I remember seeing apple care on www.bhphotovideo.com for $175 before but dont see it listed at that price anymore. Anyone know any other websites selling apple care around that cost or lower? Thanks.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Cheapest place to buy AppleCare for 11" Air?
- Thread starter kingdf
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
L A Computer is offering AC for $189.00 for all Airs
http://www.lacomputercompany.com/cgi-bin/rpcart/index.cgi?command=dispitem&type=sku&sku=10125
Last edited:
lacomputercompany had the cheapest price in the past. I have bought Applecare on eBay with no problems.
According to an article on this site from Consumers Reports. the MacBook Air has a 7% failure rate in the first three years. With a purchase price of about $1000, if you were to simply toss out a failed MBA without considering repairing it would be a loss of an average of $70/each. Considering they can be fixed free in the first year, if you were to do so, the loss would be even less. Can't say how much since I don't subscribe to Consumers Reports and can't see the chart with the annual breakdown.
Since you would pay at least twice that for AppleCare, AppleCare is a poor return on investment. Go ahead and take the risk.
Since you would pay at least twice that for AppleCare, AppleCare is a poor return on investment. Go ahead and take the risk.
You feel like a massive winner when you do need to make a claim on an extended warranty (like when I had a TV burn out in the final week of a 5 year policy) but actually over a lifetime it really makes no sense to insure for these relatively trifling risks. The entire extended warranty industry preys on our terrible ability to judge risks, while leveraging their own vast caches of data on actual risk which makes their profit margins and our loss margins virtually guaranteed.
Insurance is a great idea for managing financially ruinous events, like serious car collisions or housefires, but anything you can afford to replace/repair yourself you should simply self-insure. In the long run, you'll be better off. I must have declined nearly 100 extended warranties in my lifetime, including 10 computers, another dozen Apple devices, TVs, hifis, accessories. I can't think of a single regret, and I've probably saved enough to replace outright all the gadgets I currently own.
Remember, Applecare also gives you tech support. I've had good experience with Apple tech support the few times I have needed it. I've taken out Applecare on the last two of my laptops. Both times I came out ahead by a few bucks over the life of the Applecare. I'll get it for the next laptop too. My feeling is, with Applecare, that the reps were more willing to make decisions in my favor than if I had not had it.
I agree but at the same time some people must like the piece of mind it gives you which alone could be worth it for some people . Value is always in the beholder.
If you are near an Apple Store, the Genius Bar provides tech support for free. There's only an advantage to AppleCare if you want or need phone support.
Here's my Mac ownership and repair history (*-bought refurbished):
2014 27" Retina iMac -- 13 months, no repairs
2009 27" iMac -- 75 months, display card replaced at 5 years.
2010 11" MacBook Air -- 60 months, no repairs
2012 i7 Mac mini* -- 14 months, no repairs
2012 i5 Mac mini* -- 23 months, no repairs
2009 base Mac mini* -- 67 months, no repairs
2009 base Mac mini -- 72 months, hard drive failed and replaced at 3.5 years.
2012 15" MacBookPro* -- 46 months, keyboard failed at 1 month, no other repairs
2009 Aluminum MacBook* -- 79 months, no repairs.
2008 24" iMac -- 90 months. Hard drive failed and replaced at 4 years, 4 months.
Remaining systems either sold or given away so I don't know if they are still being used or their repair history.
2007 MacBook* -- 50 months until given away. Water damage (would not be covered under AppleCare) at 17 months.
2009 Mac mini with Snow Leopard Server* -- 56 months. Hard drive replaced at 22 months (would be covered under AppleCare) second hard drive replaced at 54 months.
2009 24" iMac -- 66 months. Hard drive replaced under recall. No repairs.
2006 20" iMac -- 39 months. Display card replaced at 2.5 years (would be covered under AppleCare).
2004 17" iMac G5 -- 66 months. No repairs
2005 12" iBook G4 -- 50 months. No repairs
So that's 16 Macs purchased with 3 less than 36 months old. Two required repairs that would be covered by AppleCare even there the cost of AppleCare would exceed the cost of the repair.
Most people likely won't have issues. Some will.
Inquiry: Do you have car insurance? Why or why not? Do you have health insurance? Why or why not? Do you have home insurance? Why or why not?
The same reason applies to protecting what is not an inexpensive piece of equipment (despite being made with inexpensive components) - assurance, coverage, peace of mind...
As for the OP, buy it from Apple. Not many third party companies will buy AppleCare in bulk and sell it for less than what Apple charges...
Well it'll be a year since Ive had my Air next month and Ive had absolutely no issues with it. However, I noticed that the apple care price on Apple's website is listed at $183 now which is much cheaper than the old $249 price but still kind of pricey. I'm considering going on without buying it. It just seems like a reliable computer unlike my old windows computers. But if I can get apple care at a decent price I might just fork over the cash.
Last edited:
$183 is correct. It's $249 in the regular store. You are right about not buying it. If you can afford any repair you will come out ahead in the long run without buying AppleCare.
Well I changed my mind seeing as how having it would also increase the resale value. Gonna buy it now.