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When to buy AppleCare?

J

Jblack4083

macrumors regular
Original poster
When buying a notebook, is it wise to buy Applecare immediately or when the one year warranty is almost up?

Also when you buy Applecare immediately, does it just add onto the 1 year and kick in when the 1 year is up or does it take effect immediately and cancel out the one year thus giving you three years of real protection instead of 4?
 
AppleCare only gives you 3 years protection, regardless of when you buy it, the date it starts is the date you bought your computer. I'd say if you don't buy it at first, but foresee issues as your computers 1-year is about to expire, you should buy it to add another 2 years on.

Things to note are that you get a limited amount of telephone support with the 1-year warranty, whereas the AppleCare will give you 3 years of it, so that's helpful sometimes.
 
AppleCare only ever covers up to three full years from the date of purchase. Period. Four years isn't possible (unless you have some insane Appley-connection 😛).

You may choose to purchase and extend your AppleCare any time within the first year of purchase. Just keep in mind that you only get 90-days of phone support (until/unless you purchase the extended AppleCare).
 
Jblack4083 said:
When buying a notebook, is it wise to buy Applecare immediately or when the one year warranty is almost up?

Also when you buy Applecare immediately, does it just add onto the 1 year and kick in when the 1 year is up or does it take effect immediately and cancel out the one year thus giving you three years of real protection instead of 4?
Click to expand...

Whenever you have the money...You just need to buy it before the original warranty runs out. It takes effect after the original warranty is up, not right when you buy it. It adds time onto the 1 year.
 
Hasn't anyone pointed out to Apple that that's kind of a gip (gyp?) considering how expensive AppleCare is and how tricky laptops can be.

Especially for students.
 
so if you wait till your one year it up then you buy it, it doesnt do anything???

and whats the difference between AppleCare and ProCare?
 
TimJim said:
so if you wait till your one year it up then you buy it, it doesnt do anything???
Click to expand...
If your original one year warranty expires before you enroll the extended AppleCare, then you're plain outta luck. You won't be able to register it to your machine. (In some instances, if you have proof of having purchased the extended AppleCare prior to the 1-year being up, a customer service rep might take pity on you, but why risk it?)
 
daisu said:
Hasn't anyone pointed out to Apple that that's kind of a gip (gyp?) considering how expensive AppleCare is and how tricky laptops can be.

Especially for students.
Click to expand...

Actually, AppleCare consistently ranks as on of the best extended warranties. If you don't like it, you can always purchase your Mac with a gold or platinum credit card that offers free or low cost extended warranty. But most people consider AppleCare worth it for laptops and Apple usually comes through shining.
 
Jblack4083 said:
how? I live in Queens too BTW
Click to expand...

Queens Represent.

Well, ultimately, you're paying for 2 years of service unless AppleCare does that much more than the warranty covers. While phone service is great to have, you still are paying for the first three months which you should have with the purchase of your machine (thinking of a MBP, say).

Ist mine tinking flawed?
 
flopticalcube said:
Actually, AppleCare consistently ranks as on of the best extended warranties. If you don't like it, you can always purchase your Mac with a gold or platinum credit card that offers free or low cost extended warranty. But most people consider AppleCare worth it for laptops and Apple usually comes through shining.
Click to expand...

I am not saying that it isn't worth it, just that the terms seem unfair. You can purchase it anytime during the first year your machine is under warranty but the service extends to the date you first purchase your machine.

Say you don't need phone support past the first three months, and you get your machine repaired under warranty, and decide that applecare would be a wise thing to purchase for it's 3 year warranty service... but you wait until one of the last years of the first year warranty service... you're then paying for only 2 years of service.
 
Too bad you can't buy another three years on top of the first three, or indefinitely for that matter. It may seem like a waste of money to some, but I've got a graphite G4 in service that is still ticking. It's a nice feeling to have bumper-to-bumper coverage.

Sure I could bank the money over time, and buy another when the old girl dies, but I'm not that smart.
 
if my applecare expired in three years and i extended it another 3 years, then in teh fourth year get a new apple laptop, does it carry over?
 
Nope. You may want to consider selling your laptop when your AppleCare has a year or so left. Resale values of Macs is usually quite good up until that point and you could then buy a new one with fresh AppleCare, if you wished. Having said that, most problems usually crop up in the first few months of ownership.
 
I reiterate something that was stated earlier, but with some further insight.

I personally think it only makes sense to buy AppleCare at the end of the first year. Most machines will fail within the first year and then you are covered by the 1 year warranty. If the machine starts to go south (I ended up with a flickering screen at ~10months) at the end of the first year then try to get it repaired, but also acknowledge that you might have a lemon. At this point I think AppleCare is warranted.

If, on the otherhand, your machine has no issues at the end of the first year you simply have to decide if the extra cost is *likely* to benefit you.

Also, if you are worried about not having phone support, you can always buy AppleCare over the phone through the service folks (I think...) so that you have it right away should you need it.

I don't think there is any reason to buy it in advance.
 
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