Apple Care or not to Apple care

AppleCare
AppleCare Protection Plan for Mac or Apple Display

• You can buy AppleCare any time during the first year warranty period, so you don't have to buy it at time of purchase.
• You can check your remaining warranty and/or AppleCare coverage here
• AppleCare will extend the 1 year warranty for an additional 2 years, for a total of 3 years coverage from the date of your Mac purchase.
  It also extends telephone support from 90 days, which is included with your original warranty, to a total of 3 years.
• You cannot buy AppleCare again or renew it once it expires.
• Neither the Apple Warranty nor AppleCare will cover damage from accidents, spills, etc. They only cover manufacturing defects.
• AppleCare+ provides some coverage for accidental damage, but is only available for the iPad and iPhone, not for Apple computers.
• Neither the Apple Warranty nor AppleCare will cover batteries that have worn out. They only cover defective batteries.
• For more detailed questions, read the AppleCare Protection Plan (pdf) agreement.

As to whether AppleCare is worth it or not, that's a matter of opinion. You'll find lots of opinions on both sides, with roughly 75% saying it's worth it. You really need to decide if it's worth it to you. If you want more information, you can search the forum, where you'll find dozens, if not hundreds of threads asking "is AppleCare worth it?" The overall consensus seems to be about 75% in favor of it.

 

I was in the same boat last week when I pressed the Buy button and I did not take it ($250 + lots of taxes). Mac products already have a very high quality reputation combine with a 1-year coverage. I will take good care of it and hope for the best.

 

Just a comment on one of the poll answers:

AppleCare does not protect against being clumsy.
It is not insurance.
It does not cover accidental damage.

 

It's a scam. Any decision to repair by Apple is entirely arbitrary and subject to the whim of genius.

Apple should be providing 2 years warranty by default. You may be be covered under local consumer laws.

 

Check to see if you have a credit card that will extend your warranty. The AMEX card I bought mine on doubled the warranty giving me two years total, same as original terms.

They do get you sometimes though. I just dropped my month old air off because the webcam wasn't being recognized. They're replacing the entire display and the out of warranty cost would've been around $450. Seems a tad ridiculous.

 

I'm going to go with SquareTrade Accidental Protection (pretty decently priced on Amazon) when I get my Air. I'm too worried about dropping my MacBook. Has anyone here ever used SquareTrade?

 

I voted for:

Really not necessary.

From what I have read, Apple Care does not cover drops or spills, only hardware failure.

At least the good thing about Apple Care is that you have 1 year to think about it.

 

YMMV!!!!

I for one got AppleCare for my 2011 MBA about 6 months after my purchase. I got it when cash wasn't so tight and to have just in case (purchased with student discount). However, it REALLY depends on the Apple Store you go to to get the repairs done. I had a recent problem with the display and hinge (totally my fault), and took it in to get repaired. They ran through the run-of-the-mill questioning and once they saw my issue, checked to see if I had apple care. Once they saw that I did, they said they would replace the entire display for free. I agreed knowing the only cosmetic damage my MBA had sustained was a slight dent on the back of the hinge near the display. Got it back a few days later and it was practically brand new (and even got a bonus: the samsung display to replace the lg on in it originally). While I was waiting to pick up my MBA, I noticed about 85% (rough estimate here) of the people in the store for repairs were getting free repair work (if not replacements) done if they had apple care, regardless of the damage done (one grandpa said his grand daughter got a hold his iPad and it was no longer working). So again, I stress, YMMV. You will get a pretty even split here on MR saying to buy it/not buy it but the majority that purchased it for notebooks seem to be pleased by their purchase/service

 

if you buy apple care the device will break after its over, I have no clue why, but my imac broke after apple care, and so did my mac book,

but my ipod still works and it never had apple care, also my g3 ibook i doubt had apple care.

stupid thing still runs like new

 

Just curious - does Apple care cover dead pixels?

 

YES. I've had the screen on my 15" Powerbook replaced under AppleCare twice at the Palo Alto apple store, due to dead pixels.

I think AppleCare is a rip-off though. Between my American Express extended warranty and fewer moving parts on a Macbook Air (compared to a Powerbook) I think I'll be ok -- at least enough to make 1 year of warranty not worth $190.

 

I refuse to pay for extended warranties. They incentivize poor quality.

 

I have bought Applecare for every Apple laptop I have had.
Every single one of them has required service in the 12-36 month period..

Powerbook G3 (Pismo) new logic board at 2 years
iBook G3 new logic board and hard drive at 2 years
17" Powerbook new screen at nearly 3 years
Macbook (white) new logic board at 2 years
17" Macbook Pro new screen, new keyboard, new battery, new hard drive at various stages
11" Macbook Air (2010) new screen

My current 2011 11" Macbook Air has applecare but I've not used it yet.

 

If I can somehow claim that an issue is due to a manufacturing defect, I have the right by law to get it fixed for free. And that lasts for three years! Laws in your country might be different

On paper it looks like Applecare is of no benefit at all for a swede. But I'm sure if I have an issue about two years from now, they will probably try not to help me for free. Try..

 

Thing is it is usually timeconsuming and hard for a consumer to provide enough evidence that the issue was there when the product was purchased if say the logic board fails or the screen stops working.

As for AC I never get it, I get a new computer every year instead.

 

Apple employees frequently "bend the rules" to accommodate customers, even though their official policy may be more strict.

About LCD display pixel anomalies for Apple products released in 2010 and later

 

I wouldn’t pay for AppleCare at full price, but I would consider it at the discount rates available from certain third-party resellers.

 

I got it for my Air. I maxed it out when I bought it and felt that if I was to spend all that money, I might as well get the Apple Care. I've never been certain it was the right choice, though, and I opted not to get one for my iPad.

 

This is a very good idea. I've seen it as low as $95