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Should I buy Applecare or just rely on my Amex extended warranty

T

tigress666

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Apr 14, 2010
3,288
17
Washington State
Ok, here's a question for people, particularly people who have Amex cards and have dealt with extended warranties through them.

I'm on a real tight budget right now. My computer will turn a year old in May/June. I don't trust Apple quality judging by my experiences with their laptops and some people including my family's experiences with their laptops. Sadly, I really do think they've gone downhill in quality. I've never had issues with their computers made before 2000 at least. All of those lasted at least 5 years and only one of them had issues before 5 years of age. Two of them I still have and one of those two still works with all the original parts. To be fair, those all were desktops though. So, while I wouldn't normally consider an extended warranty, this time I would.

I bought my macbook with my Amex card which means I get a year extended warranty already on it through Amex. I've heard they are pretty good about it, but it still seems like a lot more hassle with them (gotta put in a claim and have them re-imburse me. Plus, I'm still skeptical how good something can be that I'm not really paying for).

I've heard lots of good things about Applecare, but it's almost 300 dollars. And technically, it will only give me one more year of extended warranty since I do have Amex. But it also would be easier cause I could just drop my computer off at Apple and just have them fix it and not worry about trying to get re-imbursement (If I wasn't on a tight budget that in itself would be worth it).

(Oh, I also pay about 30 a year through State Farm for accidental damage/theft/loss insurance on it. The insurance is cheap and I probably couldn't afford another one of these until I get a better job so very worth the peace of mind for me).

So, is Applecare worth it for the extra year and less hassle? Is Amex pretty good that it's not much of a hassle to get re-imbursement through them?
 
Here's my take on extended warranties. There's no guarantee that you will use the extended warranty at all, but it is a life saver when you have to use one to cover repairs. They are always a gamble. So the best way to look at extended warranties is to judge how much peace of mind you get from one and how much of a financial hardship it is for you. IMHO, the top tier laptops today will probably last at least 2 years without any major problems if babied and taken care of and probably make it to year 3 as well this is assuming of course that you have a properly made machine that has no hidden defects. Beyond that its a matter of luck but the problem is extended warranties, like Applecare, don't protect beyond year 3 of ownership.

If I were in your shoes I would try to figure out if the $250 is worth it to get one more year of warranty coverage. It may or may not be.
 
I'm sticking with the Amex warranty. I figure for $350, I can sell my 2011 MBP in 2013 put the $350 with the selling amount, and buy a new one before I'm really out of my Amex warranty.
 
I can attest for Amex's extended warranty programs.

I've used the extended warranty, return protection and purchase protection. I've never had any issue with a claim being rejected unfairly. The company they outsource these services to, www.thewg.com, is usually very friendly about the whole process.

That said, it is definitely more work than AppleCare. You have to prepare the requisite documentation, send it to them, wait for them to review it, and then get your decision. If you fill out something incorrectly or fail to include something, you have to resubmit. It takes time. Reimbursement is typically slow as well.

If you value your time, go with AppleCare. In my personal experience, AppleCare repairs have never exceeded 3 business days.

Also, and whether this applies to your or not, I don't know, but it's important to note that none of these Amex services apply to refurbished products. If you bought a refurb Mac, you'll have to rely on AppleCare for your extended warranty needs.
 
In my experience with the amex extended warranty, it not worth the hassle I'd rather buy the applecare
 
Last edited:
namtaB said:
Here's my take on extended warranties. There's no guarantee that you will use the extended warranty at all, but it is a life saver when you have to use one to cover repairs. They are always a gamble. So the best way to look at extended warranties is to judge how much peace of mind you get from one and how much of a financial hardship it is for you. IMHO, the top tier laptops today will probably last at least 2 years without any major problems if babied and taken care of and probably make it to year 3 as well this is assuming of course that you have a properly made machine that has no hidden defects. Beyond that its a matter of luck but the problem is extended warranties, like Applecare, don't protect beyond year 3 of ownership.

If I were in your shoes I would try to figure out if the $250 is worth it to get one more year of warranty coverage. It may or may not be.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the replies so far.

I'd like to respond to this saying, yeah, in general, true about extended warranties. But in my experience with my macbooks, I don't think Apple care is much of a risk. It just seems like the MB/MBP just isn't made that well (or has lots of quality control issues). I mean my last MB had right after it turned a year the hard drive died, the plastic on the top case cracked, the little plug thing you put on the power adaptor to make it more portable broke, the fan broke, the mouse click broke. Current MBP already has been in to replace the trackpad and have a key replaced (and it seems keys on the keyboard breaking is not an uncommon problem with this one as I've seen at least two threads now dedicated to issues with that on the 2010 model).

And I did end up fixing my last MB on my own (and dealt with the cracked plastic until I had to replace the fan), but it not being a unibody it was a lot easier to replace the keyboard and fan (if I had to replace this keyboard or trackpad not sure I'd be comfortable doing it as it seems I'd have to disconnect a lot more internals to do so). All of the MB's issues would have happened in the applecare warranty period (though the fan would have been cutting it close).

If I didn't like the OS so well I'd seriously consider looking at other laptops instead (but I will give Apple that the laptop has other good features other than the OS like the trackpad which I absolutely love and the good battery and I do like the screen a lot as well).
 
I have had zero problems with Mac gear, I have a 2005 G5 that has been in service since new, I bought used from a newspaper design department in 2008 so this unit has a lot of hours on the clock..Also have MBP 13, Mac Pro, & Mac Mini all so far are in perfect running order...all but the Mini is out of factory warranty. Just don't see the need with that kind of service record that the products have...Maybe I've just been lucky, but so far no problems at all....
Even if you have a problem, could be something you could repair yourself or at a low cost in a shop, or even sell and replace the unit, even broken they bring a small mint on Ebay...Resell value is just crazy with Mac's, I've seen them touch retail prices even after a year or so of use.. Bottom line what ever makes you feel good about your gear is the way you should go..Good Luck
 
iPhone1 said:
AMEX warranties also DO NOT cover BTO products and I believe the replacement limit is only $1000.
Click to expand...

Yes they do. You get the same exact warranty as the product you have for an additional year and the replacement limit is $3000
 
tigress666 said:
Thanks for the replies so far.

I'd like to respond to this saying, yeah, in general, true about extended warranties. But in my experience with my macbooks, I don't think Apple care is much of a risk. It just seems like the MB/MBP just isn't made that well (or has lots of quality control issues). I mean my last MB had right after it turned a year the hard drive died, the plastic on the top case cracked, the little plug thing you put on the power adaptor to make it more portable broke, the fan broke, the mouse click broke. Current MBP already has been in to replace the trackpad and have a key replaced (and it seems keys on the keyboard breaking is not an uncommon problem with this one as I've seen at least two threads now dedicated to issues with that on the 2010 model).

And I did end up fixing my last MB on my own (and dealt with the cracked plastic until I had to replace the fan), but it not being a unibody it was a lot easier to replace the keyboard and fan (if I had to replace this keyboard or trackpad not sure I'd be comfortable doing it as it seems I'd have to disconnect a lot more internals to do so). All of the MB's issues would have happened in the applecare warranty period (though the fan would have been cutting it close).

If I didn't like the OS so well I'd seriously consider looking at other laptops instead (but I will give Apple that the laptop has other good features other than the OS like the trackpad which I absolutely love and the good battery and I do like the screen a lot as well).
Click to expand...

Interesting. Sorry to hear about your bad experiences with Apple. I really think its a crap shoot. I've heard people say their Macbooks have lasted years without any issues.

I've owned a Dell with problems in the first 2 months and I've owned a Thinkpad that lasted 5 years with no issues and then needed the screen replaced twice. I own a HP that is still running strong after 6 years but everyone I know who has an HP says its a piece of junk that constantly needs repairs. The Vaio I currently use as a PC alternative is going strong with no issues.

Nowadays, I look to use a laptop for no longer than 3 years and think about replacement at the two year mark. So I inevitably pass on the extended warranty since I am covered for 1 year anyway by the basic warranty. It seems to be working out for me so far.
 
Figure out how long you expect to keep the product and go from there. You'll either be covered for 2 or 4 years, so I never buy AC for my laptops as I will sell them before they are 2 so the original warranty + AMEX is good enough.

For my Mac Pro, I buy AC so I'm covered for 4 years.

Note, the AMEX warranty does NOT cover refurbished items.
 
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Just got a refurb. Sucks that Amex doesn't cover refurbed. Will have to get AppleCare I guess.
 
namtaB said:
Interesting. Sorry to hear about your bad experiences with Apple. I really think its a crap shoot. I've heard people say their Macbooks have lasted years without any issues.
Click to expand...

Well I used to have great luck with their desktops/pre2000 machines (I've only had macbooks which also have been my only laptops for any post 2000 macintoshes so I don't know if it is that Apple's quality has gone downhill or just the nature of laptops or apple laptops aren't that good).

Before my MB/MBP my crappiest mac is the Performa I list in my signature. And it didn't start having issues until it was three years old (I think a hard drive died, then eventually the CD drive died. And then the hard drive I replaced the hard drive died or at least something in the boot up software got corrupted while I was getting info off of it I wanted so I could erase it and give it to a freind and with no CD drive I had no way of booting it up and getting anything else off of it or fixing it). I also had a Mac 128k and a Mac SE which both lasted at least 5 years (oddly enough, both breaking shortly after I got a replacement computer. Actually, the Performa did it's final break also after I replaced it. Apparently my Macs get heartbroken when I replace them :D ).

Shoot, I have a 400 MHz G4 (also listed in my sig) that far as I know still works (at least it did when the hard drive on my MB died). And everything including hard drive on it is original. It's about 11 years old now.
 
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