Apple replaced my iMac

[vladfein]

I don’t understand all the excitement about the way extended warranty (or any kind of insurance) work.
This is a simple school-level math problem, really.
Every player pays some money to play. Some get their hardware to fail and “win”, by collecting their new system.
Considering that this game has to be “interesting” to Apple, your chances to “win” are below average.
Here we hear the opinion of the “winners”, but I bet there are a lot more “losers” who got nothing back from this game, but simply lost their AppleCare payment.
Transposing this multiple customers – one product scenario to single customer – multiple products one, I don’t buy extended warranty for anything. If something breaks – I buy a new one. I think I am ahead of this game

P.S. Also consider people whose toys break first day out of warranty

 

[rkaufmann87]

I don’t understand all the excitement about the way extended warranty (or any kind of insurance) work.
This is a simple school-level math problem, really.
Every player pays some money to play. Some get their hardware to fail and “win”, by collecting their new system.
Considering that this game has to be “interesting” to Apple, your chances to “win” are below average.
Here we hear the opinion of the “winners”, but I bet there are a lot more “losers” who got nothing back from this game, but simply lost their AppleCare payment.
Transposing this multiple customers – one product scenario to single customer – multiple products one, I don’t buy extended warranty for anything. If something breaks – I buy a new one. I think I am ahead of this game

P.S. Also consider people whose toys break first day out of warranty

Unfortunately that doesn't hold water with AppleCare because it's not just a hardware warranty. It covers 3 years of telephone support and software assistance. Assuming one is a relatively new user this can be invaluable. I was in that situation when I got my first Mac and used AppleCare telephone support frequently because I found it much easier to pick up the phone and ask rather than go to a forum or otherwise search. While I never had any hardware issues (and still haven't after 5 + years) the phone support was invaluable. I think my experience is more in line with an average user, not people on this forum who (IMHO) tend to have a lot of technical know how. I also found it very comforting to know that if I did have hardware problems I was in good hands. AppleCare (again IMHO) is worlds better than any other extended warranty, no where else have I seen the level of service (an intangilbe) at a technology company. I worked in the sales side of HP for 8 years and believe me what they offer in no way compares with Apple, perhaps another reason HP is seeing the hard times they are!

 

[Jovian9]

They did the same for me on multiple computers.

My Rev A 17" G4 MacBook Pro was sent in twice. The second time they were just waiting on parts for 30 days and then decided to give me a brand new upgraded model (RevB had just come out).

My Rev A iMac G5 had 3 issues that required fixing over the first year. One issue they actually sent the hard drive replacement to me and had me replacement. When the 3rd issue occurred I called and spoke to Customer Relations and they provided me with the RevB, refunded me for my AppleCare for the RevA, and let me buy the AppleCare starting on that date for the RevB.

 

[forty2j]

I don’t understand all the excitement about the way extended warranty (or any kind of insurance) work.
This is a simple school-level math problem, really.

So I'm guessing you live without home owners (or renters) insurance, car insurance, health insurance..

Yes, in the long run aggregated over multiple people, the insurance costs more than the damage/liability/repair/etc. However, unless you are specifically saving to cover every eventuality and are lucky enough to not experience a problem until you have sufficient cash on hand, you're kinda hosed without it.

I don't buy the "extended plan" on everything.. but I do usually get AppleCare, and I usually get the Best Buy replacement plan on the most important TVs in the house.

 

[vladfein]

So I'm guessing you live without home owners (or renters) insurance, car insurance, health insurance..

Those are not very good examples. I do have home fire insurance, primarily because you can't have mortgage without it, but secondly because I will not be able to pay replacement cost if the house is lost.
I do have a renter insurance, but only because my wife insisted, I would rather not.
I no longer have a car (can't afford a parking in Manhattan), but when I did I had to have liability policy (California law) and chose to pay extra because our cars were too expensive. When I drove an old car 20 years ago, I did not buy any extras.
My health insurance provided by employer, but with all honesty, while I was consulting for a couple of years I did buy it, for the reason stated above: I might not be able to pay out-of-pocket.

Yes, in the long run aggregated over multiple people, the insurance costs more than the damage/liability/repair/etc. However, unless you are specifically saving to cover every eventuality and are lucky enough to not experience a problem until you have sufficient cash on hand, you're kinda hosed without it.

I think it's enough to aggregate over single person's life time
And, luckily, I don't have to make special provisions to buy a computer, TV, etc. I will be using money I saved by NOT buying extended warranty.

If you are one of the "lucky" people that have everything break in their hands, you would know that by now, and you SHOULD by insurance.

Just my opinion, of course.

 

[forty2j]

And, luckily, I don't have to make special provisions to buy a computer, TV, etc. I will be using money I saved by NOT buying extended warranty.

On average you'll need to avoid 30 years worth of AppleCare (assuming 1 computer, replaced as soon as AppleCare expires) to have the money saved for an extra computer. So no, I don't think you're doing that

However, if you're plenty wealthy / have a large cushion in the bank / etc., then yeah, you can probably live without it, unless you want the phone support.

 

[vladfein]

On average you'll need to avoid 30 years worth of AppleCare (assuming 1 computer, replaced as soon as AppleCare expires) to have the money saved for an extra computer. So no, I don't think you're doing that

Well, I am avoiding external warranty for 20+ years (none of it was AppleCare as I never owned a mac before).
But your calculations are off, as I am saving on ALL electronics (TV, VCR, DVD) and appliances (washer, dryer, refrigerator, oven, etc.), and some of them cost more than iMac.
Also, I have thrown away some TV, VCR and DVD players in good working condition, simply because they became obsolete.
Looking back, I am sure I saved enough for a new iMac

 

[Lancer]

Opening post - thanks for the good news story, I was already going to get the Apple care when I get my new iMac but it's nice to know they will do this even after a couple of years. Now I just need to talk my mom into paying for it before her MBP is 12 months old.

And wow going from a 24" CoreDuo to a 27" i5, must be some jump in performance!

I believe in extended cover, had a TV that needed fixing after 2 years, cost me nothing. Right now I have a PVR in for repair, might need a new HDD, that was cheap and I didn't get extended cover, but its only 11 months old so luckily it should be alright.

ETA - I'd consider the few cases here are not that many compared to the number of iMac's that have been sold over the years. People usually come to forums to complain but also to compliment when they get something they weren't expecting.

As for what happens one day out of warranty well as has been shown Apple is some what flexible as are most companies, much cheaper to satisfy a customer than to suffer bad press and feedback from forums like this, with the likes of Twitter it doesn't take much for one complaint to snowball into 100's! Plus they then will probably have a customer for life and Apple knows they will buy the Apple Care even though most of us well never need to use it. Its like insurance, we don't go complaining to out company they the house didn't burn down so they wasted our premium last year.

 

[Taz Mangus]

I made my first jump into the Apple world 3 years ago when I purchased the fastest iMac available at the time (24" Early 2008 3.06 GHz Dual Core). I don't normally buy extended warranties but also bought Apple Care. Although I work in IT and can google problems with the best of them, the thought that I could call Apple for the next 3 years with questions was appealing to me. About 18 months into my using my new Mac I noticed a slight discoloration on the left side of my screen, so I called Apple. They were unable to fix it over the phone and advised me to take it into the Apple Store. Since I live about an hour from the nearest Apple Store I elected to take my Mac to an authorized repair center (btw, they are no longer authorized). They couldn't find anything wrong. Since I was approaching the end of my warranty, I packed up my Mac and took it to the Apple Store last week. I made my appointment online but still had to wait about 30min for somebody to look at my Mac... It was incredibly busy there. The support guy documented my story and could see the discoloration right away. They wanted to test and evaluate the problem and asked if they could keep it for a few days so I went on home. Yesterday, the Apple Store called and asked if they could just replace my iMac. The repair cost had exceeded the value of the original iMac because they would have needed to replace the logic board, cpu, lcd, and power supply. They offered to move all my data but since I have a Time Machine drive I told them not to worry about it. I walked in Apple Store yesterday... It was, again, incredibly busy, and was handed my new iMac along with my old Hard Drive. (I has some boot camp data on it, so they just pulled it out of the old iMac and let me take it home). Needless to say, I'm still a bit stunned, but a very happy customer because they just handed me a new 27" 3.1 GHz Intel Core i5 iMac.

I don't know if my story is unique or not... but I'm an Apple Customer for life now.

I had the exact same machine as you did, 2008 24" iMac 3.06GHz. I had several logic board replacements with that Mac and in 2011 Apple swapped out the 2008 24" iMac for a 27" 3.4GHz Quad machine. In fact, Apple swapped my 2005 20" 2.1GHz G5 for the 2008 iMac as the 2005 iMac also had several logic board replacements. I did pay for an upgrade of $400 for the 2008 iMac for the faster processor and $600 BTO for the 2011 iMac. I always purchase the AppleCare as the 3 years of phone support has come in handy on many occassions.

 

[forty2j]

Well, I am avoiding external warranty for 20+ years (none of it was AppleCare as I never owned a mac before).
But your calculations are off, as I am saving on ALL electronics (TV, VCR, DVD) and appliances (washer, dryer, refrigerator, oven, etc.), and some of them cost more than iMac.
Also, I have thrown away some TV, VCR and DVD players in good working condition, simply because they became obsolete.
Looking back, I am sure I saved enough for a new iMac

Most of that crap I don't buy the warranty for either. It either replaces cheaply or is expected to be durable. Computers really aren't either of those.

 

[Panther Al]

For most things I will buy applecare, but I know it will be hit or miss.

Tried using it twice, a iPod and a old G4 Powerbook.

Both got... disabled... while I was ove rin the sandbox at different times. While the Applecare paperwork says War caused issues are not applicable, they actually replaced the iPod.

But not the PB.

Ah well. At anyrate, I do believe in getting the applecare package - all it has to do is pay off once for an iMac or MP to pay for itself.

 

[RustyMacVet]

Maybe them replacing old iMacs with brand new 2011 iMacs is an indication that 2011 iMacs are obsolete hardware they need to get rid of to make room for some new hardware.

 

[Texran]

I've used AppleCare twice, so I figure I'm already ahead.

 

[Swordylove]

Maybe them replacing old iMacs with brand new 2011 iMacs is an indication that 2011 iMacs are obsolete hardware they need to get rid of to make room for some new hardware.

Oh no... not another of those 'indications'...

 

[Lancer]

Maybe them replacing old iMacs with brand new 2011 iMacs is an indication that 2011 iMacs are obsolete hardware they need to get rid of to make room for some new hardware.

I wouldn't be complaining if I just had may 2-3 year old iMac replaced with an i5 iMac.

 

[RustyMacVet]

I wouldn't be complaining if I just had may 2-3 year old iMac replaced with an i5 iMac.

Well I didn't mean it like that. I would buy the current iMac if there wasn't so much speculation about new ones coming out shortly. Just saying maybe they are so easy to just go ahead and say "Here you go, brand new one on us" is because they know there is new hardware coming.

 

[Lancer]

Well I didn't mean it like that. I would buy the current iMac if there wasn't so much speculation about new ones coming out shortly. Just saying maybe they are so easy to just go ahead and say "Here you go, brand new one on us" is because they know there is new hardware coming.

Maybe, and I agree. If I had too I'd happily buy the 2011 and it would be much faster than my 2005 G5PM but with all the speculation I just can't do it knowing in a matter of week we could have a new model with better spec at the same price or less.

But getting a 'free' one is such a nice thing even with the inconvenience of the broken one.

 

[philipma1957]

I don’t understand all the excitement about the way extended warranty (or any kind of insurance) work.
This is a simple school-level math problem, really.
Every player pays some money to play. Some get their hardware to fail and “win”, by collecting their new system.
Considering that this game has to be “interesting” to Apple, your chances to “win” are below average.
Here we hear the opinion of the “winners”, but I bet there are a lot more “losers” who got nothing back from this game, but simply lost their AppleCare payment.
Transposing this multiple customers – one product scenario to single customer – multiple products one, I don’t buy extended warranty for anything. If something breaks – I buy a new one. I think I am ahead of this game

P.S. Also consider people whose toys break first day out of warranty

Apple care really helps resale value.

If a 2010 is sold on ebay with 18 months of applecare it will sell for a lot more.

 

[CharlesJax]

iMac life cycle

I just picked up my dead iMac today after Apple Store in JAX had it for 10 business days. Highly disappointed. I was told my dead iMac issue could be power supply or logic board and both parts would be ordered, repairing power supply first. Paper stated this as well along with " we'll call you in 3-5 days". I called the store each week, and was advised "someone will call you". Now, more history on my iMac. Purchased Aug 2008, did not buy apple care (I guess I should have, it would of been close as its now Aug 2012). Why all the issues with iMacs? As it turns out it was the logic board that died. Of course it took 2 weeks and finally a call from JAX Apple store to tell me and request a work authorization. Oh and they never even ordered a power supply. Told me all systems point to logic board. Bottom line, $397 logic board, $39 labor, tax $466. It was still under my budget of $500, but I was ticked off that it took 2 weeks to determine and receive a call. I decide to pick up iMac and it's sitting in the box. I guess I'll wait for a refresh which is due in Oct, and I think I'll get the Apple Care, especially if iMacs have a short life cycle. I still have a 2003 eMac and it's running just fine.

 

[bembol]

Before I sold my Mid-2008 24" iMac, we have 4 and except for my sister's Mid-2010 27" i3 iMac. The last two, the HDD crashed (my brother's 17" & my 24"). My sister's old 20" PowerPC is in the spare serious but stable condition. This all happened after 2-3 years owning it.

My point is if/when I get my new 27"+ iMac, I will definitely buy Apple Care.

TBH, I started questioning Apple Quality that I considered buying a Desktop but I hate Windows so I don't exactly have a choice.

 

[kfscoll]

Maybe them replacing old iMacs with brand new 2011 iMacs is an indication that 2011 iMacs are obsolete hardware they need to get rid of to make room for some new hardware.

Yeah, except the OP originally posted his anecdote in August 2011 so 2011 iMacs were far from "obsolete" then.

 

[Lancer]

Yeah, except the OP originally posted his anecdote in August 2011 so 2011 iMacs were far from "obsolete" then.

LOL good point.

So who will pony up the extra for Apple Care when they buy it, or will you wait 10-11 months?

 

[kfscoll]

LOL good point.

So who will pony up the extra for Apple Care when they buy it, or will you wait 10-11 months?

I plan to wait...

 

[Lancer]

I plan to wait...

My plan too, I just wont have the cash when I get the new iMac so I'll save about $5 a week for the $268 Apple Care cover.

I still don't get why we have to pay $268 here in Australia and in the US it's $169? When the AUD has been equal to or above parity with the USD for the last couple of years.

 

[slowtrain]

Thanks for the idea

So I too bought an iMac in 09 with the AppleCare. It's always had a bit of greyness in the top center that was cause by the display. Never really bugged me enough to package it up and be without it for a week so I just accepted it. But after your post a was inspired to atleast get it fixed and take advantage of the warranty I purchased along with the dust cleaning and hardware check they would provide. Worst case my display gets fixed and my computer gets a checkup. Best case I get your situation. It's a win win. Thanks for the idea!