Is Applecare worth it for MBA 11 in case SSD fails?

[kkel19]

I have a 17% off employee discount for applecare. debating on that or squaretrade

 

[Apple OC]

Apple Genius tells me if SSD fails they would have to switch out the whole logic board which is probably true since everything is soldered on. She tried to convince me to get Applecare cause of this. But what are the chances of SSD failing in these MBAs?

I say go for it ... a great peace of mind just incase of your logic board fails.

well worth it ... plus the discount makes it easier on the wallet

 

[jamesryanbell]

I don't think it's a mistake to buy it because of the concerns of the reliability of the SSD (no one really knows the lifespan for sure). Shouldn't be a problem, but you never know.

I ended up NOT getting AppleCare on my 15" MBP (late '08), and I've never had a problem. Used the same money and then some for external drives and a main HD upgrade.

 

[iRun26.2]

In my opinion it isn't worth it. It's between 18-25% of the original price of the 11" MacBook Air. Odds are likely that you won't need it. If something fails, it usually fails in the first year, or after 3 years. That's why Apple sells these (to pad its margins).

I agree. It's like buying insurance for something that you can afford to pay for if necessary. It is stacked in Apple's favor to make money.

My Rev. A MBA works perfectly fine to this day. Buying Apple Care for it would have taken away money from buying my new one. My new 11.6" has already taken several tumbles and looks and works great!

 

[Ronnoco]

I wouldn't own an Apple notebook without AppleCare, ESPECIALLY an ultra-light like the MBA that is consistently on-the-go...B&H Photo has a pretty good price on AppleCare...

 

[scenemissing]

Swapping out the SSD is really really easy. The most difficult part is getting the 5 pointed screwdriver - but ifixit.com sells them. You unscrew 10 screws from the bottom plate, and 1 from the SSD. There is no way to mess it up. It's the only easily replaceable part on the thing.

 

[ZipZap]

Do you have any personal experience to contribute, or are you just telling us what you contend?

I have had two lap tops and they both had issues, although minor, within the three year period. I'm not even counting this last incident where my daughter spilled tea on the macbook.

It's easy to say you probably won't need it, but with a laptop that you intend to keep for 2 years or longer, the risk is higher that it will have a reliability issue simply due to the fact that it's mobile. Just think about what a laptop is or can be exposed to versus a desktop.

A laptop has a much higher chance of....
being dropped (off your or starbuck's coffee table??)
being hit (travel??)
exposed to varying climates, cold (your home) to hot (nice day where you go to the park and browse the net in the lovely sun??)
getting kicked (your wife kicking your backpack out the way to vacuum??)
getting wet (getting to your car from the park where it started to rain or 3yr old daughter spills tea on the keyboard and thinks it's cool???)

Anyway, I'm sure you can think of your own reasons.

You cant really use your "Tea" incident to support your position as Apple should not have covered that repair. Others cannot expect they will cover accidental damage either.