With regards to the 3 yr warrenty that comes as standard for HE students. I looked into that earlier and noted that in the actual terms&conditons it said nothing about 3 yrs. So I called up and Apple sales rep and he said 'the key word is "limited" parts and labour. The limited means that it only counts if your macbook is repaired by the university.' I didn't quite understand that so I asked him to expand and he said 'basically, if you want cover for more than one year, you have to buy Applecare.'
Can I just add, this call was made before I saw this 'Contract Uplift' so I didn't ask about that at the time. Will hopefully be placing an order tmr and will confirm everything via the phone before I order.
Thanks for the imformation.
Well to be blunt, the guy is lying. He is obviously eager to get another Applecare sale. What I told you about the HE 3 year warranty is in fact, all true. It covers your hardware for 3 years if it is a manufacturing fault. Simple. No buts or maybes. It is limited in the sense that you don't get some of the extra privileges that Applecare gives you like I explained before (Uplift, telephone support etc...).
So basically to summarise...
1. If you want Applecare, you should 100% get it at the time of purchase. As I said before, this is the EXACT same Applecare you would get by purchasing a retail box seperately. The ONLY difference is that Apple register it on your machine before you get it, so there is no need to call when your machine arrives. (Oh, and of course, you also get it ALOT cheaper than buying afterwards).
2. If you don't want Applecare, you will still be covered by Apple's 3 yr parts & labour warranty. This means that if ANYTHING mechanically goes wrong with your machine, Apple will fix it completely free of charge for 3 years (providing it is not your fault - but Applecare doesn't cover you in this instance either). There is NO exceptions to this. It is simple, if your machine develops a fault within 3 years, you can call for repair (without being charged) and thats that.
I would probably get the Applecare anyway just for the extra support and benefits I previously explained. However, it does kill me to suggest this when I know I am putting a smile on a smug sales reps face who will tell you ANYTHING to get you to purchase Applecare.
David