Apple Care??

[Kygordo]

I purchased a 2015 Macbook Pro with Retina display last August and I am now debating whether to get the extra 2 year warranty. Any advice is welcome!! Also, I found Apple Care on Amazon for $50 less than directly from Apple. How does aftermarket purchase/license transfer work??
Thanks,
Kyle

 

[Tenashus1]

I bought it primarily due to the fact that the SSD is not user replaceable. I usually fix my own software issues or problems that come up with my MBP, but I recently used the tech support to answer a rogue fan question which they could not solve over the phone. When I tried to get an appointment at the local Apple store, there were none available for the entire week. I was not thrilled with the experience. I debated with myself about getting Apple Care from the start because I've had previous MBPs that were user fixable or easy to upgrade. Now MBPs are not. It becomes a kind of forced choice. I bought mine from B&H out of NYC, and I was automatically covered through the internet. I would have much preferred to not have dropped the money for Apple Care, but since it's all proprietary now, I felt as if I had no choice any longer. Best wishes.

 

[T5BRICK]

I passed on Applecare for my 2015 rMBP. It has been rock solid reliable so far. I've had it just over a year now, so we'll see how it does in the long term.

 

[Sully]

It's a personal decision. There are a ton of good articles on the web about this. You'll even find some on this site. Search Apple Care - pros and cons. I saw one article that even compared the price of common repairs and the likelihood the repairs would be needed to the cost of Apple Care. I looked for the article but I couldn't find it.

You're better off putting aside $50 a month in an account that you can use for repairs if they're needed. That way, if they're never needed you won't have paid Apple up front for an insurance policy you won't ever collect on.

 

[Hieveryone]

I purchased a 2015 Macbook Pro with Retina display last August and I am now debating whether to get the extra 2 year warranty. Any advice is welcome!! Also, I found Apple Care on Amazon for $50 less than directly from Apple. How does aftermarket purchase/license transfer work??
Thanks,
Kyle

I got it but didn't keep it. Reason being I paid with my AMEX which at the time added a whole year warranty. Not sure if they still do that or not. So I had 2 years of warranty.
As far as the third year, I was told on here by someone, computers are sort of like cars. If you get a lemon, you'll know within the first year or two. Otherwise, while still relatively new, there should not be problems. Kind of like the first 50K miles of new car. Generally trouble free...

 

[maflynn]

I'm very inconsistent with my Apple Care purchases. sometimes I take the plunge, other times, I forego it.

I opted not to buy it for my 2012 rMBP and its worked in my favor, I do however have it on my iMac. I was worried that it being sealed and my plan is to hold on to the Mac for many years. I'd like some assurances that anything wrong will be covered for 3 years.

 

[JackieInCo]

I have never purchased it on a MBP I have owned. My 2015 15" 16GB 512GB warranty expired in June. My 2012 13" cMBP one year expires on the 29th of July. I won't be buying AC on it either.

The only Mac I have ever bought AC on is my 2012 Mac Mini and it has another year to go in September.

 

[jerryk]

I go for coffee every morning in a place in the mall. Every morning there are people lined up 30 minutes before the Apple Store opens waiting to get devices looked at. By the time the store opens there are 20 people in line. When you see 3 people in a row with their iMacs on handtrucks it is kind of bothersome.

I went for AppleCare on my new rMBP

 

[CE3]

I purchased a 2015 Macbook Pro with Retina display last August and I am now debating whether to get the extra 2 year warranty. Any advice is welcome!! Also, I found Apple Care on Amazon for $50 less than directly from Apple. How does aftermarket purchase/license transfer work??
Thanks,
Kyle

Regarding license transfer: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202712
And on that note, if you plan on selling and upgrading your MacBook in the next year or so and keep it in good condition, selling with AppleCare will increase resale value. I'm glad I have it, but whether or not you think it's a good investment is up to you.

If you do get it, I would recommend that you keep checking the product page for lower prices and looking for "Amazon Warehouse Deals" to become available, as you can save even more than $50. I found a warehouse deal for my 15" rMBP for $229 vs. $349. They will be listed as used.

 

[warton-john]

I have bought a number of Apple laptops over the last few years, MacBook Pro's, MacBook Air's and the 2016 MacBook. Have always bought AppleCare with each one, never needed it yet, who knows about the future ?

I would always get it and always from Apple, it's worth it for the peace of mind, but I recognise it's a personal choice.

 

[jerryk]

If you do get it, I would recommend that you keep checking the product page for lower prices and looking for "Amazon Warehouse Deals" to become available, as you can save even more than $50. I found a warehouse deal for my 15" rMBP for $229 vs. $349. They will be listed as used.

I wish I would have known about this before I bought Apple Care for my new rMBP 15. But I am curious about "They will be listed as used" bit. Could you explain that?

 

[CE3]

I wish I would have known about this before I bought Apple Care for my new rMBP 15. But I am curious about "They will be listed as used" bit. Could you explain that?

The deals are likely returns (like when someone orders the wrong plan) and/or damaged packaging. My packaging was opened and damaged, but it hadn't been activated. I also knew since it was coming direct from Amazon that a return wouldn't be a problem if I had any issues.

I checked to see if there were some available this morning and didn't see any, but when I ordered mine few weeks ago there were warehouse deals for both the 13 & 15" plans.

There are some currently listed for the Mac Pro, so you can see how they're listed and what to look for in the future:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B004R6LTNK/ref=dp_olp_used?ie=UTF8&condition=used

 

[jerryk]

There are some currently listed for the Mac Pro, so you can see how they're listed and what to look for in the future:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B004R6LTNK/ref=dp_olp_used?ie=UTF8&condition=used

Thanks. Those are some very nice deals. I hope I remember them next time I buy a Mac.

 

[Tenashus1]

I go for coffee every morning in a place in the mall. Every morning there are people lined up 30 minutes before the Apple Store opens waiting to get devices looked at. By the time the store opens there are 20 people in line. When you see 3 people in a row with their iMacs on handtrucks it is kind of bothersome.

I went for AppleCare on my new rMBP

Yes, it does make one wonder. Is this the same Apple as in yesteryear? Although, come to think of it, I did have an original Apple IIe (dating myself) that had a bad motherboard. Had to get the board replaced. Who knows?

 

[6daniels]

I purchased AppleCare for my MacBook Pro and it was worth every penny. I got my screen hinge replaced, and went through 2 chargers during the extended 2 year period. I would advise you to stay away from purchasing AppleCare from a non authorized dealer as the warranty codes could be generated.

 

[maflynn]

I would advise you to stay away from purchasing AppleCare from a non authorized dealer as the warranty codes could be generated.

Depends where, you can find good prices at Amazon, and that's a good place to get them. I'd avoid eBay, as that's just rife with counterfeit AC sellers. BH Video is an excellent place to get AC, its usually one of the cheapest.

 

[DSTOFEL]

I purchased a 2015 Macbook Pro with Retina display last August and I am now debating whether to get the extra 2 year warranty. Any advice is welcome!! Also, I found Apple Care on Amazon for $50 less than directly from Apple. How does aftermarket purchase/license transfer work??
Thanks,
Kyle

I bought a new 2012 15 inch RMBP in August 2013. I'm glad I also purchased Apple Care. I've had in into Apple for 3 separate repairs....all very expensive without Apple Care:

• Replaced display (display delamination)
• Replaced keyboard/trackpad assembly (keyboard stopped working)
• Replaced logic board due to discrete graphic card failure....just picking up today

 

[SamuelShand]

I wasn't planning on extending apple care but in February this year one of my pixels exploded leaving a nasty little hole.

Finding out how much is costs to replace the screen... i bought apple care.

I found one on ebay that was sealed for around £50 less than from apple shop. I made sure to check with the seller that is was still manufacture sealed and when it arrived i did not break the seal - I called apple and had them check the serial number to make sure it was a legit apple care and that it hadn't already been activated. Just make sure and double check you are buying the relevant apple care for 13/15" as i saw a good few dodgy looking adverts on Ebay which looked liked sellers were potentially being deceiving with this, probably just me being over cautious.

Others prefer to save say £30 a month instead of warranties, with most normal products i agree this is the better solution BUT apple repairs are so damn expensive... even if i saved £30 a month for 2 years it would have just covered how much it would have cost me for a screen replacement... for the sake of £200 on apple care I am happy I purchased especially as i went for the dGPU.

Hey there is always the old consumer rights argument (not fit for use) which i just dont have the time to argue if I was ever in the situation without a warranty but for the sake of £200 i am happy and have peace of mind.

 

[High Desert]

Kind of in the same boat here. I generally do not purchase extended warranties but am somewhat concerned about cost of Apple repairs. I have my initial warranty up in Nov this year, plus a 1 year ext with purchase via Amex. I can get a good price on Applecare via one of their discount programs so for under $200, I am thinking it may be worth it as the Amex warranty will extend to one year past Apple warranty, so I can have 4 years of coverage. I think this is pretty cheap insurance.

 

[HBOC]

I bought my first Mac in 2008 - a 15" MBP. I purchased AC on it, and boy am i glad i did. The nvidia card went out twice and had to get the logic board replaced twice - Apple actually gave me a NEW MBP when the mid 2011 ones came out.

Sold that computer shortly there after and bought my then new mid 2011 iMac - however i didn't purchase AC on it, since it was a stationary computer. BEST computer i have every owned. So rock solid. It is now over 5 years old, and i just bought a few month old 2.5GHZ MBP, and it has AppleCare until 2019.

Chances are you won't need it, but you have to be ok with the chance of something going wrong. I will get insurance on my computer, so if i am at a coffee shop and someone spills coffee on it, they will pay me what i PAID for the computer. I think it runs a few bucks a month, at least through progressive.

 

[tubeexperience]

I wouldn't buy Apple Care since it doesn't cover accidents.

 

[jerryk]

I purchased AppleCare for my MacBook Pro and it was worth every penny. I got my screen hinge replaced, and went through 2 chargers during the extended 2 year period. I would advise you to stay away from purchasing AppleCare from a non authorized dealer as the warranty codes could be generated.

On chargers, is the cable fraying that occurs on all MBP chargers covered?

 

[Sully]

I bought my first Mac in 2008 - a 15" MBP. I purchased AC on it, and boy am i glad i did. The nvidia card went out twice and had to get the logic board replaced twice - Apple actually gave me a NEW MBP when the mid 2011 ones came out.

Sold that computer shortly there after and bought my then new mid 2011 iMac - however i didn't purchase AC on it, since it was a stationary computer. BEST computer i have every owned. So rock solid. It is now over 5 years old, and i just bought a few month old 2.5GHZ MBP, and it has AppleCare until 2019.

Chances are you won't need it, but you have to be ok with the chance of something going wrong. I will get insurance on my computer, so if i am at a coffee shop and someone spills coffee on it, they will pay me what i PAID for the computer. I think it runs a few bucks a month, at least through progressive.

[doublepost=1468287273][/doublepost]The NVIDIA card on that model was covered by NVIDIA whether or not you had AppleCare. The cards were defective from NVIDIA.

 

[maflynn]

The NVIDIA card on that model was covered by NVIDIA whether or not you had AppleCare. The cards were defective from NVIDIA.

I believe that repair program is coming to an end, I believe this year.

 

[Brandon0448]

TL;DR: If you can afford to replace/repair your device on your own if it is damaged do not purchase AppleCare. If the loss of your device would be completely devastating and there is no way you could burden the cost to replace/repair it then go ahead and purchase AppleCare.


AppleCare along with any other extended warranty or insurnace are generally not worth it. Apple along with any other company have crunched the numbers and they know generally how many of their devices will fail and require repair. They simply price AppleCare so they will make more than they have to pay out in repairs. This is true for any extended warranty or insurance.

I use to manage the books for an aviation rental company and we offered hull insurance on our planes at a cost of $20 a flight hour for a little Cessna 172 on top of the $99 per hour base rental rate. This hull coverage protected the pilot from the burden of the cost of the airplane if there was a legitimate accident and the airplane was damaged, similar to the insurance you can purchase when you rent a car.

Now looking at the numbers planes like these will generally have a crash where you have a total loss every 10,000 hours. So in 10,000 hours at $20 an hour you will make $200,000 to cover a plane that is worth about $20,000 to $30,000. Now that is about 10x the coverage required but this was not an outrageous price we were charging for hull insurance, this is pretty standard stuff. Probably about 60% of our customers would purchase this hull insurance and be happy to pay it. These extended warranties and insurance are huge money makers companies.

Now this is not saying these extended warranties are insurance don't have their place. If you as a consumer can absolutely not afford to take the loss of your device. As in if you lost your device there is no way you could afford to replace it and losing that device would interfere with your ability to make income then they can make fiscal sense. But if losing your device would just be an inconvenience and you could just go buy a new one the extended warranties and/or insurance are just a waste of money. Because the odds are forever in the favor of the company, not the consumer. If it wasn't in their favor they simply would not offer it.

Edit: Grammar