MBP Applecare vs Third Party Warranty

[Psyflow]

Hello,

I am planning to buy a new 15" MBP Retina here in the next few months and had a question for you all. In terms of a warranty, what is the best way to go - Applecare, or a third party warranty through Best Buy or Squaretrade?


After seeing the all too often horror story posts about people spilling things on their computers and breaking them, I feel like I may want something that covers "accidental damage", something that it appears both Best Buy and Squaretrade do. Applecare does not. While I am assuming the Applecare in general is a better way to go in terms of customer service and parts availability etc. I am still nervous about potentially damaging my computer.


Does anyone have experience with any of these third party warranties that can shed some light? Or maybe even your experience with Applecare, positive or negative.

 

[dalupus]

Hello,

I am planning to buy a new 15" MBP Retina here in the next few months and had a question for you all. In terms of a warranty, what is the best way to go - Applecare, or a third party warranty through Best Buy or Squaretrade?


After seeing the all too often horror story posts about people spilling things on their computers and breaking them, I feel like I may want something that covers "accidental damage", something that it appears both Best Buy and Squaretrade do. Applecare does not. While I am assuming the Applecare in general is a better way to go in terms of customer service and parts availability etc. I am still nervous about potentially damaging my computer.


Does anyone have experience with any of these third party warranties that can shed some light? Or maybe even your experience with Applecare, positive or negative.

I have had applecare on all of my macs. My air has gone in a few times for service. Once I get the operator to agree it is a hardware problem I usually have my mac back in under 48 hours from when I ship it. In my experience you call and the next day you get a box. (I usually have my mac ready to go and slip it into the box while the driver waits). The next day they acknowledge receipt and both times it has been fixed and shipped back out the same day. They ship back on fedex first overnight so I have my computer back at 8am the next morning.

So to sum it up if I call on Monday. I get the box and ship my computer out tuesday afternoon. I have my computer back at 8am on thursday.

I have found apple far less helpful for software issues but I don't think any of the 3rd party vendors will help you there either.

Also having applecare can increase your resale value if you plan to sell before your apple care expires.

 

[Trvlngnrs]

My advice it to understand what you are purchasing. Some contract pay for theft, some don't. Some have caps, once you reach a certain dollar amount that they have to pay out they stop paying. Some protect from water spills, some don't

Understand what you are purchasing and if it fits what you want...

 

[saturnotaku]

I've generally had good experiences with AppleCare, at least through the retail stores I've used to take my machine in for service (can't speak for the phone-in/mail service).

You do need to keep in mind that AppleCare does not cover accidental damage or theft. For those instances, I have taken out a "personal items policy" through my homeowner's insurance (State Farm). To get it covered, you need to send in a copy of your purchase receipt along with the machine's serial number. For my MBP, I pay about $35/year so it's affordable and advantageous to have both AppleCare and the accidental insurance.