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Apple Care - is it worth it?

Allstermac

Allstermac

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 17, 2007
54
0
Sorry if this is a repeated question? I'm new so go easy on me;)
Recently converted from PC:) & lovin it !
I was told I have a year to purchase the apple care warranty. Just wondering pros & cons of buying it and if it's worth the $350 they want for it. They say it covers the battery (salesman says they only last a year??) ,but does not accidental damage if I drop it or whatever. That was my concern as I have dropped notebooks and it's not pretty when the screen splits in 1/2!
 
Allstermac said:
Sorry if this is a repeated question? I'm new so go easy on me;)
Recently converted from PC:) & lovin it !
I was told I have a year to purchase the apple care warranty. Just wondering pros & cons of buying it and if it's worth the $350 they want for it. They say it covers the battery (salesman says they only last a year??) ,but does not accidental damage if I drop it or whatever. That was my concern as I have dropped notebooks and it's not pretty when the screen splits in 1/2!
Click to expand...

Pros:
- Peace of mind for 3 years
- Transferable to another owner, so if you sell it, it will up the value that much more
- Never have to worry about an unexpected bill (kinda goes along with peace of mind)
- Full phone support for 3 years, as opposed to 90 days (which I think is kind of ridiculous to begin with)

Cons: Costs $350

My 2 cents. I bought Apple Care on my 17" PowerBook once I could afford it. I'm happy I did, but let's hope I never have to use it :)

BTW: What are you looking to put AppleCare on?
 
Allstermac said:
Sorry if this is a repeated question? I'm new so go easy on me;)
Recently converted from PC:) & lovin it !
I was told I have a year to purchase the apple care warranty. Just wondering pros & cons of buying it and if it's worth the $350 they want for it. They say it covers the battery (salesman says they only last a year??) ,but does not accidental damage if I drop it or whatever. That was my concern as I have dropped notebooks and it's not pretty when the screen splits in 1/2!
Click to expand...

The Apple Care is worth it only right after you need it :rolleyes:

I'm not sure where the salesman got his information about the battery, but I don't think that is what Apple has posted if you look deep enough for life expectancy. Sounds like a scare tactic to me to get you to buy Apple Care.

Disregarding his statement, however, it's a real good thing to get the Apple Care.
 
I think these kinds of insurance programs are a waste of money. I didn't get Applecare when I bought my macbook C2D in November, as I figured if they're willing to accept payment to insure it for that amount of time, then it the computer will continue to function regardless. It's another one of apple's fiendish money making schemes, in my opinion.
 
Okay - two replies to you and two very different opinions.

Let me point out that all major computer companies will offer a maintenance program on their equipment. It's not Apple trying to suck more money out of you.

Electronics and movable parts will fail, some faster than others, and these are just insurance plans for the consumer so a repair doesn't end up costing more than a new system. Can you imagine the uproar if there wasn't an opportunity to insure your purchase?

EDIT: Make that three replies!
 
My two cents: it's peace of mind. It's a big investment––buying a new notebook––and it's reassuring to know that if anything goes wrong, it won't cause undue hardship on your budget. If you can afford it, I'd recommend getting it.
 
I think it just depends on what you think. Personally I bought it because a lot of my friends who knew I was buying it recommended me to buy it because I was buying a "portable" computer. I think the thinking is the more you move the computer, the more likely the computer will encounter a problem just because for whatver reason a part can get jarred enough to result in a problem. But as I talked to another group in a different forum, it comes down to do you think it's worth it. You never really know, but i know of friends who have used it 2 years down into the road for a failed hard drive, but i'm sure there's just as many who don't use apple care a lot.. so *shrug* :) If you have two problems I think it more than makes up for the applecare, but .. if you don't then .. *shrug* you're paying for a peace of mind.
 
I think its worth it. If you are going to buy something expensive like a mbp then you really should protect it. Also if something does go wrong then you will really be wishing that you had gotten applecare on it.
 
Just think, if your harddrive, for whatever reason, goes dead your going to end up paying about the same amount to get it replaced by any certified service center [unless you have a tower or are otherwise proficient in installing hd's in a MBP]. At least an hour of labor at about $100-$150 and a replacement drive which will run around $150-$200 depending on who's screwing you over.

So just a little harddrive going dead a year and half into owning your computer will end up costing you almost $300. Plus, if you know any Apple techs or otherwise are able to get away with dropping your laptop with no visible scratches or huge dents then they won't know any better and should fix it. I'm not saying that's OK to do but what they don't know won't hurt them.

Oh, and don't try getting it fixed under warranty if you spill something on it, chances are it will be visible inside the machine and no tech will fix it =P


And the thing about the battery, I believe the tech may have been referring to the fact that even under an extended warranty the warranty on the battery is only good for one year unless it is recalled for whatever reason. They claim that the battery has "cycled normally" in a year and is no longer covered.
 
Pros:
peace of mind
longer tech support
value added if h/w fails

Cons:
cost

For what its worth, there is a free program that can help warn in the case your HD is about to crunk: http://homepage.mac.com/julianmayer/

Would be nice, maybe :confused:, if Apple could raise the cost a small amount across the board, and then extend that ridiculously only 90 days for support to something more worth the Apple brand.

And, I did buy it for both of mine...
iMac, since it was major purchase, and first refurb.
MB, as it is a portable device, no telling what/where something may happen.
 
i've used it twice to replace my logic board... so its worth it even if you have to bring it once....
 
The only thing an extended warrantee does is make the company more money. For the most part they are not worth the money.
 
I personally would buy it for all portables. However, for desktops that don't move as much if they have not died in the first year then chances are they won't....but thats not always the case. I bought a mac pro in November, my plan is if i have no problems with it in the first year I won't buy applecare. If it do have any problems with anything other then the Hard drives, then I will buy it.:rolleyes:
 
YMMV but....
I'm not going to get one with my iMac
I am going to try and put it through the gauntlet within the first 90 days. If I feel unsure about anything, i'll buy it later.

p.s. Hey i just saw this :apple:
 
Allstermac said:
Sorry if this is a repeated question? I'm new so go easy on me;)
Recently converted from PC:) & lovin it !
I was told I have a year to purchase the apple care warranty. Just wondering pros & cons of buying it and if it's worth the $350 they want for it. They say it covers the battery (salesman says they only last a year??) ,but does not accidental damage if I drop it or whatever. That was my concern as I have dropped notebooks and it's not pretty when the screen splits in 1/2!
Click to expand...

Some things to think about:

1) Applecare can be purchased up until the one year from MacBook purchase date.

2) Applecare is really an insurance policy. You are taking a risk by getting it and taking a risk by not getting it.

3) Apple is going to push this like crazy because electronic warranties are a major cash cow for retailers/manufacturers. If only 30% utilize the Applecare, that's 70% of the Applecare population who's $350 went down the drain.

The extra 70% felt better, but nothing happened.

Here's my opinion:

If you are hard on your equipment (e.g., prone to dropping it) then get Applecare now. If you are careful with your eqipment, then defer Applecare and make your decision at the one year point.

Monitor forums like these to check out for equipment failure trends. If "my logic board failed!" keeps coming up, make the call.
 
First, get your applecare through the apple education store. It's $239 vs $349 for the same product. I'm sure you know someone who is in school, works for a school, is a school board member, etc. The rules for inclusion in the education discount are pretty broad.

I use to be of the opinion that applecare was a waste. Now, I buy it for any mac purchase. My imac got it's second powersupply in 6 months, today. The genius who did the swap says he thinks the 1st new powersupply was bad. Quality seems to really be down. Love my macs, but my PC's don't have the hardware issues right now.:rolleyes:
 
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