To Apple Care or Not to Apple Care?

[F-Train]

For US$100, I'm inclined to do it. I'd basically be purchasing 24-26 months of protection after the expiry of the one year warranty. And yes, there aren't a lot of things that can go wrong with a Mac mini, plus there are deductibles:

• must purchase Apple Care within 60 days of purchase;
• coverage runs three years from Apple Care purchase date;
• covers two incidents of accidental damage
  • to the enclosure, each subject to a $100 fee;
  • to internals, subject to a $300 fee.

I see it as protection if something dies internally in the second or third year, and Apple's position, if I don't have Apple Care, is that the cost of repair is way up there, if repair is even economic.

I'm curious to know the views of others on this.

If you have a great story on what can out-of-the-blue go seriously wrong with a Mac mini, physically or internally, all the better

 

[jazz1]

For US$100, I'm inclined to do it. I'd basically be purchasing 24-26 months of protection after the expiry of the one year warranty. And yes, there aren't a lot of things that can go wrong with a Mac mini, plus there are deductibles:

• must purchase Apple Care within 60 days of purchase;
• coverage runs three years from Apple Care purchase date;
• covers two incidents of accidental damage
  • to the enclosure, each subject to a $100 fee;
  • to internals, subject to a $300 fee.

I see it as protection if something dies internally in the second or third year, and Apple's position, if I don't have Apple Care, is that the cost of repair is way up there, if repair is even economic.

I'm curious to know the views of others on this.

If you have a great story on what can out-of-the-blue go seriously wrong with a Mac mini, physically or internally, all the better

I thought Apple Care was only two years?

 

[F-Train]

I thought Apple Care was only two years?

Good news then. It's three years from the purchase of Apple Care, which must be within 60 days of the date of purchase.

 

[dogslobber]

I never buy it. I think I bought it once but it didn't get used.

 

[jazz1]

Good news then. It's three years from the purchase of Apple Care, which must be within 60 days of the date of purchase.

That is great. I’m in!

 

[SnacksGU]

Good news then. It's three years from the purchase of Apple Care, which must be within 60 days of the date of purchase.

3 years from original purchase date.

 

[kaibob]

I'd probably get it for an iMac but I didn't purchase it for my new mini. Although, $99 is not that much for the security.

 

[SnacksGU]

I'd probably get it for an iMac but I didn't purchase it for my new mini. Although, $99 is not that much for the security.

True. If it was an expensive BTO model that would increase the value of getting AppleCare.

 

[F-Train]

3 years from original purchase date.

More good news. From Apple's site:

AppleCare+ for Mac extends your coverage to three years from your AppleCare+ purchase date
​

 

[now i see it]

It's a gamble and in the end, Apple always comes out on top. Like the casinos in Vegas.
Apple Store managers have been known to pressure the sales people to push Apple Care (because it's a cash cow for )

I can see getting ap care for an iPhone if you're a clutz and drop stuff, but a Mac mini? Nah.

 

[SnacksGU]

More good news. From Apple's site:

AppleCare+ for Mac extends your coverage to three years from your AppleCare+ purchase date
​

Interesting. I wonder when they switched AppleCare from product purchase date to AppleCare purchase date. Another reason to wait 60 days to purchase the warranty.

 

[F-Train]

Sceptics may find it useful to watch this October 8 news story from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (like the BBC or PBS). I think that it's somewhat sensationalist (Louis Rossmann, who is on a crusade, is in it), but it does underscore one possible reason that Apple Care may be a good idea:

 

[Dr. Stealth]

I have a life rule. Never buy insurance (Warranties / Apple Care, etc.) unless you are forced to. That's just me.

Why do you think every company in the world presses it so hard? Because, it makes them rich $$$.

Believe me as a one time Insurance Agent. They have already done the statistics and they KNOW they will come out ahead. Exactly like now i see it said, Just like Las Vegas.

 

[F-Train]

Interesting. I wonder when they switched AppleCare from product purchase date to AppleCare purchase date. Another reason to wait 60 days to purchase the warranty.

If I recall correctly, I was told when purchasing a MacBook a few years ago that I had until the expiration of the warranty period (a year) to decide whether to purchase Apple Care. If my memory is correct, the purchase of Apple Care was actually more liberal at one point.

 

[SnacksGU]

If I recall correctly, I was told when purchasing a MacBook a few years ago that I had until the expiration of the warranty period (a year) to decide whether to purchase Apple Care. If my memory is correct, the purchase of Apple Care was actually more liberal at one point.

Correct. That was for just basic AppleCare (there was no +). Also it extended the warranty an additional two years on top of the one year warranty. So didnt matter when you purchased within that year. The warranty end date was the same.

 

[F-Train]

I have a life rule. Never buy insurance (Warranties / Apple Care, etc.) unless you are forced to. That's just me.

Why do you think every company in the world presses it so hard? Because, it makes them rich $$$.

Believe me as a one time Insurance Agent. They have already done the statistics and they KNOW they will come out ahead. Exactly like now i see it said, Just like Las Vegas.

The whole point of an insurance company, like any other company, is to make money. It doesn't follow that you shouldn't purchase their product. It comes down to whether you think that $100 is a reasonable price to pay in case your computer accidentally gets bashed up during the warranty period, or dies in the 24-26 months, depending on when you purchased the insurance, after the warranty ends.

 

[Dr. Stealth]

Apple Store managers have been known to pressure the sales people to push Apple Care (because it's a cash cow for )

And Apple makes so much money on it they can easily give a kick-back to the sales people in the form of Commissions.

That's how the world runs....

 

[MarkN]

I don't like to purchase extended warranties for most products. The company that offers it is betting that their product won't fail during the warranty period. If they think the odds are that low shouldn't I take advantage of it and save quite a bit of money? The only exceptions for me is car warranties since there is so much new expensive technology on them. But so far I have never even needed that. Accidental damage warranties may be good if you could be a little careless with a product, but for a desktop that just sits on your desk, I don't see the advantage there. Extended warranties seem like a lottery to me, a voluntary tax with a very low probability they will pay off.

 

[teohyc]

I've Apple products that failed within warranty period and outside of non-Apple Care warranty period.

So the ultimate question really is do you think you're that lucky.

 

[Dr. Stealth]

The whole point of an insurance company, like any other company, is to make money. It doesn't follow that you shouldn't purchase their product. It comes down to whether you think that $100 is a reasonable price to pay in case your computer accidentally gets bashed up during the warranty period, or dies in the 24-26 months, depending on when you purchased the insurance, after the warranty ends.

They cover their themselves by adding this "Insurance Clause" ...

• covers two incidents of accidental damage
  • to the enclosure, each subject to a $100 fee;
  • to internals, subject to a $300 fee.

 

[F-Train]

I've never purchased an extended warranty, but I've decided to this time.

My configuration is US$1850 with tax. Apple Care will cost me $33/year (to be precise, $2.60 per month if I purchase Apple Care 59 days after purchase of the mini).

I'll get protection, with a $100 deductible, until January 2022 against physical damage to a computer that I'll be transporting from time to time.

More importantly, I'll have protection until January 2022, with a $300 deductible, against the computer dying.

For $33/year, it works for me.

It's the same cost as the 10 Gigabit Ethernet port that I don't actually need at the moment, but am purchasing anyway, just in case.

 

[danny842003]

Personally I wouldn’t buy it for a mini, but in Australia we get a two year warranty anyway.
I’m happy to purchase for phones, watch iPad etc more for me dropping it rather than the internals failing.
I didn’t buy it for my HomePod or Apple TV, I think the mini fits in to this category.

 

[gigatoaster]

Hello there

When there is something wrong, I push it as much as I can to get an exception out of warranty at no charge. You need to be firm and persistent as I usually got to L3 Support to get an exception.

It worked so far for a Trackpad on an old MacBook Air, 3 times on different iPhone for battery replacements at no charge and for screen issues on a MBP from a friend.

I never threaten them but I am very tenacious.

 

[comptr]

I have a life rule. Never buy insurance (Warranties / Apple Care, etc.) unless you are forced to. That's just me.

Why do you think every company in the world presses it so hard? Because, it makes them rich $$$.

Believe me as a one time Insurance Agent. They have already done the statistics and they KNOW they will come out ahead. Exactly like now i see it said, Just like Las Vegas.

I would disagree, I have bought Apple Care on all of my mac book pros I have owned and thanks to buying apple care, I have had 5 Laptops replaced via Applecare and this was not repairs, They took my laptop and gave me a brand new current model.

 

[philipma1957]

I would disagree, I have bought Apple Care on all of my mac book pros I have owned and thanks to buying apple care, I have had 5 Laptops replaced via Applecare and this was not repairs, They took my laptop and gave me a brand new current model.

Please don’t give away secrets like this.