People who have used Apple care.

[macfreak101]

For the people who have used Apple care please comment the ones especially with the macbook pro retina, air and the uni body ones! ,
Has the investment paid off?
Did your computer ever break down in the 3 year period?
Do you regret purchasing Apple care and wished you would have used the money for something else?

Would love to hear your stories

 

[HowEver]

Just buy it.

 

[macfreak101]

Just buy it.

It cost 250$ heck I can get the new iPhone in that much so I want to know if it's a sensible investment.

 

[TheIguana]

Dunno if I am an exception, but I purchase it with all my portable Macs now.

It saved my butt on both the 2008 and 2011 models that had graphics card failures - not that going through the repair and ultimately complete computer replacement process was fun - but none the less Applecare did pay for itself several times over for me.

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It cost 250$ heck I can get the new iPhone in that much so I want to know if it's a sensible investment.

$250 is a lot, but if your logic board needs replacing that is about 1/2 to 1/3 the cost of a new logic board.

 

[doom102938]

Dunno if I am an exception, but I purchase it with all my portable Macs now.

It saved my butt on both the 2008 and 2011 models that had graphics card failures - not that going through the repair and ultimately complete computer replacement process was fun - but none the less Applecare did pay for itself several times over for me.

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$250 is a lot, but if your logic board needs replacing that is about 1/2 to 1/3 the cost of a new logic board.

Please listen to the voice of reason. My 2009 unibody 15 MacBook Pro has had 2 replacement touch pads, 1 replacement logicboard and battery replaced under applecare after the 1st year is up. All in all, applecare saved me almost $2000 in repairs to my MacBook Pro.

I wouldn't buy a new macbook without the applecare.

Cheers

 

[macfreak101]

Please listen to the voice of reason. My 2009 unibody 15 MacBook Pro has had 2 replacement touch pads, 1 replacement logicboard and battery replaced under applecare after the 1st year is up. All in all, applecare saved me almost $2000 in repairs to my MacBook Pro.

I wouldn't buy a new macbook without the applecare.

Cheers

What was the reason for the logic board to be replaced? But the thing is it doesn't cover accidental damages so that's a really big flaw paying so much and if something happens for let's say my screen gets imprints from the keyboard or some pixels go dead Apple care won't cover it.

Dunno if I am an exception, but I purchase it with all my portable Macs now.

It saved my butt on both the 2008 and 2011 models that had graphics card failures - not that going through the repair and ultimately complete computer replacement process was fun - but none the less Applecare did pay for itself several times over for me.

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$250 is a lot, but if your logic board needs replacing that is about 1/2 to 1/3 the cost of a new logic board.

Yes I know that but it doesn't cover accidentally damages so what are you exactly paying for then!

 

[doom102938]

That was a couple of years back. If my memory serves me right, the screen started to flicker.

 

[KUguardgrl13]

It saved my butt a number of times with my 2009 13" MBP. It had a recurring sleep/wake issue that would require a hard restart with the power button that would kill the hard drive cable. I got probably 5-7 hard drive cables and two replacement hard drives during AppleCare and even after it expired thanks to the Geniuses at the store! I also got a new MagSafe when the original one I had stopped working. That MBP now functions perfectly fine as a desktop replacement running Mavericks and Yosemite Public Beta. The only thing I've paid for out of pocket was a new battery last year to replace the original. Pretty standard maintenance for a now 5 year old laptop.

I haven't needed it yet for my late-2013 13" rMBP. All of its minor issues have been resolved through software updates so far. The display is just about perfect with no yellowing or image retention.

AppleCare+ for my iPhone 5 has gotten me a new home button and a replacement lightening cable.

I'd say AppleCare is worth it if you want extended warranty coverage and don't worry about accidental damage. There are some credit card companies will extend your warranty when you purchase with their card, but it's usually not an easy process to go through. With AppleCare you just make an appointment online and walk right into the store. Depends on the store and the day, but my issues have usually only take up to an hour to be taken care of. If they need to keep it overnight they call you when it's ready to be picked up. Other services make you jump through hoops to get your machine services and may give you a replacement from a questionable source (I.e. Not Apple).

If you worry about accidental damage or theft, look into what's offered through your homeowner's or renter's insurance.

 

[macfreak101]

It saved my butt a number of times with my 2009 13" MBP. It had a recurring sleep/wake issue that would require a hard restart with the power button that would kill the hard drive cable. I got probably 5-7 hard drive cables and two replacement hard drives during AppleCare and even after it expired thanks to the Geniuses at the store! I also got a new MagSafe when the original one I had stopped working. That MBP now functions perfectly fine as a desktop replacement running Mavericks and Yosemite Public Beta. The only thing I've paid for out of pocket was a new battery last year to replace the original. Pretty standard maintenance for a now 5 year old laptop.

I haven't needed it yet for my late-2013 13" rMBP. All of its minor issues have been resolved through software updates so far. The display is just about perfect with no yellowing or image retention.

AppleCare+ for my iPhone 5 has gotten me a new home button and a replacement lightening cable.

I'd say AppleCare is worth it if you want extended warranty coverage and don't worry about accidental damage. There are some credit card companies will extend your warranty when you purchase with their card, but it's usually not an easy process to go through. With AppleCare you just make an appointment online and walk right into the store. Depends on the store and the day, but my issues have usually only take up to an hour to be taken care of. If they need to keep it overnight they call you when it's ready to be picked up. Other services make you jump through hoops to get your machine services and may give you a replacement from a questionable source (I.e. Not Apple).

If you worry about accidental damage or theft, look into what's offered through your homeowner's or renter's insurance.

Well have you purchased it for your rmbp?
That's a really great story! Apple care surely paid off
But the thing is I live in India where Apple only exists through resellers and there are no geniuses or anyone as such, no in store help or anything, they do have Apple care though and they do have service centers but it's no where compared to the US standard and Apple care cost 400$ here I'll surely purchase it from the states for 250$ but considering so many drawbacks I don't know if I should purchase it or not? The service centers do take care of your problems but they aren't as smart as the apple geniuses

 

[Bending Pixels]

If you have a rMBP, it might be a good idea. I purchased a late 2013 rMBP in April 2014. I didn't purchase AppleCare at that time, but am waiting until February/March 2015 to decide to purchase it.

If I don't experience any issues, or if there aren't any real issues that others are having with the same model, I probably won't purchase it. If there are, I'll consider it.

I tend to take really good care of my computer equipment (i.e. keep liquids away, protect it from bumps, etc.)

 

[MacInTO]

For the people who have used Apple care please comment the ones especially with the macbook pro retina, air and the uni body ones! ,
Has the investment paid off?
Did your computer ever break down in the 3 year period?
Do you regret purchasing Apple care and wished you would have used the money for something else?

Would love to hear your stories

Applecare is not an investment, it's more like insurance. After three years, if nothing goes wrong, it would have sucked, however, if you have even one repair, it will likely more than pay for itself.

With the retina MBPs, I think it's a good idea to get Applecare because of how unfixable these units are. I just had my screen replaced. That is probably worth about three times what applecare costs. My 2011 also had problems (radeongate), but it was more than three years when that happened so I was SOL there and I didn't have applecare.

Before that, I had applecare one of my powerbooks and nothing went wrong. I've been using Mac since the 80s and I've never had a problem before the last two machines.

Also, if you decided to sell your machine before the three years is up, it's more attractive to buyers because of the warranty.

If you buy it at a reseller for $200 it's worth it. Not $350 though.

 

[KUguardgrl13]

Well have you purchased it for your rmbp?
That's a really great story! Apple care surely paid off
But the thing is I live in India where Apple only exists through resellers and there are no geniuses or anyone as such, no in store help or anything, they do have Apple care though and they do have service centers but it's no where compared to the US standard and Apple care cost 400$ here I'll surely purchase it from the states for 250$ but considering so many drawbacks I don't know if I should purchase it or not? The service centers do take care of your problems but they aren't as smart as the apple geniuses

I purchased it for my rMBP, but I haven't used it yet. I've only had it for a year.

What other options are available in India? I know here in the US we have Squaretrade and some other insurance programs. It certainly makes a difference with AppleCare if you can't walk into a store. That's why many of us Anericans recommend it . Perhaps ask the resellers what kind of warranties they offer? I do know that if you buy AppleCare and mail your machine off to the service center, it should be the same level of service as going to the Genius Bar, just less personable. They should be calling you with updates, at least. It's certainly less convenient, but they pay the postage, and you have your machine back in a few days. You'll also get Apple certified parts. With other programs over there I'd worry about third party parts that will void your 1 year warranty from Apple and any recall extensions they offer.

 

[matt3526]

I purchased apple care for £50 (student discount). In the 3 years of having it I've replaced the screen 3 times (twice due to screen problems and once due to a broken wireless chip), the hard disk once and the whole logic board once. The total cost would have been ~ £1500, not bad for a £50 investment.

 

[maflynn]

Just buy it. AppleCare gives you 2 more years of peace of mind.

 

[macfreak101]

I purchased apple care for �50 (student discount). In the 3 years of having it I've replaced the screen 3 times (twice due to screen problems and once due to a broken wireless chip), the hard disk once and the whole logic board once. The total cost would have been ~ �1500, not bad for a �50 investment.

How did you purchase it for only 50 and from where?

I purchased it for my rMBP, but I haven't used it yet. I've only had it for a year.

What other options are available in India? I know here in the US we have Squaretrade and some other insurance programs. It certainly makes a difference with AppleCare if you can't walk into a store. That's why many of us Anericans recommend it . Perhaps ask the resellers what kind of warranties they offer? I do know that if you buy AppleCare and mail your machine off to the service center, it should be the same level of service as going to the Genius Bar, just less personable. They should be calling you with updates, at least. It's certainly less convenient, but they pay the postage, and you have your machine back in a few days. You'll also get Apple certified parts. With other programs over there I'd worry about third party parts that will void your 1 year warranty from Apple and any recall extensions they offer.

Well here in India there aren't any options as square trade or anything as such it's either the authorized service center or just trusting some random guy. We can't post our computers but the local Apple authorized service center is quite close to my home, i had the iPhone 5 and the center key was placed incorrectly like it was titled I went to the service center and got it replaced with a new iPhone. Said that Apple doesn't repair their products here only replaces them I don't know if it's the same situation for the macs but again the telephone support and all those extra goodies are pointless as its no where compared to the American Standard. You never know sometimes even if there is a well known issue they might refuse to address it and at the same time they might be very co-operative too.

Applecare is not an investment, it's more like insurance. After three years, if nothing goes wrong, it would have sucked, however, if you have even one repair, it will likely more than pay for itself.

With the retina MBPs, I think it's a good idea to get Applecare because of how unfixable these units are. I just had my screen replaced. That is probably worth about three times what applecare costs. My 2011 also had problems (radeongate), but it was more than three years when that happened so I was SOL there and I didn't have applecare.

Before that, I had applecare one of my powerbooks and nothing went wrong. I've been using Mac since the 80s and I've never had a problem before the last two machines.

Also, if you decided to sell your machine before the three years is up, it's more attractive to buyers because of the warranty.

If you buy it at a reseller for $200 it's worth it. Not $350 though.

I have been using Dell laptops for years now and not once have I never needed the warranty, not once has something ever gone wrong at all except a battery replacement. Apple being a more premium brand I feel their products should be more durable. I did get a 100$ gift card with my computer though that will ease up the price to 100-150$.but still. I rather use that money and gift card for something else

 

[yg17]

Mine paid for itself when I had to get the screen replaced due to white spots.

 

[matt3526]

How did you purchase it for only 50 and from where?



Well here in India there aren't any options as square trade or anything as such it's either the authorized service center or just trusting some random guy. We can't post our computers but the local Apple authorized service center is quite close to my home, i had the iPhone 5 and the center key was placed incorrectly like it was titled I went to the service center and got it replaced with a new iPhone. Said that Apple doesn't repair their products here only replaces them I don't know if it's the same situation for the macs but again the telephone support and all those extra goodies are pointless as its no where compared to the American Standard. You never know sometimes even if there is a well known issue they might refuse to address it and at the same time they might be very co-operative too.



I have been using Dell laptops for years now and not once have I never needed the warranty, not once has something ever gone wrong at all except a battery replacement. Apple being a more premium brand I feel their products should be more durable. I did get a 100$ gift card with my computer though that will ease up the price to 100-150$.but still. I rather use that money and gift card for something else

If you work in higher education or are a student then you get an education discount on production of a valid ID card. From memory it's 15% off macs and applecare for £50 in the UK

 

[happyfrappy]

Personally I regret buying it for my 13" MBP, nothing ever failed besides the power adapter(4yrs later) which Apple replaced at no cost. If you buy a Mac with an IGP the odds of logicboard failure is minimal. With SSDs the failure rate is rare and if Apple got a bad batch a recall will still cover it.

As far as larger 15" models, with the dGPU failures over the years if you go with nVidia graphics(or if they bring back AMD again) I'd suggest having AppleCare.

For past experience my 12" PowerBook G4 had two major repairs due to a battery recall damaging it. Parents trayloader iMac G3 was a nightmare, PSU blew, analog board issues, etc... however it happened during the 1st year of AppleCare but it did push them into getting AppleCare(replacement iMac had a HDD failure on the 2nd year & two mouse replacements)

 

[rick3000]

Just like with all insurance, it's a waste of money until you need it.

I have purchased AppleCare for every Apple product I have ever purchased, and on the few occasions when I needed it, it made it worth buying every other time.

 

[talmy]

I've purchased 14 Macs over the years (5 iMacs, 4 Mac minis, 5 MacBook/MacBookPro/iBooks) 12 of which I've had more than 3 years. Of those 12, only two have required repairs in years 2 and 3, those covered by AppleCare. Of those two, one (an iMac) had a failed display, which was costly and well worth AppleCare. The other was a Mac mini with a failed disk drive, which cost me less to replace than the charge for AppleCare. (The two Macs under 3 years old have had no repairs, and I've replaced 3 HDDs after 3 years.)

So repair costs was roughly $800. If I bought 12 AppleCares, that would be $2786.

 

[Freyqq]

Depends on the cost of the computer, as applecare doesn't change in price based on the cost of the computer. It makes sense for a 15" MBP, but not for a cheaper one like a MBA.

 

[macfreak101]

Depends on the cost of the computer, as applecare doesn't change in price based on the cost of the computer. It makes sense for a 15" MBP, but not for a cheaper one like a MBA.

I've purchased 14 Macs over the years (5 iMacs, 4 Mac minis, 5 MacBook/MacBookPro/iBooks) 12 of which I've had more than 3 years. Of those 12, only two have required repairs in years 2 and 3, those covered by AppleCare. Of those two, one (an iMac) had a failed display, which was costly and well worth AppleCare. The other was a Mac mini with a failed disk drive, which cost me less to replace than the charge for AppleCare. (The two Macs under 3 years old have had no repairs, and I've replaced 3 HDDs after 3 years.)

So repair costs was roughly $800. If I bought 12 AppleCares, that would be $2786.

Personally I regret buying it for my 13" MBP, nothing ever failed besides the power adapter(4yrs later) which Apple replaced at no cost. If you buy a Mac with an IGP the odds of logicboard failure is minimal. With SSDs the failure rate is rare and if Apple got a bad batch a recall will still cover it.

As far as larger 15" models, with the dGPU failures over the years if you go with nVidia graphics(or if they bring back AMD again) I'd suggest having AppleCare.

For past experience my 12" PowerBook G4 had two major repairs due to a battery recall damaging it. Parents trayloader iMac G3 was a nightmare, PSU blew, analog board issues, etc... however it happened during the 1st year of AppleCare but it did push them into getting AppleCare(replacement iMac had a HDD failure on the 2nd year & two mouse replacements)

I have the retina 2014 model 13inch. So the parts of it are really expensive of anything goes wrong.

 

[talmy]

I have the retina 2014 model 13inch. So the parts of it are really expensive of anything goes wrong.

Yes, but thats a big "if". It's a gamble, and just like any other insurance.

The basic rule for insurance is to buy it if the cost of a repair would be devastating to your finances. Otherwise don't buy it (and perhaps put that money into savings) because over the long haul you lose with insurance -- after all it is a source of profit for the seller.

 

[foobarbazqux]

I'm probably in the minority around here but I treat AppleCare just like any other insurance I'm offered when I buy a non-Apple product... I never buy it. So far at least, I'm way ahead. Even If I had to completely replace my current laptop, I'd still be way ahead. In the long run, you generally loose if you always buy insurance (otherwise, companies wouldn't offer it). Of course, it could take a long time for this line of thinking to pay off and it helps if you're in a financial position to afford any necessary repairs or replacements. Even still, there's always going to be a small minority who are just unlucky and wind up having to use the insurance at least once for every device they buy.

 

[MacTCE]

I've always purchased AppleCare for my MBP since they're my most heavily used devices. With my 2012 15" rMBP there were three groups of dead pixels on the screen that were big enough to extremely noticeable. This occurred after the first year and I had purchased AppleCare. I can't remember the exact amount, but the replacement would have cost me over $1000 out of pocket. So I justified purchasing AppleCare on my 2013 13" rMBP for just saving me that expense.