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Applecare = Awesome

J

Jatku

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 2, 2008
70
0
So I have been using a Powerbook G4, the last ones before the Macbooks came out, and decided to get everything fixed since the 3 year warranty was going to expire in a month. The only thing that really needed to be fixed were the fans, which made a loud buzzing sound when they came on. This was fixed, but when I checked out everything, they had disabled my wireless card and bluetooth. I called the Applecare to see if they could help with the issue, but after trying their "fixes", they told me to take it back to the Apple store. Soon after the call, I headed back to the store and told them the issue, along with a tiny dark spot on the screen about a millimeter wide that I had just noticed. They apologized for all the trouble and said they would see what they could do about the screen.

After a week I received a call from a man at applecare, saying they don't have the display in stock, so it would be 3-4 weeks before they could fix it! I was getting annoyed with the problems and asked what they could do about it. The guy helping me said, "We can send your Powerbook back and just wait for the part to come in, or we can give you a new Macbook Pro." I was confused and asked questions like, "A BRAND NEW Macbook?!? So I'd get a new Macbook Pro for my old Powerbook?!?"

So yeah, I will be getting a new Macbook Pro in exchange for a laptop worth $100 or less. They even threw in a free iWork 08 and remote without hesitating. All that because of a tiny dark spot on the screen that I was actually about to ignore!

I decided to check on this site to read up about the current Pros, and saw the video card issue. Luckily I have 30 days to cash in on the offer, so I am really hoping for the rumored update to be true.

But the point of me writing was to recommend Applecare to anyone buying a new mac (I guess to brag about it too). They really seem to go out of their way for the customer. Honestly, I would have been happy even with an older refurbished Macbook Pro, but instead they offer me a brand new machine.
 
Yeah AppleCare is awesome; I say you cash in now before they change their mind. Unless you have it on paper for 30 days they can still turn you away when the part arrives ;)
 
That's amazing! Thanks for sharing this because we don't get enough about the good customer service Apple sometimes provides.
 
do you guys think applecare treats you better when your in the 2-3 year range of your coverage versus the 'given' 1 year grace period?
simply because you paid 100+ dollars for some stupid extended insurance that should come w/ electronics?

ps. sorry for saying stupid extended insurace... im being a hypocrite cause i got it for my imac, lol
 
sukanas said:
do you guys think applecare treats you better when your in the 2-3 year range of your coverage versus the 'given' 1 year grace period?
simply because you paid 100+ dollars for some stupid extended insurance that should come w/ electronics?

ps. sorry for saying stupid extended insurace... im being a hypocrite cause i got it for my imac, lol
Click to expand...

I think applecare would be the same whether you're in your 1st year or 3rd. I do think being in the 2-3 year just gives you a better probability that your part will be harder to find since everything keeps getting updated. Apple probably keeps a very low supply of powerbook parts now, but they probably have no problem with most macbook parts. Since the week plus an additional 3-4 weeks for repair would be unreasonable for most people, they did whatever they could to keep customer satisfaction high. I am most definitely satisfied :)

The Apple store I went to also had good customer service. Applecare told me that they would have charged me 350 for repair costs since the warranty doesn't cover everything (not sure what exactly), but the apple store took care of it since they may or may not have damaged the screen during the fan replacements. Pretty nice of them to cover it even though they said they were pretty sure they didn't cause the damage.
 
alphaod said:
Yeah AppleCare is awesome; I say you cash in now before they change their mind. Unless you have it on paper for 30 days they can still turn you away when the part arrives ;)
Click to expand...

While it would be nice to have that in writing, all the communication has been by phone except for one e-mail. I asked both representatives if there was any chance of them revoking the offer, and both of them said even if the part arrives tomorrow, the offer will still stand. The communication between the two wasn't that great, judging by how I was given different responses on some of the other details, but 30 days for the offer was the same between them.

Also, I should add that I originally asked about how long I had because I chose to upgrade the video card and processor for $400, and wanted to have some time to get the money together w/o having to go dumpster diving to eat :p
 
Good for you; you're a lucky guy!

This sort of thing very much seems to be the exception to the rule..you must be quite charming. ;)
 
Congratulations. I always seem to notice more stories like this around the time when the Apple products are being refreshed. Maybe geniuses are allowed go give away the older stock to free up space for the new stuff?
 
Yeah I doubt you'll get the brand new yet to be released one, probably trying too get rid of old stock. Still great deal none the less.

And that Powerbook of yours is worth a hell of a lot more than $100.
 
question on AppleCare...I'm about to buy my first mac for college, mbp to be exact, and was wondering if the warranty needed to be purchased at POS or if it could be bought anytime w/in the initial first year? Thanks for your help!
 
hookemsccr said:
question on AppleCare...I'm about to buy my first mac for college, mbp to be exact, and was wondering if the warranty needed to be purchased at POS or if it could be bought anytime w/in the initial first year? Thanks for your help!
Click to expand...

To the OP, that's a terrific story, and well done. Nice to hear of a positive experience. I'll echo that; my iPod died twice (within warranty) and was replaced without any trouble by Apple. This was one of the reasons I switched.

Re Applecare, you can buy it anytime within the first year - right up to the last day.
Cheers
 
k

im happy for you dude , although i must stress that in my dealings with apple you either get lucky , (like you) or they just fight you all the way , i dont think applecare is as good as it could be but its getting there in terms of CS

p.s whats the deal with the 3 repair rule , apple have repaired my macbook 2 times already am i right in thinking i can demand a new one if it goes wrong a third time ???
 
Gokhan said:
im happy for you dude , although i must stress that in my dealings with apple you either get lucky , (like you) or they just fight you all the way , i dont think applecare is as good as it could be but its getting there in terms of CS

p.s whats the deal with the 3 repair rule , apple have repaired my macbook 2 times already am i right in thinking i can demand a new one if it goes wrong a third time ???
Click to expand...

There isn't exactly a repair guideline, on your 3-4th repair you are able to request a replacement.
 
Scepticalscribe said:
Re Applecare, you can buy it anytime within the first year - right up to the last day.
Cheers
Click to expand...

But not a second more.

You have the first 12 months to purchase AppleCare, even one day more than 12 months means you do not qualify so make sure you know exactly when your one year warranty expires. Or, save for a few more weeks and get it at the day of purchase, then you get a full three years of AppleCare coverage instead of just 2 (the standard warranty is not the same as AppleCare, APP replaces the standard warranty with a higher standard of care).
 
Chundles said:
But not a second more.

You have the first 12 months to purchase AppleCare, even one day more than 12 months means you do not qualify so make sure you know exactly when your one year warranty expires. Or, save for a few more weeks and get it at the day of purchase, then you get a full three years of AppleCare coverage instead of just 2 (the standard warranty is not the same as AppleCare, APP replaces the standard warranty with a higher standard of care).
Click to expand...

You are absolutely right, of course. Not a second more, indeed. I bought my MBP in April, and decided to add Applecare to the mix just a few weeks ago. There are those who torture themselves by waiting until the last minute - that can be done, but I'd recommend doing it just a little sooner than that.
Cheers
 
I do a lot of mac support for work and apple care is always helpfully. By the time i am calling have already done all the troubleshooting and can almost tell them what needs to be replaced. I have called before with 5 serials and usually within 30 minutes i have 5 repairs set up with boxes on the way. i can't recommend apple care enough to people.

Personally they replaced my ailing 15" PowerBook with a new MBP, and also swapped out my 1st gen macbook (junk) with the current one (much better).

I know the routine and i really believe it is how you present yourself to phone support that dictates how you get treated. Dell or Apple or Samsung.
 
Chundles said:
But not a second more.

You have the first 12 months to purchase AppleCare, even one day more than 12 months means you do not qualify so make sure you know exactly when your one year warranty expires. Or, save for a few more weeks and get it at the day of purchase, then you get a full three years of AppleCare coverage instead of just 2 (the standard warranty is not the same as AppleCare, APP replaces the standard warranty with a higher standard of care).
Click to expand...

So if I buy a MBP next December (I need it for my school) and only purchase AppleCare later in September next year when I get into university and use the further education discount for cheaper price (It's a 200 pounds save), my coverage is just up to December 2010 instead of Dec 2011 when I get AppleCare at the day of purchase my MBP. Is that right ???
 
I can attest to the AppleCare wonderfulness.

I am a new Apple user and bought my first iMac about a year ago. I got the iMac with the 2.8Ghz Intel Extreme, ATI Radeon 2600 Pro, etc. and had problems with in the first two weeks of it locking up. Took it back and swapped it out without problems. :)

About seven months ago I had a problem with the SuperDrive not reading or writing discs. I took it in and got the drive swapped for a new one. Then, about a month ago, I started having problems with lcd burn-in (icons and firefox browser info burned in), but I found a program to "flash" the pixels on and off to clear it. This worked for a few hours, but then it started to come back. I had also been reading other posts on the Apple Discussion Boards about browning edges and I was exhibiting some of that as well. The final straw for me where I was going to call Apple was when I went away on vacation for a week and came back to turn on my iMac to see condensation form after an hour of use. I was planning on calling Apple anyway after this, but then my hard drive crashed and did not let me boot into OSX or diagnostics. :( After going through the book and trying out all the normal stuff (clear PRAM, diagnostics, etc.) I called Apple. The woman on the phone was very nice and after I explained that I was a little perturbed by the above problems she recommended me swapping it out for a new iMac. The only problem was that they didn't have the 2.8GHz Intel Extreme anymore so I got the bump to the 3.06GHz Penryn with 512Mb GeForce 8800GS. :cool: To top it all off I tried to stick my 4GB of Crucial RAM in the new iMac and it wouldn't take because the bus speed has been increased on the 3.06. A short phone call later and I'm being overnighted 4GB or Apple RAM for no charge! :p

I am very glad I got the AppleCare, but it was never an option in my mind. I can't wait to see how this thing performs compared to the iMac Aluminum (2007).
 
chituan said:
So if I buy a MBP next December (I need it for my school) and only purchase AppleCare later in September next year when I get into university and use the further education discount for cheaper price (It's a 200 pounds save), my coverage is just up to December 2010 instead of Dec 2011 when I get AppleCare at the day of purchase my MBP. Is that right ???
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure the coverage lasts at most 3 years from manufacture date (or maybe when you receive the computer), unless additional time is provided by another company. It wouldn't really make sense that the warranty time is determined by the warranty purchase date.

I wanted to add that they even let me have the aftermarket (Crucial) ram I put in the machine! When I called, they said they could only let me have one 1gb stick back since they have to keep the machine as close to stock as possible. When I checked the package they sent (overnighted to me too), it had both 1gb sticks! I'm not sure if they are worth anything to Apple or even if I'd use them for anything, but either way it's still nice of them to send both back overnight when they didn't really need to. For me, it seems like they think of all the little details in both their service and products, that make me recommend them to people.

In case the 14th does not happen (or if they don't let me have the newest model :(), I'd like to ask people on their thoughts of the current mbp. Do you guys think it's a good quality machine? Are there any other issues that may pop up, other than a possible faulty gpu or lcd screen?
 
AppleCare adds two years of coverage (for a total of three years) from the day the machine was originally purchased. So for example, if you bought a MBP on October 6th, 2008 and purchased AppleCare later on, like on February 7th, 2009, the coverage will still last until October 6th, 2011.

So, it really makes no difference whether you buy it with the MBP on the same ticket or at a later date. I've been treated pretty good by AppleCare over the years; I always buy it along with the machine so I don't forget before it's too late.
 
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