Is buying Applecare paying for something you are already due by law?

[edoates]

AppleCare has two main components: the extended hardware warranty, and the ability to call Apple for three years about software or other issues. I'd like them to separate the two benefits. The hardware warranty should be cheap (or free, as some have posted); the software phone line can be very useful after updates, when you try something new, etc.

Hardware durability: legislators are not engineers; hard drives, for example, even if manufactured correctly, will fail; some will last for decades, others fail in a few years. In a laptop environment, failures occur more often (hence, AppleCare is more expensive there): more heat, absolutely more device shock, more dust, everything bad for moving parts. So what is the expected "durability" for a hard drive? Probably NOT three years, especially since the component only coast about $100.

It's a complicated issue, but in the main, I agree that uniform warranty coverage for relatively expensive items should be the norm, even here in the US. That said, Apple doesn't keep their warranty terms a secret; if you don't like it, buy something else. If you must have a Mac (iPod, iPad, whatever), just include AppleCare in your pricing decision.

Eddie O

 

[Den Deze]

I'm also planning to buy a MBP (I'm from Belgium).
I went to a Apple Premium Seller to gather some info concerning warranty.

If I buy a MBP online (Apple Store) I only get 1 year warranty.
If I buy a MBP in an APS, i get 2 years warranty, because in Belgium they are forced to give a 2 year warranty, excluding for hard disk & battery.
He also told me that Apple can be a pain in the *ss concerning the second year, but hey, it's the law ^^

 

[stefan1975]

well i am planning to buy on the phone if they can give me the same discount there as i can get on a campus site. the phone guy said they will give me 8% but online at the official apple store i can get 12%, so i am hoping they can somehow match that.

But the apple care is for "just" two years? Mmm i thought it was three additional years not three years in total. Making it around €150 ($200) per year. I don't think i will be paying that.

perhaps wait 364 days and get it on ebay if i must. but then with a sour taste in my mouth for feeling forced to do so just for apple to be easy concerning warranty claims. waiting months before taking it to court isn't all that either.

wish they would just seperate the compnonents, i really have no use whatsoever for phone support. if that's a main component of the price (>=50%) they should just make it optional, i'd pay a token fee for just the hardware warranty (max 5% of the system).

 

[Atheus]

At least in here, products have expected life time by their value so 2000€ laptop shouldn't break in 1.5 years but that's horribly long process to get something fixed by using that "law". You have to contact customer protection offices etc so you may end up fighting for months, with AppleCare it takes you minutes

It's not a "law" it's The Law. You shouldn't have to pay to be protected by the law.

 

[Hellhammer]

It's not a "law" it's The Law. You shouldn't have to pay to be protected by the law.

You don't pay to be protected by it. The law applies no matter do you have extended warranty or not. As I said, there are no timeframes set in that law, it doesn't say all electronics must last 4 years and manufacturer is responsible to fix it. It's court's job to decide the time, whether it is new enough so the user can appeal to durability. The user doesn't decide it, nor does the seller/manufacturer, that's why it's so hard.

If the law said that all electronics or laptops or whatever must last for X amount of years, then the manufacturer would have to fix it for free or they are breaking the law, no matter what warranty they give. Then it would be simple but then we would pay for it when we buy the product. Now it's optional.

The law should work but it's extremely long and painful process to get it in action, just like all laws. You don't get justice right away, don't you?

 

[mrsir2009]

Meh, I've never got Applecare with my Macs and they haven't had any major issues. My iMac has been going fine for 5 years till yesterday when the power supply blew... Although thats only $200 to replace, and its the only repeir I've had to do in its 5 yr lifespan.

 

[Atheus]

"At least in here, products have expected life time by their value so 2000€ laptop shouldn't break in 1.5 years but that's horribly long process to get something fixed by using that "law". You have to contact customer protection offices etc so you may end up fighting for months, with AppleCare it takes you minutes"

...imply that one should pay to avoid the touble of so-called legal proceedings, as if they are somehow ridiculous. I suppose, if someone robbed you, you would rather simply buy your stuff back from them than take them to court? No thanks.

 

[Hellhammer]

...imply that one should pay to avoid the touble of so-called legal proceedings, as if they are somehow ridiculous. I suppose, if someone robbed you, you would rather simply buy your stuff back from them than take them to court? No thanks.

If the court would cost me more, yes. A lawyer can cost you hundreds per hour plus the hassle with the whole case. AppleCare costs you up to 350$. New logic board costs you ~1000$.

My dad has just been in court because of his business (not giving any more details) and his lawyer has already cost him 14 000€, it's more than he's asking from the other company. If he wins, the other company pays his lawyer, if he loses, he pays his own lawyer and the opponent's lawyer. That would cost him nearly 30 000€. They are company lawyers which deal with money issues etc but a court game is NEVER cheap.

So, do you want to pay <350$ now? I certainly would and did (179€ for iMac). Heck, you shouldn't even need it in 1800€ machine but you never know, there are too many horror cases. In the end, it's peace of mind for +90% of people. Whether there is a law protecting me or not, I don't care. I can sleep my nights well without thinking that it might break and I have to pay it. I have already used it once when my LCD got image persistence. New LCD would have been 500€ without AppleCare so it has already paid itself back, 3 times the €.

 

[Atheus]

If the court would cost me more, yes.

Wow...

I have nothing to say to that...

 

[Hellhammer]

Wow...

I have nothing to say to that...

Well, if the whole house got robbed and I lost stuff worth of thousands, then I wouldn't buy everything back right away. I would probably buy stuff that I can and need, not something useless like iMac

If someone stole my TV, I wouldn't do more than file a police report and buy a new one because I know I wouldn't get it back anyway. If the police catches the guy, so what? He doesn't have money to buy me a new TV so what am I waiting for?

What I meant was that a thing like repair is in the end pretty cheap. 1000€ doesn't ruin my whole life. Yes, it is a lot money but I get it fixed in a week rather than waiting months for the court case to be handled. I would of course try to make Apple to fix it without suing them but if they won't do it, I would have no other option but to pay for them or sue them and wait months. I would have to buy a new computer anyway as I can't live without a computer for months. That costs at least 500€ already.

If you got robbed, would you use the same clothes and sleep on the floor till your case is handled?

This is getting little offtopic though, shall we make a conclusion that everyone can do what they want for their own reasons? Yes, you can get it fixed because of that law but do you think it's worth the major hassle it involves? Time is money. I of course hope that it would be easier to get it fixed using that law but it currently isn't. I wouldn't pay for AC if that law really covered my back.