I am thinking that this must be a new policy; today I was at the Tysons (Northern Virginia) Apple store with a friend and happened to think that while I was there I wanted to pick up AppleCare for my rMBP that I had purchased in December. I asked about it and was told the same thing that has been mentioned in this thread, that I would need to bring in my machine so that they "can see the serial number." Eh..... You can also get the serial number off the receipt, of course, or the box, for that matter. Obviously I didn't have any of that with me. Anyway, since I don't live that far from the Apple store it is not that great an inconvenience, but still..... I remembered having seen this thread and so was not as surprised as I otherwise might have been. My first thoughts, too, are that the person in the store was confusing this with the requirements for AppleCare Plus and an iOS device, but I didn't argue with him. I'll just take my computer and the receipt into the store tomorrow or the next day and we'll see how the AppleCare situation is handled..... The guy with whom we spoke today also said that the AppleCare purchase is associated with the specific machine, so that in the event someone sells their computer to someone else, if it is still under AppleCare it doesn't matter who the original purchaser is, that the ApplecCare is something which goes with the individual machine. That's something else that I think is fairly new.
In both instances it makes sense to me. Having the prospective AppleCare purchaser bring his or her machine into the store for an inspection prior to the sale of the AppleCare coverage protects both Apple and the consumer from fraudulent purchases and claims. My friend said, as we were discussing this on the way home, "but your machine is NEW!" I nodded and said, "but it is possible for someone to purchase a new Mac one day and the same day or the very next day something untoward happens: a drop, a liquid spill, someone steps on the thing, it gets knocked into a wall......" Also some situations may not be clearly recognizable as being accidental events or an incident could happen which doesn't leave apparent damage on the machine's exterior but nonetheless affects something on the inside. I am guessing that this is why there is apparently now the requirement for a machine to be brought in and examined both on the outside and through diagnostic tests. ?? I would also guess that this could definitely put a crimp in the sales of AppleCare from places other than the Apple store, too, unless the purchase were made at the same time that someone is purchasing a machine there.
