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Should I get Apple Care for Mac Pro?

B

bestthereis27

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 15, 2007
83
0
Hi everyone,

Just wanted to see what your opinions were. Should I get Apple Care on my 2008 Mac Pro? I just bought the Pro last week and the 1st year warranty will last until March 2010. So i do have time to think about it.

Unlike a laptop or imac, I dont have a screen to worry about and most of the parts are pretty user replaceable. Should i invest in Apple care just in case?
Thanks.
 
"User Replaceable" in the sense that they will replace $1000 in your checking account with a new Logic Board in 2011.

I'd get it.

My Dual G5 2.0 had Applecare and the 2nd time it crapped out they gave me a Mac Pro....best investment I ever made.
 
Definitely buy Apple Care for your Mac Pro. I think everyone should buy apple care if your paying more than $1000. Even the mac mini I think people should buy apple care.

You can buy Apple Care on eBay for so much cheaper.
 
jjahshik32 said:
Definitely buy Apple Care for your Mac Pro. I think everyone should buy apple care if your paying more than $1000. Even the mac mini I think people should buy apple care.

You can buy Apple Care on eBay for so much cheaper.
Click to expand...

You are right!!! I didn't know this... Is there any issues with buying from ebay? How is it that people can sell Applecare online for this kind of price? It can't be legitimate can it?
 
VirtualRain said:
You are right!!! I didn't know this... Is there any issues with buying from ebay? How is it that people can sell Applecare online for this kind of price? It can't be legitimate can it?
Click to expand...

Its legit, I've bought it several times with no problems. Most of those people get apple care from deals or companies that they bought machines from. They just sell them cheap to get rid of what they dont need.
 
Not to mention that it greatly increases resale value and desirability.

I know when I am looking at used Macs I am always much happier to buy one with some Applecare remaining.

Nice to know that if something goes wrong it gets fixed for fre.

Especially as Apple usually replaces other cosmetic issues whilst they have the thing apart.

Do it !!!
 
You can also just watch Amazon over the next year , they always run sales during the year on Applecare.

Waiting to do that with my mini I just got, but I did get the Applecare for the Pro at the same time since I get business discount at the Apple store.
 
bestthereis27 said:
Hi everyone,

Just wanted to see what your opinions were. Should I get Apple Care on my 2008 Mac Pro? I just bought the Pro last week and the 1st year warranty will last until March 2010. So i do have time to think about it.

Unlike a laptop or imac, I dont have a screen to worry about and most of the parts are pretty user replaceable. Should i invest in Apple care just in case?
Thanks.
Click to expand...

My experience with my June 2004 Powermac G5.

Bought it without apple care. About 6 months in the 9600 died, got it replaced under warranty at an apple authorized repair center near by. About 1 year later I replaced the card with an X800. About 18 months after that I added 2GB of ram. 6 Months later I added a 300GB HD. After 3 1/2 years one of the processors died (still runs with 1, though it doesn't multi-task like it used to). So I am quite happy I didn't buy apple care because the 1 failure I had happened within the first year, and the next would have been out of warranty anyway.

I bought my 09MP without apple care, but I will be buying it at the end of the first year.


PS. User replaceable is 1 thing. The price of parts is another. It's great if you know how to replace the motherboard yourself, but it wouldn't change the fact that it might set you back $400.
 
Well...I'm gonna get roasted (mostly by people trying to justify their purchase), but I never buy extended warranties, on anything. Thats exactly what Applecare is. Apple doesn't offer it because they lose money on it. They don't offer it because they don't want you to be sad when something breaks. They offer it to make money....and they do. In fact, extended warranties are some of the highest profit margin items that retailers offer. Applecare is an extended warranty plain and simple.

I think you have to consider extended warranties on a global scale, meaning on everything you buy. To come out ahead, you'd have to bet correctly on the things that are going to break outside their warranty period while you own them.

In the 18 years that I have owned ump-teen Macs. I have had to pay $310 for out of warranty repairs....and I have never bought Applecare. There was the time I sent Steve Jobs an email and got my powerbook replaced...but thats a different story. I've seen a lot of people say "I always get it on a laptop"....I bet if they looked at what they spent on the extended warranty vs. what actually broke...they were out a bunch of dough over the period they owned various laptops, which will probably work out to 20 or 30 years. Guys who routinely use their laptops on construction sites may be the exception....I think Dell has a program that covers all damage.

My point is...if I had bought Applecare on just the various powerbooks we've owned, starting with the 100, we'd be out several thousand dollars. There are always stories of people getting accidental damage repaired under Applecare (which it was never meant to cover), but thats a crap shoot depending on the genius you're dealing with along with your ability to stretch the truth (lie).

I just got a new Mac pro and won't be getting Applecare....even if I have to pay $500 for a repair in 2 years...overall, I'm up....a lot.

YMMV
 
BConvery said:
Well...I'm gonna get roasted (mostly by people trying to justify their purchase), but I never buy extended warranties, on anything. Thats exactly what Applecare is. Apple doesn't offer it because they lose money on it. They don't offer it because they don't want you to be sad when something breaks. They offer it to make money....and they do. In fact, extended warranties are some of the highest profit margin items that retailers offer. Applecare is an extended warranty plain and simple.

I think you have to consider extended warranties on a global scale, meaning on everything you buy. To come out ahead, you'd have to bet correctly on the things that are going to break outside their warranty period while you own them.

In the 18 years that I have owned ump-teen Macs. I have had to pay $310 for out of warranty repairs....and I have never bought Applecare. There was the time I sent Steve Jobs an email and got my powerbook replaced...but thats a different story. I've seen a lot of people say "I always get it on a laptop"....I bet if they looked at what they spent on the extended warranty vs. what actually broke...they were out a bunch of dough over the period they owned various laptops, which will probably work out to 20 or 30 years. Guys who routinely use their laptops on construction sites may be the exception....I think Dell has a program that covers all damage.

My point is...if I had bought Applecare on just the various powerbooks we've owned, starting with the 100, we'd be out several thousand dollars. There are always stories of people getting accidental damage repaired under Applecare (which it was never meant to cover), but thats a crap shoot depending on the genius you're dealing with along with your ability to stretch the truth (lie).

I just got a new Mac pro and won't be getting Applecare....even if I have to pay $500 for a repair in 2 years...overall, I'm up....a lot.

YMMV
Click to expand...


It depends on how you use your computer. I keep my MacBook running 7/24 and have never turned it off for one year and a half. Finally last week, its logic board died. I feel glad that I have 3-yr warranty on it.
 
BConvery said:
Well...I'm gonna get roasted (mostly by people trying to justify their purchase), but I never buy extended warranties, on anything. Thats exactly what Applecare is. Apple doesn't offer it because they lose money on it. They don't offer it because they don't want you to be sad when something breaks. They offer it to make money....and they do. In fact, extended warranties are some of the highest profit margin items that retailers offer. Applecare is an extended warranty plain and simple.
Click to expand...

It all comes down to your tolerance for risk. Of course, taken as an average, applecare doesn't pay off, otherwise Apple wouldn't sell it.

But if you're the guy that ends up with a fried motherboard or busted LCD the day after the warranty expires, and you don't have applecare, the fact that you played the odds probably isn't of much consolation :)
 
shinchan72 said:
You can also just watch Amazon over the next year , they always run sales during the year on Applecare.

Waiting to do that with my mini I just got, but I did get the Applecare for the Pro at the same time since I get business discount at the Apple store.
Click to expand...

Eh, just go to ebay.
< $80 all year round.
 
I'm not big into most extended warranties, but I usually buy Applecare. Most of the Apple machines I've owned over the years got very heavy use and something always went wrong down the line outside of the 1-year factory warranty...

1. 2 laptops: 15" 1GHz TiBook (SuperDrive replaced TWICE, back when they were $300-400 parts) and a 12" 1.5GHz PBG4 (SuperDrive replaced once, logic board replaced after two years). My 15" 2.6GHz MBP has had a couple of in-warranty repairs so far - new logic board (faulty NVIDIA 8600M chip), new hard drive, new SuperDrive. Now, that I think of it, every Apple laptop I've owned eventually needed a SuperDrive replacement...

2. PMG5 dual 2.5GHz: leaking CPU heatsinks 2.5 years into ownership. Received a new logic board and new processors. Total cost of parts: around $1,800, I think, if I had to pay for it.

3. iMac C2D 2.16GHz: that one needed a new SuperDrive too, about 2 years in. No other problems though.

So, I think I got my money's worth on Applecare over the years. I bought it on my 2008 Mac Pro as well.

The other way (unrelated) that extended warranties have worked in my favor are with game consoles. They stuff so much powerful hardware into tiny little boxes that something always seems to go wrong. My XBox 360 has been replaced TWICE (one for dead disc drive and another for the red ring of death), my PS3 once (dead disc drive) - both outside of their factory warranties. But never a problem with my Wii, strangely.

PS. User replaceable is 1 thing. The price of parts is another. It's great if you know how to replace the motherboard yourself, but it wouldn't change the fact that it might set you back $400.
Click to expand...

Hah. If only Apple logic boards cost "only" $400... The typical PMG5 or Mac Pro logic board hovers around $800+.
 
rylin said:
Eh, just go to ebay.
< $80 all year round.
Click to expand...

I don't do Ebay, been screwed by both them and Paypal , do I don't want to have any dealings with them ever again. Much prefer the reliability and safety of buying directly from Amazon.

Zero issues ever with returns to ordering plus free shipping on everything. Just my personal preference.
 
Apple Display Covered

I'm not sure if anyone mentioned this, but if you buy an Apple Display at the same time as the computer, the AppleCare will cover the display as well (This works on Mac Pro, Macbook Pro, Mac Mini, not the iMac, and I'm not sure about the other laptops) To the OP, it sounds like you already had a display, but just a little fyi.
 
Traditionally didn't buy extended warranties. Have started to on some of my more expensive purchases, such as my car 5 years ago, my Toshiba laptop 34 months ago, and on my Mac Pro.

I've got back 5/8 of my extended warranty on the car, with 1 1/2 years to go. My Toshiba's paid for itself when the motherboard went out on the laptop. If I had paid $1000 on the Toshiba, I probably wouldn't have bought it, but I paid $2200.

A previous used vehicle I bought one, and only got about 1/2 of it back.

Generally, if people used over 1/2 of the purchase price of an extended warranty, the company would be losing money since you figure they pay a pretty good commission to the person who sells it.
 
bestthereis27 said:
Hi everyone,

Just wanted to see what your opinions were. Should I get Apple Care on my 2008 Mac Pro? I just bought the Pro last week and the 1st year warranty will last until March 2010. So i do have time to think about it.

Unlike a laptop or imac, I dont have a screen to worry about and most of the parts are pretty user replaceable. Should i invest in Apple care just in case?
Thanks.
Click to expand...

My 2007 mac pro ended up requiring several service calls and a couple months ago apple gave me a new 2008 mac pro because of it (logic board had been replaced twice already). Applecare certainly paid off for me and I will order it with every mac I buy.
 
I brought my mac about two weeks ago and just brought Apple Care for it. Sure I need more ram and another hard drive. But those things will come down in price...Apple Care won't!
 
bestthereis27 said:
Just wanted to see what your opinions were. Should I get Apple Care on my 2008 Mac Pro? I just bought the Pro last week and the 1st year warranty will last until March 2010. So i do have time to think about it.

Unlike a laptop or imac, I dont have a screen to worry about and most of the parts are pretty user replaceable. Should i invest in Apple care just in case?
Thanks.
Click to expand...

The general rule for any insurance is this: Consider whether you can afford paying yourself for the damage or not. Can you afford to build a new house if yours burns down? If not, buy insurance. Can you afford buying a new DVD player if it stops working? If yes, don't buy insurance. Can you afford to buy a new Mac if it breaks (not asking whether you _like_ to pay out, but whether you can afford it)? Your decision.

With a Mac, the good thing is that you have twelve months time to buy an insurance. See what happens in the next eleven months; if you have trouble or your Mac makes funny noises or something similar, buy AppleCare. If it has no problems at all, don't buy AppleCare. This doesn't guarantee you make the right decision, just makes it more likely.
 
I would get it. My MB developed a faulty logic board problem so that I couldn't boot using battery power. It had to be AC power. I took it to the Apple Store, they said it wasn't water damage or accidental damage, or anything. IF I had AppleCare, I would have a fully working MB, but since I didn't... well I let you make the call.
 
The average cost of any repair for a Mac Pro will exceed the cost of the warranty. Labor itself runs ~$75/hour, to say nothing of the expensive parts used in the machine.

For peace of mind, for the relatively small amount of money compared to having an out-of-warranty repair, you won't regret purchasing it.
 
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