Unless you know someone in the family that is in school or teaches, get them to buy you MacBook at a educational discount rate and get Apple care now or later at cheaper rate. I am sure many people do it that way, even BTO options are cheaper priced in Educational Pricing.
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Applecare has become a joke
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Unless you know someone in the family that is in school or teaches, get them to buy you MacBook at a educational discount rate and get Apple care now or later at cheaper rate. I am sure many people do it that way, even BTO options are cheaper priced in Educational Pricing.
I am also curious why you pay for extended coverage for your Apple products, yet you avoid it for everything else?
Haven't had any issues with my 6 Macs and my oldest computer was nearly 6 years old at the time of its retirement.
I agree.
It shouldn't have to be this way, it wasn't years ago, but recently I had a similar experience with my mid 2009 MBP. They were very arrogant, stubborn, and refused to fix it. Well I simply wrote an email up the chain of command and suddenly their entire demeanor changed. All of a sudden they became friendly and helpful. Too bad I had to push them (courteously but firmly) to get a result.
Cheers...
Hi WirelessMacuser,
If you or anyone else reading this, you said you wrote an email up the chain of command, can you please post the email addresses that you contacted to resolve your problem?
It would be a great help for myself or any others who seem to be having a similar problem as the OP.
Thanks.
Well, I just got off the phone w/ someone from customer relations. She was similarly perplexed on the 'excessive dust' claim, and said she had never heard of that. She was exceedingly polite, and could see why I was considering never buying another Apple product.
She said she's going to research the dust thing over the next couple of hours and get back to me. She also emailed me w/ another case number and her contact info.
So, we'll see where this goes...
She said she's going to research the dust thing over the next couple of hours and get back to me. She also emailed me w/ another case number and her contact info.
So, we'll see where this goes...
You are welcome. I buy AppleCare but no other extended warranty for several reasons: I always get it on any new Mac laptop I buy because virtually none of its components are owner serviceable. There are simply too many tiny screws and arcanely arranged components in tight spaces for any of that to appeal to me. I know that Apple will honor a warranty even if the owner replaces a hard drive but even that isn't something I want to do. When one of those components fails, such as a hard drive or a logic board, the cost of repair is likely to amount to a substantial percentage of what the whole computer had cost. I just didn't want to worry about that.
Also, Apple is liberal at providing support for other devices that were bought while AppleCare is in effect on a laptop. for example, I have a Time Capsule, three Airport Express units, and an Apple TV (don't ask
) all of which I have received telephone support for at one time or another. Mercifully none of them has failed. Finally, an AppleCare support tech is never more than a phone call away. Better yet, I have found them to be uniformly knowledgeable. When I have had a particularly knotty problem, usually network related, I have been bumped up to a specialist in the area. I have found those guys to be stars, without exception.
The bottom line is that over the years since I first bought AppleCare coverage in 2003, it has given me my money's worth in peace of mind and first class technical support. Also, as noted in an earlier post, in February Apple replaced an $800 logic board in my MBP thanks to AppleCare. I should add that, although nothing failed on my Powerbook G4 while it was covered by AppleCare, I nevertheless bought AppleCare again for my MBP.
You are welcome. I buy AppleCare but no other extended warranty for several reasons: I always get it on any new Mac laptop I buy because virtually none of its components are owner serviceable. There are simply too many tiny screws and arcanely arranged components in tight spaces for any of that to appeal to me. I know that Apple will honor a warranty even if the owner replaces a hard drive but even that isn't something I want to do. When one of those components fails, such as a hard drive or a logic board, the cost of repair is likely to amount to a substantial percentage of what the whole computer had cost. I just didn't want to worry about that.
Also, Apple is liberal at providing support for other devices that were bought while AppleCare is in effect on a laptop. for example, I have a Time Capsule, three Airport Express units, and an Apple TV (don't ask
Finally, an AppleCare support tech is never more than a phone call away. Better yet, I have found them to be uniformly knowledgeable. When I have had a particularly knotty problem, usually network related, I have been bumped up to a specialist in the area. I have found those guys to be stars, without exception.
The bottom line is that over the years since I first bought AppleCare coverage in 2003, it has given me my money's worth in peace of mind and first class technical support. Also, as noted in an earlier post, in February Apple replaced an $800 logic board in my MBP thanks to AppleCare. I should add that, although nothing failed on my Powerbook G4 while it was covered by AppleCare, I nevertheless bought AppleCare again for my MBP.
Thanks for sharing your reasoning and AppleCare experiences.
I can see why people would want the peace of mind, knowing their equipment is covered for three years. Most people I come across do not take advantage of the additional telephone support, but it seems you are getting your monies worth there.
Personally, I would not be worried about a HDD failing because I keep backups and am comfortable with replacing such a component. I fully appreciate that not everyone wishes to get their 'hands dirty' though.
AppleCare certainly has its place and as several others have already stated, you have to make a personal decision on whether or not it is worth it to you!
That sounds good, but there will still be dust and the electronics will attract it.
I have a combination electric and fiber media filter with the fan running 24x7 and also a whole room HEPA filter that is really nice near my gear. But I've got a desktop, laptop, couple displays, couple HDTVs, server... **** still gets dusty as hell.
If I were as comfortable as you appear to be about doing my own repairs on my MBP, I wouldn't have bought AppleCare, either. In fact, I never had an extended warranty on any of the many, many desktop machines I bought over the course of the many years before I finally bought a Mac laptop. Desktops generally have large interiors and easily accessible drive bays and expansion slots. Thus, no special manual dexterity was required for me to deal with whatever might be ailing them. Further, I rarely owned any of them for longer than a couple of years. In stark contrast, I still have a 7 year old Powerbook G4 and my MBP is more that two years old.
I should have added in my earlier post that I have never bought extended warranties either on automobiles or on the many home theater components I have owned over the years. Automobiles come with warranties that are long enough, it seems to me, so spending extra money on an even longer one isn't cost effective. Generally speaking, home theater components either work out of the box or not. If they fail early on the basic warranty will cover the loss. Also, with the exception of high end HDTVs no home theater component is likely to be as expensive as a MBP, at least in the case of mere mortals like me.
First, AppleCare is $250, not $400. Second, the situation with which the OP is dealing smells of some funny business going on at the repair center. I have had AppleCare coverage on one Apple product or another for 7 years and my experience with them has been uniformly outstanding -- as had been the OP's up until now. I should add that my 2007 model Santa Rosa MBP, the same model as the OP's, had its logic board replaced under AppleCare last February. Whether to buy AppleCare or not is a personal decision, so I won't go "
It's a difficult decision because on one hand I've had very good luck with Macs in the past...
(1985) - 512Ke - no hardware failures so far
(1989) - IIcx - hard drive went out at age 8
(1997) - beige G3 - no hardware failures so far
(2002) - G4 - burned out a processor at 2 weeks (replaced for free) / CDRW drive expired at age 5
But with the Macbook we throw in a new factor to this equation... my wife will be using it as her primary computer as well. She managed to damage a hinge, total the battery, and nearly do in the power jack on the motherboard in the span of 3 years on her HP laptop! She's just a lot rougher on her computers than I am.
Applecare at $250 minus student discount / discount from my employer may be a good deal after all. I'm assuming they can apply that discount at the store like they can on hardware? Sales tax doesn't matter - I'm buying in Portland, OR. Really looking forward to buying one in a couple of days too... not looking forward to backing up data from the four machines above though!
What About On-Site Support?
Your horror story is precisely why when I bought by Sony Vaio Z11, I bought it with 3 year on-site support. It comes with 1 year on-site coverage, anyway, so I just extended it by 2 years. When it comes to mission-critical hardware, the "shipping, waiting and shipping" games just won't work. Of course, the other benefit is that I get to watch them work on my "baby" so I can make sure they take proper care to avoid scratching either the display or the outer shell.
Does Apple offer on-site contracts (where they send a technician to your house/work to fix the machine after remote diagnosis)? If not, I could never buy an Apple computer.
Your horror story is precisely why when I bought by Sony Vaio Z11, I bought it with 3 year on-site support. It comes with 1 year on-site coverage, anyway, so I just extended it by 2 years. When it comes to mission-critical hardware, the "shipping, waiting and shipping" games just won't work. Of course, the other benefit is that I get to watch them work on my "baby" so I can make sure they take proper care to avoid scratching either the display or the outer shell.
Does Apple offer on-site contracts (where they send a technician to your house/work to fix the machine after remote diagnosis)? If not, I could never buy an Apple computer.
Although I think it is still possible to buy AppleCare on 13 inch MBP for $250 or a bit less, it appears that Apple has raised the price on 15 and 17 inch MBP coverage. These days, that will cost you about $325.
It seems to me that the real reason for buying AppleCare should not be because you are banking on something failing on the covered computer that would have cost more than the cost of the coverage. Instead, the coverage is about the peace of mind it will provide. Apple didn't have to spend a dime on my old Powerbook G4 because it never broke while AppleCare was in effect. Nevertheless, I was glad I had it and the included telephone support turned out to be very useful. That's why I bought AppleCare for my MBP. This time, though, AppleCare saved me a bunch of money. The MBP's $800 logic board failed in February but it was replaced at no cost to me under AppleCare.
I know of no buying decision that is more personal than whether to buy AppleCare. Some say that those of us who do so are throwing money away while we who have it are satisfied with our purchase. I wish I could be more helpful but I can't. I guess this proves the truth of the old saw that we all come into this world by ourselves and go out of it by ourselves.
So far as I know, Apple does not offer on site repair deals on any of its laptops. I have found the way they handle laptop repair to be pretty quick though. When my MBP's logic board failed in February, I took it to the Apple Store on Monday. They shipped it by overnight air express to the repair center who repaired it and sent it back the same way. I got it back, repaired, on Wednesday afternoon.
I know earlier this year applewas sending technicians to peoples house's to replace iMac screens, but that was if the person didn't live close by an apple store.
On-Site Support Not Available?
Huh, that's odd. Do they intend any of their laptops to be targeted/marketed to businesses/corporations? If so, how can they get away with such inflexible service operations? Picture the travelling executive using a MBP that fails while on a multi-day road trip. Under Apple's support structure, s/he's SOL for the trip. At least with on-site support, it's possible to get support/repair whereever you & the laptop are currently located. To me - and this is just my opinion - it almost seems as though Apple has made a conscious choice to step away from corporate buyers.
Huh, that's odd. Do they intend any of their laptops to be targeted/marketed to businesses/corporations? If so, how can they get away with such inflexible service operations? Picture the travelling executive using a MBP that fails while on a multi-day road trip. Under Apple's support structure, s/he's SOL for the trip. At least with on-site support, it's possible to get support/repair whereever you & the laptop are currently located. To me - and this is just my opinion - it almost seems as though Apple has made a conscious choice to step away from corporate buyers.
The simple answer is 'No'.
My bosses trackpad 'button' has failed on his 2009 MBP15 - but he doesn't have time to hand it over to the Apple Store and lose it for an unspecified amount of time...
I agree!!!
you are so right, AppleCare has taken a clear turn for the worst in the past two years.
What I previously thought of AppleCare:
Reasonably priced protection for problems that arise from normal usage.
What I think of AppleCare now:
Apple profit center.
I would seriously pay more to have the old AppleCare back. Don't have me pay for service and not get it. If the problem is from reasonable usage of your product, then fix it, that is what I paid for!!!!!
you are so right, AppleCare has taken a clear turn for the worst in the past two years.
What I previously thought of AppleCare:
Reasonably priced protection for problems that arise from normal usage.
What I think of AppleCare now:
Apple profit center.
I would seriously pay more to have the old AppleCare back. Don't have me pay for service and not get it. If the problem is from reasonable usage of your product, then fix it, that is what I paid for!!!!!
Applecare used to be a lot better. Once upon a time if you had Applecare they would do their best to make sure you were never without a computer even if they had to send yours off to get it fixed. Now you have to argue just to get basic fixes done in the lowest number of days. Apple keeps getting great numbers for customer service, but I don't know how they get those when their support requires you to be computerless for days. I had a Dell that had the same Nvidia issue that effected the '07 mbps and a tech came out and replaced the mobo on the spot. None of this send off for days BS.
To the OP, I also have an '07 MBP and I missed buying Applecare on it by about 3 days. Not soon after the video card failed. I did my research on the Nvidia issue and was ready to fight if needed, but made sure to be very polite to the genius I dealt with. He ran a couple tests, said it was a free fix and I had my computer back in 3 days. I couldn't work for those 3 days, but what could I do.
I've also had a bulging battery. They replaced that for free. Finally, the thin cable on the power brick wore out. For that one I had to pay, but after talking to the genius for awhile they gave me a new one at 1/2 off iirc. She said that the battery was replaced for free because it was a fire hazard, so I asked her how is a severed power cable NOT a fire hazard?
To the OP, I also have an '07 MBP and I missed buying Applecare on it by about 3 days. Not soon after the video card failed. I did my research on the Nvidia issue and was ready to fight if needed, but made sure to be very polite to the genius I dealt with. He ran a couple tests, said it was a free fix and I had my computer back in 3 days. I couldn't work for those 3 days, but what could I do.
I've also had a bulging battery. They replaced that for free. Finally, the thin cable on the power brick wore out. For that one I had to pay, but after talking to the genius for awhile they gave me a new one at 1/2 off iirc. She said that the battery was replaced for free because it was a fire hazard, so I asked her how is a severed power cable NOT a fire hazard?
Speaking only for myself: I get it for laptops but not for anything else, usually. I have gotten it for expensive desktops in the past, because it increases resale value.
lol wtf I apparently got an answering machine message from my local Apple Store while I was out today. And the guy said that my mbp was back and repaired and working well and it's ready to be picked up.
HUH??
Sooo, my guess is that they just replaced the logic board and everything now works??
IOW, the repair center was full of sh$% and just trying to bilk me for money.
Can't wait to talk to the customer relations lady tomorrow...
HUH??
Sooo, my guess is that they just replaced the logic board and everything now works??
IOW, the repair center was full of sh$% and just trying to bilk me for money.
Can't wait to talk to the customer relations lady tomorrow...
That's really good news! Glad that reason prevailed and things worked out for you. Please let us know what you find out from the customer relations lady.lol wtf I apparently got an answering machine message from my local Apple Store while I was out today. And the guy said that my mbp was back and repaired and working well and it's ready to be picked up.
HUH??
Sooo, my guess is that they just replaced the logic board and everything now works??
IOW, the repair center was full of sh$% and just trying to bilk me for money.
Can't wait to talk to the customer relations lady tomorrow...
The problem with that advice is that many of us, perhaps even the OP, have invested a lot of money in software and hardware that only run on OSX. I myself have over $10K in software and hardware that requires OSX to run. Therefore it is difficult, in my case and others, to simply walk away from Apple and go by another computer. Many of us simply have no other option, other than a hackintosh system, if we have invested large sums of money in software and hardware that require Apple's operating system to work.
It's not like the windows operating system where if I get pissed off at Dell, I can just run out and buy a HP, or a Sony, or half a dozen other computer brands. Apple is simply the only game in town. That is why some people get frustrated with Apple, by venting their frustrations, and then simply go out and purchase another computer from Apple. It's because it's actually cheaper then going out and converting all your software and hardware to run on a windows operating system.
Sometimes we just hope Apple will do the right thing. It's just the way it is for some of us.
¬.¬
Considering institutions with more than 50 Apple machines can repair their own hardware under warranty in house, i'd say it's the exact opposite.
I really want to hear the end of this story ...
lol wtf I apparently got an answering machine message from my local Apple Store while I was out today. And the guy said that my mbp was back and repaired and working well and it's ready to be picked up.
HUH??
Sooo, my guess is that they just replaced the logic board and everything now works??
IOW, the repair center was full of sh$% and just trying to bilk me for money.
Can't wait to talk to the customer relations lady tomorrow...