AppleCare

[tmartin2347]

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I'm planning on purchasing a MBP 15" model this summer, is AppleCare really worth the cost? It seems like an awful lot of money if you never need it.

Someone sell me on it please

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Since this a fairly often discussed topic: apple care? can details and worth it? (includes a dozen links or so)

And then there is MRoogle: "apple care worth"

 

[Mabyboi]

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I'm planning on purchasing a MBP 15" model this summer, is AppleCare really worth the cost? It seems like an awful lot of money if you never need it.

Someone sell me on it please

I always buy applecare with my mac stuff, but one of the bonus's with apple is that you get their 1 year applecare warranty, and at any point in that first year you can buy the extended applecare to take you to 3 years. I'm probably going to go without on my new laptop due to the fact that i upgrade about every 8-10 months. If cost is an issue then dont buy it right away and just get it at another time..

 

[nospeed411]

Seems to me I have told this story on here a lot today. YES BUY THE APPLECARE!!! I was a week out of warranty today, when I noticed my recently replaced screen had a oddity. Took it in today and they admitted the poor guy for a new screen. No questions asked. This repair , if it where not for AppleCare would have cost me over 350 bucks. Seeing that my AppleCare was only 249 it's a win win situation.

 

[oldschool006]

Get It

I've always had applecare for all my computers. My Mac Pro was just 24 hours away from AC expiry when the HD failed. While it was in the shop a hardware test registered that the optical drive was also failing, so that was replaced too. Paid for itself in that case for sure.

That said, even without hardware failure, I always get my money's worth from the extended phone support, of which I take full advantage whenever a machine has even a hiccup. It doesn't take long over the course of 3 years since the cost of each phone support issue without coverage (only 90 days without AC I believe) is about $50.

 

[Mac-key]

I always buy applecare with my mac stuff, but one of the bonus's with apple is that you get their 1 year applecare warranty, and at any point in that first year you can buy the extended applecare to take you to 3 years. I'm probably going to go without on my new laptop due to the fact that i upgrade about every 8-10 months. If cost is an issue then dont buy it right away and just get it at another time..

i bought applecare about 11 months after I purchased my MBP. Made the AC cost more manageable for me.

If money is an issue for you now - this is the route I would suggest. I've seen TONS of threads where people got above and beyond service from Apple BECAUSE they had applecare

 

[tmartin2347]

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Wow, Thanks everyone.

I think I'll wait near the end of the first year then buy it.

 

[alt]

I buy applecare because it makes it easier to sell my mac 1 year later when the updates come out. Still have 2 year warranty when selling


and also, I buy apple care via ebay...way cheaper.

 

[marshallbedsaul]

yes it is my late 2008 macbook pro 15''
just recently i noticed a odd mark on my screen took it to the apple store
new screen and they noticed that the super drive was making a lot of noise so they fixed that tooo. Cost 0 dollars apple covered 650.00 repair. Plus a month ago new battery and yesterday new charger.

 

[paintballswimgu]

if your the type of person who uses warrenty's, you should buy applecare. a lot of people who buy it and their mac breaks don't use it. STUPID.

I've got one free macbook pro from them 15 inch. my fiancee is in the process of getting a free macbook now. life is good with applecare.

 

[NickZac]

Easy answer: You and the rest of the world should always buy it.

Semi-Easy answer: You should buy it but realize it is not insurance and only will cover certain things. If what it does not cover is something you have a real-time worry about, purchase insurance, or add it to an existing policy as well. Also, still buy AppleCare.

Long answer:
-AppleCare covers the 2nd and 3rd year of a laptop's life in which statistically speaking, at least 35% of all laptops will have some type of an issue.
-That 35% is probably higher due to people not making warranty claims on certain issues
-All laptops, including the MBP, have more parts in it than Einstein could have contemplated and many of these parts can malfunction
-Statistically speaking, if you have 1 issue over the 2 year period, you will have probably saved money with the AppleCare due to most issues that the MBP has cost hundred of dollars to replace/repair
-Many problems require multiple repairs
-If you have AppleCare, you will not have to live with certain annoying issues (ex: dull screen, unlit keys, power cord fitment issues, etc.) PROVIDED you actually call them...some people live with them and complain about them where as a simple call to Apple would fix it within a week
-Apple often WILL replace batteries that have decreased capacity due to NORMAL wear for people with AppleCare ALTHOUGH they are NOT required to. You can find a lot of reports about this
-Statistically speaking, items with an active warranty sell for more money and tend to sell faster than identical items that are out of warranty.

 

[JamesMB]

One other thing to consider, phone support with a standard warranty is only 90 days, so if you wait until the warranty has almost expired before you buy Applecare, you will be without phone support for nine months. If you live near a store this might not be a problem, but if you are two or three hours away, phone support is great.

 

[Invisible Elf]

Easy answer: You and the rest of the world should always buy it.
.

Just commenting on this, some countries have consumer protection laws that go above the offers of the apple care, so buying it would be useless for them. For example Norway has a 5 year complaint limit on computers, so if there is something wrong with it within 5 years not caused by the customer, Apple is required fix it.

 

[ZenErik]

Add it after 11 months if you are keeping the computer. I am planning to upgrade if the next 13" MBPs have i3 or i5 processors. No reason for me to waste $250 on AppleCare. It doesn't lower the resale value by over $250 to not have it.

 

[skiltrip]

I would normally say def. get AppleCare with a 15 or 17". But here's the thing...

For that $350, you could just sell last years MBP and buy a new one each year for the same cost. Maybe even less.

I would always recommend waiting until your first year is almost up before buying AppleCare. This way you know whether it's a worthwhile investment (if you'll be keeping or upgrading).

 

[NickZac]

Just commenting on this, some countries have consumer protection laws that go above the offers of the apple care, so buying it would be useless for them. For example Norway has a 5 year complaint limit on computers, so if there is something wrong with it within 5 years not caused by the customer, Apple is required fix it.

Oh...I wish I lived in Norway