Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

AppleCare Protection Plan Worth it?

Turn it off, or not?

My 81 year old mother has an old white iMac and she never ever turns it off. I fix permissions, check for and install updates, and restart it once a month or so when I go to visit. Essentially, it has been on 24/7 for nine months a year since it was new. It has never had a significant problem. Lots of "user error" problems, but no hardware problems.

So, do whatever you want. Don't be afraid, Apple makes good computers.

Mooch
 
lol wish it was like that for all apple computers

but i haven't been on this forum site for too long
but ive already seen so many people with Apple product problems

thats not holding me back from buying the iMac
if problems arise i juss want to have some back up plan

but nice to know her computer is in great shape
old is gold lol
 
Prabz26 said:
lol wish it was like that for all apple computers

but i haven't been on this forum site for too long
but ive already seen so many people with Apple product problems

<<snip
old is gold lol
Click to expand...

Remember, what you will mostly find on these forums are problems. Few people seek out the forums and post when things are going well.

Mooch
 
lol i know im not trying to knock down their products
but i mean i wouldn't want to sit around all day reading
how amazing someones Mac is

i know ive had problems with my ipod touch several times
but i don't give up on it


im juss ready to experience my first Mac
and since im a Mac Virgin:p lol
i juss dont want to screw anything up
so i was wondering about this plan
 
If you have it, you'll have the peace of mind to know that should anything* happen, you've covered. If you don't, will it stress you out to wonder if/when something might happen that would need a repair?

Personally, I've never had any of my Apple products break while under the AppleCare plan, but I really liked having that peace of mind knowing that just in case, I would be prepared. It's that "you never know" gamble.

* some restrictions apply
 
On Sunday my 2006 24" iMac threw a wobbly on restart and now displays loads of squiggles and won't boot up. It had developed some discolouration at the top of the screen some time ago but it wasn't so bad that that I felt I had to get it sorted.

I lugged the beast to the Apple Store on Regent St. this evening and the upshot is a new display and logic board.

Yes, I'm pretty glad I had AppleCare ;)
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5H11a Safari/525.20)

lol
that sucks
but atleast its fixed
applecare plan to the rescue!
 
A few things to keep in mind about AppleCare and all other extended warranties:

1 - They are very profitable for the sellers. Meaning, that on average the sellers will pay out far less in claims than they collect in premiums. Considered purely on an economic basis, extended warranties are a bad deal. They will be a bad deal until someone decides to sell them at a loss. IOW, always.

2 - When someone quotes some astronomical price tag for a repair, especially one covered by AppleCare, consider that the price quoted is from Apple. This is important for two reasons. First, Apple is incentivized to quote huge repair costs which they "covered" because of your wise purchase of AppleCare. Second, service from Apple is always going to be the most expensive way to have a Mac repaired. Independent computer repair shops charge half or less than Apple does for the same repair.

3 - In the unlikely event that your $1,500 Mac craps out three years after purchase, how much would you logically invest in repair, if it wasn't insured? Would it not have something to do with what the computer was worth at that point, or how much it would cost to replace? Would you normally choose to sink $1,000 into repairing a computer that might not be worth even half that much? AppleCare alters this economic calculation, because in effect, you've paid in advance.

Bottom Line: Insuring against losses that you could easily afford to pay yourself if they occurred is a waste of money. Always has been, always will be.

But remember, when all else fails -- anecdotes rule!
 
you do have a point

but i still think having would be beneficial

for me a first time user
i mean im not dumb when using a computer
but i just think its handy

i hear about over heating problems and they arent the most reliable computer
but i still want it so i thought 189.00
or about 95 bucks a year i know that i can worry less about some things
because i have some sort of "security blanket"

but i totally see where you're coming from
i never every buy warranty or careplans on any products
i have several modded systems and jailbroken stuff
that have no warranty or anything and work fine
and any problem i can get fixed for cheap

but this is a computer worth a lot
i don't want anything to go wrong
3 years is a long time so id rather have some resource if i get into trouble
i have no clue how to fix problems on a Mac cuz this will be my first one
unlike Windows

so i think its worth it.....:confused:

actaully.... ill juss get it later to be honest
i think if i run into problems and stuff
ill get it later seems like a plan and save a buck...
i do have about a year to see how things run..

plus i have a friend whos mac savy
and this site so ill hold of it for now
 
The AppleCare is always worth it. On every product, it will end up savign you a lot. The only one that I wouldn't buy apple care on is the shuffle.
 
this is frustrating i hear buy and skip it for now and no

imma juss get it later
before the 1st year of the purchase ends

i mean i have an ipod touch (had 1 1st gen and currently have 2 sencond gens)
all jailbroken woking fun
ive experimented with iPods and gaming systems
on several levels they dot just put out

and never had serious problems
so ill get it later... juss seems better
 
New Question!!!!!

LOOKIE HERE
|
|
|
|

When you buy a computer (iMac)

like online can you the keyboard without number pad
and switch it free of cost for
one with a number pad cuz it says you can online
cuz if u cant then ill order online
instead of going to the apple store

and can u buy applecare from the apple store???
 
The way I look at it is why spend such an incredibly large amount of money on a computer and then not do everything in your power to protect it. I'm amazed that you weren't sure whether or not Applecare was worth it yet you were worried about powering on and off and other things such as that.
 
i know i dont think things thru:(
out but ive decided ill get it later on

when i have a more stable bank account
because im gonna be stripped of $1460

and i work at McDonalds so money doesnt exactly flow on in
i bet nothing will go wrong in the first 2-3 months
that i cant get help with
until i get some money to get the applecare
 
I can see it both sides and I'd have to say that I will probably end up buying it with my machine simply because I don't forsee having enough to cover the repair or purchase a new machine in 3 years. Also, with my Sony, I had the Hard Drive controller go bad when the computer was 18 months old. It was a Best Buy warranty and it took 3 weeks to get it fixed. Apple consistently receives high marks for service of which AppleCare is a part.

IJ Reilly, do you still own Apple stock? Because I remember you used to point out that people should buy it just to help your stock rise. :)

Course, I own a share, so it helps me too. On the downside, I bought it at 140 (employee purchase plan) and weeks later the market tanked.
 
jdechko said:
I can see it both sides and I'd have to say that I will probably end up buying it with my machine simply because I don't forsee having enough to cover the repair or purchase a new machine in 3 years. Also, with my Sony, I had the Hard Drive controller go bad when the computer was 18 months old. It was a Best Buy warranty and it took 3 weeks to get it fixed. Apple consistently receives high marks for service of which AppleCare is a part.

IJ Reilly, do you still own Apple stock? Because I remember you used to point out that people should buy it just to help your stock rise. :)

Course, I own a share, so it helps me too. On the downside, I bought it at 140 (employee purchase plan) and weeks later the market tanked.
Click to expand...

Good memory. Yes, as an Apple shareholder, I have urged everyone to buy AppleCare, because it goes straight to Apple's bottom line. So, you're right -- it's good for me. So buy buy buy!

It turns out, greed and promoting your own self-interest are so much more fulfilling than trying to give honest, accurate advice. Almost nobody accepts the advice anyway. What was I thinking?
 
Make sure you dont forget about the date when you bought it...because once the date is gone: NO MORE APPLECARE.

IF you can buy it, do it.
 
Remember that by buying it from L.A. Computers, you're already saving like $50 off the price Apple would charge you - It's well worth the money.

Remember, $120 / 24 months (the amount of "extra" time you're covered), comes out to $5 a month. That's like 6 cents a day. I dunno about you, but that's WELL worth the peace of mind that Applecare offers.

Remember also, that as a new user, you may want to call Apple on the phone for help once in awhile (I sure did when I first started using mine a little over a year ago), and if you don't buy the Applecare sooner rather than later, you only get 3 months of phone support. If you wait till the year is almost up, you lose out on nearly 8 months worth of phone support.

It's worth it, don't wait :)
 
I like added protection on displays. I have had multiple displays (non-Apple) fail in the past and they are not something I can fix myself. If it were just a desktop like a MacPro, I would probably skip AppleCare since I could easily replace a failed component like a drive or power supply.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back