Why does everyone recommend AppleCare? It seems very expensive for 3 yrs of warranty

[silvershamrock]

I normally don't bother with AppleCare. In my experience their computers are so reliable that it's not worth it. I still have a LC475 that I bought in the mid-90s, and it still works. (Not particularly useful anymore since it doesn't have a wireless card, but that's a different question...)

However, IMO there are some good reasons to get it:
- if your budget is so tight that you know you won't be able to afford even a modest repair bill
- if you anticipate using their telephone support service a lot
- if you're planning to sell the computer within the first three years, AppleCare follows the computer and dramatically increases the resale value
- if you're getting any peripherals at the same time (the same AppleCare I got for the MBA also covers my Time Capsule and SuperDrive)
- and (my most compelling reason to get it this time) if you discover that the model of computer you purchased has a specific part with a high failure rate ... which applies to pretty well everyone who has a 2012 MBA with a 128GB Toshiba drive....

It also doesn't take a major hardware catastrophe to make AppleCare a worthwhile investment. I need to replace my MagSafe cable -- $80 if I had to buy it myself, covered by AppleCare since it's less than 13 months old and should not be splitting. Last time I had my computer into the Genius bar they cleaned its fan at no charge, under AppleCare. I've used the telephone support service a number of times. And so on. All these little things add up....

JMO .... YMMV.

 

[palenran]

I smashed the screen of my work-provided iPad mini last week in a bicycle accident. I told our IT department, fully expecting that I was gonna have to buy a new one since it was clearly my fault and not a defect.

He took it to the Apple store and came back the same day with a replacement iPad mini. He said that Apple only charged the company $50 because my device had had Apple Care on it. I was shocked (and thrilled).

 

[AXs]

I don't understand why people would upgrade to 8gb RAM, upgrade to i7... and then out of budget to get Apple Care.

It's absolutely essential imo. Everyone thinks "oh not going to happen to me"... till it happens. Then it's too late. Any basic repair is going to cost more than Apple Care.

 

[flowrider]

^^^^I disagree on both counts. If the Air is your only Mac, the extra RAM is is the proper choice over the i7 CPU, IMHO.

As far as Apple Care goes, I have owned Macintoshes since 1986, and have never had a warranty problem. And, I have modified my machines. For whatever reason, I still have an original Macintosh PowerBook G3. I bought this machine back in 1997, and it still works, not on batteries anymore, but off AC it still works fine.

With that said, I am trepidus of my MacBook Air, because of the Toshiba/Sandforce SSD. That being said, I will still self insure, over the years, by not having AppleCare I have saved a ton of money.

Lou

 

[m98custom1212]

I can't find this written anywhere easily, but I've had it explained to me several times at the Apple store: If the model mac you have is relatively new (less than 3ish years old), and it doesn't have physical or water damage, then they offer a flat-rate repair service. They will repair everything wrong with it at the time for a relatively small fee.

I recently had the SSD, Logic Board, and some random cables replaced in my out-of-warrantee 2011 MBA replaced. The flat-fee for for a MBA they said was $280. The components they replaced alone would have added up to $1500. I could have bought AC a year ago for $180, but decided not to.

I'm down only $100, but it was a small risk. Odds were I wouldn't have needed it, and I probably still won't be buying AC in the future.

Where did you come with these random numbers? $1500? The components are dirt cheap for an older computer hardware.

I don't understand why people would upgrade to 8gb RAM, upgrade to i7... and then out of budget to get Apple Care.

It's absolutely essential imo. Everyone thinks "oh not going to happen to me"... till it happens. Then it's too late. Any basic repair is going to cost more than Apple Care.

Because Apple care doesn't cover theft, fire, dropping etc.. I added my macbook and my desktop which cost far more then any apple product with all my goodies to my home owners insurance.

 

[m98custom1212]

delete

 

[oneMadRssn]

Where did you come with these random numbers? $1500? The components are dirt cheap for an older computer hardware.

Please, find me a link to a logic board with the 1.8ghz sandy bridge Intel Core i7 CPU, from a 2011 13" Macbook Air, and a 256GB SSD for the same computer, anywhere, for "dirt cheap".

The BEST I could find is used ~$250 for the SSD and ~$350 for the logic board ($600 total). New parts are about double. The ~$1500 price I quoted was if ordered from Apple directly.

FYI, currently a sack of topsoil dirt costs $2 at Home Depot, but I won't hold you to that literal interpretation of "dirt cheap". ;-)

 

[m98custom1212]

Please, find me a link to a logic board with the 1.8ghz sandy bridge Intel Core i7 CPU, from a 2011 13" Macbook Air, and a 256GB SSD for the same computer, anywhere, for "dirt cheap".

The BEST I could find is used ~$250 for the SSD and ~$350 for the logic board ($600 total). New parts are about double. The ~$1500 price I quoted was if ordered from Apple directly.

FYI, currently a sack of topsoil dirt costs $2 at Home Depot, but I won't hold you to that literal interpretation of "dirt cheap". ;-)

I'm sure I could find some if I looked hard enough ~$600 compared to $1500

 

[AXs]

Please, find me a link to a logic board with the 1.8ghz sandy bridge Intel Core i7 CPU, from a 2011 13" Macbook Air, and a 256GB SSD for the same computer, anywhere, for "dirt cheap".

The BEST I could find is used ~$250 for the SSD and ~$350 for the logic board ($600 total). New parts are about double. The ~$1500 price I quoted was if ordered from Apple directly.

FYI, currently a sack of topsoil dirt costs $2 at Home Depot, but I won't hold you to that literal interpretation of "dirt cheap". ;-)

Oh snap. So we're living in a world where dirt is no longer 'dirt cheap'? Dayamn

Yea, so Apple charges $1,500 for repairs? Holy macaroni. Applecare all the way imo

 

[oneMadRssn]

so Apple charges $1,500 for repairs? Holy macaroni. Applecare all the way imo

No, read the original story above. Apple actually only charged me $280 as a flat-rate repair, and they replaced a bunch of expensive parts that would have cost ~$1,500 if I were to ask for them for those parts specifically for purchase. All in all, I don't think AppleCare is worth the cost.

 

[philosopherdog]

Wait to decide

Wait the 12 months. If your machine runs flawlessly, take a pass. If it's a lemon consider investing in AC. Also, if you have bad computer karma, buy it. Anyhow, it's only expensive for mobile computers/devices. Imacs are cheap for AC. I had a machine that was failing the hardware test 1 week befor the 12 month warranty. I bought AC. Brought it in and had over $1000 in work done to it. The other option is to sell before the 12 months if the box is junk and get the next model. I did that with an air after the second display was installed for the same issue.

 

[AXs]

No, read the original story above. Apple actually only charged me $280 as a flat-rate repair, and they replaced a bunch of expensive parts that would have cost ~$1,500 if I were to ask for them for those parts specifically for purchase. All in all, I don't think AppleCare is worth the cost.

But factor in the part where you were relatively lucky with your case which is surely not applicable to all... that's still more than the cost of Apple Care... and you'll have to pay for repairs again next time...

As you clearly said yourself - you're down $100, so that proves my whole point, it's a bad move not to get applecare.
You easily could have met a different service response and been charged $800.

All in all, you made a BAD gamble, and got away with minimal damage. And despite paying more than what you would have for AppleCare, you're STILL insisting that AC is not worth the cost?

REALLY?

 

[jonasdamn]

I bought MBA 2013 and wanted also to get AC, however in my country it isn't supported also I live in Europe and i got 2 years warranty, so it is a bit expensive for AC if it was available, because it only would extend for one additional year.

 

[ItHurtsWhenIP]

And despite paying more than what you would have for AppleCare, you're STILL insisting that AC is not worth the cost?

REALLY?

That's what I'm finding hard to believe..

$280 > $190 (.edu discount)

Still not worth it..

 

[oneMadRssn]

But factor in the part where you were relatively lucky with your case which is surely not applicable to all... that's still more than the cost of Apple Care... and you'll have to pay for repairs again next time...

As you clearly said yourself - you're down $100, so that proves my whole point, it's a bad move not to get applecare.
You easily could have met a different service response and been charged $800.

All in all, you made a BAD gamble, and got away with minimal damage. And despite paying more than what you would have for AppleCare, you're STILL insisting that AC is not worth the cost?

REALLY?

Yes really. The whole idea here is a long-term numbers game. I've had 3 Apple laptops and 2 Apple desktops in the past decade or so. Of those, only two laptops needed to have service beyond the initial 1-year warrantee, and only just this once most recently did the service end up costing more than AC would have. So to tally it up, I'm up 100% on three products, up ~50% on one product, and down ~30% on one product. Overall, I'm still way way up.

On top of that, it's worth noting all the things AC does not cover: theft and accidental damage. AC only covers defects.

 

[DisplacedMic]

I don't understand why people would upgrade to 8gb RAM, upgrade to i7... and then out of budget to get Apple Care.

It's absolutely essential imo. Everyone thinks "oh not going to happen to me"... till it happens. Then it's too late. Any basic repair is going to cost more than Apple Care.

because of math?

It's not about thinking "oh not going to happen to me," it's about thinking "it's not going to happen to me every time"

in the long run, buying extended warranties will almost certainly cost you more money than it saves.

Remember, there are people out there who can truthfully tell you that playing the lottery was a great investment.

----------

Wait the 12 months. If your machine runs flawlessly, take a pass. If it's a lemon consider investing in AC. Also, if you have bad computer karma, buy it. Anyhow, it's only expensive for mobile computers/devices. Imacs are cheap for AC. I had a machine that was failing the hardware test 1 week befor the 12 month warranty. I bought AC. Brought it in and had over $1000 in work done to it. The other option is to sell before the 12 months if the box is junk and get the next model. I did that with an air after the second display was installed for the same issue.

I'm not disagreeing here, but one thing to consider for those of you on the fence is that if you purchase multiple components that can be covered under APP at once, then the APP you get at the time of purchase covers all of them. I'm not sure you can do that after the fact.

For example if you buy a macbook air, time machine and TBD + APP the warranty covers all three. I'm not 100% certain, but if you wait a year I think you would only have the option to purchase individual plans for each item.

----------

That's what I'm finding hard to believe..

$280 > $190 (.edu discount)

Still not worth it..

Well, the appropriate question isn't really whether it's worth it or not.
worth and value are subjective.

If someone is willing to pay X for Y, then by definition Y is worth precisely X.
Fine art is a great example of this. What makes that famous painting "worth" 100million dollars? Someone was willing to pay 100 million dollars for it.
That's it.

The question is whether APP is a good investment for what it offers. I would argue that in the long run it isn't in terms of saving you money. For some people APP will absolutely save them money - but for most people it won't.

Now, some people like having it for "peace of mind" reasons and even though that "peace of mind" might be based on faulty logic, it's still a real value to them which speaks to the question of worth. So in that sense, if it wasn't "worth it" people wouldn't buy it.

 

[AXs]

That's just ridiculous.

Comparing AppleCare to the lottery? That's like what, one in a million shot?

So you're saying only one in a million Macbooks go faulty in the 2nd and 3rd years?

Because that's not true.

But judging from your mentality, I'm guessing you don't buy health insurance? Do you consider that as 'playing the lottery' too?


and also to add- your logic is flawed: If someone is willing to pay x for y, it doesn't necessarily mean y is worth precisely x.
For example if I buy a company worth 10million dollars for 8 million dollars, it's still worth 10 million dollars.

Of If I buy gold at $900/oz from an elderly couple, it's still worth $1300.

What you're defining basically applies to only special items with inflated values, and doesn't work on face value.

And even then just because someone might pay 100million USD for a painting, doesn't mean it's what it is worth. Say I buy a painting for 100mil USD, no one else in the world wants it for more than 30mil USD, it's worth only 30mil USD- and that's not asset value, more like relative value.

Your argument and applied logic is heavily flawed here

 

[DisplacedMic]

That's just ridiculous.

Comparing AppleCare to the lottery? That's like what, one in a million shot?

So you're saying only one in a million Macbooks go faulty in the 2nd and 3rd years?

Because that's not true.

But judging from your mentality, I'm guessing you don't buy health insurance? Do you consider that as 'playing the lottery' too?


and also to add- your logic is flawed: If someone is willing to pay x for y, it doesn't necessarily mean y is worth precisely x.
For example if I buy a company worth 10million dollars for 8 million dollars, it's still worth 10 million dollars.

Of If I buy gold at $900/oz from an elderly couple, it's still worth $1300.

What you're defining basically applies to only special items with inflated values, and doesn't work on face value.

And even then just because someone might pay 100million USD for a painting, doesn't mean it's what it is worth. Say I buy a painting for 100mil USD, no one else in the world wants it for more than 30mil USD, it's worth only 30mil USD- and that's not asset value, more like relative value.

Your argument and applied logic is heavily flawed here

that wasn't my argument at all.
Of course i'm not saying that there is a "1 in a million" chance of something going wrong with your mac. That's not at all what I'm saying. I'm saying that in the long run, buying extended warranties simply does not save money. Obviously it will for some people, but for most people it won't.

Regarding Gold - the price of gold is highly variable and based on the market. That's the point. Nobody sits at a desk and just decides what the price of gold is. It changes based on the price point where people are willing to buy and sell.

No sale happens unless both parties would rather have what the other guy has than what they have to trade. This goes for the sale of a $0.25 glass of lemonade all the way up to that gold you bought. obviously they wanted your $900 as much or more than they wanted their 1 oz of gold. So that gold was worth precisely $900/oz - why? because that's what it sold for.

As it were, the chance of winning the lottery is a LOT worse than 1 in a million... at least winning big anyway. But that's beside the point.

My point re the lottery was just to illustrate the fact that just because someone can give you an anecdote, it doesn't suggest a trend. So someone saying "apple care was great for me because of X" doesn't make it great for everyone. I'm not sure how i could be any clearer.

and health insurance vs apple care? do you really need me to address that?

no - if you buy a company for 8 million dollars, it is worth 8 million dollars. Where are you getting that it's worth 10? if it was worth 10, someone would have bought it for that much.

This is pretty basic economics i'm talking here. If I buy a painting for $100 million that is exactly what that painting is worth at the point of sale. If I can't get more than $5 for it 5 years, 5 days or even 5 minutes later then it is now only worth $5.

Value and worth fluctuate constantly.

Neither my arguments nor my logic are flawed, you are simply not understanding what I am saying.

 

[AXs]

first, yes, you made compare/contrast statement citing the lottery as 'good investment' for some- trying to ridicule apple care's worth and validity, only to end up ridiculing your own assertion.


Secondly, yes, if your company is worth 10million- it's worth 10million. D

umm, yes- people sell their companies for less than it's worth plenty of times.

Plenty of extrinsic and intrinsic factors could cause such- low liquidity, high exit barrier, internal risk assessment, etc. But if a company is worth 10million by the books it's still worth 10million.

You're quoting "it's math" and "it's basic economics" when actually you're showing very little understanding of both said matters here. Just because you're using them as words it doesn't add to your argument.

Math and Economics are both massively broad. Why don't you be more specific here?


Once again, it's not basic economics that y is worth precisely x. If you want to twist it around "at time of sale" and all that, sure but you're just digging yourself deeper.
like I said, there's fixed asset value and then there's relative value. Buying a 100million dollars painting doesn't score you 100million worth of assets. IF you took it to a bank for collateral on a loan- you're not getting 100million worth of security.

Look I'm going to stop here. You can continue if you want. I'm not here to teach.
Just going to say that it's not an 'opinion' regarding how much something with realtime value, is worth. And also that this statement by you clearly illustrates enough in itself your understanding level.

"no - if you buy a company for 8 million dollars, it is worth 8 million dollars. Where are you getting that it's worth 10? if it was worth 10, someone would have bought it for that much."

 

[Dizzay]

The only thing that usually breaks early for me are laptop charger cords and iphone ones. Neither of which apple care covers, so whats the point? I did once and went in when my laptop charger stopped charging, at which point they told me that user damage isnt covered. So really theres no point.

 

[wchp]

Used it all but once

5 years
3-iMacs
2-MBA13
4-MBP13
2-MBP15
7-iPhones assorted

Apple Care on all but one phone...
Wished I had it on the phone,
Never used it on one iMac,
For me AC is not an option... its just part of the price.

I would literally sell thousands of Dell laptops annually into the financial and health care verticals. Always added 3yrs pro care and Accidental damage to them... would only drop AD if the customer insisted.

Laptops and Phones are a when, not if, failure proposition. Desktops are far more reliable.

Best part of AC is that if AC replaces your device, you receive the balance of your AC warranty/support on the replacement... no need to buy a new plan.

 

[silvershamrock]

The only thing that usually breaks early for me are laptop charger cords and iphone ones. Neither of which apple care covers, so whats the point? I did once and went in when my laptop charger stopped charging, at which point they told me that user damage isnt covered. So really theres no point.

User damage isn't covered. But the charger cables themselves are. I had the charger cable for my MBA replaced just this past week (for free, under AppleCare) after the rubber insulation layer started to split.

IMO, the question of whether AppleCare is "worth it" is a highly subjective matter. I don't think there is any universal answer to this question... unless you plan to sell the device before the three years is up (because then AppleCare will increase the resale value of the device). If you plan to keep the device for the full three years, then it's really a matter of personal preference, with no right or wrong answer that applies to all devices and all individuals at all times.

JMO ...

 

[oneMadRssn]

When deciding to purchase AC, if it's a sticking point for them, one should consider the alternatives.

For students, CollegeStudentInsurance.com offers pretty good rates on personal property insurance. ~$200/yr for $10,000 of coverage (covers everything one owns except the car and the building itself) with a $25 deductible. I'm not affiliated with this company at all, but I did use them for all 8 years of my time in higher ed, and did put in quite a few claims. It covers pretty much everything that can go wrong: defect, accidental damage, theft, etc. They always paid the claims within a few weeks. If I needed something repaired at Apple, I paid with my credit card whatever it cost and submitted the bill as a claim for reimbursement.

For me, I'd rather pay ~$200/year to cover everything than decide on the extended warrantees for each individual item. TV, Ikea furniture, iPhone, iPad, Macbook, clothing, bicycle, speakers, Kindle, textbooks, etc. is all covered by one policy.

And for non-students, my renters insurance offered a similar additional policy (called something like "supplemental property protection", or something similar) for only slightly more.

 

[joepunk]

The only thing that usually breaks early for me are laptop charger cords and iphone ones. Neither of which apple care covers, so whats the point? I did once and went in when my laptop charger stopped charging, at which point they told me that user damage isnt covered. So really theres no point.

You got a bad Genius. Unless of course it is user damage. Otherwise, try again with a different Genius on a different day when that one isn't there.

I also went in asking about a frayed charger plug (powerbook) and the first "Genius" basically quoted the obvious "It's bad" but gave me a "It's not covered" in words and in the look on his face. The next day a different Genius was much more helpful and I got a new charger under applecare.

 

[DisplacedMic]

first, yes, you made compare/contrast statement citing the lottery as 'good investment' for some- trying to ridicule apple care's worth and validity, only to end up ridiculing your own assertion.


Secondly, yes, if your company is worth 10million- it's worth 10million. D

umm, yes- people sell their companies for less than it's worth plenty of times.

Plenty of extrinsic and intrinsic factors could cause such- low liquidity, high exit barrier, internal risk assessment, etc. But if a company is worth 10million by the books it's still worth 10million.

You're quoting "it's math" and "it's basic economics" when actually you're showing very little understanding of both said matters here. Just because you're using them as words it doesn't add to your argument.

Math and Economics are both massively broad. Why don't you be more specific here?


Once again, it's not basic economics that y is worth precisely x. If you want to twist it around "at time of sale" and all that, sure but you're just digging yourself deeper.
like I said, there's fixed asset value and then there's relative value. Buying a 100million dollars painting doesn't score you 100million worth of assets. IF you took it to a bank for collateral on a loan- you're not getting 100million worth of security.

Look I'm going to stop here. You can continue if you want. I'm not here to teach.
Just going to say that it's not an 'opinion' regarding how much something with realtime value, is worth. And also that this statement by you clearly illustrates enough in itself your understanding level.

"no - if you buy a company for 8 million dollars, it is worth 8 million dollars. Where are you getting that it's worth 10? if it was worth 10, someone would have bought it for that much."

you're not here to teach? you're messing with me, right?
honestly - this is econ 101, with all due respect you're embarrassing yourself.
I'm not being broad - i am claiming that math and economics dictate why APP won't save you money and then explaining why and you are accusing me of being too broad? How can I make it any simpler?

in terms of economics:
If that mythical company you are talking about was "worth $10 million" why would you sell it for 8?

Maybe you needed the money fast - in which case it was worth 8 million.
Maybe you didn't want the hassle - in which case it was worth 8 million.
Maybe you wanted to sell to your son in law and save him some money - in which case it was worth 8 million.

If something sells for X, it is worth precisely X. That's all there is to it.

What else determines worth other than market value?
If the market rate for gold is $900/oz and you sell an oz for $450 then 2 things have happened: 1 - you made a minuscule impact downward on the market rate of gold and more important 2 - THAT particular oz of gold was only worth $450.

For whatever reason, you valued that $450 at or above what you valued your oz of gold. That oz of gold was worth $450.
That is true by definition.

In terms of Math:
here's all you need to know - why would apple sell it at the price they do unless it made them money? Do you think they are losing money on the APP? Of course not - therefore since it is a zero sum game, it is not a good investment for most people in terms of just money.

Yes, technically the same is true with health insurance in that health insurance companies generally turn a profit. But here's the difference: if your laptop breaks, at worst you are out some money. At worst the full value of the computer. If something happens to you or yours and you don't have health insurance you are looking at going bankrupt staying alive.
I know you didn't need that explained to you.

As for my stance on APP - I wasn't ridiculing anything. Not everything has to be some nasty fight on the internet - i have noticed that you tend to make things personal very quickly on these forums. I hope that's a sign of youth - but I really wasn't ridiculing anything and I certainly wasn't equating the two. Buying a lottery ticket is a terrible financial investment. Buying apple care is a bit more up in the air - look at the rest of my posts or my other posts in this thread or even that very post to see what i mean by that. I am arguing that in the long run it doesn't save you money.

You really are wrong here - people may think they "sell their company for less than it's worth plenty of times" but the reality is value and worth aren't just about money. Just like playing the lottery might be a terrible investment in terms of your return, it's fun to buy a ticket every now and then and that has value in and of itself.

Give me a single scenario where someone sold their company for less than it was worth and I will explain to you why that isn't what happened.