warranties first. Also, keep in mind if you live near an apple store, seeing a genius at the genius bar is always free. However IMO for a laptop applecare is a must for me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back