Applecare on your Macbook?

[ScottFitz]

Okay, so for the MB and MBA, it's 249, MBP it's 349. (Firstly, that makes zero sense unless the MBP is more prone to breakdowns)

So, for $125/year, you get a bit of peace of mind. But is it worth it to you? I'm not a big extended warranty guy. Lone exception are LCD TV's, especially the high dollar ones. I used to office next to a local TV repair guy and the number of LCD units stacked up in his shop was scary.

For most stuff, i figure I have enough money in the bank to fix stuff that breaks. But, on the flipside, I have zero idea how much it is to have a new mobo put in (for instance).

I'm about to buy two macbooks, one for me, one for my son about to enter college. Knowing him the way I know him, I think I'll get my $249's worth out of Applecare. For me, I'll likely not purchase it right away.

One cool thing I like about Applecare is that you can buy it on day 364 if you want. So, you get to see how the machine will stand up to your use and abuse.

So, how about you? Do you buy it upfront, not at all, or wait until your 1st year is about up?

 

[AppleFan360]

I wait for a bit before I purchase Applecare because of the price tag.

You can get Applecare much cheaper here on this site in the Marketplace or check out e-bay. There is no reason to pay the full price.

 

[ScottFitz]

I wait for a bit before I purchase Applecare because of the price tag.

You can get Applecare much cheaper here on this site in the Marketplace or check out e-bay. There is no reason to pay the full price.

How can you buy Applecare on Ebay? is this an authorized dealer offering them?

 

[kam760]

I got mine for £44 from Apple.
In Manchester, Mm a student as well. I think it was cheaper than normal because I bought it with the laptop, but perhaps the student discount knocked a bit off. Im not sure but try it for your son's macbook to be.

 

[Bobioden]

How can you buy Applecare on Ebay? is this an authorized dealer offering them?

Do a search on eBay and you will be surprised at how many are offered. The Applecare box contains the Registration Number and a copy of Tool Tech. You take the number, go to the Apple site and register it. They don't ask where you got it from, just as long as it is a legit number.

I paid $140 for my Macbook Applecare from eBay. For my new MBP I paid $219.

 

[ScottFitz]

Do a search on eBay and you will be surprised at how many are offered. The Applecare box contains the Registration Number and a copy of Tool Tech. You take the number, go to the Apple site and register it. They don't ask where you got it from, just as long as it is a legit number.

I paid $140 for my Macbook Applecare from eBay. For my new MBP I paid $219.

Thanks. I was scratching my head trying to figure that one out.

 

[ntrigue]

I purchased on eBay on day 362 for $219. Worked great!

Reason. I had a sinking power button that would have been $719 had warranty not covered it!

Reason. Better/faster resale value.

 

[iknowyourider]

Get it right away for your son. Instead of 90 days tech support you get 3 years. You do get a student discount on the warranty too. I got my mac mini warranty on ebay for $99, it was regularly 150. I called apple and asked before I bought it on ebay. They said as long as the box was sealed it should be fine, like getting it off the shelf at the apple store.

 

[Rafiullah Ahmad]

Applecare is okay. Its not an insurance, so if anything does go wrong caused by an accident, consider yourself a lost mac. On the other hand, Dell has an insurance plan thats about the same amount if not less than applecare and if you accidently do anything to it, they send you a new laptop.

I know this all from personal experience. My lcd screen broke on my mac, costs 850 bucks to go through apple, bought it myself on ebay and replaced it myself for 150 bux and I still have applecare so obviously, as you know now, its not insurance so if your son drops it, or spills something on it, then its of no use treatment wise.

Take care.

- Rafiullah Ahmadi

 

[ScottFitz]

Applecare is okay. Its not an insurance, so if anything does go wrong caused by an accident, consider yourself a lost mac. On the other hand, Dell has an insurance plan thats about the same amount if not less than applecare and if you accidently do anything to it, they send you a new laptop.

I know this all from personal experience. My lcd screen broke on my mac, costs 850 bucks to go through apple, bought it myself on ebay and replaced it myself for 150 bux and I still have applecare so obviously, as you know now, its not insurance so if your son drops it, or spills something on it, then its of no use treatment wise.

Take care.

- Rafiullah Ahmadi

Excellent point.

 

[f1]

For most stuff, i figure I have enough money in the bank to fix stuff that breaks. But, on the flipside, I have zero idea how much it is to have a new mobo put in (for instance).

Here's a ballpark estimate of usually how much it costs to repair certain common components on a modern mac laptop,

Logic Board: $1100-$1500+
Hard Drive: $450+
Top Case/Keyboard: $250-$350
LCD: $800-$1000

 

[SFStateStudent]

Sounds like you're trying to save money v. buying it outright. You can purchase both AppleCare Protection Plans for your MacBooks through your son's education discount. In the U.S. it's $183 OTD, but if you want to bid for something cheaper on eBay, that's another option. There's so much that you miss out on after 90 days, so I hope you can imagine what it's going to be like after the 1-year warranty is over. I bought AppleCare for my Mac Pro 3.0 and haven't had to use it yet; my MBA was still within the 1-year warranty with 2 additional years, but I ended up selling it due to it being a poor fit for me; my BlackBook 2.4 Penryn has not needed any service, but I've already purchased AppleCare; my MB 2.16 120GB was a few weeks old when it developed minute scratches and was replaced 6 months later with the BlackBook 2.4 Penryn 250GB, and the AppleCare transferred with the date taking effect in February '08, no questions asked; bought AppleCare for my iPhone and have had a replacement iPhone, a cable, and a dock replaced as well. So, I've bought AppleCare for problems that might arise in the near future, but haven't need it yet. (Knock on wood!)