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Four year laptop warranty pricing... (Apple vs. other companies)

G

goodcow

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 4, 2007
817
1,538
AppleCare is three years. They offer a four year version (and five in some instances) for educational institutions if asked. For an iMac, I think it's $79 above the standard Edu pricing for AppleCare.

So... AppleCare on a MacBook Pro is $239. (three year)

I just had to get a quote for MacBook Pros with four year warranty... AppleCare is $549.

Is it just me who finds that price jump insane? $310 more to go from year 3 to 4 for support?

How does this pricing compare to other companies in terms of four year laptop warranties?
 
Undeniably Apple makes good money from AppleCare. The flip side is that they also make good money from people who need service and do not have AppleCare. Minimum service fee is typically $300 plus parts. Notebook computers are generally not designed to be user-serviceable. Innards use tiny screws, tape and dozens of parts that if not re-inserted properly break the unit and void the warranty. In short, use of AppleCare for one repair usually pays for itself.

Regarding alternatives, I purchased a cheap warranty for an HP printer. When repairs were required a local "authorized technician" was deployed. He knew nothing about the machine and was attempting to replace what he thought was the network card but was instead removing the PostScript interpreter. Fortunately HP tech support answered my call while this guy was drilling holes through frozen phillips head screws. Eventually the machine was swopped out but the vendor kept the new printheads and ink. My HP printers now have genuine HP service contracts and my Macs have AppleCare.
 
goodcow said:
AppleCare is three years. They offer a four year version (and five in some instances) for educational institutions if asked. For an iMac, I think it's $79 above the standard Edu pricing for AppleCare.

So... AppleCare on a MacBook Pro is $239. (three year)

I just had to get a quote for MacBook Pros with four year warranty... AppleCare is $549.

Is it just me who finds that price jump insane? $310 more to go from year 3 to 4 for support?

How does this pricing compare to other companies in terms of four year laptop warranties?
Click to expand...

Life expectancy for computers is 3 years. That doesn't necessarily mean it will stop working but technology will advance so much that it is usually better to buy a new model than patch up an old one. Purchasing a service contract beyond the 3 year effective life span can get expensive.

I agree that the $310 jump is expensive. On the the other hand, very likely any major repair required four years from purchase date will net you a new computer. Also, standard price for 3-year MacBook Pro AppleCare is $349.

Some options are...

1) Purchase third party with uncertain support from a service like SquareTrade.com.

2) Purchase AppleCare with a credit card that doubles manufacturer's warranty.
 
goodcow said:
AppleCare is three years. They offer a four year version (and five in some instances) for educational institutions if asked. For an iMac, I think it's $79 above the standard Edu pricing for AppleCare.

So... AppleCare on a MacBook Pro is $239. (three year)

I just had to get a quote for MacBook Pros with four year warranty... AppleCare is $549.

Is it just me who finds that price jump insane? $310 more to go from year 3 to 4 for support?

How does this pricing compare to other companies in terms of four year laptop warranties?
Click to expand...

Beyond three years it isn't good value for money. Let's say you buy a top-of-the-range MacBook Pro with everything today. And three years and one day from now it breaks down. When that happens, you can go to the Apple refurbished store and probably find something that is a lot better in any respect than your three year old MBP for much less than half the price.
 
You do not need it if you purchase both your MBP and Applecare with a credit card that extends warranty by 1 year (e.g. an AmEx card with Buyer's Assurance Plan). You get 4 years of protection for the same price as the three-year Applecare.
 
gnasher729 said:
Beyond three years it isn't good value for money. Let's say you buy a top-of-the-range MacBook Pro with everything today. And three years and one day from now it breaks down. When that happens, you can go to the Apple refurbished store and probably find something that is a lot better in any respect than your three year old MBP for much less than half the price.
Click to expand...

Or better yet, American Express decides to refund you the full purchase price + tax rather than repair it and you go out and purchase a brand new MBP with the money.
 
JayLenochiniMac said:
You do not need it if you purchase both your MBP and Applecare with a credit card that extends warranty by 1 year (e.g. an AmEx card with Buyer's Assurance Plan). You get 4 years of protection for the same price as the three-year Applecare.
Click to expand...

This is for a government funded school. We don't use credit cards, and things like four year warranties are mandatory for this department.
 
prg3 said:
Based on what?
Click to expand...

It's a general technology measurement. Depending on the equipment, updates occur every 6 months to 1 year. By the third year with computers, one may be 3 to 6 generations away. Even with basic usage, monitor backlighting dims, hard drives approach their MTBF, and the operating system is optimized for new subsystem components.

None of this means the machine no longer functions. I have a G4 from 1999 still in use. However, it has had its share of hard drive, monitor, processor, video, and RAM replacements. I keep it around since it is my last Mac that runs Classic. :apple:
 
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