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Applecare - buy it immediately or wait a year?

A

AdventurousJosh

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 11, 2008
300
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Just curious - since you have a year to purchase AppleCare for a 3 year extension. Wouldn't it be wise to wait a year, or almost a year, to extend your AppleCare 3 (longer years, thanks to waiting, almost 4 years) rather than right away and cheat yourself sometime?

Or, does it retro to the date of actual purchase regardless of when you buy?


Josh
 
Buy it 3rd party (B&H, Amazon, etc.) and I set a calendar reminder (Several actually) for a few days apart starting at 10 months to give me a cushion.
 
kwandrews said:
Buy it 3rd party (B&H, Amazon, etc.) and I set a calendar reminder (Several actually) for a few days apart starting at 10 months to give me a cushion.
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Being that its retro'd regardless of when you buy waiting would be unnecessary.
 
I think buying later is good in case you want to sell the laptop maybe,

if you don't and got the cash now, do it now.
 
one thing to remember; you have 90 days phone support, and a 1-year warranty for repairs with a new mac; applecare extends both things to a full 3 years; if phone support is important, it's worth getting applecare sooner than later.
 
I usually buy it within 6 months. Considering it costs nearly £200, I don't see the point in spending that extra when you buy the mac considering the benefits it gives you don't become relevant until after 90 days. The extended warranty is obviously the biggest draw, which doesn't matter until after the year anyway.

Little tip, you can buy the warranty on amazon/eBay and register it yourself for a decent saving.
 
daijholt said:
I usually buy it within 6 months. Considering it costs nearly £200, I don't see the point in spending that extra when you buy the mac considering the benefits it gives you don't become relevant until after 90 days. The extended warranty is obviously the biggest draw, which doesn't matter until after the year anyway.

Little tip, you can buy the warranty on amazon/eBay and register it yourself for a decent saving.
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Link me. I've looked. I don't believe it.
 
AdventurousJosh said:
When you drop $1500"-2k on a computer, I wouldn't call that 'considerable savings'.
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are you looking for a realistic discount, or some 'magical' buy? i purchased my macbook (online at fryes; $100 off, no tax, free ship), and applecare on ebay. so, altogether, saved about $250. not magical, but not bad.
 
daijholt said:
Little tip, you can buy the warranty on amazon/eBay and register it yourself for a decent saving.
Click to expand...

I bought Applecare from Amazon once. Tried to register and failed as the number was already registered to another computer. Had no trouble getting money back, but now always from Apple.
 
If support isn't applicable wait as long as possible. If your Mac gets damaged in a way that Apple perceives it to affect function, it will render your extended warranty useless in that regard. Hopefully not the case, but you never know.
 
Get it ASAP if you have the cash handy.

• In 10 months you may be mad at yourself for making your 'future self' spend the money
• Even if you do decide to sell, having AppleCare increases resale value and gives your system an advantage over others
• Be done with it and not have to worry about it
 
From my experience buying and selling used macs, AppleCare does not significantly raise resale value. You'll pay $250 for it but maybe you'll get an extra $20 if you're lucky at the time of sale.

Note: this is also true of many BTO options a couple years down the road.

It'll be a lot easier to find a buyer selling it for less (a buyer who doesn't care about warranty) than holding out for someone willing to pay the premium to have it.

My advice is to buy as the warranty expires, if you haven't sold it by then. While you can get some of your money back if you cancel AppleCare after buying it, it is a prorated amount and a hassle.
 
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i've had 2 logic boards replaced in the last decade or so... applecare. and, really crazy, my previous macbook pro was practically rebuilt, in the last 2 months of warranty (a new harddrive, logic board, ram, and keyboard/lower case). if i buy a new mac, applecare is a given.
 
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Usually I'd say applecare is a waste of money, but since most new Apple computers can not be user serviced if one part fails, it is probably worth getting it.
 
laudern said:
Usually I'd say applecare is a waste of money, but since most new Apple computers can not be user serviced if one part fails, it is probably worth getting it.
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fisherking said:
i've had 2 logic boards replaced in the last decade or so... applecare. and, really crazy, my previous macbook pro was practically rebuilt, in the last 2 months of warranty (a new harddrive, logic board, ram, and keyboard/lower case). if i buy a new mac, applecare is a given.
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I've never had apple care and never had to pay for a single repair for hardware failure. Also had a logic board repaired for free. In the UK apple will cover it with a 6 year consumer law warranty or for systematic hardware issues they usually issue recalls or free repairs. The consumer warranty however only applies to the original point of purchase and not the manufacturer so make sure you buy directly from Apple.

You may also find that your home insurance will cover repairs/replacements for damage.
 
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Id say get apple care later in case you break or lose the laptop. I do recommend getting it for a MacBook since I had it for a 2012 MBP retina and turned it in last min after random fan noise. It ended up being speaker and apple swapped out new speaker, put in new battery. They putin the new battery after running diagnosis that battery was failing. SO i got a rebuilt laptop that I gave to family member who was super happy with it. Apple care seemed a dumb gimmick to me in past but now I won't buy a non apple product because I so much care for that warranty. Especially after trying to get a Dell fixed and talking to Indians over phone with no solution.
[doublepost=1484441901][/doublepost]If i were you, Id buy an open box MacBook for less and then use the savings to get apple care. doesn't matter how someone used it or how many battery cycles they put on it. You'll get those batteries replaced within 3 years anyways.
 
1st point:
Buy your Mac at a third party seller with a discount. With Apple Care you can give a **** about the worse service the retailer offers, because you will go directly to Apple anyway.

2nd point:
FilmIndustryGuy said:
Id say get apple care later in case you break or lose the laptop.
Click to expand...

3rd point:
Also get Apple Care at a third party seller with a discount.

4th point:
Actually USE Apple Care. You've paid for it, so use it. Even when there is nothing major and you are close to end of Apple Care, bring it in for service anyway. There is a pretty good chance there will be some smaller flaw, which leads to a huge part of the laptop getting replaced. Making it harder to replace components usually isn't good for customers, but in this case it will benefit you.

If there is anything wrong regarding upper casing, keyboard or battery - congratulations, you've got yourself a brand new battery + keyboard + upper casing, which basically makes it as good as new.

Also pay attention to your fan, chances are that it's not as quiet as it used to be, so you might want to have it covered as well.
 
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