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AppleCare. Yes, or No?

N

New Guy

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 15, 2002
66
0
Connecticut
The hardware warranty on my PowerBook G4 667 MHz is running out and I have until tomorrow to decide if I want to purchase the extended AppleCare warranty.

Is the general consensus that the extended warranty is worth the $349?

I have never purchased a warranty before but I have never purchased $2600 laptop either.

Your opinions would be appreciated.

Craig
 
Well it depends how much you know about computers. I would say it is worth it if you call them alot because each time you call them it costs $49.95 I think (only if your warranty is expired). and you get a three year warranty on hardware, I think. The software they give you is pretty good. So I would say yes unless you never ever call them about problems and you can fix minor hardware problems like a key falling off and installing RAM. So I hope this helps.
 
Here's why portables should always have applecare:

With a desktop, even if something like the logic board goes bad, at the very worst, it will cost you $500

With a portable, if your logic board goes bad... BOOM! $1000 repair. If your LCD is bad.. BAM! $1300 repair. No joke!

worth the risk? nope. Buy applecare. Or you will be sorry.

ALL PORTABLES NEED APPLECARE!!!!
 
Generally, I find the following statement about AppleCare to be true:

People who have AppleCare seem to need it, people who don't have AppleCare rarely have problems (If ever).

I have a 2-year-old iBook without AppleCare. and I haven't had a single problem with my machine. But, my friend has the same iBook with AppleCare, and he's needed to use it at least three times.

It kinda makes you think....

Personally. I don't think AppleCare is worth the money. I've never purchased an extended warranty on anything I've ever bought, and I don't plan on ever purchasing one.
 
Forget Apple Care, it's lame. Any decent home owner's or renter's insurance will cover it for less, and offer less hassles than trying to convince Apple that they are responsible for your lemon. Even taking out a seperate policy just to cover your machine would be more useful than Apple Care. Read the article mentioned above, it makes lots of sense.
 
Well it depends how much you know about computers. I would say it is worth it if you call them alot because each time you call them it costs $49.95 I think (only if your warranty is expired)

Actually, as I learned last week when the adaptor on my Tibook failed, Apple charges $49 when you call them for "technical support" after your 90-day "free technical support" period has expired, even though your initial one-year warranty still has nine months to run. They won't even allow you to describe a warranty hardware issue until you give them your credit card number and agree to the charge. Supposedly, if you buy AppleCare they extend your "technical support" and your warranty to three years. I don't plan to find out if its worth it 'cuz I'm selling by TiBook and heading back to the "dark side" as the denizens of this forum term it.
 
Originally posted by Mblazened
Here's why portables should always have applecare:

With a desktop, even if something like the logic board goes bad, at the very worst, it will cost you $500

With a portable, if your logic board goes bad... BOOM! $1000 repair. If your LCD is bad.. BAM! $1300 repair. No joke!

worth the risk? nope. Buy applecare. Or you will be sorry.

ALL PORTABLES NEED APPLECARE!!!!
Click to expand...

I agree!! I made that mistake with my first Powerbook...never again! Get the AppleCare!
 
Originally posted by RBMaraman
People who have AppleCare seem to need it, people who don't have AppleCare rarely have problems (If ever).
Click to expand...
I'd respectfully disagree... sort of.
I've ordered hundreds of laptops for our school, and I'm REAL sorry I didn't order AppleCare on the first batch of 12" iBooks. At about 150.00 a pop on 200 laptops, the price would have been right. I've had a few screens go, a few motherboards, lots of DC Outboards (at $170.00 each). The latest batch of 110 14" iBooks have the 3-year. I build it in to every purchase now, if only for ease of repair. Send it out on Monday, it's always back on Wednesday.
That being all said, I'm getting my assistant Apple Certified so we can do in-house stuff and I'll have to recalculate.
Okay, so where do I stand on an individual getting it? Can't say I'd do it, really. The odds are STILL less than a 5% failure rate on Macs, and that's good odds. In bulk like I deal with the odds go down. In my PERSONAL purchases I've yet to have even the smallest problem, and I've had dozens of Macs. Of course, maybe my time is up!
 
I would like to clear up two falsehoods spouted by people who obviously have no idea what the truth is when it comes to this.

First of all, if your hardware fails outside of your one year warranty, and it is through no clear fault of your own, there is a FLAT RATE on repairs. The Powerbook flat rate is $380 plus tax. That includes a 49 dollar troubleshooting charge and 20 dollar shipping fee. So if your LCD just goes dead after your warranty is up, and it's not because of an accident, it will NOT cost you a grand. Same for logic board and other internal components. If someone paid a grand for their logic board to get replaced, they got jacked -- Apple doesn't even charge that much if it's from accidental damage. Accidental damage goes into tiered pricing, and it's often quite a bit more than the flat rate. But flat rate repairs are VERY reasonable. So let's not bend the truth, shall we?

As for the $49 fee that is charged when in-warranty, but out of phone support -- it is only actually billed IF it turns out to be a software or settings issue that is corrected over the phone. If it turns out to be a genuine hardware issue that is in-warranty, you will not be charged the $49 bucks.

The only thing to remember is that the casing of your machine is not covered under warranty OR Applecare, so don't dent it or anything.

In a word, Applecare IS worth it, 100%, ESPECIALLY on a laptop.
 
yes applecare is a great investment. nothing in that laptop besides the hard drive and ram wil be cheaper than that apple care. if anything ever goes wrong your set. just dont drop it or spill anything on it.

iJon
 
if anything ever goes wrong your set.
Click to expand...

After reading all the above posts it doesn't sound like everyone is in agreement on that one. I think Apple needs to be more clear on what it actually covers.

I've never bought the extended warranty on any electronics before and have not regretted the decision. So, after much thought I decided to forgo the AppleCare warranty.

It just doesn't make much sense to purchase a warranty extension that only covers product defects. Most likely such defects would manifest themselves within a years time. After a year I would imagine most issues resulting from normal wear and tear, which is not covered. As some have suggested I will check my homeowners and credit card policies to see what coverage they offer.

Thank you for your input.

Craig
 
Originally posted by tjwett
Forget Apple Care, it's lame. Any decent home owner's or renter's insurance will cover it for less, and offer less hassles than trying to convince Apple that they are responsible for your lemon. Even taking out a seperate policy just to cover your machine would be more useful than Apple Care. Read the article mentioned above, it makes lots of sense.
Click to expand...

actually... your statement is half wrong. homeowners/renters insurance does not cover portables. again, read the fine print. it works on desktops and displays but forget your laptop if you dont have applecare and you expect homeowners to replace the logic board after a year and a half.

get applecare.... my friend paid over a grand to get his logic board replaced in his cube JUST because he was "attached" to it
 
AppleCare = yes

My roommate did not get it for his iBook 500 dvd, figuring he had 1 yr of no problems. 3 weeks later, the latch broke. $600 to repair it by Apple! Needless to say, he no longer really cares for his iBook much, and ended up buying a PC replacement for it.
 
Re: AppleCare. Yes, or No?

Originally posted by New Guy
The hardware warranty on my PowerBook G4 667 MHz is running out and I have until tomorrow to decide if I want to purchase the extended AppleCare warranty.

Is the general consensus that the extended warranty is worth the $349?

I have never purchased a warranty before but I have never purchased $2600 laptop either.
Click to expand...

I know one of the members on this site actually got a free upgrade to his iBook because of AppleCare last month. He went from 600mhz to 800 because of a faulty part that Apple was having a rough time fixing.

In repairs, labor will often cost you upwards of $75 or more. this may be just for resetting a RAM chip, but it's all the same.

I guess the question you ask yourself should be: Is it worth the extra cash to pay for parts and labor down the road?

Dan
 
Re: Re: AppleCare. Yes, or No?

Originally posted by alset
I know one of the members on this site actually got a free upgrade to his iBook because of AppleCare last month. He went from 600mhz to 800 because of a faulty part that Apple was having a rough time fixing.
Click to expand...

Is someone talking about me? :D This might not be me, because you're talking about a 600, but I didn't hear of anyone having their 600 replaced.

Yes, I did get a replacment for my old iBook 500. The display was acting screwy and they had a very hard time fixing it. They decided it wasn't worth fixing since the machine had had other problems.

I HIGHLY recommend AppleCare on portables. Desktops are a different story since they are a lot more modular and as such are easier to fix yourself.
 
Since its a portable I would recommend getting AppleCare. If you don't use it, then just look at it like you just donated a couple hundred dollars to your favorite company! ;) :D
 
Just remember that AppleCare is not insurance. It is just an extension of the one-year warranty to repair any defects. Read the fine print here:

http://a1456.g.akamai.net/7/1456/51....com/r/store/applecare/APPTermsConditions.pdf

Just to summarize, AppleCare does not cover:
  1. Damage caused by a device that is not the Covered Equipment, including but not limited to non-Apple-branded equipment, whether or not purchased at the same time as the Covered Equipment;
  2. Damage caused by accident, abuse, misuse, flood, fire, earthquake, unusual physical or electrical stress or interference, failure or fluctuation of electrical power, lightning, static electricity, or other external causes;
  3. Damage caused by use outside the permitted parameters described in documentation supplied or published by Apple, including but not limited to use within improper environments such as excess temperature or humidity;
  4. Damage caused by service (including faulty installation, repair, or upgrades) performed by anyone who is not a representative of Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider;
  5. Covered Equipment or a part within the Covered Equipment that has been modified without the written permission of Apple;
  6. Consumable parts that have depleted their useful life other than through defects in materials and workmanship;
  7. Any Covered Equipment whose serial number has been removed or defaced;
  8. Installation or removal of the Covered Equipment; and
  9. Service necessary to comply with the regulations of any government body or agency arising after the date of this Plan.
    [/list=1]
    I think the best option is to see if your homeowner's insurance will cover your Mac and what the conditions are.
 
Originally posted by puffmarvin
actually... your statement is half wrong. homeowners/renters insurance does not cover portables. again, read the fine print. it works on desktops and displays but forget your laptop if you dont have applecare and you expect homeowners to replace the logic board after a year and a half.

get applecare.... my friend paid over a grand to get his logic board replaced in his cube JUST because he was "attached" to it
Click to expand...

all policies are different ofcourse. however, i can pick up a basic policy to cover my laptop from my current provider. the best part is after adding the new policy my entire cost goes way down. that includes car, life and computer coverage for less than i would pay for any of the three on their own. with my provider, the more policies you have-the cheaper it is. i'm adding coverage to my portable and it will cost me $4 LESS a month than i pay now.
 
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