I have a late 2006 iMAC 20" that, frankly has been a bit unstable since day one. It recently got a lot worse, crashing at every opportunity, several times a day. It was also having graphic distortion / weird lines much of the time. I called Applecare, they quickly diagnosed a probable bad graphics chip/logic board. I was directed to take it to a local Apple retailer/service center. They checked it, ordered the part. The part arrived the next morning and by 2:00 I picked it up. I was told that the retail cost of the logic board and the labor were over $700! The $249 cost for extended Applecare was a bargain, huh?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Thank goodness for Applecare!
- Thread starter APPLENEWBIE
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I usually don't keep a Mac longer than 2 years...so simply purchasing on a major credit card (paying it off right away, of course) is enough protection for me. (with most major credit cards, you automatically double the manufacturer's warranty)
Umm... even if you didn't buy AppleCare, they will still replace it for you for free since it is within the 1 year warranty. And chances are, that within one year you use enough of the hardware to have it start showing any defects if any. That's why I never buy AppleCare, and my two iPods (2nd gen nano and 1st gen iPod touch) and 2 mac notebooks (iBook G4 and MacBook) never had any problems apart from human-related stuff like stolen, dropped, etc.
I have purchased applecare on the three machines that my family has. I think that this will just provide peace of mind even if nothing goes wrong.
I'm planning to buy Applecare when I get my iMac. I think the phone support will be good when I make a stupid mistake and screw up the OS.
I'd strongly recommend Applecare to anyone who buys a Mac - the computers are more expensive than their competition and it pays to protect your investment and give yourself peace of mind should anything actually go wrong - thus, I got it for my MBP. One of the reasons I switched to Apple was the fact that they honour their warranties. Two iPods died - both well within warranty - and were immediately replaced without any fuss or seeking refuge in contractual small-print, which impressed me.
Cheers and good luck
Cheers and good luck
never heard of that
but i think i'll purchase applecare for my mbp before the warranty expires
No Applecare: Every day after the first day you pray every day that your system won't break.
Applecare: Same thing, except that you pray that it WILL.
Applecare: Same thing, except that you pray that it WILL.
Umm...I got it in late 2006. It is now (past) late 2008. So, I think it probably would not have been covered...
In the last three years I have purchased 6 new or refurb Macs and and an Apple TV. THis is the first time I have ever had to have a repair covered under applecare. So, let's see. I paid about $900 total Applecare premiums for the ones I put apple care on. So, if I saved about $700 on this repair, actually Apple won the bet, by a couple of hundred dollars, assuming I never collect on any of the other applecare policies. But, the peace of mind is still worth $200 to me, overall.
Also, after experiencing years of working with PC makers and microsoft, who generally point to each other when there is a problem ("you'll have to talk to Dell about that problem... You'll have to talk to Microsoft about that problem....) it is great to deal with Apple which does not seem to pass the buck when the problem is clearly theirs.
It probably does not make much sense to purchase an extended warranty on a cheap disposable PC.
LOL +1, I do the same!
I just so happens my MBP was replaced 2mos out of the 1 year warranty under extended Applecare. I was SO glad I invested.
Have since had yet another replacement for a UB MBP under 1yr.
That's only right if you need a repair AFTER 1 year. You said in your original post that you've had problems since day one. Those repairs are free. The ones past 1 year are not.
Applecare is bad for business. When I had my plastic Macbook, Apple definitely spent more money than my computer was worth in logic boards and top cases.
Applecare is bad for business. When I had my plastic Macbook, Apple definitely spent more money than my computer was worth in logic boards and top cases.
in the grand scheme of things, it is apple's biggest crutch. apple makes the greatest net profit from pushing applecare, bar none.
Applecare is bad for business. When I had my plastic Macbook, Apple definitely spent more money than my computer was worth in logic boards and top cases.
Do you really think the logic boards and top cases cost apple care $1200? NO! because Apple make them!!!! they probably cost about $10 so Apple still made money from you.
Buy the Applecares from ebay if you can
I bought 5 iMac Applecares
and 1 MacPro in the past year from ebay sellers.
ALL of them only cost $99 each.
They are all accurate and registered with Apple.
I had a problem with the reg code on the MacPro and I had to call Apple directly. No problem at all. They fixed the reg and it all set.
(The problem was due to a new issue with North Carolina and Florida and hurricanes----don't ask LOL)
I'll never buy them at list price again.
I bought 5 iMac Applecares
and 1 MacPro in the past year from ebay sellers.
ALL of them only cost $99 each.
They are all accurate and registered with Apple.
I had a problem with the reg code on the MacPro and I had to call Apple directly. No problem at all. They fixed the reg and it all set.
(The problem was due to a new issue with North Carolina and Florida and hurricanes----don't ask LOL)
I'll never buy them at list price again.
Yikes! Applecare has been getting a workout! Since the original post I made about a problem iMac, repaired under applecare, both of my kid's white macbooks have croaked. One with a bad logic board, one with a dead harddrive. Both now repaired under applecare! We went about three years with virtually no service issues... and now three in three weeks. Thank goodness for applecare!!!