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iPad Is AppleCare worth it?

J

jnaymie

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 12, 2010
1
0
I just got an iPad Air 64GB WiFi but I am not sure it is worth it for me to get the extended AppleCare. I only really plan to use it at home for reading and to develop apps on and I plan to sell it soon after the next generation comes out. I dont plan on buying a case for it though.

This is the first iPad I've owned to I may end up using it in ways I am not anticipating but I wanted to get some other people opinion on my situation and whether its worth forking over the extra $100 especially since I only plan on having it for a year.
 
Nah. Not worth it. Worst comes to worst you can sell your broken ipad and put the cash towards a new one. Or even repair it. Otherwise you'll be out of the money for really no reason. On an iPhone I think it would be worth it just because it's handled a little more carelessly. Ipad, no.
 
FWIW, I've never bought apple care on any apple product ever....and never been stung by a breakdown or fault.

If you're only keeping your ip4 for a year, I certainly would ignore applecare...save the money for something else.

BTW did you get your ip4 ne/refurb? In which case, it would have a years' warranty.
 
If it was 3(1 free+2 extension) years like the Mac Applecare, I would say yes. Since it's only 2(1 free+1 extension) years, I'm having trouble figuring this out myself. I only have a few more days to figure it out. I don't only plan on keeping it for a year, and would hate to drop it.

The main thing that's really nice is if you scratch it up or whatnot, you can return it for a refurb for $50, and then have a basically brand new unit to sell if you're going to do resale. I can see myself keeping this past the point of Applecare ending, though, so it's making it quite a hard decision for me.
 
Not really worth as you can sell a broken iPad if its damaged and your not keeping it for long anyway
 
I never purchase AppleCare for any of my IOS Devices and figure I'm way ahead. If you use a Visa Signature or American Express credit card for your device purchase it extends the manufactures warranty by a year and also gives you 90 days of accidental damage, theft and loss insurance. The only time I needed a repair of an iPhone it was during the second year and my Amex covered the costs.
 
not worth it. i've never gotten one and have never needed one (and i'm not one to take good care of one's devices). as an EU citizen, I also have 2 years of warranty by law. (for the second year The burden of proof of a manufacturer's fault lies with me).

anyways, even with only one year of warranty i can get a (third party) equipment-insurance that's cheaper and also covers accidental damage or theft. the only advantage of apple care is, afaik, that there's probably a faster turnaround time than with traditional insurance companies.
 
A waste of money. I have had many phone and many Apple devices and never had any realy to seek ANY warranty work.
 
Definitely worth it whether you intend to keep the device(s) for the long haul or if you intend to sell within a year or so to upgrade.

If keeping it, the extra year is great coverage for anything that goes wrong. On my iPhone 5, the sleep/wake button started to work sporadically... had the phone changed out. My daughter, when she had her 4S, it would randomly reboot. They diagnosed it as something in the hardware...changed it out also. Without the $99 AppleCare+, it would've cost me $700+ each time to buy the new phone off contract. All these devices have parts that are tightly packed together by mass assembly line workers in China... plus, human interaction over time will just wear parts out in my opinion.

If reselling, I've found it much easier to sell at better price when AppleCare is still attached to the device. When comparing with someone who advertises "Like New" versus "Like New...and still has x-months of AppleCare", there's a difference...

It ends up being like $4/month over 2 years...not 'that much' really.
 
shamash said:
If it was 3(1 free+2 extension) years like the Mac Applecare, I would say yes. Since it's only 2(1 free+1 extension) years, I'm having trouble figuring this out myself.
Click to expand...

If you'd like coverage for three years then going with Squaretrade might be a good idea. It is slightly more than AppleCare+ for the three year coverage, but you can still go to the Apple store when you have a problem.
 
I use the money to buy a good case to protect it from those accidents that somehow always happen. My iPads stay in cases from day one and when I am ready to pass them down to somebody else they are like the day I opened the box.
 
Really depends if you have decent home contents insurance with an excess lower that the cost of the AppleCare and the screen damage excess fee apple charges. If you do, then don't buy AppleCare, if you don't then consider getting AppleCare or insurance.
 
AppleCare basically buys you piece of mind. If the iPad gets dropped and broken outside the first year (or anytime for that mater), AppleCare is a great thing to have available.

I have the higher end iPad (128GB) and for me it's worth it. If I had a lower end iPad, not so much.
 
Chris Blount said:
AppleCare basically buys you piece of mind. If the iPad gets dropped and broken outside the first year (or anytime for that mater), AppleCare is a great thing to have available.

I have the higher end iPad (128GB) and for me it's worth it. If I had a lower end iPad, not so much.
Click to expand...

lol, mite as well drop a few more $$ since u paid almost a grand for the ipad already.
 
I think it just depends on how you use it. I don't ever get it for my iPads. My Air is really only used at home while lounging around, so there is much less of a chance of me dropping and breaking it (it can withstand a fall on carpet, for example lol).

If I took my iPad out frequently, I might be more inclined to get it, for obvious reasons. I would probably say that if you are mostly using it at home, you should be fine without AppleCare. Maybe if you have young kids, it might be a good idea but other than that situation, I wouldn't bother.

Now for my actual computers, I always get AC.
 
I don't think so

I bought Apple Care once for an iBook. The lettering on the keys wore off very quickly. I called Apple Care. After several excuses the rep agreed to replace the keyboard. I keyboard was mailed to me. It's still in the box. It was a self install deal. There is an Apple store about 10 minutes way. The Apple care rep said they will not do the install. I must do it myself.

I confirmed this with the Apple store. Never bought Apple Care again. Not worth it. I could have ordered the $50 keyboard and left it in the box and had $200 change.
 
ZBoater said:
I think it is worth is, especially if you get a higher end iPad.
Click to expand...

I agree with this. I have a 128gb iPad Air (cellular) and would really hate myself if I cracked it and had had to shell out $1000 to replace it. For a $400 or $300 mini, it wouldn't be such a big hit.
 
Here's an idea:

Instead of applecare, try a little something called mycare.
 
wmkim said:
Definitely worth it whether you intend to keep the device(s) for the long haul or if you intend to sell within a year or so to upgrade.

If keeping it, the extra year is great coverage for anything that goes wrong. On my iPhone 5, the sleep/wake button started to work sporadically... had the phone changed out. My daughter, when she had her 4S, it would randomly reboot. They diagnosed it as something in the hardware...changed it out also. Without the $99 AppleCare+, it would've cost me $700+ each time to buy the new phone off contract. All these devices have parts that are tightly packed together by mass assembly line workers in China... plus, human interaction over time will just wear parts out in my opinion.

If reselling, I've found it much easier to sell at better price when AppleCare is still attached to the device. When comparing with someone who advertises "Like New" versus "Like New...and still has x-months of AppleCare", there's a difference...

It ends up being like $4/month over 2 years...not 'that much' really.
Click to expand...

It would have never cost $700. Apple has an Out of Warranty fee. Its like 250 to 299
 
ZipZap said:
It would have never cost $700. Apple has an Out of Warranty fee. Its like 250 to 299
Click to expand...

Ah...that I did not know. So it still comes down to $99 to hedge the possibility of replacement...or roll the dice and spend $250 - $299 if you lose. Risk tolerance is up to the buyer I guess...
 
jnaymie said:
I just got an iPad Air 64GB WiFi but I am not sure it is worth it for me to get the extended AppleCare. I only really plan to use it at home for reading and to develop apps on and I plan to sell it soon after the next generation comes out. I dont plan on buying a case for it though.

This is the first iPad I've owned to I may end up using it in ways I am not anticipating but I wanted to get some other people opinion on my situation and whether its worth forking over the extra $100 especially since I only plan on having it for a year.
Click to expand...

probably not worth it if you don't plan on keeping it for an extended period of time. I've never bought applecare until my Air. I paid $1,000 for it, so to me $99 doesn't have me worried everytime i leave the house. Also, i've always had big cases that protect the iPad. No more! a simple smart case/cover plus AppleCare is the way i'm gonna continue going forward.
 
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