Applecare: Why bother?

[devilot]

One more thing, if you buy an extended warranty in a physical shop, don't forget to haggle on the price.

That's good advice, thanks. Seeing as I look pretty young, would it be more beneficial to have my parents attempt this? Or could I use the youngness, somehow, to my advantage?

 

[xli_ne]

One more thing, if you buy an extended warranty in a physical shop, don't forget to haggle on the price.

God i have to deal with that everyday at work.

 

[petej]

devilot76
Haggling is something you are either comfortable with or not. Being British myself, it is not something that used to be natural to me but having experienced it I now stick to my rule: If you don't try you don't get. It has been a revelation to me just how much you can get away with. Just enjoy it. Friendly banter also helps. Having alternative suppliers nearby also helps if you can play one off against the other.

 

[Jschultz]

Also remember that Applecare for students is cheaper.

Applecare on an iBook is usually $250, yes?

Student discount brings it to $183.

Not a whopping lot, but I can use that extra $67 in my pocket.

And then you do the math, it's 18.5% of the laptop ($999 iBook) . Sure, not small but..in the case of a logic board repair on a new G4 iBook, the board itself is probably $550 or so, plus labor, shipping...and you've paid for the plan itself already many times over.

Ok, so *I* am a Circuit City employee who sells TV's and such. I FIRMLY believe in buying the service plan for a plasma TV. Heck, any TV $700 and up should be protected. There are so many benefits it seems. Also, when Consumer Reports (who usually denounces extended warranties like the devil) even says that the service plan is a good idea, that should be a clue.

That said, when I spring for a powerbook in a couple of weeks, you know that a year after that I'll be all over Applecare.

 

[atomiton]

consider how much you mac will be worth in 1,2,3 years. Computers are becoming obsolete in 1 - 2 years.

Chances are if the LCD goes, you just use an external monitor. The depreciated price approaches the cost of the repair. in other words, usually you could buy a used one that works and have TWO computers, using one for parts, or w/o screen, or ebay it for parts.

Or get a new one. If the hard drive goes, you'll want a bigger one by then... excuse to upgrade, and since apple can't recover your data anyway...

warranties on technology is a big cash cow...

 

[Whapcaplet]

I've had four different Macs including one of the original G3 Powerbooks and have always invested in Applecare. The peace of mind is well worth the price. Also, for anyone living in Vancouver, BC one of our local retailers (Simply Computing) offers a great deal. If you purchase AppleCare from them when you buy your hardware, and don't use it within the 3 year time period, you get the cost of the Applecare back as store credit. With a deal like that you can't go wrong. It would be worth checking with local retailers in your area to see if any of them offer a similar deal.

 

[Bibulous]

consider how much you mac will be worth in 1,2,3 years. Computers are becoming obsolete in 1 - 2 years.

I agree for those that use them to make a living, but for the people who use them for personal use (internet, Photoshop, office and the like) macs should last you at least 3 years, 5 if your not tech crazy.

In general, I would buy apple care for a laptop if you mean to keep it for over 3 years, but not for a desk top.

 

[cgratti]

My personal view is that the expected life of a computer is 2 years. If it goes wrong after 2 years, I would not want it repaired, I would just buy a new one and get a new current model of my choosing (PC or Mac whichever suits best at the time). If it failed within 2 years then a minor repair I would do myself, for a major faullt, I would stat kicking off with consumer protection laws. As for accidental damage, well my houshold insurance policy provides that. If the computer lasts beyond 2 years then obviously I'm very happy and just keep using it until it dies or I choose to replace it.
I therefore never choose any extended warranty type of insurance policy.

In a previous employment, I had the fortune to sell this type of policy to consumers. Fortune because it was very rewarding. For every one I sold, I would get a bonus. If the store met its target for selling these policies then we would get an extra bonus. Now I'm not saying this applies to all polices or indeed AppleCare, but in this case, there was a large profit margin for the company. This experience also showed me how unfair these policies can be. For the most part, the people who purchase them tend to be the ones who can least afford them.

At the end of the day though, it is a personal decision. Don't worry about the statistics. If you feel that the price of the policy is fair for the the service you are promised then buy it. One more thing, if you buy an extended warranty in a physical shop, don't forget to haggle on the price.

So, your telling us that if you go out and buy a NEW $2999 Mac and it breaks in 2 yrs you will just buy a brand new one? You will throw your old machine in the trash and not even bother to think that only 24 months ago you slapped down $3000 clams and now the thing is dead? Are you by chance Bill Gates in cognito?

 

[Mord]

In 2 years time when your HD fails you'll be eating those words. The cost of that repair alone will be more than the applecare.

see in two years time 2.5" HD's will be allot cheaper for the same capacity so if it fails you can buy a 160GB drive for about $180 and pay a tech to put it in for you for about $40 (or do it yourself it's not too hard)

also dont buy applecare when you get your mac, wait until the end of the first year then grade wether you want it or not, it's like paying for somthing your not going to get for two years, or better yet put the money into the new powerbook fund and tighten your upgrade cycle.