iPod Question about Apple Retail iPod Service.

[Mr. MacBook]

I really want a product red iPod(which they inconviniently ONLY sell at apple retail stores) but when my Microsoft Zune broke from screen damage(might have been logic board failure or something) the costco guy asked what was wrong, i told him, he looked at it, and said "Alright which way do you want your money back?"

I am hoping to purchase the iPod nano Product Red refurbsished iPod with AppleCare, but is customer support too tight? My brother's video iPod broke one day, and apple retail store CS spent 40 minutes looking it over before giving him a brand-new iPod Video.

How strict is Apple retail store customer support? Do you have experiences?

Also, will having my Refurbished iPod loosen it up a little, because they can fail easier?

 

[pianoman]

just to clarify, you cannot buy a refurbished item in the store unless they have it. the items listed online are only available online. each individual store has different refurbished items based on what was returned to them and what they were able to fix/repackage.

Apple will try to fix anything before giving you a replacement. that's just smart business - if it costs less to fix something than replace it, they'll try to fix it first. if they determine that it is unfixable, they'll replace it within three years if you have the AppleCare extended warranty. whether it takes them 40 or 5 minutes to figure out the problem is up to the Genius behind the bar and how long it takes him/her to conclude it's truly dead.

the fact that your iPod would be a refurbished item means nothing to them. it comes with the same warranty as any other product (new or refurbished).

 

[Mr. MacBook]

yeah, but are they strict about what they repair?

Will they like super-lookover a broken screen iPod to see if it was damaged by yourself, or will they just give it a quick glance on it and determine whether they will replace it or not?

 

[pianoman]

i don't know how an iPod screen could break without some type of human interaction. i've never known an iPod to break itself.

in my experience, they generally give you the benefit of the doubt. they won't replace your iPod, for instance, if you ran over with your car and it's smushed but they will if it's fully intact and just won't turn on.

 

[crazzyeddie]

Just for the record, the AppleCare for iPod is only 1 additional year (for a total of 2 years), NOT 3 years. Apple also does not "repair" your iPod. You either get a pre-repaired one (that day or once one gets into the store) or they decide that your iPod is abused and you get nothing.

If you break the screen on your iPod, it will not be covered under AppleCare. Period. Screens don't just break themselves and you would have a very hard time proving that it did.

That being said, I think the service at the genius bar is very good. No genius would waste 40 minutes looking at an iPod unless it looked like it had been abused. If your iPod just breaks one day, you can usually get a new one within 20 minutes (or at least have one on order).

 

[Mr. MacBook]

Ah, i guess that really sucks balls then.

I guess ill just get the black iPod video, because my mom sucks balls and thinks my nano will break even when i buy a speck products ToughSkin for it. What a loser.

 

[pianoman]

while they may seem less durable, the new nanos can take quite a beating on the outside. plus, since they run on flash memory and not a hard drive with spinning parts, the insides are less prone to break, too.

unless you're going to watch movies, play games, or want more capacity than 8GB, i think the nano is the way to go.