iPod touch AppleCare for iPod Touch 32GB

[BugsBunny]

I just got my 32GB iPod Touch an hour ago, and the salesperson sold me on the AppleCare package for 60 bucks. I never, never, never buy these extended warranties from Best Buy or whatever, but for some reason he convinced me, but before I open it and use it, I wanted to see what the opinion was of it on this knowledgeable board. Is it worthwhile?

My brother thinks that you never end up using it. The salesperson said that basically whenever you want, if it gets a little scratch or whatever, you just send it back saying the battery isn't satisfactory and get a brand new one, which sounds nice!

What's your opinions?

 

[bmat]

I think the best buy guy was confusing the old BB warranty with Apple Care. Apple Care is run through Apple, and Apple isn't going to just give you a new one for no good reason. If the battery runs out, and they test it and agree, they'll change it. But it's a warranty against defect, not abuse or wear and tear.

The old BB warranty used to be that if anything was wrong, they'd give you a new one (or upgrade). But BB lost money on that, so it's not as generous anymore. Some managers allow it, but others do not, and just require your product to get sent in and fixed (which is what the fine print says).

 

[BugsBunny]

I think the best buy guy was confusing the old BB warranty with Apple Care. Apple Care is run through Apple, and Apple isn't going to just give you a new one for no good reason. If the battery runs out, and they test it and agree, they'll change it. But it's a warranty against defect, not abuse or wear and tear.

The old BB warranty used to be that if anything was wrong, they'd give you a new one (or upgrade). But BB lost money on that, so it's not as generous anymore. Some managers allow it, but others do not, and just require your product to get sent in and fixed (which is what the fine print says).

Sorry, what I meant to say was I never buy these things from Best Buy - in this case, at the Apple Store, I made an exception and bought it, because of what the Apple guy said. He even told me that he took his last iPod, sent it in to be fixed, so that he could have a brand new one to sell before getting an iPod Touch!

True? And in any case, worthwhile in your opinion, or should I return the AppleCare?

 

[stockcerts]

Does Apple sell Applecare warranty for the ITouch? Is it available from Apple if you bought your Touch from an Apple reseller?

I have an IMac, and I probably will buy Applecare when my system is almost one year old.

 

[bmat]

Terms and conditions give them the choice of repairing or replacing, for defects.

What is not covered is things like this:

(ii) Damage to the Covered Equipment caused by accident, abuse, neglect, misuse (including faulty installation, repair, or maintenance by anyone other than Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider), unauthorized modification, extreme environment (including extreme temperature or humidity), extreme physical or electrical stress or interference, fluctuation or surges of electrical power, lightning, static electricity, fire, acts of God or other external causes;

***

(viii) Cosmetic damage to the Covered Equipment including but not limited to scratches, dents and broken plastic on ports, that does not otherwise affect its functionality or materially impair your use;


I would say that includes scratches.

I normally don't buy it for things like ipods. They will cover a battery replacement if it's less than 50% of it's original charge, so basically you're paying in advance for the battery change. I guess that's not a bad deal, since by the end of the 3 years, the battery likely will be shot. Then again, by that time I want a new one, and I doubt they'll give you a new one.

 

[quicklook2]

i think is a waste of 60 dollars.

 

[ikondave]

AppleCare is A-OK

Every single time that I have purchased AppleCare it has paid for itself; often many time over. Trust me, I'm old and I know things

 

[Joe Bannon]

In a perfect world, we wouldn't need insurance.

 

[Cheffy Dave]

Does Apple sell Applecare warranty for the ITouch? Is it available from Apple if you bought your Touch from an Apple reseller?

I have an IMac, and I probably will buy Applecare when my system is almost one year old.

Yes they do, got it for mine at Christmas

 

[stockcerts]

What would you think is the life span of an ITouch, if you treat it well? My daughter's video Ipod is about 2.5 years old and is starting to have some problems. I guess I would hope to have my Touch be in good working shape for about two years. I would imagine by that point I would be ready for the next great thing.

 

[quicklook2]

Every single time that I have purchased AppleCare it has paid for itself; often many time over. Trust me, I'm old and I know things

never had applecare and never needed it.

being old does not mean you are wise, my older brother is old and is still an idiot.

 

[BrownManUPS]

What would you think is the life span of an ITouch, if you treat it well? My daughter's video Ipod is about 2.5 years old and is starting to have some problems. I guess I would hope to have my Touch be in good working shape for about two years. I would imagine by that point I would be ready for the next great thing.

Yes, if you want to stay easy with the market, a two year turnaround for an iPod is kinda fair, though Apple has an update every 150ish days on the touch. Expect them to be "space updates" and nothing like brand new though. Since the SDK is coming out, anyway.

That being said, my old iPod (5th) went for 4 years and is still kicking ass. I bought it a case to start out with and replaced that case once and then now I don't use a case anymore but it's still great. Just scratched/scuffed.

I just got my 32GB iPod Touch an hour ago, and the salesperson sold me on the AppleCare package for 60 bucks. I never, never, never buy these extended warranties from Best Buy or whatever, but for some reason he convinced me, but before I open it and use it, I wanted to see what the opinion was of it on this knowledgeable board. Is it worthwhile?

My brother thinks that you never end up using it. The salesperson said that basically whenever you want, if it gets a little scratch or whatever, you just send it back saying the battery isn't satisfactory and get a brand new one, which sounds nice!

What's your opinions?

I definitely would buy applecare on my macbook. It is a great investment for something this expensive. And their warranty is easily the BEST warranty in the computing market. It's usually a NQA exchange for a battery, LCD, keyboard casing, and other things. It has paid for itself twice and will pay for itself again soon.

As for an Ipod though, generally these things are built pretty well, and I wouldn't see why I would need one for it. It has a limited 1 year warranty for "oopsies" on their part, and if it hasn't made a mistake like an oops in one year, I doubt it could after the 3 years it covers.

So in conclusion, I wouldn't on an iPod, though 60 bucks for 3 years (20 bucks per year) is not a bad deal.

 

[iAmRod]

Never trust the "counter jockey" ... do your own thinking and research. Take a copy of the warranty home with you (or look it up online) and read what is and isn't covered. I never make an "on the spot" decision about this kind of thing. He/she's just trying to get commission. It's your money, your purchase, and your regret if you paid the money and never used it... unless having some kind of peace of mind that you're covered in the event of a manufacturer's defect.

I sometimes buy these things and sometimes I don't, but *I'm* the one to make the decision, not some guy who gets paid for selling it to me.

 

[uburoibob]

never had applecare and never needed it.

being old does not mean you are wise, my older brother is old and is still an idiot.

Are you sure you aren't the idiot, and just think he is, cuz you are?


Applecare - here's how to view it. Without it, when your Apple product goes south 367 days after you bought it, you are screwed. With it, you're not. I consider it as important as the product itself.

In a perfect world, we wouldn't need insurance.

I can tell you're not an insurance salesman!

 

[BlakTornado]

It really depends on how you're going to use it and how you think you'll treat it.

Personally, I've only bought extended warranty on one thing and that was my camcorder because it was more than likely to get broken. Why? Because I'm likely to be running around like a prat filming stuff for Youtube, or snag a wire and cause the whole thing to topple over - which happened very recently and I was glad I paid for extended warranty as I literally rely on my camera for everything I do outside of school-work.
On the contrary, I did not buy warranty for my Cell phone because I don't use it all too often, nor am I going to be foolish enough to leave it somewhere where it could be stolen (e.g. in my bag) so I didn't think I would need it... and so far I haven't. It isn't broken yet and it works fine - just like all my old cell phones.
My iMac, as well, is only under it's complimentary warranty. I know I'm not going to do anything stupid with it because, well, it's the most expensive thing I've ever bought and I'm VERY careful about dangerous things going near it. The only time I've needed to call AppleCare about something iMac related was when my MightyMouse went wrong... and when the replacement went wrong too, I just said "Fudge it" and bought a logitech MX revolution - which was faulty... but Amazon covered it for me and sent me a new one.

So yeah, I'm not really a warranty guy unless I know I'm likely to do something that will probably break it so much that it needs a hefty repair bill.

But really, if you're sensible, you don't need a warranty on your Touch. As other people have said, the complimentary warranty will fix any "Woopsies" caused by Apple. If you're not going to be sensible with it then you should probably just put that money towards a new one when you break it jk. lol. But go figure...

 

[mechler]

So in conclusion, I wouldn't on an iPod, though 60 bucks for 3 years (20 bucks per year) is not a bad deal.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but AppleCare only extends the warranty for one year after the normal coverage. So you're paying $60 for one year. I have the AppleCare box right in front of me right now, and I'm thinking about returning it - just seems like a lot for one year extra year.

What's a battery change cost?

 

[ikondave]

never had applecare and never needed it.

being old does not mean you are wise, my older brother is old and is still an idiot.

I never said I was wise But I have has lots of unfortunate problems with laptops, desktops, and my Gen 1 iPod. AppleCare has made all the bad stuff go away. So, unless you feel like handing out checks to the folks who might follow your advice, let 'em get the warranties and enjoy that added layer of protection.

 

[ikondave]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but AppleCare only extends the warranty for one year after the normal coverage. So you're paying $60 for one year. I have the AppleCare box right in front of me right now, and I'm thinking about returning it - just seems like a lot for one year extra year.

What's a battery change cost?

I'm pretty sure it's two extra years, and if you decide you want to sell your whatever, the warranty is transferable. It can add quite a bit to your resale value.

 

[BrownManUPS]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but AppleCare only extends the warranty for one year after the normal coverage. So you're paying $60 for one year. I have the AppleCare box right in front of me right now, and I'm thinking about returning it - just seems like a lot for one year extra year.

What's a battery change cost?

The limited warranty of just looking at it, and taking it in if it is a manufacturer defect is 1 year. Every Apple product has one. You also get 90 days of free service if they do find something wrong.

Then you buy AppleCare to add two more years of service onto the one year, and whatever amount of days after 90 days to a total of three years of excellent service.

 

[jhsfosho]

I had to use my apple care once on my ipod to replace the hard drive and battery. This was about 2 years ago on a now 4 year old ipod. The thing is still going strong, but if it goes out, I'll just get a new one rather than repairing it. The first time it broke I got my $60 worth. I didn't buy apple care when i got a free nano with my macbook pro. The ipod just wasn't worth enough to justify 33% more on insurance. When/if I get a touch, I'll buy applecare. I think its worth it with as much as I take my ipod everywhere i go.

 

[asxtb]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but AppleCare only extends the warranty for one year after the normal coverage. So you're paying $60 for one year. I have the AppleCare box right in front of me right now, and I'm thinking about returning it - just seems like a lot for one year extra year.

What's a battery change cost?

I'm pretty sure it's two extra years, and if you decide you want to sell your whatever, the warranty is transferable. It can add quite a bit to your resale value.

The limited warranty of just looking at it, and taking it in if it is a manufacturer defect is 1 year. Every Apple product has one. You also get 90 days of free service if they do find something wrong.

Then you buy AppleCare to add two more years of service onto the one year, and whatever amount of days after 90 days to a total of three years of excellent service.

Mechler is correct. With iPods you only get 1 extra year of warranty. For computers it is 2 extra. See for yourself.

Personally, I think the warranty is a waste for iPods. I get a new iPod just about every year anyway. And considering the price of the iPod, $60 is quite a bit.

 

[BrownManUPS]

Mechler is correct. With iPods you only get 1 extra year of warranty. For computers it is 2 extra. See for yourself.

Personally, I think the warranty is a waste for iPods. I get a new iPod just about every year anyway. And considering the price of the iPod, $60 is quite a bit.

I see, my fault then for generalizing the AppleCare warranty of computers to iPods.

60 dollars for one year is a lot to consider, but something to consider nonetheless if you feel you will abuse the iPod (but not enough to make it so you can't "fake the injury" and blame it on them).

 

[ikondave]

Mechler is correct. With iPods you only get 1 extra year of warranty. For computers it is 2 extra. See for yourself.

Personally, I think the warranty is a waste for iPods. I get a new iPod just about every year anyway. And considering the price of the iPod, $60 is quite a bit.

I didn't realize that the iPod warranty was only for one additional year. Has it always been that way? I am seriously thinking about buying one of the 32GB models, but I want to wait awhile and see if any issues start to appear in the various Apple forums. That information could also play a role in any decision I'd make regarding the purchase of a warranty.

 

[asxtb]

I didn't realize that the iPod warranty was only for one additional year. Has it always been that way? I am seriously thinking about buying one of the 32GB models, but I want to wait awhile and see if any issues start to appear in the various Apple forums. That information could also play a role in any decision I'd make regarding the purchase of a warranty.

As far as I know, it's has always been just 1 extra year.

But searching for the link I posted above, I discovered they dropped the price of Applecare for the shuffle and nano to $40. But I think spending $40 for Applecare on an $80 shuffle is a complete waste of money. I think $40 for regular iPods would be a better price. Then I'd be more willing to pay for it.