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Is there a point to buying apple care before a year passes?
- Thread starter tobygw
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Nope, been true for at least 10 years, because I bought a computer around that time and then AppleCare later, got the education pricing on both.
jW
No phone support but you get Macrumors support
Yeah... but you have to put up with us
The advantage of buying together is that you're automagically enrolled.
I think another way to look it this, though, is that Macs are "worth" bringing in. They tend to last a long time and hold their value. Now I'm not saying that non-Macs are not worthy, but.... I probably wouldn't bother buying a warranty or "bringing in" a $300 netbook, you know? Or a more expensive computer that was no longer worth much.
Also, the folks at Apple WILL help you, and generally give good customer service; yet another reason to "bring it in." If you have Apple Care, it's usually free. So.... why live with little problems (which you might do otherwise). No, bring it in and get them taken care of
Again, I don't say this to be all "Oh Macs are so special," but I think what I outlined above probably accounts more for the "bringing in" than any gross tendency to breakage or malfunction.
Miss Terri
I've had 4 Apple computers and 2 Apple displays and have always bought AppleCare but have never had to use it, but I didn't buy it for my iPhones or iPods. Even if you don't use it, it's a great advantage when you sell if there's a few months left on the AppleCare, which is easily transferred to a new owner.
That's definitely not true. Liquid damage and drops are liquid damage and drops. It doesn't matter if you bought Apple Care day one or on the day before your limited warranty expires, your warranty is void. Anecdotes about nice Geniuses who will sometimes fix things anyway are the rare exception and shouldn't be considered the norm.
So for anyone reading this thread, please don't buy Apple Care thinking this is the unofficial policy. That said, Apple Care is worth it, in my opinion. Even one repair outside of the limited warranty more than pays for it.
Basically, you have up to one year from the start of your original warranty to purchase Apple Care. Yes, you can get a student discount on it at any point and without buying a computer with it. The only thing you miss out on is phone support - which expires after 90 days without Apple Care. I typically wait to buy mine, but it's up to the buyer.
Apple employees are judged on the % of Apple Care attached to products they sell, so they will try their best to convince you to get it at the time of purchase (usually without outright lying). The fib about only being able to use a student discount when you buy the computer is a perfect example.
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_1_2 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile/7D11 Safari/528.16)
Damn, can you really get the discount after the initial purchase? I was specifically told you couldn't.
I was duped by that employee. I should have double checked but what reason did I have not to believe him :/ Oh well, thanks for corrected info.
You ABSOLUTELY CAN BUY AC up to 364 days AFTER buying the Mac and STILL get the discount. I know because i DID THAT in October of 2009. Walked into an Apple Store and showed them my ID, and BAM, discount. Or you can buy from B&H and pay $5 more...
They lied to you. I don't think Apple retail employees get commission, but I could be wrong.
I think another way to look it this, though, is that Macs are "worth" bringing in. They tend to last a long time and hold their value. Now I'm not saying that non-Macs are not worthy, but.... I probably wouldn't bother buying a warranty or "bringing in" a $300 netbook, you know? Or a more expensive computer that was no longer worth much.
Also, the folks at Apple WILL help you, and generally give good customer service; yet another reason to "bring it in." If you have Apple Care, it's usually free. So.... why live with little problems (which you might do otherwise). No, bring it in and get them taken care of
Again, I don't say this to be all "Oh Macs are so special," but I think what I outlined above probably accounts more for the "bringing in" than any gross tendency to breakage or malfunction.
Miss Terri
Ok, great. I'm planning on picking up a 15" MBP in a couple weeks. Is it safe to say that any crippling manufacturing defects should reveal themselves during the warranty period, or do they sometimes come up years down the line? My current machine is a laptop running Ubuntu that is going on four years old, and I've always been able to fix any issues myself. Is it safe to assume then that I should be able to fix any MBP problems on my own as well?
What's the price of AppleCare under the Education discount? Does anyone know? I know I got $100 dollars off by showing my school ID in the store, but I opted to pass on AppleCare. I plan to buy AC before my year is up though (sometime March 2012, I suppose) and was wondering what I would save as a student.
Is it more than I'd save if I bought it from say Amazon?
And what exactly is AppleCare ... I mean physically? How come Amazon can sell it? Is it like a card, or an ID, or an code to use when needing Apple to fix/replace something? I'm a little confused by it and what the differences are between AppleCare and a regular standard warranty (besides the extra phone service).
Is it more than I'd save if I bought it from say Amazon?
And what exactly is AppleCare ... I mean physically? How come Amazon can sell it? Is it like a card, or an ID, or an code to use when needing Apple to fix/replace something? I'm a little confused by it and what the differences are between AppleCare and a regular standard warranty (besides the extra phone service).
I think another way to look it this, though, is that Macs are "worth" bringing in. They tend to last a long time and hold their value. Now I'm not saying that non-Macs are not worthy, but.... I probably wouldn't bother buying a warranty or "bringing in" a $300 netbook, you know? Or a more expensive computer that was no longer worth much.
Also, the folks at Apple WILL help you, and generally give good customer service; yet another reason to "bring it in." If you have Apple Care, it's usually free. So.... why live with little problems (which you might do otherwise). No, bring it in and get them taken care of
Again, I don't say this to be all "Oh Macs are so special," but I think what I outlined above probably accounts more for the "bringing in" than any gross tendency to breakage or malfunction.
Miss Terri
Very good way to put it! Couldn't agree more.
I guess the only thing you gain by buying earlier is phone support.
To be fair this is a help forum for people who have issues. No one is going to start a thread saying "Help! There is nothing wrong with my Mac and I have no issues!". If you hung out at the service desk of any auto dealership you would swear that based on what people were saying that all Toyotas/Fords/Hondas/ whatever had significant issues.
My iBook from 2004 still works as my daily driver even though they were known for logic board failures. It's just the way it is.
I don't think you can upgrade the UK HE student warranty to full AppleCare after the initial purchase. The only difference between the two anyway is AppleCare's phone support is 2yrs longer. So if you don't need the phone support, the upgrade is no big deal.
I don't dispute that. I'm reacting to comments that OF COURSE you buy the extended warranty, because you're absolutely going to need service. People discuss their perfectly functioning machines as if they are destined to experience a serious malfunction. From the comments I've received back I'm becoming more convinced that 95% of the things people use their Apple Care for are things I can probably take care of myself. This is a good thing.
I didn't think about that, as there is no sales tax in Oregon
Well, coming from a 2 year "relationship" with a machine that was great no doubt, but was ultimately replaced with a brand new Quad 2.2, I can say that AC is seriously worth a look. I mean it is nice to think that you could in theory fix most of the problems, but when parts come into play, the value of AC really shines..so to speak.
I had 2 logic board replacements, a Matte screen, 2 keyboards, a lower case and a battery. I replaced the rear LCD casing myself as it was damaged in a fall, and that part was $60 used on eBay. Ironically Apple gave me a new one when they replaced the screen.
On the other hand, my brother has a 13" MBP (first generation unibody ones..2.26 or 2.53?) and his girlfriend has a unibody MB, and they are almost 2 years old now and have never been to see a Genius. My bro has had an iPhone for several years now (has the new iPhone) and has had no problems. So it really is hit and miss with problems. He travels with his MBP way more than I do (he is in college still) even. But with what I went through and saw how great Apple treats you, I will no doubt be purchasing AppleCare again for this new machine.
To who ever asked how much the student discount is from Apple, it is $239 (plus tax
). B&H has it for $244. These prices are for the 15/17". I think the 13" is maybe $50 cheaper, but not positive.
I think another way to look it this, though, is that Macs are "worth" bringing in. They tend to last a long time and hold their value. Now I'm not saying that non-Macs are not worthy, but.... I probably wouldn't bother buying a warranty or "bringing in" a $300 netbook, you know? Or a more expensive computer that was no longer worth much.
Also, the folks at Apple WILL help you, and generally give good customer service; yet another reason to "bring it in." If you have Apple Care, it's usually free. So.... why live with little problems (which you might do otherwise). No, bring it in and get them taken care of
Again, I don't say this to be all "Oh Macs are so special," but I think what I outlined above probably accounts more for the "bringing in" than any gross tendency to breakage or malfunction.
Miss Terri
I have to totally agree with this. I've always had SOME sort of issue with a computer I had. Not always major, some minor etc, but I'm more inclined to actually WANT to take my MBP in to Apple because 1) there's an actual store front and face I can speak to and 2) I want my MBP in top shape, especially since I am a reseller.
I've had a couple Dells and when something minor comes up, I'm like "meh" whatever, especially since it was a rather inexpensive machine. Also I've had to call up Dell tech support a few times for help and it's always a chore waiting on the line. I was on tech support for 3 hours before, blah. So I kind of got lazy to even bother to call to speak to someone that I had a hard time understanding...AppleCare just makes life easy.
Did most of these defects make themselves known during the warranty period or did they reveal themselves over time? If I get a defective unit but am able to exchange it right away that's no big deal. Is this level of defects normal for Apple hardware?
They were all replaced under AppleCare, which only will cover non user damage. I had the computer for 2 1/2 years almost, and it was NEVER turned off.. same as my new one
Oh and when I got the new machine, got a refund of the prorated unused AppleCare, which was $119.50!
**EDIT** all but one repair was done before the INCLUDED one year AppleCare. The rest were done AFTER the initial 1 year.
I usually wait, but just make sure you get it before the end of the year. I have had logic boards and monitors go out and they were quickly replaced. At one point I had only 6 months left on Applecare and they replaced my system when they couldn't fix the problem.
Umm....
My experience says yes ... any major issues I had showed up either very quickly after first buying the machine, or within the first year.
And personally, I've never bought AppleCare on ANY of my Macs. I did buy it once on an iPod -- mainly out of concerns the battery might wear out prematurely (and it didn't).
But sure ... crippling manufacturing defects can and DO sometimes show up years after the purchase. Not that long ago, almost ALL the major notebook makers dealt with this when a popular nVidia mobile video chip turned out to be flawed. It generally self-destructed about 1-3 years into the life of whichever computer it was in, and Apple used them too.
Before that, there was the "bad capacitor" fiasco that affected the entire industry. (Apple had to replace quite a few power supplies in a line of iMacs for that reason.)
I guess what I'm really saying here is, yes - Apple products have been very reliable products for me all in all. But I've had "duds" too. There's nothing magic about them that makes them immune to manufacturing defects that come about now and then -- especially since they started using Intel CPUs and chipsets, contracted out all the manufacturing overseas with the same factories building other PCs, and rely on other manufacturers' hard drives and video chipsets.
If you like the comfort of knowing that no matter what happens, your new machine is "covered" with an Apple warranty? Sure... buy the AppleCare. Like someone else said, it really does add to resale value if you turn the thing around before the extended warranty runs out. But do you really NEED it because Macs break a lot? Absolutely not. I'd say it's been financially smarter for me to skip it all the time, like I've done to date.
My experience says yes ... any major issues I had showed up either very quickly after first buying the machine, or within the first year.
And personally, I've never bought AppleCare on ANY of my Macs. I did buy it once on an iPod -- mainly out of concerns the battery might wear out prematurely (and it didn't).
But sure ... crippling manufacturing defects can and DO sometimes show up years after the purchase. Not that long ago, almost ALL the major notebook makers dealt with this when a popular nVidia mobile video chip turned out to be flawed. It generally self-destructed about 1-3 years into the life of whichever computer it was in, and Apple used them too.
Before that, there was the "bad capacitor" fiasco that affected the entire industry. (Apple had to replace quite a few power supplies in a line of iMacs for that reason.)
I guess what I'm really saying here is, yes - Apple products have been very reliable products for me all in all. But I've had "duds" too. There's nothing magic about them that makes them immune to manufacturing defects that come about now and then -- especially since they started using Intel CPUs and chipsets, contracted out all the manufacturing overseas with the same factories building other PCs, and rely on other manufacturers' hard drives and video chipsets.
If you like the comfort of knowing that no matter what happens, your new machine is "covered" with an Apple warranty? Sure... buy the AppleCare. Like someone else said, it really does add to resale value if you turn the thing around before the extended warranty runs out. But do you really NEED it because Macs break a lot? Absolutely not. I'd say it's been financially smarter for me to skip it all the time, like I've done to date.
I am REALLY interested in this question as well. anyone with more examples of how successful they have been?
That seems like an impossible question to answer, to me. I have had problems years down the line. But then too, my February 2002 iBook is still working, so naturally it has had a few little problems in the SIX years since Apple Care ran out (while I had Apple Care, I got a new hard drive, and one other repair that I can't remember). I have managed to take care of, or live with, all of the post-Apple-Care problems. That computer owes me nothing after a decade of service, and it's now just like the quirky toilet where you have to know how to jiggle the handle
But, it still works and I just used it last week My 2008 Macbook was a lemon. Within about six months of when I started using it, it went through a charging component, two palm rests, and two logic boards. It was replaced. Who knows how it would have fared if I had kept it.
Now I have a 2010 Macbook. So far so good, but presuming I keep it, I will buy Apple Care before 365 days are up.
It is certainly possible to find repair tutorials on places like iFixit, and parts on eBay, etc. So it's really a personal call as to whether you can fix everything yourself. I mean, it has to be possible, since humans repair them at Apple, right? Re: Apple Care. Of course if you get it and have no problems, then it could be seen as a "waste" of money. OTOH, you just never know, do you?
I like the fact that the first year's warranty comes with the computer. That way, you get a year to see if you and the computer "mesh."
I've had six Macs since 1990, and by and large they have been very reliable, in my opinion.
Miss Terri