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Mac Mini 2018 AppleCare
- Thread starter G3Blue
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I always take out AppleCare with any new Apple computer considering all components are generally soldered onto the mainboard. If they weren't and the system was upgradable, or 'workable', I probably wouldn't, but if something should fail after the first year the repair charges could be costly considering a small part may have failed, but be hard-connected to a larger part, ie the logicboard....
My mini cost US$1600 plus another $300 in third party RAM. AppleCare+ costs 9 cents a day over the period of the warranty. When was the last time you could buy a coffee for 10 cents? What can you buy for 9 cents now?
I purchased it for two reasons. First, I’m moving my mini from place to place. Secondly, there is no shortage of people on here who have highly alarming views on the CPU and heat. AppleCare+ is cheap insurance in the event, however unlikely, that they are right.
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I just purchased it this morning after receiving it Friday. It was $99 no tax. At that price I figure I would be infuriated if I had a problem a few years down the road, Or I accidentally bumped it off my table onto the floor. It is a small price compared to other Mac computers Apple Care.
We’ll see whether you act on that view when you actually buy one instead of giving free advice to people who have bought one
Putting $1900 into one of these computers, as I have, tends to focus attention. I might be forgiven if I’m not in a hurry to save 9 cents a day.
Yeah, cost to potential benefit (including reducing "ownership anxiety"), it's cheap. See my mental gymnastics here:
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...i-ram-in-now-ish.2166942/page-2#post-27089160
Let me ask you this, and I almost hate to pose this scenario, don't want to bring any bad mojo your way ... Let's say you wake up tomorrow, find your Mini dead, as in a this-needs-warranty-repair state, do you think you'll reverse your DIY update? Or just give a shot, assume the best?
I’ve already considered the scenario. It depends on the problem. If it’s physical damage, I’m not in the least concerned that Apple is going to try to deny coverage because I’ve added RAM. If it’s an operating problem, in most cases I probably want to revert to the original RAM because I want to eliminate RAM as a factor. If an Apple tech tells me that he/she wants to diagnose a problem without an unknown component in the computer, as I expect he/she would, I can hardly disagree.
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I’ve found the 2018 mini to be the most unreliable in terms of hardware of all the minis I’ve owned (2009, 2011, 2012, 2014 and now 2018). The number of issues with it is insanely.
I’ll definitely be getting AppleCare within these first 60 days.
That’s a good post, well worth reading, especially for people for whom a mini is a tool that needs to be working for them to earn a living.
I took it out on my Mini. For less than £100 I don't need to worry about my Mini for the next three years, and considering I dropped nigh on £2000 for it, I don't think that's a bad thing. What's more, with everything soldered in place, it could avoid a costly replacement if say the storage were to fail.
F-Train wrote:
"We’ll see whether you act on that view when you actually buy one instead of giving free advice to people who have bought one"
I've bought many Macs, since the Mac SE back in 1987. Probably more than you.
Never bought AppleCare for ANY of them. Not one.
I don't need the phone support, and in all the years, I've only had a problem with one (PowerMac 6100). The repair cost me a little more than AppleCare would have cost. Oh well, that wasn't one of Apple's better efforts, anyway.
I don't "care" for AppleCare.
That's not going to change.
"We’ll see whether you act on that view when you actually buy one instead of giving free advice to people who have bought one"
I've bought many Macs, since the Mac SE back in 1987. Probably more than you.
Never bought AppleCare for ANY of them. Not one.
I don't need the phone support, and in all the years, I've only had a problem with one (PowerMac 6100). The repair cost me a little more than AppleCare would have cost. Oh well, that wasn't one of Apple's better efforts, anyway.
I don't "care" for AppleCare.
That's not going to change.
Honestly, I don't get this.
For 9 cents a day, you can walk into any Apple store and have them deal with a problem directly, including accidental damage, for three years, and get them on the phone for support on a priority basis. Laugh at the phone support if you want, but it just might be useful.
What is attractive about one year of coverage through American Express or, as @brentsg suggests, perhaps through other credit card companies? Is this even additional to Apple's existing one year warranty? If so, how precisely? If I have a problem with my mini, why would I want to mess around with talking to Amex or Visa when I can deal with Apple directly?
I genuinely don't understand why people are prepared to pay, in many cases, US$1500 to $2000 or more for a mini, but balk at 9 cents a day for three years of direct coverage from a company that has a really good reputation for customer service.
I'm looking for enlightenment from people who think that refusing AppleCare, because they think that their credit card company will deal with any problems, is a good idea.
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Just asking, but I'm wondering whether it's possible to have a thread about whether AppleCare is worth the money without turning it into one of the hundreds of threads on issues with the 2018 mini, real or perceived, and whether purchasing one is a good idea.
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I’d suggest reading the many threads in this forum.
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Erm... aren’t those really closely related issues? It’s exactly the sort of discussion one would expect to read.
You had it right when you said "I'd suggest reading the many threads in this forum".
If this thread becomes one of those "many threads", hey, it's just one more that has gone off the rails and can be ignored.
And yes, I don't think that one has to be Einstein to figure out a common sense line between discussion about AppleCare and discussion about hundreds of other thread in his forum.
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Na. People asking about AppleCare will naturally lead to people discussing the sorts of issues that may lead to wishing one had AppleCare in the first place. Very difficult to separate the two.
But if this thread isn’t doing it for you, you don’t need to be here (I do say that kindly).
In post #20, I asked a question. Despite not even being the person I raised the question with, you have volunteered an answer. If this goes where you suggest, I am indeed out. You don't even have to be kindly about it. I meant what I said. I don't think that one has to be Einstein to understand the distinction that I'm drawing. Indeed, I think that the distinction is understandable by the average 12 year old.
Cheers
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I just think of it as extending the warranty to 3 years because as of late, Apple’s design and QC hasn’t been all that. I’ve never purchased extended warranty on anything. Not my apple watch, 7 ipads, cars, electronics. But on the mini? Yep. So did the workplace for my hubby’s mini.