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should apple care be free?

H

hkala

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 26, 2005
56
0
cleveland
so we all payed a pretty penny (most of us) for our beloved machines and for those that don't have apple care the warrenties run out sooner than i can say "windows sucks". but my point is that, don't we deserve free apple care or some sort of extended warrenties???

what do u peeps think?
 
That is like saying to saying to Ford, GM, Honda, etc so after my standard bumper to bumper warranty period is over you are still obligated to fix my car because i paid a lot of money for it.

nuk nuk nuk
 
Also, I think you should understand that applecare or any type of extended warranty is considered insurance. Hence very profitable. statistically, they can calculate the repair rate for things over time and set the price to make a nice profit.

apple is a publically traded company, and have a fiduciary duty to actually make profit for their share holders.
 
buying applecare is pretty much the biggest waste of money i could think of. ok, burning it might be a bigger waste, but at least it kind of looks cool.
 
Apple gives you one year of free AppleCare with any mac or ipod. When you "buy" AppleCare, you are adding another 2 years to this. Apple allows you to do this at any time within the free AppleCare time period (i.e., within the first year).

It's a good system. What more do you want? If they made it longer, they would have to charge more for their products. No thanks.

I like having the option to add two more years of warranty after owning the product for a whole year. After a year, I have a better idea if I really need to extend the AppleCare. It's my decision.
 
If you want to save money, buy a PC -- but you'll likely run into a sales pitch for an extended warranty when you buy it.

Heck Dell still sells some machines with 90 day warranties for $399 computers.

Can't blame them for sticking it to you when you add a warranty.

Heck, buy a used VW under warranty -- slap a Bentley badge on the thing and ask for your free $225k Bentley loaner when you take in your $15k car for an oil change and tire rotation.

Heck you deserve the best warranty service the VW Auto Group offers -- for free.

:rolleyes:
 
Sun Baked said:
Heck Dell still sells some machines with 90 day warranties for $399 computers.
Click to expand...
90 days seems to be standard now on all Dell's home PCs, even the most expensive XPS desktop and laptop. They charge an extra $29 for a 1yr warranty. They have different options for businesses.

The 3 yr warranty for their XPS laptop is $279 (12% of the base price), $179 for the XPS deskop (11% of the base price), $189 (35% of the base price) for their cheapest Inspiron 1200 laptop and $119 (40% of the base price) for their cheapest Dimension 2400 desktop. All base prices include the current discounts.
 
mcarnes said:
Apple gives you one year of free AppleCare with any mac or ipod. When you "buy" AppleCare, you are adding another 2 years to this. Apple allows you to do this at any time within the free AppleCare time period (i.e., within the first year).

It's a good system. What more do you want? If they made it longer, they would have to charge more for their products. No thanks.

I like having the option to add two more years of warranty after owning the product for a whole year. After a year, I have a better idea if I really need to extend the AppleCare. It's my decision.
Click to expand...

I agree. I think it's a good system. One year is not bad for free.

However, what I dont like is the 90-day telephone support. (its 90 days isn't it?) That should last the full year at least for hardware issues and not software stuff.
 
Currently I'm very pissed off with the support I'm getting in my first year, they can shove any extra ££££ for extended "care" right up their arse!!! :mad:
 
mcarnes said:
Apple gives you one year of free AppleCare with any mac or ipod. When you "buy" AppleCare, you are adding another 2 years to this. Apple allows you to do this at any time within the free AppleCare time period (i.e., within the first year).
Click to expand...

With this free year of apple care (with your new Mac or iPod), do you still get all the perks of $350 apple care?
IE
Can I reserve my favorite genius at the genius bar?
Can I call Apple every three hours and ask for help?
Can I adhere my PowerBook to a desk, call it a desktop, and have my favorite genius service it on-site?

My mind is swimming with fun (and somewhat trouble-rousing) possibilities!
 
I think Apple Care for my iBook is like 269.00....they can keep it and I'll buy another.

I will buy it with my PM G5 at year's end, though.
 
PlaceofDis said:
especially for the powerbooks ;)
Click to expand...


That makes no sense because it is much more likely one will drop or somehow break their Powerbook or iBook while it is unlikely someone will seriously damage their iMac or Mac mini
 
I got a question on apple care, when i bought my pb in Aug along with applecare. I never sent in that form thingy. and i put it on my desk, left for school and haven't seen it since... Do i need to send that in or does apple have it on file. Can i do it online...? I have the box.....
 
I think it should either be cheaper for the extended 2 years or they should add an extra year if they don't want to lower the price.
 
ClarkeB said:
That makes no sense because it is much more likely one will drop or somehow break their Powerbook or iBook while it is unlikely someone will seriously damage their iMac or Mac mini
Click to expand...

oh i agree that it should be more than a desktop, no question, but there is a price disparity between the pb and ibooks, is annoying thats all, but i was half joking too :D
 
Considering the price of the machines new, I think that a two year warranty period would be better as standard. Apple Care is a lot to pay, despite the obvious benefits, so maybe if they lowered the price, it would make sense.

It's like mobile phones, I suppose - another form of tech that usually comes with high care package costs, but at least they usually send pre-paid p+p for you to return your item. Having only just purchased my first Mac, i've never had the experience with Apple Care, but would I be right in thinking that you have to pay for returns, or personally take the faulty item back to your nearest Apple store? Please correct me if i'm wrong, as i'm simply assuming.

If that is the case, then the cost should certainly be reflective of transportation of the item from your doorstep and back again.
 
puckhead193 I got a question on apple care, when i bought my pb in Aug along with applecare. I never sent in that form thingy. and i put it on my desk, left for school and haven't seen it since... Do i need to send that in or does apple have it on file. Can i do it online...? I have the box.....
Click to expand...

You have to send it in either online or by mail before your 1 yr. is up. Unless it was done at the Apple store for you but you would know if they did that.
Side note: I bought Apple care at the Apple store when I got my iBook and the Apple care never got reg. so it was a good thing I called to make sure it had been placed :confused: things can still get messed up :rolleyes:
 
Artful Dodger said:
You have to send it in either online or by mail before your 1 yr. is up.
Click to expand...

Not exacly true. One of our iBooks at work stoped working out of the blue two months after the warantee ran out. I bought Apple care off of ebay, then told apple I had purchased it while still under the warantee peroid but had forgotten to register it. They were more than happy to register the Apple care and fix the iBook.
 
RandomDeadHead
Quote:
Originally Posted by Artful Dodger
You have to send it in either online or by mail before your 1 yr. is up.


Not exacly true. One of our iBooks at work stoped working out of the blue two months after the warantee ran out. I bought Apple care off of ebay, then told apple I had purchased it while still under the warantee peroid but had forgotten to register it. They were more than happy to register the Apple care and fix the iBook.
Click to expand...

That's good to hear, the Apple care person I talked to was nice but that's what she had said. I can only think it makes it "maybe" easier for them but maybe not. Really if you think about it one would just buy the Apple care (box) and leave it until there is a problem and not think to register it.
 
AppleCare is a helluva deal as it is, even for a PowerBook. Consider this, if you buy a 1.8 GHz iMac G5 and the one year warranty is up and you thought that AppleCare was too expensive so you didn't buy it. Now, the LCD display craps out on you. Well its going to cost you about 3x the price of $169 to replace that display, not even counting the labor fees.

Or

If you have a 12" PowerBook G4 thats out of warranty and the logicboard goes on it. Its going to cost more than $349 to replace that logicboard, plus the cost of labor.

You also get coverage on almost any Apple branded product connected/insalled on your Mac. AirPort Extreme Cards/Base Stations, Bluetooth Keyboard/Mouse, iSights, OS X, iWork, etc are all covered under the AppleCare warranty. So if you have any problems with anything like that and you have the original warranty, and/or AppleCare you can get free support and GENUINE Apple Parts.

Its a great deal anyway you look at it.
 
Nothing in life is free.

If 3 years of warranty and support were free, then you'd probably see the prices of everything jump up accordingly. So, in the end, it wll never be free.
 
edesignuk said:
Currently I'm very pissed off with the support I'm getting in my first year, they can shove any extra ££££ for extended "care" right up their arse!!! :mad:
Click to expand...

You've got to bring that puppy to an Apple store! Phone support has always sucked at Apple. I know you're a brit so maybe you have no choice.

But I can tell you when my wife killed her iPod, I brought it in with no documentation except my driver's license, and I walked out with a brand new iPod in less than 3 minutes. No hassle at all, and very knowledgeable/friendly. Minimal paperwork, more like a "sign here" kind of thing. The guy just typed the serial number into the computer and could see when it was purchased, then made sure the names matched by looking at my driver's license, and that was it. He went in the back and brought out a brand new machine. I was very impressed.

The iPod was purchased online from the Apple and she broke it about 10 months later. No AppleCare was purchased.
 
mcarnes said:
You've got to bring that puppy to an Apple store! Phone support has always sucked at Apple. I know you're a brit so maybe you have no choice.
Click to expand...
I took it to an Apple store, after having spoken to AppleCare before I went to get the case logged and everything, so that it'd be simple and quick when I got to the store(!!!!). Only for those mother ******* in the store to tell me I need an appointment to return something for repair that I have already spoken to Apple about!!!! I was not, and am not amused. That coupled with all the other bull****, I'm logging a complaint :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

Seriously, I want to kill people at Apple right now :mad:
 
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