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Apple Care, or no Apple Care?

S

sportguy0913

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 8, 2008
312
0
USA
I need advice, again. OK, so, like many of you, I am waiting for the update to the MacBook Pros. I am just wondering if I should invest in AppleCare or not. See, we have had our Dell computer for over six years now, and we have not once had a problem where we would need to use a warranty (we had the initial one year, and we didnt' further it any). So, should I pay $239 for Apple Care (student discount), and take a chance of having it just be a wasted $239? That seems like a hefty amount. I've always lived by the philosophy that "if anything goes wrong with a computer, it will happen in the first year. Anything else is the user's fault", and I am learned in the computer area, pretty well, so I know what and what not to do.

So, Apple Care or no Apple Care?
 
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If that is the policy that you go by, then I think you have your answer. I personally usually extend the warranty but lately it seems that the warranty period, even with Apple Care, has been getting shorter and shorter. All in all only you can make the decision that you are most comfortable with and that comes down to how much is one or two more years of piece of mind worth to you and if it is less than $239 then don't get it.
 
I'd recommend getting Applecare; you will be paying quite a sum of money for the computer itself, and the warranty and subsequent Applecare combined give peace of mind and guaranteed support for three years. My experience of Apple customer service is very good (but with iPods, not computers), and other posts on various threads have pointed out that repairs, should something go wrong out of warranty, tend to be rather expensive. It is a little over $100 a year for peace of mind - just over $2 a week. However, it's your call.

Cheers
 
I must say I've had much different luck with 3different Dells over the last decade. However, if you want to stick to your philosophy, you have your answer. IMO, the Applecare is worth it. Any repairs that might be needed in those two years are worth spending that money upfront. You can also usually pick it up for even cheaper. If it matters, failure rates are sometimes modeled with exponential distributions. So if you believe that to be an accurate description of true failure rates, you have the same chance of a failure in your first year as you would in your second year given no failures in the first...
 
If it was a cheaper laptop I would say no, but macbook pros are pretty pricey and apple's support is first class. Just had my powerbook g4 replaced 2 weeks ago. Took it back though, because the bluetooth pan didnt work and got store credit so now i get to wait out for the new macbooks pro
 
I would say yes. For my mbp, I had several problems fixed within the initial period (fan, case, ect) but after that I decided It wouldn't hurt to get extra coverage. I have only used it once since then but I do not regret buying it. It's about 10% of the cost (depending where/who you buy it from) so it is a good investment to know you are covered.
 
Simple: get it.

The logic board on my current MBP needs to be replaced due to a slew of problems, and it's 15 months old. I didn't buy AppleCare and I baby my laptop. Just so happened that it stopped working. Too bad for me, now Apple wants $1300 to replace it plus delivery, labour and tax. For this reason I will also be purchasing the new MBP when it is released, with AppleCare this time. I'll never make that mistake again.
 
I've had my MBP for over a year, well past the 1-year standard warranty. My MBP has just recently become afflicted with this GPU issue so many people are experiencing. If I didn't have AppleCare, I'd probably have to pay to get it repaired.

It was worth it for me. It may or may not be worth it to you. But would you drive a car without insurance? I know for a fact that I use my MBP way more than I drive a car.
 
yep. its also a great selling point if you decide to sell the macbook.
 
On a portable Mac? Definitely.

Even on desktops it's a great deal but it's gotta be a lock on a portable Mac regardless of the exceptionally high price for it here in Australia... bastards...
 
sportguy0913 said:
I need advice, again. OK, so, like many of you, I am waiting for the update to the MacBook Pros. I am just wondering if I should invest in AppleCare or not. See, we have had our Dell computer for over six years now, and we have not once had a problem where we would need to use a warranty (we had the initial one year, and we didnt' further it any). So, should I pay $239 for Apple Care (student discount), and take a chance of having it just be a wasted $239? That seems like a hefty amount. I've always lived by the philosophy that "if anything goes wrong with a computer, it will happen in the first year. Anything else is the user's fault", and I am learned in the computer area, pretty well, so I know what and what not to do.

So, Apple Care or no Apple Care?
Click to expand...

I've been using macs all my life and NEVER had a problem with them BUT my last iMacs GPU failed a couple of weeks after the 1 year guarantee ended... and what was the cost of repairing it?? almost $900... and that wasn't user's fault, is something that you have to live with it... and if you read this forums, you will see that that happens a lot (specially after the first year) and specially in the MBPs! I now bought a new MPB a month ago and a new 24" iMac, and for the first time, I bought AppleCare for both of them! I learned my leason! (the hard way)
 
I've been using Macs since the mid 90s and have never ever had a problem, needed a repair or replacement. They've all been desktops however...

Considering the normal wear & tear of having a portable I'd never get a laptop w/o AppleCare. There's a big difference in leaving a computer on a desk for years and carting one around to cafes and classes. Get it!
 
oke.. this may sound stupid.

If i buy my MBP, and i dont buy the APP. And let's say my MBP stops working after 2 years. Can't i just buy APP, and let it get fixed? I mean just buy it when you need something to be fixxed and not when your MBP is working fine?
 
mladenz said:
oke.. this may sound stupid.

If i buy my MBP, and i dont buy the APP. And let's say my MBP stops working after 2 years. Can't i just buy APP, and let it get fixed? I mean just buy it when you need something to be fixxed and not when your MBP is working fine?
Click to expand...

you can only buy AppleCare in the first year while your computer is still under warranty
 
As many others have said, get AppleCare! This is especially the case when you have an Apple notebook computer. I've had IBM ThinkPad, Fujitsu and Sony VAIO that are over 3-4 years and none of them have extended warranty but are still working fine.
 
sportguy0913 said:
KK. There is a really cheep one on there now. If I buy it now and don't end up getting my MBP until say Next summer, could I still use it?
Click to expand...


If it is too cheap I would be leery. Make sure it is for the MBP, as there is a different APP for every Mac Computer.

The best price I have seen on eBay is $199, which is what I paid.
 
mladenz said:
If i buy my MBP, and i dont buy the APP. And let's say my MBP stops working after 2 years. Can't i just buy APP, and let it get fixed? I mean just buy it when you need something to be fixxed and not when your MBP is working fine?
Click to expand...

It's like trying to buy life insurance after someone dies.
 
mladenz said:
oke.. this may sound stupid.

If i buy my MBP, and i dont buy the APP. And let's say my MBP stops working after 2 years. Can't i just buy APP, and let it get fixed? I mean just buy it when you need something to be fixxed and not when your MBP is working fine?
Click to expand...

read the terms and conditions and you would have gotten your answer.
 
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