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New iPad broken glass in a near-car-accident :/

F

fs454

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Dec 7, 2007
1,987
1,876
Los Angeles / Boston
After years and years and years (and years) of owning iOS devices and never experiencing broken glass, I got cut off by a real stupid driver causing me to have to slam hard on the brakes. Near-accident averted in the brand new car and all is well, except that my iPad flew from the backseat into the floor violently where it must have hit the seat rails, causing the corner to spiderweb and crack. The top right corner of the iPad where the impact was is full of very small glass particles that are all shedding off, and the crack extends about 1 inch into the screen as well as all over the bezel. Ugh.

Some snooping reveals a $300 charge without Applecare+ to fix this. Are they non-negotiable now as in sob stories and bad luck incidents won't tickle the right genius properly for a free replacement? Anyone have experience with this? I feel like iPads are much less commonly broken than iPhones which garner a lot more day to day abuse, but who knows.

From what I've read it looks like I'm gonna just have to suck it up and spend the cash, but I'm interested in hearing any prior experiences.

Thanks. I attached a photo but it's tough to see the crack, especially where it extends into the screen.
 

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as an aside, it's actually quite dangerous to leave things in your backseat (or any seat for that matter) as in an accident, they can become lethal projectiles. a few years back, i heard about a guy who put his laptop in the back seat and in an accident, the laptop hit him in the back of the head and he died from those injuries.
 
Are you for real?!

You broke it you fix it.

Why should Apple give you a free replacement ?! :confused: :confused:
 
Tough break, OP. I think you have a couple of options.

1. Take it into the Apple store. They might help you out, but are under no obligation to do so.

2. If you used a credit card to buy it, the credit card company might have some sort of accident or damage replacement policy. You should look into it.

3. Pay for it yourself.

Good luck.
 
Tobias Funke said:
Are you for real?!

You broke it you fix it.

Why should Apple give you a free replacement ?! :confused: :confused:
Click to expand...

I've always felt that way. If you get in a car accident without insurance, Ford doesn't give you a chance at a new car.

I know the feeling sucks when something like that happens, but live and learn I guess.

BTW, nice username :D
 
Tobias Funke said:
Are you for real?!

You broke it you fix it.

Why should Apple give you a free replacement ?! :confused: :confused:
Click to expand...

If you read the post, he didn't actually break it. The damage was caused by dangerous driving of another car. (Proving it would be difficult unfortunately).
 
gnasher729 said:
If you read the post, he didn't actually break it. The damage was caused by dangerous driving of another car. (Proving it would be difficult unfortunately).
Click to expand...

As much as i hate other people driving dangerously, that still doesn't mean the other person told him to sit the ipad right on the seat. stick it in a bag on the floor or something, it's amazing how easy it is to secure things like that. you wouldn't put a glass of water on your dashboard and hope it stays.
 
I'd just go in to Apple and explain, but make sure not to overexplain. When you overexplain, they think you're making up a story hoping for something free. Ask what your options are.
 
Good lick, ever nice AppleCare+, they've just become another company selling insurance at the checkout
 
How new is your new iPad? You might try calling and putting applecare+ on it if you're within your 30 days. I know they say they need you to bring it into store, but I was able to do it on the phone.
 
Wow, that's not good!
I'm not sure where you live, but I think that as long it's just the glass, you could maybe go to somewhere other than AppleCare.
I found somewhere around me for about $200 dollars, but that might not be useful to you.
If you really can't spend any money, you could try a sob story. I've never tried it but maybe itll work for you.
Good luck!
 
gnasher729 said:
If you read the post, he didn't actually break it. The damage was caused by dangerous driving of another car. (Proving it would be difficult unfortunately).
Click to expand...

Or perhaps it was caused by not having all items in the car secured properly. In a real accident that iPad could have smashed into his head rather than the seats with pretty serious consequences.
 
I got a free apple iPad2 repair

fs454 said:
... I'm interested in hearing any prior experiences.
Click to expand...

My 5 yr old dropped a month-old iPad2 a small distance onto a ceramic tiled floor at home. Similar screen damage to yours. I backed-up all contents then went to Applestore Carugate (Milan, Italy) I booked a Genius appointment to find out what the options were (I typed all my explanations into the appointment box 'notes' and mentioned that I was querying the Warranty) - Applecare+ is insurance in that it covers accidental damage but in Italy there is no Applecare+???? I did type rather a lot about this!!!

At the Genius bar I met a senior Genius who studied everything, then passed me to a lesser Genius or two. We eventually came to the compromise that I would pay a reduced €289 euro 'out-of-warranty-repair' fee and receive a new but plain brown-boxed iPad2 with no accessories in exchange for my damaged one. Very reasonable! I insisted on having a VAT/commercial transaction formal sales receipt generated as I could then use this to claim back the €289 euro fee from my home insurance policy. Apple Genii were great and they soon gave up generating this VAT receipt and handed me a simple sales receipt for zero euros and zero cents - paid in full, with the suggestion that I buy a better case. Thanks Guys!

My full apple history was looked-up, I think it helped that I was searching for my tax ID code on my iPhone in order to help generate the VAT receipt, I was open and honest and courteous and yet firm on the confusing different international warranties...

When I got home I discovered that Victoria Beckham had had the same type of 'freebie' iPad swap done that day at the Applestore in London as one of her youths had done the same does-it-drop test; nice that Apple Inc also does this out-of-warranty-repair-for-free sometimes for ordinary geeks!
 
fs454 said:
After years and years and years (and years) of owning iOS devices and never experiencing broken glass, I got cut off by a real stupid driver causing me to have to slam hard on the brakes. Near-accident averted in the brand new car and all is well, except that my iPad flew from the backseat into the floor violently where it must have hit the seat rails, causing the corner to spiderweb and crack. The top right corner of the iPad where the impact was is full of very small glass particles that are all shedding off, and the crack extends about 1 inch into the screen as well as all over the bezel. Ugh.

Some snooping reveals a $300 charge without Applecare+ to fix this. Are they non-negotiable now as in sob stories and bad luck incidents won't tickle the right genius properly for a free replacement? Anyone have experience with this? I feel like iPads are much less commonly broken than iPhones which garner a lot more day to day abuse, but who knows.

From what I've read it looks like I'm gonna just have to suck it up and spend the cash, but I'm interested in hearing any prior experiences.

Thanks. I attached a photo but it's tough to see the crack, especially where it extends into the screen.
Click to expand...

be prepared to spend, but you never know...I had a genius try to tell me they were giving me a free replacement which I was obviously surprised about. Then she goes ahead and tries doing it in the system and 180s on that previous statement. Needless to say I was pretty mad about that, but apple.com CS sorted it out so it was all good:D
 
I say tell them your story and see. Worse case, you spend the cash on a new one.
 
File a claim with your insurance company - that's why you have insurance. Home owners is typically the one that covers non-attached items in a car (i.e. items not bolted to the car).
 
Tobias Funke said:
Are you for real?!

You broke it you fix it.

Why should Apple give you a free replacement ?! :confused: :confused:
Click to expand...

As long as the OP doesn't go into the Apple store and make outrageous demands or makes up a story then its up to the store personnel to make this decision--not you. Though I have a feeling you get off on making judgments.
 
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