Here is the thing, without AppleCare (APP) your computer only comes with 90 days free technical support. There is going to be a $49 dollars per incident charge if you call after the first 90 days even within the 1 year hardward warranty period of the time.
The charge will be credited back to you if your call is directly related to a hardware breakdown which should be covered by warranty. When you call on the 91st day after your purchase, AppleCare technician will not speak to you unless you provide a credit card for the the $49 charge or purchase AppleCare.
At that point, you are frustrated, the least thing you want to do is pay that out of your pocket. You know the worst part? Is you forgot to purchase the AppleCare within the first 1 year, if you call in for service on the 366th day, even you want to pay for the AppleCare, sorry you cannot buy it anymore.
My suggestion is, buy it at the time of purchase, get over with it. Especially for PowerBooks and G5 w/ a display. Its a no brainer if you take a look at the cost of any of their replacement parts. Not to mention that if you buy a tower w/display and AppleCare at the same time, AppleCare will also cover your display for 3 years with no additional charge.
No matter how much confidence you have on Apple computers, electronics devices are electronics, they do break. No matter how familiar you are with Apple products, or if you have a so-called "tech savvy" freidn who promise will help you or not, you do have to pay for the parts if you have to fix it by yourself.
My opnion, AppleCare is a must and its not just for average joe.
The charge will be credited back to you if your call is directly related to a hardware breakdown which should be covered by warranty. When you call on the 91st day after your purchase, AppleCare technician will not speak to you unless you provide a credit card for the the $49 charge or purchase AppleCare.
At that point, you are frustrated, the least thing you want to do is pay that out of your pocket. You know the worst part? Is you forgot to purchase the AppleCare within the first 1 year, if you call in for service on the 366th day, even you want to pay for the AppleCare, sorry you cannot buy it anymore.
My suggestion is, buy it at the time of purchase, get over with it. Especially for PowerBooks and G5 w/ a display. Its a no brainer if you take a look at the cost of any of their replacement parts. Not to mention that if you buy a tower w/display and AppleCare at the same time, AppleCare will also cover your display for 3 years with no additional charge.
No matter how much confidence you have on Apple computers, electronics devices are electronics, they do break. No matter how familiar you are with Apple products, or if you have a so-called "tech savvy" freidn who promise will help you or not, you do have to pay for the parts if you have to fix it by yourself.
My opnion, AppleCare is a must and its not just for average joe.
carletonmusic said:another way to save a little cash - buy apple care after 11 months. You are covered by the normal 1 year warranty and can purchase the applecare extension any time within the first year of ownership. That shaves $249 off of the price - tell the wife THAT!
(also, if you are some kind of weird mutant person and don't LOVE your mac laptop after a year, you haven't paid for 3 years of warranty prematurely.)
