how many MBA owners here have the 3-year AppleCare plan?

I do and the peace of mind is relieving. Since it's not as repairable as the older MBPs I think this is very useful and did safe me more money already than the plan costed.

 

I ALWAYS get the full AppleCare option and hope I never have to use it. Just one screen repair without it and you'll spend way more than the $350 or so for AC.

 

I've had the 3 year plan on my 2011 MBP, my 2012 Air and my 2012 iMac.

I had a top clamshell replacement on my Air due to a bright spot in the lower right corner of the screen. This would have been £300+

I had a replacement screen on the iMac due to a couple of dead pixels. This would have been £400+

I get my AppleCare from Amazon which saves about 20% on price.

It's a no brainer really.

 

When I bought my 2013 MBA in the US, I opted for extended Applecare straight away. I have always have good experiences with this warranty service even when I haven't had a need for it for a long period of time.

On my previous MBP (2010), the left quarter of the trackpad stopped functioning pretty much a month before Applecare expired. I actually thought that it had already expired so when I contacted a local premium reseller (we don't have an official Apple store here in Vienna), I asked how much it would cost for a trackpad repair/replacement. They informed me it was under warranty still so I took it in, 2 days later the trackpad was replaced and working perfectly again. This was after I had upgraded the RAM myself as well.

At a cost of 250USD for the extra 2 years of cover, that's just 10USD a month to cover your machine.

 

I always have Applecare on all of my laptops; I get it automatically when I first buy them, and simply view it as part of the initial purchasing price.

It gives me peace of mind. As it happens, I have had occasion to use Applecare; my 2008 MBP had a HDD failure (fixed under Applecare) and my 2010 MBA needed a replacement keyboard and a replacement Magsafe. Again, Applecare did the needful.

I cannot recommend it highly enough, and it generally means that my own buying cycle is independent (to some extent) of technological upgrades, in that the Applecare cycle is really what determines when I change computers (generally, I start thinking about it after two and a half years).

 

I bought it along with the 13" MBA in 2010 and never needed it. I poured a beer down the screen into the logic board. Dried it off with a hair dryer. Applecare has hence expired and computer is fine.

 

I bought an Apple Care package from a 3rd party a few months after purchasing the MBA.

 

I purchased it just before my 2010 macbook air 1 yr was expiring. It's now completely expired and I've never used it.

 

If I didn't have the plan I would have been stuck with a lemon MBA, plus on my old MBA I've had to get the trackpad and logic board replaced. Im not sure how much that would have cost me had i not had the plan, but I'm sure it was a lot more than I would be willing to cough up out of my pocket. Its a piece of mind, I know if anything happens to my MBA (within the warranty) they've got me covered.

 

Yes, but it has to be registered by Dec. 23 2014. I don't think proof of the date of purchase is enough.

 

I didn't see a point. I bought my MBA with Amex and had an additional year of warranty added on to the initial one year so I essentially got 2 years of free warranty.

 

I bought a 2012 Air 2nd hand that was originally registered in July 2012. I bought it in November 2012 and immediately bought AppleCare. Just needed to input the code from the pack and it was covered.

I bought a 2nd hand iMac 2012 model that was originally purchased and registered in March 2013. I bought it in October 2013. When I tried to register the AppleCare pack, I was requested to supply the proof of purchase. Fortunately the seller provided me with his original proof of purchase, so I scanned this and attached it to my AppleCare request, and all was well.

 

In the UK if you buy fro John Lewis you get a 2yr warranty anyway (probably less generous terms than Apple car admittedly). Also anywhere in the EU electrical goods have to have a 2yr warranty so even if Apple say it's 1yr it's not. As above if you pay for the purchase with the right credit card you get extended warranty.

I have never bought Apple care (old white MacBook * 2, Mac Mini, MBP * 2, iPad, iPad mini, iPhone 5, ATV * 2) - we had an ATV replaced after 11 months due to a power supply issue and none of the other products have ever had an issue.

 

I meant that the AppleCare had to be registered before the year was up. Just buying it isn't enough AFAIK.

 

Indeed, apologies. You have to register it as well, not just purchase it

 

I didn't buy AppleCare for my MacBook Pro in 2012 but I did buy it for a new Mac Pro I bought last month. I had a bit more cash available this time.

 

Yes and buy it online under the discount's of education or government you'll save money , they mail you the applecare box, you open it register your device with the serial number on the card on the inside along with your serial number for the device and BAM your done and covered.

You can have that warm and fuzzy feeling that Apples not going to make any more money off your repairs. Muhahahahahaha

 

In the UK I've found that there are some good places on Amazon that sell AppleCare for a decent discount. Never had a problem with the 3 I've bought.

 

Yes I have it for both my MacBook Air machines. One which I bought in 2011 (MBA 13) and also 2013 (MBA 11).

 

I have Applecare on the following;

- 27" iMac (2013)
- Macbook Pro Retina (2013)
- Macbook Air (2013)

I have yet bothered adding it to my iPhone 5S or iPad Mini Retina, as they both have a good 6-8 months left.

I also tend to sell my iPhone or iPad within 11 months and upgrade each time, so no point extending it.

 

Over the past 10 years I've purchased 13 Macs (4-iMac, 4-mini, 2-MB, 1-iBook, 1-MBP, 1-MBA), some with AppleCare but most without. One of the iMacs and one of the minis required repair in years 2 or 3. In the case of the mini, the cost of the repair was less than the cost of AppleCare. Overall, the cost if I bought AppleCare for all of the Macs would have been far more than the repair costs they would have saved.

AppleCare is insurance. Insurance should be used to hedge against possible catastrophes you can't afford. It's really a form of gambling where you are betting that you will lose! Like most gambling, the odds favor the house.

 

Or you could also think of AppleCare as a fixed cost in place of variable costs. I like having AC coverage because it means I don't have to be constantly thinking about what ifs.

 

Is anyone considering getting the SquareTrade plan instead? They cover physical and water damage, which Apple Care doesn't. 3yr plan is around $190-220, so comparable to Apple Care.