how many times will Apple repair the MBA if I have 3-year AppleCare plan?

[Jaranson]

new MBA owner here...

the company that I ordered the MBA from sells the 3-year AppleCare plan for the MBA 11.6" model for only $146. It's actually $156, but they gave me a $10 discount code for making a 1000 purchase on the MBA. Seems like a very good deal, as the next chepest price I found was $175. Both are a lot cheaper than the regular price of $249.

Anyway, I know the plan is worth it. I never have any good luck with electronics, cheap or expensive ones.

How many times will Apple repair the Macbook Air if I have the 3-year AppleCare plan? I don't really care if they have to repair something 10 times. I just want to know if having the AppleCare plan guarantees that I'll have a working MBA during the entire 3 years.

The reason I'm asking is that some retailers sell extended plans that will only cover repairs up to the original price paid for the item.(i.e. SquarTrade) Or, they'll simply give you a refurbished unit and end the warranty right there.

 

[GGJstudios]

AppleCare doesn't guarantee any number of repairs. It covers manufacturing defects only. If a defect is found, they will do whatever is necessary to fix it.

 

[DeltaMac]

And, Apple can always decide to replace a system, rather than repair it.
You can review the AppleCare agreement, where the various rights and responsibilities are spelled out in detail.
http://www.apple.com/legal/sales-support/applecare/appmacnaen.html
Something that is NOT shown in that agreement, is some limit on the number of covered repairs. There isn't a limit - although I think that most folks would begin to get annoyed if the same part failed multiple times - and in my experience, Apple takes that into account, and may determine that a system replacement (and not a repair) may lead to a better result (and should end in a better customer experience)

I guess the better question is: How many times will you take your MBA in for covered repairs?

 

[Mrbobb]

They will repair as many time as you need as far as the electronics failing, or it develops noise on the earphone jack, or fan makes noise/fails, or suddenly the screen goes dark, hinge needs adjusting etc.

HOWEVER, if YOU get it wet, if YOU drop in on pavement, dent the thing and causing it to fail, I believe they will only do a couple a year AND there is a deductible. READ the fine prints.

AND people often complain some (major) repair takes them weeks. Simple ones maybe same day, few days.

 

[TheRealDamager]

They will repair as many time as you need as far as the electronics failing, or it develops noise on the earphone jack, or fan makes noise/fails, or suddenly the screen goes dark, hinge needs adjusting etc.

HOWEVER, if YOU get it wet, if YOU drop in on pavement, dent the thing and causing it to fail, I believe they will only do a couple a year AND there is a deductible. READ the fine prints.

AND people often complain some (major) repair takes them weeks. Simple ones maybe same day, few days.

I don't think they cover ANY repair for damage. Unless something has changed.

 

[andiwm2003]

apple care repairs or replaces the MBA in three years as often as there is a manufacturing damage. there is no limit.

Applecare+ for iOS devices like iPad and iPhone also covers up to two accidental damages with a $49 deductible. But I don't think Applecare+ is available for MBA's.

The tricky part with Applecare is that Apple often stops covering electronic failures if your MBA got dropped and visibly dented even if the electronic failure likely is independent of that. At that point you are at the mercy of the Genius in an Apple store or somebody in the repair center. The problem is you pay $249 when you buy the MBA. If you dent it by accident early on your 3 year warranty becomes worthless because if you have a electronics failure after 2.5 years apple likely refuses to cover it.

I only would buy Apple care if you can not afford to replace the MBA AND if you have a expensive BTO. If it is the standard version for $1300 then $249 for Applecare might not be worth the investment.

 

[Jaranson]

apple care repairs or replaces the MBA in three years as often as there is a manufacturing damage. there is no limit.

Applecare+ for iOS devices like iPad and iPhone also covers up to two accidental damages with a $49 deductible. But I don't think Applecare+ is available for MBA's.

The tricky part with Applecare is that Apple often stops covering electronic failures if your MBA got dropped and visibly dented even if the electronic failure likely is independent of that. At that point you are at the mercy of the Genius in an Apple store or somebody in the repair center. The problem is you pay $249 when you buy the MBA. If you dent it by accident early on your 3 year warranty becomes worthless because if you have a electronics failure after 2.5 years apple likely refuses to cover it.

I only would buy Apple care if you can not afford to replace the MBA AND if you have a expensive BTO. If it is the standard version for $1300 then $249 for Applecare might not be worth the investment.

Since the nearest Apple Store is 6 hours away, I guess I will have to ship
it to Apple for any required repairs. Based on what I read on MacRumors,
most people say it can be a long and painful process sometimes. Oh well,
at least will be done right, I hope?

I would never consider a plan at $249, but at $146, I don't think it's
a bad investment on a $1199 purchase. I'll just think of it as the
sales tax that I didnt' have to pay by ordering the MBA directly from
Amazon.com(shipped and sold by).

 

[DisplacedMic]

sounds like you're looking more for something like squaretrade.

applecare is simply an extension of the 1 year warranty. Squaretrade would cover damage, spills etc - you know, user-idiocy

as someone who has done everything from dropping a cellphone into a urinal to spilling a glass of 50 yo glenfiddich on a mbp, i say idiocy with nothing but love....as it were Apple made me pay for the new keyboard and Glenfiddich made me pay for another bottle of scotch. Squaretrade might have covered the former leaving more $ for the latter

 

[Mrbobb]

Thanks Lord electronics and me get along. Never bought no extended warranty last 25 years. I guess I know how to hold them right!

 

[GGJstudios]

HOWEVER, if YOU get it wet, if YOU drop in on pavement, dent the thing and causing it to fail, I believe they will only do a couple a year AND there is a deductible.

As others have stated, the accidental coverage is only available with AppleCare+ coverage, which is only available for iPhones and iPads. No accidental damage coverage exists in AppleCare for Macs.

 

[Cubytus]

They will repair as many time as you need as far as the electronics failing, or it develops noise on the earphone jack, or fan makes noise/fails, or suddenly the screen goes dark, hinge needs adjusting etc.

HOWEVER, if YOU get it wet, if YOU drop in on pavement, dent the thing and causing it to fail, I believe they will only do a couple a year AND there is a deductible. READ the fine prints.

AND people often complain some (major) repair takes them weeks. Simple ones maybe same day, few days.

They do complain, rightly so, because a mass-manufactured machine shouldn't take weeks to get a part repaired.

And yes, even a $246 Apple Care is worth it. Just one tiny failure such as dysfunctional headphones jack is a $900 repair.

 

[andiwm2003]

…………………...

I would never consider a plan at $249, but at $146, I don't think it's
a bad investment on a $1199 purchase. I'll just think of it as the
sales tax that I didnt' have to pay by ordering the MBA directly from
Amazon.com(shipped and sold by).

Where do you get Apple care for $146 from? Be very careful to have the purchase receipt. There have been lot's of scams. Apple initially accepts those codes but rejects them later. Having the box doesn't help either. You need to buy Applecare from an authorized reseller only.

 

[DisplacedMic]

Thanks Lord electronics and me get along. Never bought no extended warranty last 25 years. I guess I know how to hold them right!

...he said, tempting fate.

i picture you holding a glass of wine over your laptop and tipping it in a smug fashion while you type that.

 

[Mrbobb]

...he said, tempting fate.

The way I look at it is, I have to live carefree else is not worth living.

i picture you holding a glass of wine over your laptop and tipping it in a smug fashion while you type that.

No, better. It already happened. True story:

One month into my new Air I was eating soup dumplings while surfing, and the chopsticks didn't work right and pieces of dumpling flew on the keyboard. LOL.

Since then I have added a keyboard membrane because cleaning the keyboard too much work.

Hey, not trying to change anybody's mind, just that there are wackos like me.

 

[DisplacedMic]

The way I look at it is, I have to live carefree else is not worth living.



No, better. It already happened. True story:

One month into my new Air I was eating soup dumplings while surfing, and the chopsticks didn't work right and pieces of dumpling flew on the keyboard. LOL.

Since then I have added a keyboard membrane because cleaning the keyboard too much work.

Hey, not trying to change anybody's mind, just that there are wackos like me.

ha -chopstick related errors will happen

 

[cathyy]

They'll fix it as many times as long as there's a defect. I had my 15" Penryn MBP fixed tons of times:

1) Wifi card
2) Battery
3) Power adapter
4) Battery + power adapter again
5) LCD + Motherboard

 

[wrinkster22]

applecare paid for itself many times over for me. I do have a few issues with it though:
1) It takes a long time to get anything done
2) The AASP are awful- store only
3) In Canada they don't do the ship thing, in store only.
However I still highly recommend it.
I wish that Apple would hire more people and introduce the ship to repair thing to Canada.

 

[mpantone]

They'll fix it as many times as long as there's a defect. I had my 15" Penryn MBP fixed tons of times:

1) Wifi card
2) Battery
3) Power adapter
4) Battery + power adapter again
5) LCD + Motherboard

You win.

I hope we never board the same airplane.

 

[esskay]

Thanks Lord electronics and me get along. Never bought no extended warranty last 25 years. I guess I know how to hold them right!

Truth is that Applecare is basically like buying insurance. Unless Apple is losing money overall on Applecare, on average we all are paying more for the coverage than we are getting back in repairs.

That being said, I have AppleCare on mine!