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should i get applcecare for the ibook?

S

seebol

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 7, 2004
29
0
Could everyone who has ever owned an ibook leave their thoughts on whether applecare is necessary? Who has actually taken advantage of their applecare, and what for?

I'm a pretty computer savvy person, and I could figure out the OS/software I'm pretty sure. I'm looking more at the hardware/warranty part of the deal. How common are dead pixels or HD failures that only show up after the one year warranty that comes with all ibooks expires?

I need to figure out if I want to buy the warranty...$183 is a bit pricey.
 
I think you should definitely buy AppleCare, though you can buy it at any time during the original 1 year warranty so don't buy straight away.

A single out of warranty repair can easily cost more that AppleCare, so it's worth the expense.

Dead pixels are very uncommon after prolonged use, you'll either have them from the start or not at all.
 
No

The only thing that I have ever needed AppleCare for for my iBook is that the ethernet port has broken twice... and AppleCare will not cover it. They call it misuse, which I can't agree with as I was EXTREMELY careful when plugged/ungplugging/plugging. The repair was 800 dollars. The second time i just got AirPort, which i love btw. My advice is to look into secondary warranties instead of AppleCare, which are available from many apple authorized dealers. I'm in the process of locating a retailer whose warranty DEFINATELY covers ethernet port/logic board failures.
 
Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes. Oh and yes.

Any product with a built in display can easily end up costing more than the Applecare to repair should something go wrong. Plus you get extended phone support, repairs and some great diagnosis software. its well worth the investment.
 
u have one year to get it, thus if u can spare twenty bucks a month u can buy apple care ten months from now.its like saving 75 cents a day. :)
 
yes.

and also take an insurance for it from an insurance company. those cost about 30 a year and cover accidental drops, which applecare doesn't. i got 2000 euros when my tibook screen broke ;)
 
it will pay off big time if something like the screen goes wrong in the next year or so. the number of people i see saying that something happened just after their 1 year was up! also it will make it easier to sell if you have to if you have applecare. (all you have to do is transfer it)

plus its not even that expensive for an ibook, not like the powerbook :eek:
 
Yes, it's worth it. A lot of people got shafted on logic board failures and had to pay out before Apple admitted there was a problem - with Applecare there's no argument. It's Apple's problem. I'm not convinced it's worth it on desktops but for portables definitely. Check on ebay to see if you can get Applecare cheaper. I got my ibook one for half price and my powermac one for £50 - you've got a year - just keep looking.

Or see if you can find a retailer that does a free warranty for more than 1 year. Over here John Lewis do a two year warranty as standard and apparently they're a lot easier to convince than Apple that your machine's a lemon. ;)
 
yeah john lewis are v good from what i've heard. i had a friend who had an ibook and 18 months in the screen started flickering when he opened and closed it. we thought it might be a connector problem for the screen, they agreed and said it wasnt good enough and gave him a replacement there and then! i think he moaned a bit but it got him what he wanted, and a new (same speed) ibook. if he had bought somewhere else and not bought applecare then he would have been stuffed. why dont more shops do extended waranties for free?
 
Shame John Lewis only do standard spec machines and not BTO's. If they did BTOs I definitely wouldn't buy anything from those clueless idiots at the Euro Applestore
 
no...and then yes!

Don't buy it until the 364th day. You are covered until then - Applecare is an extension warranty. Phone support runs out after 90 days under the stock warranty, so if you *need* to talk with someone from Apple on the 233rd day, buy Applecare then. Or, post here - and we can help! :D I purchased Applecare on the 362nd day. No problems ever - but on a portable - you really do want that insurance. You'll find ~$180 within a year!! :p
 
Well, I don't know any Joh Lewis stores around here (or Apple Store's for that matter)--I'll prolly order online from apple.com to take advantage of the free ipod and free printers)

But I'm still wondering, what kinda problems could happen to a laptop after the one -year warranty expires? They talk about ibbok's ruggrdness and apple's great design, and the ibook has had the logic board problem stamped out. Any other dormant problems w/ the ibook?
 
seebol said:
Well, I don't know any Joh Lewis stores around here (or Apple Store's for that matter)--I'll prolly order online from apple.com to take advantage of the free ipod and free printers)

But I'm still wondering, what kinda problems could happen to a laptop after the one -year warranty expires? They talk about ibbok's ruggrdness and apple's great design, and the ibook has had the logic board problem stamped out. Any other dormant problems w/ the ibook?
Click to expand...

It's less of a problem in Apple notebooks - more of a general notebook feature. Very compact design - few user-replaceable parts. With any notebook there is a higher chance of something going wrong; Apple makes some of the best ones.
 
I'm on the side of buying AppleCare. Wouldn't be without the policy. It gives a feeling of confidence. My wife has a iBook and had the hard drive replace and screen, so well worth the price. If you have the money available to pay for any repair, then you could bypass. But I would not recommend that option.
 
carletonmusic said:
Don't buy it until the 364th day. You are covered until then - Applecare is an extension warranty. Phone support runs out after 90 days under the stock warranty, so if you *need* to talk with someone from Apple on the 233rd day, buy Applecare then. Or, post here - and we can help! :D I purchased Applecare on the 362nd day. No problems ever - but on a portable - you really do want that insurance. You'll find ~$180 within a year!! :p
Click to expand...

What? You must be joking or misinformed. Applecare extends the warranty from 1 year to three years FROM THE DATE THE MAC WAS PURCHASED, not from the date apple care was purchased. To answer the original poster, YES!!!!! If I had not had Apple Care on my iBook, I would not have gotten this brand new G4 iBook to replace the older faulty one.
 
YES!!!! i know i had an older iBook (the one that has the iBook logic board repair program) and my iBook was in the shop twice in the first year and twice since then. i do not have applecare (dumb idea) so have only been saved b/c of the logic board extension. i got a PB after the 2nd falier and will be getting applccare before my 1st year runs out. its worth it! otherwise its boud to go bad at one year and one day then youre out of luck
 
miscommunication

OnceUGoMac said:
What? You must be joking or misinformed. Applecare extends the warranty from 1 year to three years FROM THE DATE THE MAC WAS PURCHASED, not from the date apple care was purchased. To answer the original poster, YES!!!!! If I had not had Apple Care on my iBook, I would not have gotten this brand new G4 iBook to replace the older faulty one.
Click to expand...

Nope, I am doing neither. Maybe my post wasn't clear. Just to start, Applecare is a 2 year extension of full coverage which starts the day the 1 year warranty expires. If you buy Apple care from day one - you have a three year warranty. If you don't buy it right away, you are covered by Apple's normal 1 year warranty. You can buy Applecare to extend your coverage anytime within that first year. If you buy it on the 322nd day of ownership, it extends your coverage two more years past the inital one year coverage - same as doing it at the outset.

The only thing that you miss out on is phone support after 90 days if you don't buy Applecare. (If you buy it from the getgo, you get phone support all the way through.) All I was trying to say is that if you want to wait to buy Applecare, you can - as long as you buy it within the first 365 days of ownership.

If you run into something that needs phone support on day 113, you could buy Applecare that day - then use the phone support. I didn't mean to imply that applecare gave you three years from its purchase. To be exact - Applecare is a 2 year extension of full coverage which starts the day the 1 year warranty expires.

Does that make more sense now? Few people realize that you DO NOT have to purchase Applecare at the time of computer purchase. You CAN purchase this 2 year extension any time within the first year of autocoverage. (Again, the downside is that you don't get phone support after 90 days unless you purchase Applecare up front)

applecarecoverage11152002.gif
 
I just bought a 12" PB with the Cram and Jam iPod promotion. I definitely can't afford the applecare right now so I am probably going to wait. But I was just wondering if there is any sort of discount(prorated) if you wait out longer? Or do you pay the full price throughout the 1st year?
 
TheSkipper said:
I just bought a 12" PB with the Cram and Jam iPod promotion. I definitely can't afford the applecare right now so I am probably going to wait. But I was just wondering if there is any sort of discount(prorated) if you wait out longer? Or do you pay the full price throughout the 1st year?
Click to expand...

Nope - full price. The bulk of Applecare service doesn't begin until after the first year, so there would be no incentive to offer a prorated amount. Apple goes out of its way to sell Applecare at the time of purchase - it makes great sense - but you definitely don't have to. I saved $249 when I purchased my new powerbook. After 362 days of owning it, I had saved enough to buy Applecare - I did that day - and have been happy/safe since!! :D
 
its diffinitly worth the applecare, lets say something small like your battery dies that's 139.00 and whatever labor the service people charge lets say 75.00. so you've spent 214 you can get applecare as cheap from resellers as 219.00. the logic boards are still a problem in some units i have yet to see it in a G4 though
 
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