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AppleCare vs Quebec legal warranty

I just read the document and reside in Québec. I don't see anywhere where this states your computer is under warranty for any longer than the original 1 year from the date of purchase. It simply states that any product bought in the province must come with a minimal legal warranty period according to value. Apple products all have a 1 year warranty so they are perfectly legal there.

You'd probably have to take apple to "la court des petites créances" over your warranty and prove to the judge that the product has not met a reasonable life expectancy. It's up to you whether that hassle is worth the price of AppleCare or not. My time is worth more than a few hundred dollars to me, so I wouldn't bother.
 
This is from the same web site:

Since consumers and merchants don’t always agree on what is a reasonable length of time, this question is often debated in the courts. Here are a few examples of life expectancy considered unreasonable:

two years for a refrigerator
three years for a plasma screen TV worth $2,999
five years for a tumble washer worth $950
These examples give you a general idea of reasonable life expectancy. Each situation is different depending on the product and the evidence brought before the court.
Click to expand...

I think expecting a 2200$ laptop working for at least 3 years is reasonable based on the examples given.

379$ or spend a day in court? I don't know what kind of job you do, but 379$ is a lot more money than I make in a day. I'll take my chances. Anyways, the computer may never fail in the first 3 years, and if it does, nothing says that apple or that the merchant won't comply with the law.

I just want to know if others had try to get a Mac fixed or replaced by apple or merchant with no AppleCare under that particular law.
 
Sometimes reading the warranty agreement helps:
http://www.apple.com/legal/warranty/products/mac-english-c.html

Residents of Quebec are governed by that province's consumer protection legislation.
Click to expand...

That is all it says unfortunately. I would assume that Apple will repair hardware under this warranty. You should make sure that you buy from Apple directly, otherwise they might send to back to the original vendor.

It would be great if someone who has experience with this could comment.


Oh btw concerning the "one day in court" statement:
I don't know how good and fast your legal system works. But I would expect that you would have to a) file a claim b) wait for a court appointment c) attend a hearing d) wait for a decision. This will take some time (days, months, who knows), all the while your Mac is broken. There might also be some upfront costs for this whole process, that are only reimbursed if you win your case.
 
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This thread is not about debating the efficiency of Quebec's legal system. I just want to know if anyone had success using this law to get a computer fixed or replaced.
 
Do you have more details? What was the computer's problem? He tried with the merchant or Dell or both? Did he take them to court?

Thanks
 
The Office de la protection du consommateur hasn't set exact numbers as to what can be considered a "reasonable" durability for each category of product and price range.

You basically have to argue by yourself to the Cours des petites créances that you think your product hasn't had a reasonable durability.

Most people won't want to spend time in court to prove that, which renders this law almost useless. If you do it, it would be more out of principles than to save money (assuming you consider your time is worth money).

I agree that there should be clear guidelines for each category of product covered by this law. The examples on OPC's website aren't that helpful either, with none of them covering personal portable electronics.
 
Just buy it online from the education store, around 260$.

It will not be worth your time if you have to spend more than a day trying to get the warranty.

260$ means hassel free repair unless you drop water or something.

I personally did not buy it for my 4 year old White macbook but I wish I did. I I would have a working headphone jack and dvd drive then :p
 
How does it work? How can I buy from the education store? You must have to provide some sort of proof you are student? I'm not. Regular price for rmbp is 379$+tax. So 435.75$ in Quebec.
 
I haven't used the Apple education site in a year or two, so it might be different now, but the Canadian version doesn't require any sort of student certification. I think the American version required a valid school email address to utilize the discount, but all I remember having to do in Canada was select which school I was attending.

In terms of arguing your case in court I think it is also important to take into account what types of service you'd be trying to seek past 1 year. I think it boils down to maybe you'd be able to save some money if you tried the court route, but if an extended warranty is something you think you'll end up using, the peace of mind might be worth the Applecare price.
 
Nobody says Apple is not going to repair the machine under the Quebec law. I believe that they will do it, however you might have to be somewhat persistent. I know that people in Europe were successful obtaining repairs in this way, and the Quebec law seems to be even more customer friendly.

There are a few things that the Quebec law will not provide, e.g. phone support, worldwide coverage. They also might not exchange chargers or repair batteries for free (i.e. you might have to fight even harder for those).

Given the price tag on AppleCare, the fact that is is very unlikely that your Mac will have a major failure, and the fact that there is some consumer law protection you could fall back on in the worst case, I think it is not worth buying it.


PS: You can probably get the education discount without being eligible for it. But is is illegal and unethical. So maybe it is not the correct way to go... depends on you.
 
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