Can I buy AppleCare in the U.S. for a foreign-bought computer?

[ragamoffyn]

Hi. I live in Norway, and the price of an iMac out here is upwards of $1000 more than in the States. I'm trying to find any way I can to reduce the price, and I'm wondering if the warranty might be a way.

If I live in Norway and buy a Mac here, can I buy AppleCare warranty in the U.S. and have it cover that Mac? I have family in the States who could either purchase it for me or receive the shipment...

Thanks for any help.

(P.S., I asked B&H about this, and the person said it wouldn't work. However, he didn't seem too certain, so I thought I would double-check here.)

 

[solowmodel]

Well, I'm not in the exact situation, but a similar one^^

I got a MBA 11" as a gift in Korea. I study in the U.K. so I went to the Apple Store and asked some employees. They said it was possible and not a problem at all, and that Apple Care would be honoured worldwide.

This is my experience

 

[Umbongo]

So buy the iMac in Norway and Applecare in the US? You might be able to, but you are stretching Apple's policies. You are supposed to buy Applecare in the country of residence. So for example Apple would expect you to buy Applecare in Norway no matter where you bought the computer - but it would be honoured worldwide if you were on business, vacation or moved.

http://images.apple.com/legal/applecare/docs/EMEA_APP_Norwegian_Hv5.1.pdf - probably says something in there about it.

 

[blevins321]

According to some quick Googling, the price of iMac Applecare in Norway is 1590kr. That's equal to $287. Applecare in the U.S. is $169. Add tax to that (depending where you get it from). Figure 7%. Brings the final total to $181. So you'd save $106 doing it the way you're thinking.

I would call Apple and ask them to be sure that this would work. I don't see any reason why it wouldn't, though.

 

[ThaDoggg]

Applecare is an international warranty. It can indeed be bought in a different country. At least, I had this confirmed for when I bought my MBP out of the U.S. and I reside in Canada.

 

[PT123]

Applecare is an international warranty. It can indeed be bought in a different country. At least, I had this confirmed for when I bought my MBP out of the U.S. and I reside in Canada.

So I'm in the UK, bought laptop in UK and live in UK, can I just buy ApleCare from the US amazon site and save a bit of cash?

 

[macman312]

Pretty sure it is a world wide thing.

 

[Umbongo]

Applecare is an international warranty. It can indeed be bought in a different country. At least, I had this confirmed for when I bought my MBP out of the U.S. and I reside in Canada.

Yeah you can but you need to check the T&Cs

"Apple recommends that you purchase the AppleCare Protection Plan in your country of residence, because each AppleCare Protection Plan has terms and conditions specific to consumers in the country or region in which the plan is offered. Please see the AppleCare Protection Plan Terms and Conditions for complete details."

 

[ragamoffyn]

Well, I was feeling hopeful until I read this paragraph in the U.S. AppleCare's terms and conditions:

"This Plan is offered and valid only in the fifty states of the United States of America, the District of Columbia and Canada. This Plan is not offered to persons who have not reached the age of majority. This Plan is not available where prohibited by law."​

I'm not sure how that fits with the supposedly international aspect of the plan, though. I have a MacBook Pro that I bought in the States, along with AppleCare, and it was covered here in Norway when its hard drive crashed.

 

[Rukuru]

In my case works with a Macbook pro and an Asian (maybe Korean) Apple care

I bought one of those Apple care through Ebay 2 years ago(yes very risky and maybe stupid) but was so cheap, 180 Australian dollars vs almost 420 AUD in Apple store.

I have been with my MacBook pro for 2 years; I took my Mac to an apple store 1 month ago because the superdrive wasn’t working. And I can confirm that the warranty works perfectly, they didn’t say anything, the don’t even ask for the invoice, if you register your Apple Care online, and everything goes smooth, that’s all that you need to worry about. At least here in Sydney. I do not know if it is the same for every country.
Just my 5 cents.