Is Apple Care worth it?

[accountforit]

Some people swear by Applecare, and those are the people that have had problems in the past and have had to use it. However, if you don't use it it's a waste of money just like any insurance policy.

Most financial advisors will advise you to not buy extended warranties on electronics simply because we rarely keep electronics long enough to make the warranties worth it.

Another way to look at it: keep your money and invest it over and over again. If you ever need to repair your unit, then you have the money. Otherwise, you are richer in the end.

I have also used the argument that you could essentially sell your laptop every year, add the cost of Applecare, and just buy a new computer. You may have to add a little more money, but you have a brand new computer every year and you are always under warranty.

 

[Barney63]

Some people swear by Applecare, and those are the people that have had problems in the past and have had to use it. However, if you don't use it it's a waste of money just like any insurance policy.

Most financial advisors will advise you to not buy extended warranties on electronics simply because we rarely keep electronics long enough to make the warranties worth it.

Another way to look at it: keep your money and invest it over and over again. If you ever need to repair your unit, then you have the money. Otherwise, you are richer in the end.

I have also used the argument that you could essentially sell your laptop every year, add the cost of Applecare, and just buy a new computer. You may have to add a little more money, but you have a brand new computer every year and you are always under warranty.

I think the majority of owners, keep their MacBooks for several years, rather than upgrading each year. So in those circumstances AC is worthwhile.

Barney

 

[accountforit]

I think the majority of owners, keep their MacBooks for several years, rather than upgrading each year. So in those circumstances AC is worthwhile.

Barney

Apple loves customers like you.

 

[Barney63]

They have no reason to love me.
I got AC free because I'm at Uni in the UK

Barney

 

[theromz]

Some people swear by Applecare, and those are the people that have had problems in the past and have had to use it. However, if you don't use it it's a waste of money just like any insurance policy.

Most financial advisors will advise you to not buy extended warranties on electronics simply because we rarely keep electronics long enough to make the warranties worth it.

Another way to look at it: keep your money and invest it over and over again. If you ever need to repair your unit, then you have the money. Otherwise, you are richer in the end.

I have also used the argument that you could essentially sell your laptop every year, add the cost of Applecare, and just buy a new computer. You may have to add a little more money, but you have a brand new computer every year and you are always under warranty.

I think its a balance, the price of Applecare vs the price of repairing something yourself. Given how the rMBP now have everything glue'd down or soldiered it is getting more expensive to repair.

If you keep your laptop for a long time and take it out and about often I think applecare is worth it, if you just keep it at home then the chances of anything going wrong are heavily reduced.

 

[Nordichund]

If I lived in the USA or another country where the guarantee is only one year then YES Apple Care is worth it. Anything made in China, no matter the quality control could easily break down. Not only that, I believe paying for the peace of mind is really worth it.

Here in Norway the consumer laws state that any electrical equipment bought must be guaranteed for 5 years, so Apple Care is a complete waste of good money. Nokia and others have challenged this in the courts and lost.

Last summer my old 2008 MacBrook Pro, which I only use as a VPN for my TV just died. When I took it in for repair they had to replace the motherboard TWICE. Expensive for Apple, it probably would have been cheaper for them to have given me a new machine. But then I guess they would have had to have guaranteed that for another 5 years

On a positive note if you are covered by Apple I have always found their customer service to be top rate. Another reason perhaps to pay a little extra for an Apple product.

 

[cool11]

If you bought AppleCare from Apple at the same time you bought your new Mac, it was already registered. You don't have to do anything.

The seller told me that I have to make the procedure when I get the mbp.

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In the vast majority of cases, the automatic registration happens without a hitch, but it's not a bad idea to verify. You can do so by entering your Mac's serial number here.

Besides check the 'status' or 'remaining time', is this the page where I can make the registration?
If not, where can I do it?

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Yes, to my mind, it is most certainly worth it.

I have always made a point of buying Applecare for any of my computers.

Firstly, it gives peace of mind for three years as Apple tends to honour its warranties; secondly, Apple repairs can be rather expensive - I have used Applecare on three of my computers, and it has more than paid for itself; thirdly, should you wish to sell on the computer a certain amount of Applecare left on the clock will give added reassurance to whoever buys it - it won't necessarily add much to your price, but it will undoubtedly make it easier to sell.

And fourthly, it means for me, that my Apple buying cycle tends to be every 30 or so months; in other words, the imminent expiry of Applecare, rather than any pressing technological advance is what determines my personal timetable for upgrading and replacing a computer.

 

[FuNGi]

If I lived in the USA or another country where the guarantee is only one year then YES Apple Care is worth it. Anything made in China, no matter the quality control could easily break down. Not only that, I believe paying for the peace of mind is really worth it.

Here in Norway the consumer laws state that any electrical equipment bought must be guaranteed for 5 years, so Apple Care is a complete waste of good money. Nokia and others have challenged this in the courts and lost.

Last summer my old 2008 MacBrook Pro, which I only use as a VPN for my TV just died. When I took it in for repair they had to replace the motherboard TWICE. Expensive for Apple, it probably would have been cheaper for them to have given me a new machine. But then I guess they would have had to have guaranteed that for another 5 years

On a positive note if you are covered by Apple I have always found their customer service to be top rate. Another reason perhaps to pay a little extra for an Apple product.

I bought a rMBP here in Sweden and was wondering about this. Maybe Norway and Sweden have similar agreements? I tried looking into it and am a bit unsure. Did you send your MBP to Apple or did you have to go through your local (non-Apple) retailer who then sent it onto Apple? I wonder if my rMBP is covered while outside of Sweden too.

Yes, to my mind, it is most certainly worth it.

I have always made a point of buying Applecare for any of my computers.

Firstly, it gives peace of mind for three years as Apple tends to honour its warranties; secondly, Apple repairs can be rather expensive - I have used Applecare on three of my computers, and it has more than paid for itself; thirdly, should you wish to sell on the computer a certain amount of Applecare left on the clock will give added reassurance to whoever buys it - it won't necessarily add much to your price, but it will undoubtedly make it easier to sell.

And fourthly, it means for me, that my Apple buying cycle tends to be every 30 or so months; in other words, the imminent expiry of Applecare, rather than any pressing technological advance is what determines my personal timetable for upgrading and replacing a computer.

I have bought Applecare in the past when purchasing mac's in the US. I've needed it for my 2011 MBP (sold after logic board replacement) but not on my 2010 MBA. Currently I have 2 years of EU warranty (or more) so I am more afraid of personally breaking my $3,000 rMBP by accident than the internals going bad. I purchased accident/theft insurance for this reason.

 

[MarvinHC]

I am also sitting on the fence. The warranty for my 2012 CMBP 13" expires next month.

I bought it for 4800 RMB (used, almost new), or about 800 USD. The cheapest Applecare I can find is for 1140 RMB or almost 200 USD. So almost one quarter of what I bought the MBP for....

Can't make up my mind

 

[scaredpoet]

I've had some unpleasant warranty experience with Sony, so I don't really like buying warranties.

For what it's worth: I've gone through the in-warranty and out-of-warraty repair procedures several times for both Sony and Apple products. Sony doesn't hold a candle to Apple when it comes to servicing equipment. The difference in level of service between the two is HUGE, so don't let Sony be an indicator for you about whether Applecare is worth it.

One other thing: people don't realize this very much because they don't read the fine print in the AppleCare documentation, but you CAN request in-home or in-business on-site service for your Mac. You HAVE to specifically request it, but they will send an Apple Authorized tech to your home or business to fix your Mac. Useful if your nearest Apple store is hours away and you have, say, a 27" iMac or pre-2014 Mac Pro that you'd rather not heft into your car and then lug around in a crowded shopping mall.

 

[Nordichund]

I bought a rMBP here in Sweden and was wondering about this. Maybe Norway and Sweden have similar agreements? I tried looking into it and am a bit unsure. Did you send your MBP to Apple or did you have to go through your local (non-Apple) retailer who then sent it onto Apple? I wonder if my rMBP is covered while outside of Sweden too.

Anywhere retail store which is authorised to repair Apple products should accept a product that needs to be repaired under a valid guarantee in Norway

I looked on the the Swedish Apple Online Store under 'Reklamsationstid' and the guarantee is only for 2 years.

http://www.apple.com/se/legal/statutory-warranty/

If you look at the Norwegian equivalent under 'Garantiperiode' it says up to 5 years. The Norwegian courts decided that mobile phones are also included in this category. One of the benefits of NOT being in the EU.

http://www.apple.com/no/legal/statutory-warranty/

Good luck

 

[Barney63]

Besides check the 'status' or 'remaining time', is this the page where I can make the registration?
If not, where can I do it?

If you are in the USA check out this :-
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5687


Barney

 

[FuNGi]

I bought a rMBP here in Sweden and was wondering about this. Maybe Norway and Sweden have similar agreements? I tried looking into it and am a bit unsure. Did you send your MBP to Apple or did you have to go through your local (non-Apple) retailer who then sent it onto Apple? I wonder if my rMBP is covered while outside of Sweden too.

Anywhere retail store which is authorised to repair Apple products should accept a product that needs to be repaired under a valid guarantee in Norway

I looked on the the Swedish Apple Online Store under 'Reklamsationstid' and the guarantee is only for 2 years.

http://www.apple.com/se/legal/statutory-warranty/

If you look at the Norwegian equivalent under 'Garantiperiode' it says up to 5 years. The Norwegian courts decided that mobile phones are also included in this category. One of the benefits of NOT being in the EU.

http://www.apple.com/no/legal/statutory-warranty/

Good luck

Thanks Nordichund. I saw that too, I was just curious if I was in say, the US or Australia and needed a warranty repair if I would have to go through the original retailer from which it was purchased. I suppose I'll contact them directly just so I know.

 

[NikkiJayne]

Absolutely! I thankfully got mine free with my student discount, but in the future I'll definitely buy it. My retina screen developed a mura which I got replaced - it was still inside the 1 year warranty but if it hadn't been that screen would have cost £464 to replace, with labour.