If you buy applecare at the time of purchase, is that any different than buying it a year in, apart from the fact that you get to keep the money for another year? I mean, does it last any longer?
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How Reliable Has Your Macbook Pro Been?
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I think, need to confirm, you get the telephone support instead of just 90 days without.
I went Mac because of applecare. 😀
cerberusss
macrumors 6502a
I never get it. I'm European and I get two years of warranty. That warranty is somewhat more limited, though.
But more importantly, there is a local business that offers much cheaper repairs. They have successfully replaced the logic board of my mid-2010 13" MBP for about 350 euros.
But more importantly, there is a local business that offers much cheaper repairs. They have successfully replaced the logic board of my mid-2010 13" MBP for about 350 euros.
RAMtheSSD
macrumors regular
I have a 2010 MBP and it is rock solid and still going strong and when it was brand new, I bought Apple Care; let me tell you why. As an aside, I can do all the computer repairs myself and if I need help, my girlfriend's daughter is, though a PC person, a good hand as well. The point being that I do not do it for the repairs themselves though the free parts are nice.
So as to the why: Apple has been superb with me in so far as customer service is concerned. They replaced my cMP keyboard when it gave up the ghost about a month AFTER my Apple Care ended and they did not even want the old one back and they have always been very helpful (though, at times, it has taken the intervention of more senior service personnel) and stood by their products. So if they are so wonderful and I can do so much why buy Apple Care? Because I have better things to do than computer surgery and walking into an Apple store and being able to walk back out with a functional machine or phone is absolutely worth it. The problem is not as clear when everything is working and there is no deadline looming; however, when there is no need to diagnose or shop, when you can swap a hard drive or use target mode to move files over at Thunderbolt speeds, when you can just go back to what you were doing, that is when Apple Care shines.
There is coverage for your machine on your credit card when you bought it with the particular card and there is coverage on either a homeowners or renter's insurance but there is a long lag between report and reply and then between reply and action. If you cannot live without your Mac then Apple Care pays for itself in the peace of mind that you get knowing that when something does go wrong, you will just pick up where you left off.
So as to the why: Apple has been superb with me in so far as customer service is concerned. They replaced my cMP keyboard when it gave up the ghost about a month AFTER my Apple Care ended and they did not even want the old one back and they have always been very helpful (though, at times, it has taken the intervention of more senior service personnel) and stood by their products. So if they are so wonderful and I can do so much why buy Apple Care? Because I have better things to do than computer surgery and walking into an Apple store and being able to walk back out with a functional machine or phone is absolutely worth it. The problem is not as clear when everything is working and there is no deadline looming; however, when there is no need to diagnose or shop, when you can swap a hard drive or use target mode to move files over at Thunderbolt speeds, when you can just go back to what you were doing, that is when Apple Care shines.
There is coverage for your machine on your credit card when you bought it with the particular card and there is coverage on either a homeowners or renter's insurance but there is a long lag between report and reply and then between reply and action. If you cannot live without your Mac then Apple Care pays for itself in the peace of mind that you get knowing that when something does go wrong, you will just pick up where you left off.
My current mbp has been reliable, but it is the batch (early 2011) that have potentially faulty graphics cards.
My current Mac is a replacement, the original had a fault graphics card from the off. It was of course swapped, but it made me think macs might not be reliable so bought AppleCare.
Currently using a 2009 macbook pro and have had the hard drive replaced by applecare as well as they changed out the disc drive out of warranty, as it was just 30 days after Applecare expired. As this is my work computer Apple care is a peace of mind thing for me.
As with all insurance it is a gamble if you will need to use it.
As with all insurance it is a gamble if you will need to use it.
Currently using a 2009 macbook pro and have had the hard drive replaced by applecare as well as they changed out the disc drive out of warranty, as it was just 30 days after Applecare expired. As this is my work computer Apple care is a peace of mind thing for me.
As with all insurance it is a gamble if you will need to use it.
As with all insurance it is a gamble if you will need to use it.
duervo
macrumors 68020
Early 2008 MBP that I used to have (was stolen) had right fan die once, and left fan die twice. One of the left fan failures happened a couple weeks before AppleCare expired. When I brought it in, they ran a quick checkup on it since AC was about to expire, and gave me a brand new battery. Employee that helped me said that they made an exception on the battery because I had never taken advantage of the AC warranty before then. I guess they felt a little sympathy or something ... Who knows? Got a new battery out of it though, so that was nice.
A few months later the SuperDrive died. Wouldn't take any media at all. Kept spitting everything back out like a fussy baby.
Rest of those fan failures happened within two years after AC ran out. It was during those DIY replacements that I vowed to only buy parts from iFixit as a last resort. They charge an awful lot for their parts. Something like $40 for a fan, plus shipping (and international shipping is generally not cheap, but with them it's almost highway robbery.)
I don't fault Apple for the fans dying. Rather they die than the GPU, which was prone to do for that model. SuperDrive dying though was a big "eff yoo" to me from Apple, considering I barely ever used the thing the whole time I had it. Once it died, I threw it in the trash and stuck an SSD in its place.
A few months later the SuperDrive died. Wouldn't take any media at all. Kept spitting everything back out like a fussy baby.
Rest of those fan failures happened within two years after AC ran out. It was during those DIY replacements that I vowed to only buy parts from iFixit as a last resort. They charge an awful lot for their parts. Something like $40 for a fan, plus shipping (and international shipping is generally not cheap, but with them it's almost highway robbery.)
I don't fault Apple for the fans dying. Rather they die than the GPU, which was prone to do for that model. SuperDrive dying though was a big "eff yoo" to me from Apple, considering I barely ever used the thing the whole time I had it. Once it died, I threw it in the trash and stuck an SSD in its place.
My brother has my 2010 MBP still going strong with original battery (but an SSD and 8Gb helps there) and my 2013 has never skipped a beat.
maflynn
macrumors Broadwell
I usually get it, because laptops get a lot of wear and tear that desktops don't but with that said, I let the 1 year anniversary come and go with my 2012 rMBP. Not on purpose, but I failed to act as the time was getting close to finalize a decision. In a sense, I'm glad I did, because I've not needed the extra 2 years.
Since Macs aren't really repairable any longer, any work to fix a problem is going to be very expensive, so I think applecare is a safe bet.
Since Macs aren't really repairable any longer, any work to fix a problem is going to be very expensive, so I think applecare is a safe bet.
macgeek18
macrumors 68000
My MBP is going on three years old. It's the Mid 2012 model and I bought it because I still wanted an optical drive and with the new (at that time) Retina MBP's out I wanted to get an optical drive while I could. It's been a rock solid performer. No problems except had the weird screen bleeding at the bottom when I bought it but the Apple store replaced it and it's been perfect no problems ever since. I never even bought Apple care for it.
rugmankc
macrumors 68020
I have a 2015 rmbp 13 inch. Right USB port went bad. Rarely move it off dining room table. I get it fixed on the 30th.
I have the USB cable ran around back of laptop to left side where I charge my iphone. Not sure if that tension, if any, had an impact on the port. Always have excellent luck with electronics purchases. So, I will still not buy the extended warranties. However, fingers crossed.
I have the USB cable ran around back of laptop to left side where I charge my iphone. Not sure if that tension, if any, had an impact on the port. Always have excellent luck with electronics purchases. So, I will still not buy the extended warranties. However, fingers crossed.