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How many people get AppleCare with their iMacs ?

NMF said:
Same exact thing happened to my wife's 2009 iMac last month. Luckily it was still covered by AppleCare for another 3 months. Talk about perfect timing. Apple fully replaced the LCD, new front LCD glass, new ODD and new HDD (apparently it was failing -- news to us!). Final bill was over $1500. We paid $0.

Traditional logic regarding extended warranties does not apply to AppleCare. AppleCare is always worth it for every product, IMO. It doesn't matter where you buy it, so if you're not a student then keep your eyes peeled for third-party Amazon sellers and eBay. I actually bought my wife's AppleCare on craigslist from someone who bought it years ago for her old Mac and forgot to activate the code. :p
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Right on! I always buy the Apple Care on my Mac's but only once on my iDevices - the original iPhone. So far I've not bought it on the 3GS, 4S or iPad (3rd gen).
 
Apple is not doing this out of the goodness of their hearts.. This is a VERY lucrative business for them and all the other companies offering extended warranties.

If you buy with Credit card most of them double the coverage so you are already at 2 years.
Statistically most computer failures happen the first 90 days and up to the first year.

You are buying peace of mind but really you are gambling that:
1. The failure will happen between year 2-3 only, which is a low percentage chance to begin with
2. Then you are gambling that it is more expensive to fix then buying Applecare, even though 3 years from now the same parts will cost you much less then now
3. The computer is not obsolete and that you still see the value of fixing it rather then buying a new one

As someone else mentioned... no one comes on these forums and starts threads on "how my iMac has not failed between 2-3 years.." the posts you see are only of people complaining or having issues.

Of course it happens that Applecare pays off.. but that is a very very small chance and you are better off putting that money in the stock market and buying Apple shares :)
 
lexar said:
Apple is not doing this out of the goodness of their hearts.. This is a VERY lucrative business for them and all the other companies offering extended warranties.

If you buy with Credit card most of them double the coverage so you are already at 2 years.
Statistically most computer failures happen the first 90 days and up to the first year.

You are buying peace of mind but really you are gambling that:
1. The failure will happen between year 2-3 only, which is a low percentage chance to begin with
2. Then you are gambling that it is more expensive to fix then buying Applecare, even though 3 years from now the same parts will cost you much less then now
3. The computer is not obsolete and that you still see the value of fixing it rather then buying a new one

As someone else mentioned... no one comes on these forums and starts threads on "how my iMac has not failed between 2-3 years.." the posts you see are only of people complaining or having issues.

Of course it happens that Applecare pays off.. but that is a very very small chance and you are better off putting that money in the stock market and buying Apple shares :)
Click to expand...

Fixing almost any part of your imac, say even the hdd will cost you more than the price of the apple care. The gamble really lies in you bettimg your computer will not fail at all for 3 years.
 
nagareru said:
Fixing almost any part of your imac, say even the hdd will cost you more than the price of the apple care. The gamble really lies in you bettimg your computer will not fail at all for 3 years.
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Suction cups $15
Brand new 1 tb hard drive. $75

In 3 years likely a 4 tb hard drive will be $75... Suction cups still $15 :)
 
nagareru said:
Fixing almost any part of your imac, say even the hdd will cost you more than the price of the apple care. The gamble really lies in you bettimg your computer will not fail at all for 3 years.
Click to expand...

The post you quoted stipulated that the buyer used a credit card that doubled Apple's warranty to two years. Under that condition, AppleCare would only add one year of coverage past the second year. If the likelihood of a failure during the third year were low enough, then AppleCare wouldn't be worth it. Since we don't know the true failure rate (only Apple does), it's a matter of weighing perceived risk and cost of repair vs the cost of AppleCare. And, for some people, the "peace of mind" might be worth it, even if it didn't make financial sense.
 
I've purchased AppleCare on all my Macs. Never purchased it on my iPad or iPhone. Never had to use it. Never had to worry about repairs. I usually keep my computers 3-4 years prior to selling. Have to admit the AppleCare was a plus on the Mac I sold after 1.5 years though.
 
Couple questions about Applecare:

1. I'm stunned that B&HPhoto has Applecare for iMac for $122 (I think Amazon is $164 or something). What do you actually get from them--is it a certificate in a box/envelope with a complex serial number that you register with Apple?

2. We have an Apple Store (or two) where I live--does Applecare give you perks re: walk-in service, or any other benefits there?

If this was discussed in this thread already I'm sorry; I missed it.
 
If you have applecare and something in your mac fails you can go to any ANY apple store or service center in the world, walk in tell your problem and they will fix it at 0 cost. I always buy it on ebay for a similar price and i only get an email with a serial number. All you need is the apple care serial go to apples website and register it to your macs serial number. And its done. So it doest matter who you get it from really just how much it costs
 
nagareru said:
If you have applecare and something in your mac fails you can go to any ANY apple store or service center in the world, walk in tell your problem and they will fix it at 0 cost. I always buy it on ebay for a similar price and i only get an email with a serial number. All you need is the apple care serial go to apples website and register it to your macs serial number. And its done. So it doest matter who you get it from really just how much it costs
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Thanks for telling! :)
 
If you have AppleCare and, for example, a mid-2010 27" iMac that has a major issue with the display, if it is determined that is is easier to replace the iMac versus fix the failed part(s), would you most likely end up with a newer model? Anyone have experience with this? That might be another potential upside to buying AppleCare. If your product completely fails, you might be looking at an upgrade in addition to just getting it replaced.
 
I'm gonna get apple care this time, only so that it's easier to sell the machine after a couple of years.
 
iMerik said:
If you have AppleCare and, for example, a mid-2010 27" iMac that has a major issue with the display, if it is determined that is is easier to replace the iMac versus fix the failed part(s), would you most likely end up with a newer model? Anyone have experience with this? That might be another potential upside to buying AppleCare. If your product completely fails, you might be looking at an upgrade in addition to just getting it replaced.
Click to expand...

There were a couple people that just posted that had 2010's with logic board issues, and got replaced by 2011's.
 
1 noob question: will the AppleCare work if I buy it from a different country from where I purchased the Mac?
 
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