It's definitely worth it. If you depend on your computer for every day work and use, then having it gives you peace of mind.
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Apple Care, is it worth it?
- Thread starter linbash
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It's definitely worth it. If you depend on your computer for every day work and use, then having it gives you peace of mind.
But as you allude to, the whole point of insurance to protect against the statistically unlikely events.
Even more the point, insurance should only be purchased to cover losses that you cannot pay for yourself should you incur them. Insuring for relatively minor losses that you could easily address yourself is going to be a bad deal for you in the long run (and a very good deal for the insurer). For some people, the loss of a $1,100 MacBook might be a major hardship, so paying a 20% premium for it upfront might make some sense. But if you keep in mind that by the end of the three years, your $1,100 MacBook would probably cost maybe $500-600 to replace, then that $250 AppleCare premium has to look kind of excessive. In effect, you're bargaining that there's a better than 50/50 chance of that your MacBook will become inoperative within three years.
Exactly. You also have to factor in that giving service is still at the discretion of Apple. If they decide it isn't covered, or that you've "abused" your computer, you'll be left out in the cold. You're better off using the money you would have wasted on Applecare on a new computer at the end of one year.
Buying a new computer every year seems extravagant to me, but you raise an interesting point. A entry-level MacBook costs $1,100. If you added AppleCare, the price rises to $1,350. If instead of buying the AppleCare, at the end of one year you bought a new MacBook and sold the old one, the depreciated value would probably be in the neighborhood of $250. So in some cases at least, for the cost of AppleCare, you could own a brand new Mac every year.
If your buying a laptop....
It is not a question of calling someone to help you use your MacBook Pro, it is a matter of getting your MacBook repaired for an extra 2 years! Repair and parts are covered along with shipping to and from Apple!
Checkout LA Computers for Apple Care, they have specials every week it seems and you can GET IT FOR AROUND $99.00 PLUS SHIPPING!
It is not a question of calling someone to help you use your MacBook Pro, it is a matter of getting your MacBook repaired for an extra 2 years! Repair and parts are covered along with shipping to and from Apple!
Checkout LA Computers for Apple Care, they have specials every week it seems and you can GET IT FOR AROUND $99.00 PLUS SHIPPING!
Apple care is good!
I generally don't recommend extended warranties for two reasons:
1) I try not to buy low quality stuff, and
2) Prior experience with an extended warranty was bad because I couldn't find the documentation, therefore they didn't honor the warranty.
Apple care is different. The service is excellent and the price is reasonable. Also, they cover other Apple items as well, like Airport Extreme base station.
I have purchased it for every computer I have and have only had to use it once. If you're really strapped for cash, wait and see if you have problems with your computer. If so, it could be a great buy in a few months...
I generally don't recommend extended warranties for two reasons:
1) I try not to buy low quality stuff, and
2) Prior experience with an extended warranty was bad because I couldn't find the documentation, therefore they didn't honor the warranty.
Apple care is different. The service is excellent and the price is reasonable. Also, they cover other Apple items as well, like Airport Extreme base station.
I have purchased it for every computer I have and have only had to use it once. If you're really strapped for cash, wait and see if you have problems with your computer. If so, it could be a great buy in a few months...
Exactly. Even moreso if you're buying out of the States.
This is what I did. Sold my base model Macbook last summer for $850, the plan was to buy a new updated Macbook before the iPod offer was over. The difference in price after selling the iPod would have been $300. As it is, the update didn't come until a few weeks ago, I wasn't impressed, and they didn't lower the Canadian price to reflect the stronger Canadian dollar. I ended up buying a cheap laptop ($350) to hold me over till next time.
So yes, it does cost more but then the depreciation increases ever year you hold the computer, so I think in the end, you're ahead doing it this way.
I agree with the statement that Apple care's price is reasonable. I mean essentially you are getting a machine that you will be depending on for work or play or whatever, and devices do fail. As long as you take care of your computer, Apple care will take care of your notebook should it just fail due to one of the many internal components that can possibly fail. Not only that, parts are $$$! I was going to repair my topcase sans apple care due to a crack, but on ebay a topcase would cost me 120....apple care is 180 and professional, and quick, and guaranteed...
AppleCare is expensive if you buy at retail price. If you buy on eBay etc it's great value. It's the same argument with RAM, if you buy from Apple it's quite pricey, but buying 3rd party and installing yourself is where the value lies.
Exactly. The chance of something bad happening to your MBP could be slim sure, but IF it does happen it's going to cost you a small fortune to repair. $250 extra really isn't going to be something you'll be complaining about when say your screen fails and Apple is willing to replace it under the warranty.
That's not why you'll need AppleCare. I've been servicing Macs for 5 years and always recommend to my customer's to buy extended warranty. Nine times out of 10 the first thing to go wrong after warranty expires ends up costing customer more than what AppleCare would have. All Apple computers come with 1 year limited warranty. You have up to one year to buy extra 2 year so don't feel pressured to buy it at the same time you buy computer. Tip: Do not wait even for anniversary date to go over even 1 day because Apple won't allow you to buy AppleCare afterwards. For some reason there very strict with this. Be warned that physical damage of any sort, whether it be intentional or accidental is NOT covered by AppleCare. I've personally worked on at least 10 MacBook Pro's since the early autumn whereby customer's have spilled some kind of liquid on them. This type of thing is not covered.
Hey there,
I had my computer for 90 days, and wasn't gonna bother with Apple Care. I got a call from a rep and I decided to take it for peace of mind. I say go for it, I mean, if you've any problems which you can't sort out yourself, Apple will come and take your computer and fix it. If they can't fix, they'll replace it.
I had my computer for 90 days, and wasn't gonna bother with Apple Care. I got a call from a rep and I decided to take it for peace of mind. I say go for it, I mean, if you've any problems which you can't sort out yourself, Apple will come and take your computer and fix it. If they can't fix, they'll replace it.
AppleCare Is totally worth it.You never know what sort of things can happen to your computer,it might not happen anything but it might happen something(or everything).As we say in Spain "más vale prevenir que curar" which means it is better to prevent than to cure.GO for it!
As an Apple stockholder, I sincerely thank all of you who are so convinced that AppleCare is a good deal.
I know others have already addressed this, but wanted to make sure you saw it for sure
The full amount of AppleCare coverage (should you purchase and activate it during your initial year of ownership) is 3 years from date of purchase. Period. So you're essentially buying an additional 2 years of hardware coverage from day 1; and phone support from day 91 and on.
I'm glad the two of you have had such great luck. Not all of us do.
12" PB G4 purchased August '04. Cluster of dead pixels in center of the screen show up... the day after the 1yr warranty ran out.
I didn't buy AC for my '06 12" 1.33GHz iBook because I purchased w/ a CC that offered an additional year of coverage (moot as I sold it anyway).
May '05 I purchased a 20" iMac G5, rev B. Against my father's (who's in the insurance business) advice, I purchased AC. Guess what? I sent out my 2+ yr old iMac yesterday and should be receiving a new 20" alum C2D iMac within the next 48 hours. Was it worth the additional $120 for me? Yes.
My MB right now, I've had a new logic board and new casing after owning it for a few months. Am I now considering AC? You betcha. Because it's worth ~$200 to me to guard against that horrid feeling of knowing a problem would have been covered by AC-- if I had just gotten it.
I disagree. I think it's overpriced at MSRP. Especially because it does NOT cover accidental damage.
I think AppleCare is well price, especially for the iMacs ($199CAD, on any iMac!!!)
Personally I think AppleCare is a great idea, but basically it depends on if you can afford to fix it or buy a new one if it does fail. For students, they don't tend to have a lot of spare money to float around so in their case they should have it. If I was a millionaire, then I would not buy it. However, I always purchase it on computers and it has served me well so far.
Personally I think AppleCare is a great idea, but basically it depends on if you can afford to fix it or buy a new one if it does fail. For students, they don't tend to have a lot of spare money to float around so in their case they should have it. If I was a millionaire, then I would not buy it. However, I always purchase it on computers and it has served me well so far.
Hi devilot. Haven't seen you around here in a while.
I don't honestly think it's a matter of luck. Even if I'd have had worse luck and could have collected on an AppleCare policy a few times, odds are I'd still be dollars ahead not buying it. Be certain that on average you will pay more for AppleCare than you will collect in services. Extended warranties are major profit centers for companies like Apple. As Consumer Reports says, they are designed from the ground up as a "sucker's bet."
extended warranties are not major profit centers for companies like Apple. The only time they are profitable is if the computer does not need any sort of repair at ALL, and even then the profits are slim. If a computer covered under warranty does require repairs and even if the repairs cost less than the cost of the extended warranty it becomes a loss for the company; at best they MAY break even.
And you know this how, exactly? Extended warranties are very profitable for every company that offers them -- which is why they offer them. They price them so that they are profitable. Apple knows the odds, and you don't. So when you buy AppleCare, you're betting against the house, and good luck with that.
*blinks* I've been on MR! Every damned day.
And I disagree. I think it does depend on luck-- how crap is the machine you happen to get?
I asked the onsite tech (who's contracted by Apple, not an Apple employee technically) how much the new logic board they placed in my iMac was-- he said easily $300-400. I asked him how much labor is, ~$250 flat rate for that job-- more if it somehow took longer than an hour.
I fail to see how I didn't benefit from shelling out $120 over two years go. Especially as a new alum iMac is heading my way to replace a rev. B pre-built-in iSight iMac.
True, my power supply and video issues would have been covered by the special extended Apple "recall" warranty for these iMacs, but you don't know when you purchase a new machine, that a given issue will lead to an official extended warranty for that issue only.
I heartily agree with that statement.
To date, that iMac had a new optical drive, a new power supply, a new Ambient light sensor, new Ambient light, new fans, and then a new logic board. Three separate times of being serviced (one being onsite, which I would assume costs Apple a little more). So yes, I really don't think Apple made a profit at all off of my particular case.
However...
I also very much so agree with this. That for most people and most cases, AppleCare is not as beneficial to the consumer as it was for me in my particular case.
(That and I'm cursed w/ horrible Apple hardware luck. Seriously.)
*blinks* I've been on MR! Every damned day.
Well I haven't seen you, so prove it!
And I disagree. I think it does depend on luck-- how crap is the machine you happen to get?
These are two sides of the same argument. Yes, you could always get a lemon. But the fact is, Apple knows what percentage of their products need warranty service, and they price AppleCare accordingly. So statistically you are likely to lose in the deal. Apple makes sure of that.
It's a lot like playing a slot machine. Sure, you could hit a jackpot. But if you keep playing, you will lose over time. The casino makes money knowing the odds, which always favor the house.
I've been working in retail for so many years and every company i've worked for has offered extended warranties. We simply do no make money from extended warranties, most of the time we loose money, but we push people to buy them because it is a customer retention strategy. Retailers have done studies on this stuff, customers who own a product and have that product break down and have that problem taken care off are more satisfied than customers who buy a product that never breaks. Extended warranties allow companies to come to the rescue when a customers product breaks down, and solve the problem, so the customer THINKS that company has provided good customer service and will likely buy products from them again. Also extended warranties decrease the amount of customer escalations, nobody wants to hear that their logic board has fried one day out of warranty and itz going to cost them 1200 dollars to replace it. People get pissed off when they hear that even though they have no recourse, and are unlikely to buy a product from that company again. This is all from years of retail experience with many different companies at both the store and corporate level who all offer extended warranties.