AppleCare or Not for MBPr?

[Jezthomp]

So i'm getting MBPr soon and for the first time am considering Applecare with it.

I never considered it before and didn't get it with my MacBook Pro late 08 unibody and have never needed it (touch wood).

But as Apple's laptops become thinner and thinner and more and more sealed would it now make sense?

If the battery or screen went in the first 3 years, it would certainly be a hell of a lot more than the cost of Apple care surely?

What are peoples thoughts, worth it?

Ordering in the next week or not depending if i have to save a little more for the Apple Care :lol:

 

[appleguy123]

You can buy AppleCare at any time during the first year. I'd see the reliability during the first few months and decide from there.

 

[arbitrage]

Yep, just wait it out a while and then decide based on what you read out there. I have Apple Care on all my Macs and only had to use the iMac one for a new Logic Board and HD. Still, for the Retina I think it is going to be a good idea. Custom parts are going to be expensive. I would assume if you are still under Apple Care and your battery goes, you won't have to pay the $200 for the new one??

 

[appleguy123]

Yep, just wait it out a while and then decide based on what you read out there. I have Apple Care on all my Macs and only had to use the iMac one for a new Logic Board and HD. Still, for the Retina I think it is going to be a good idea. Custom parts are going to be expensive. I would assume if you are still under Apple Care and your battery goes, you won't have to pay the $200 for the new one??

The battery is considered consumable and not covered by AppleCare.

 

[heisenberg123]

too me any extended warranty comes down to how comfortable you would be if that items broke 1 month after the built in warranty.

eg. i bought a 40" TV it only cost me $500 becasue it was jsut a standard 720p no bells and whistles so i said who cares if it breaks in month 13, now if it was a 50" LED TV that cost 2K+ i might of made a different decissions since its easier for me to swallow having to replace a $500 TV in 13 months if i had to vs a 2K one.

same with a laptop, i would laugh at the idea of extending the warranty of a $400 Dell, but when i pay 2K for a laptop i want atleast 3 years out of the SOB

 

[Mal]

The battery is considered consumable and not covered by AppleCare.

Not 100% true. While it is considered consumable, any failure that is not simply consumption would still be covered. I've seen a handful of batteries replaced under AppleCare. Not a lot, but that's because most of the time they are simply used up (or with the new computers, last longer than AppleCare anyways).

jW

 

[zerotiu]

You can buy AppleCare at any time during the first year. I'd see the reliability during the first few months and decide from there.

I agree. If you use your builtin warranty under 12 months, I suggest you buy applecare. Just for some info, I haven't claimed anything from applecare for my all apple products. The oldest is MBP early 2008. It works perfectly

 

[njean777]

For the MBPr I would purchase the applecare as nothing in it is user replaceable. If it was a regular pro I wouldn't buy it, but for the retina and airs I would purchase it.

 

[cMacSW]

I have had Applecare on previous laptops and used it a couple of times. For me it was more peace of mind, given the possible repair costs. I'd wait until the first year is almost up and then decide whether to buy it as others have said.

 

[daleski75]

It's worth it alone for the rMBP as it's non user serviceable and to fix it could cost a small fortune.

 

[ntyonline]

If you buy using credit card, you might want to check with your bank. Most of the credit card come with free 2nd years warranty. In this case, if you buy apple care you are actually just get 1 additional year protection. If you do not have problem in the first 2 years, it seem unlikely you will have manufacturing defect issue in the 3rd year.

 

[7even]

The battery is considered consumable and not covered by AppleCare.

I've had my battery replaced under AppleCare before, though at that point it was truly failing.

Anyway, I'd buy AppleCare after the first few months; get it from bhphotovideo.com to save something like 30%. The warranty is the same for the Retina as for the non-Retina MacBooks.

 

[whtrbt7]

Buy AppleCare Period. It's a 3 year insurance plan that costs $350 to insure your $2800+ non-serviceable laptop. Think about it for one second. I made the mistake of not getting AppleCare in time for my Early 2011 MBP and now the logic board has a problem 2 weeks after initial warranty. So buy AppleCare because you will kick yourself (especially with a RMBP) if you don't. A new logic board for the RMBP is not cheap. Also most problems happen after the 1 year mark.

 

[RabidMacFan]

I had AppleCare on my 2003 MacBook Pro, and I was able to fully utilize it because of numerous very expensive repairs. After the warranty expired, the LCD backlight died, I replaced the part by hand, and it died again a year later.

My 2007 MacBook Pro did not have AppleCare, and Apple did a repair on the SuperDrive during the regular warranty period that first year. I continued to have problems with the SuperDrive after the standard warranty expired. This wasn't too big of a deal for me since I rarely use CD's and eventually replaced the SuperDrive with an OptiBay and extra hard drive.

When I ordered my new MacBook Pro with Retina, I made sure to order AppleCare. Not only because of the expensive parts, but because it's an entirely new design which makes the likelihood of needing repairs much higher. That might be balanced out by the complete lack of moving parts within the device, but we will have to wait and see.

The student pricing on AppleCare is significantly cheaper than retail. You can also get a smaller discount by ordering it through Amazon.

 

[heloise]

I would definitely get apple care. I was an early adopter for the MBA (I got the 08 MBA as soon as it came out) and I was so thankful for my apple care. I had the logic board on that computer crap out at least 4 times, the hdd fail twice, the hinge get wobbly, and the battery physically expand and damage the ram and logic board. I loved that computer but it was a PITA. Apple fixed everything that went wrong with it free of charge and when the logic board failed a few months before my apple care ended they ended up giving me the new 2010 MBA instead of fixing mine. Best $250 I ever spent.

 

[OSMac]

I like the suggestion to use a credit card with that gives an extra year warranty.