Would you recommend Applecare with rMBP

[~~Hello~~]

Here's a discussion on it.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/751459/

I had the dell mini 9 and the hdd failed after 13 months of having it. Dell didn't want to know, wish I'd been a bit more clued up and I could have quoted this act to them. I had to get another hard drive and i had issues with that as well. One big mess, and i ended up selling it on ebay minus a working hard drive.

No one at the time suggested this act to me. Never heard of it before. Normally I have no issues with things breaking down and I've been fairly lucky.

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Thinking about it I have a 6th gen ipod nano,it works but I have an issue with the sound turning down all the time. I had it fixed once under warranty. I wonder if I could go to the Apple store and argue this act with them and see if they give me a replacement? Hmmm...

 

[Yahooligan]

That's fine, just stay in the USA, and your wish to be shafted by people who earn every day more than you will in your entire life will no doubt come true.

Maybe companies should just offer lifetime warranties on everything, that makes great sense and then the customer won't get "shafted."

I'm glad you like living in Australia. I don't know if you get investment and mortgage interest deductions in Australia or not, but looking at your country's tax rates and information it looks like my income tax rate based on 2012 income would be 30.4% + 1.5% for Medicare. I'm not going to say what my 2012 income was, but let's just say the income tax difference between US and AU would allow me to buy a number of MBPs as my effective tax rate for 2012 was 13.46%. That, to me, is worth more than an extra year or two of warranty.

I for one actually like having a government that tries to stop corporations from shamelessly taking advantage of their customers. Therefore I like living in Australia; a nice place with warm sunny beaches, cute fuzzy animals, and reasonable consumer protection laws.

We have consumer protection laws here as well, quite a number of them, but when it comes down to contracts and contract law, which is what a warranty would fall under, it doesn't get much simpler. The company's requirement to do free repairs ends when the warranty contract expires.

Don't know what a Mac costs in AU, but I suspect I could buy a MBP + AppleCare here in the states for cheaper than just the MBP there in AU.

EDIT: Now that the store is working again, I see a 2.7GHz 15" rMBP lists for $3199AUD, which converts to $3027USD at today's exchange rate. The same rMBP lists for $2799USD here, so all else being equal you pay $228USD more ($240AUD) for the same rMBP. That translates into $228USD for an extra year of warranty. 3-year AppleCare here in the states is $349, that gives us an extra 2 years of coverage...at basically $175/yr.

You tell me who's getting the shaft. Enjoy your "free" extra year of warranty.

Best to not bash a country you don't know about. I'm not bashing AU and don't know how all your laws an taxation works so I can only go on what I've been able to find and do a simple comparison. Perhaps the people getting the shaft aren't the ones you think...

 

[Philuk84]

I had the dell mini 9 and the hdd failed after 13 months of having it. Dell didn't want to know, wish I'd been a bit more clued up and I could have quoted this act to them. I had to get another hard drive and i had issues with that as well. One big mess, and i ended up selling it on ebay minus a working hard drive.

No one at the time suggested this act to me. Never heard of it before. Normally I have no issues with things breaking down and I've been fairly lucky.

----------

Thinking about it I have a 6th gen ipod nano,it works but I have an issue with the sound turning down all the time. I had it fixed once under warranty. I wonder if I could go to the Apple store and argue this act with them and see if they give me a replacement? Hmmm...

If you don't know then you don't know. Don't beat yourself up about it. Give it a try, they might be more willing to abide by the law than you think. Call a consumer helpline and have a conversation with them, they'll tell you all about it.

 

[inscrewtable]

One other point to note is for countries that have a two year warranty period by law, that, if ebay is a good indication it appears that selling a rmbp after 18 months or so, does not seem to add to its resale value generally.

 

[inscrewtable]

We back it with our standard one-year limited warranty. And you have the option of purchasing an AppleCare Protection Plan for it.— from refurbished store

Because of Apple's intransigence in making their compliance with Australian consumer protection law transparent, it is very difficult to tease out the meaning if not the intention of the above quote with regards to how the law will interpret warranty claims on refurbished items

To wit: "our" standard one year warranty. What does this mean? Does it mean by 'standard' their standard one year warranty for new items? That could be taken by the use of the word 'our'. Or does it mean by 'our' that it is a special one year warranty that only applies to refurbished and is not to be confused with their standard one year warranty which they advertise for new items, but is in reality required to be two years by law.

To simplify my query, I am wondering if the two year warranty (in countries that have it) applies to refurbished items from Apple.

 

[tillsbury]

No Apple Care for this guy. I've owned many Apple products over the years and have yet to have a failure or malfunction of any kind. Apple TV, 2 iPod Touch, 1 MBP Late 2010, 1 MPB Late 2011. No issues at all.

Had I bought Apple Care for all of those products, Apple would have been laughing all the way to the bank with my money.

Apple makes a good product as is. If they start breaking and dying within 3 or so years, then I'll stop buying Apple products and choose something else.

Yup, self-insuring is the way to go with low value items such as computers (as opposed to cars and houses). In New Zealand we are also covered by the Consumer Guarantees Act which insists that manufacturers repair faults during the product's reasonable lifetime. For a computer that has been successfully argued to be as long as four and a bit years, but three is no problem, so Applecare is a bit irrelevant here.

However, I used to run a computer company in the UK where we offered hardware maintenance back in the 80s and 90s when computers were much less reliable. Around 85% profit on maintenance contracts overall. Do it yourself unless you absolutely can't. In the long run you will be well ahead even if occasionally you have to pay for a repair or new computer.

 

[Erasmus]

Maybe companies should just offer lifetime warranties on everything, that makes great sense and then the customer won't get "shafted."

Please don't start this argument. Saying "If you think X is OK, then clearly you would think 10X is better, which is crazy talk!" is not a good argument base (despite being seemingly popular today). Expecting a 2-3 grand computer to only last 12 months is unreasonable. 2 years is more reasonable, but 3 or 4 would be better, but we'll take what we can get. Over 5 years would be unreasonable for the customer to demand. At least, in my opinion.

I'm glad you like living in Australia. I don't know if you get investment and mortgage interest deductions in Australia or not, but looking at your country's tax rates and information it looks like my income tax rate based on 2012 income would be 30.4% + 1.5% for Medicare. I'm not going to say what my 2012 income was, but let's just say the income tax difference between US and AU would allow me to buy a number of MBPs as my effective tax rate for 2012 was 13.46%. That, to me, is worth more than an extra year or two of warranty.

We don't get taxed enough here in Australia. Our government doesn't have enough money to do all the things it needs to do. Considering our situation, I cannot imagine the US government has any money to do anything at all. Except spend on Defence, of course.

Education, health services, welfare for people less fortunate than me, and government-run infrastructure are all things I am more than willing to pay for.

...I see a 2.7GHz 15" rMBP lists for $3199AUD, which converts to $3027USD at today's exchange rate. The same rMBP lists for $2799USD here, so all else being equal you pay $228USD more ($240AUD) for the same rMBP. That translates into $228USD for an extra year of warranty. 3-year AppleCare here in the states is $349, that gives us an extra 2 years of coverage...at basically $175/yr.

This argument doesn't make sense, and if anything, supports me. We pay $228 extra, and get 2 years warranty, and therefore don't really need to buy Applecare, whereas you DON'T pay the that $240 bucks, but will go ahead and pay $350 extra instead for 3 years? We're still $110 ahead, considering the chances that a computer will fail not before 24 months, but also not after 36 months are basically zero.

I already know we're being shafted by Apple, but not when it comes to Mac prices. We overpay for iTunes music/TV/movie purchases, and other digital content. And Apple, music labels, and other providers of digital content are under investigation by our government to find out why, who is to blame, and put an end to it.

You like your country, I get that. I like mine. What I don't understand is your implied view that individuals do not need help to be able to stand up against multinational companies when they act callously to their customers.

 

[davideotape]

so i'm probably gonna pull the trigger on this-- the battery and locked-in hardware are good points.

next q: where's the cheapest place to buy this? B&H has it for $244. is that the best i'm gonna find?

 

[OnlyGerman]

Why? That costs more than AppleCare.

You get ADH coverage ..

 

[swerve147]

next q: where's the cheapest place to buy this? B&H has it for $244. is that the best i'm gonna find?

Yeah, pretty sure. I got mine from B&H and activated it without a hitch, either. It was painless going through them, they are an Apple authorized reseller as well, not some shady eBay outfit.

 

[davideotape]

Yeah, pretty sure. I got mine from B&H and activated it without a hitch, either. It was painless going through them, they are an Apple authorized reseller as well, not some shady eBay outfit.

thanks. do they give you the code via email or do they just ship a box?

 

[swerve147]

thanks. do they give you the code via email or do they just ship a box?

They ship the physical retail packaging to you, which is pretty much just an empty box with a code inside. But yeah, they mail it to you.

 

[underblu]

We don't get taxed enough here in Australia. Our government doesn't have enough money to do all the things it needs to do. Considering our situation, I cannot imagine the US government has any money to do anything at all. Except spend on Defence, of course.

Education, health services, welfare for people less fortunate than me, and government-run infrastructure are all things I am more than willing to pay for.

Man you sound just like Al Gore, Barbara Streissand, George Soros they all agree with you. You don't happen to fly around in your own private G5 pining about the environment do you?

I own a small business and don't jet around in a G5 so I feel we are overtaxed in the good ol' USA. BTW, I have compassion for people who are trying to make it and have had misfortune happen to them. I've been there myself. And I believe almost everyone deserves a second chance a fresh start sometimes.

Unfortunately some people feel that everyone else owes them and there multiple babies a living. Imho, they don't have compassion for the rest of us or an iota of personal responsibility for their own lives.

Getting back to Apple. If Apple was forced to provide a longer warranty the money is going to come from somewhere. Since Apple is very focused on maintaining their profitability margins this insurance would likely come from us the consumer in the form of higher prices.

Hopefully, Apple will still give us a choice with regards to Applecare and it won't be mandatory. More importantly I hope they can continue to grow and prosper and put out the innovative, quality products they are known for.

 

[Erasmus]

Man you sound just like Al Gore, Barbara Streissand, George Soros they all agree with you.

Thanks! That's kind of you to say.

You don't happen to fly around in your own private G5 pining about the environment do you?

No. Although I am thinking of maybe becoming a pilot, haven't decided yet. But right now, I'm earning a pittance, but still doing just fine, and not getting (or needing) any assistance from my government. But it is nice to know that it is there if I do.

I own a small business and don't jet around in a G5 so I feel we are overtaxed in the good ol' USA. BTW, I have compassion for people who are trying to make it and have had misfortune happen to them. I've been there myself. And I believe almost everyone deserves a second chance a fresh start sometimes.

Well, my life goal isn't to own a private jet. And if you own a small business, that puts you ahead of the vast majority of people.

Unfortunately some people feel that everyone else owes them and there multiple babies a living. Imho, they don't have compassion for the rest of us or an iota of personal responsibility for their own lives.

I can't deny this. But surely you don't think it is fair to cut back on welfare such that some of the people who really need it suffer, just so a few people who were scamming the system get cut? Where do you draw the line? THAT said, I think a lot of welfare systems in my country are far too generous, which is to the detriment of others that are more in need. For example, we pay a sum of thousands of dollars to parents each time they have a child, and the means test (how much they earn affects eligibility) for this is MUCH too high. Thankfully, recently the amount has been significantly cut, and the means test has been lowered substantially too. That money would be far better spent in health and education.

Getting back to Apple. If Apple was forced to provide a longer warranty the money is going to come from somewhere. Since Apple is very focused on maintaining their profitability margins this insurance would likely come from us the consumer in the form of higher prices.

I'd rather Apple raise their price a little and provide a reasonable warranty from the start than try and convince people they need to spend more money on something that is already very expensive, to ensure that it works how it should supposed to for a reasonable amount of time. It's more honest.

Hopefully, Apple will still give us a choice with regards to Applecare and it won't be mandatory. More importantly I hope they can continue to grow and prosper and put out the innovative, quality products they are known for.

I hope that Apple sorts out what few quality control issues it has left so that it can guarantee that its products will last a reasonable timeframe. AND keeps making awesome, innovative products, which don't break the bank, while doing so in a more transparent, and honest way. And that goes for pretty much all companies.

 

[Robster3]

^^^^

No Australian i know would be winging about not paying enough Tax
If you want to pay more tax earn more money.

 

[davideotape]

"Unfortunately some people feel that everyone else owes them and there multiple babies a living. Imho, they don't have compassion for the rest of us or an iota of personal responsibility for their own lives."

was this actually said? in a forum about computers even?

this is so embarassing.

 

[Erasmus]

*Sigh*

I'm living in a country with one of the best economies, lowest debt levels, rapidly increasing health, education and infrastructure investment, and STILL people think they need more...

Whatever happened to thinking about others? You know, helping people OTHER than yourself?

 

[davideotape]

i get this is a forum where people with lots of money, and apparently free time, go to nerd out on high quality, expensive devices. i do it too and enjoy it, but it doesn't have to bring in people with such entitled opinions. i work pretty hard, but i don't think for a second i'm not super fortunate to be able to afford these products and my life-- MUCH luckier than anyone who needs help just to get by.

i mean i'm not even asking anyone to "think of those less fortunate". you just have to focus on the thread topic, and
1: don't pretend poor people are out to take your precious $3k computer just to feed their kids.
2: don't act like this imaginary situation bothers you so much. these imaginary boogiemen are just trying to feed their fake kids, man.

 

[Yahooligan]

Please don't start this argument. Saying "If you think X is OK, then clearly you would think 10X is better, which is crazy talk!" is not a good argument base (despite being seemingly popular today). Expecting a 2-3 grand computer to only last 12 months is unreasonable. 2 years is more reasonable, but 3 or 4 would be better, but we'll take what we can get. Over 5 years would be unreasonable for the customer to demand. At least, in my opinion.

I don't know where you get the idea that people only expect these computers to last 1 year. It sounds like that is your assumption based on how long the factory warranty is for. That's a bad assumption using bad logic. Using that logic, my car is only meant to last for 3-5 years and 100k miles.

You also realize my comment about a lifetime warranty was sarcasm, right? Poking fun at people feeling like they're entitled to such things?

We don't get taxed enough here in Australia.

Say no more, I know where you're coming from and everything makes complete sense now. I don't agree with it, but that's fine. I'm glad you're happy where you live.

Just remember, a country and its government are also one huge corporation, taking your money and spending it however they please, screwing people over. Paying more taxes won't solve problems, it'll just make the govt richer.

 

[Erasmus]

Say no more, I know where you're coming from and everything makes complete sense now. I don't agree with it, but that's fine. I'm glad you're happy where you live.

Just remember, a country and its government are also one huge corporation, taking your money and spending it however they please, screwing people over. Paying more taxes won't solve problems, it'll just make the govt richer.

I don't know how it works for you, but our government is paid a flat wage. So higher or lower taxes doesn't affect them. It simply enables them to put more money where it can benefit the country the most.

Also consider that a private company will gear its business practices to making the highest profit for the lowest effort. And any profit made by the company disappears into the pocket of someone no-one has ever heard of, in most cases.

On the other hand, public owned companies are geared towards maximising services provided for minimum cost. And any profits that are made (and making large profits are no longer required) go into the government's money pool, lowering the amount of tax that is needed to top it up to what is actually needed. Basically, you could think of a public owned business as a normal business, where everyone in the country that owns it is a shareholder.

Anyways, I don't think there's any point in continuing this argument, I've made my case. You're not going to convince me other wise, and if I haven't changed anyone else's mind, I'm not going to.

 

[Yahooligan]

I don't know how it works for you, but our government is paid a flat wage. So higher or lower taxes doesn't affect them. It simply enables them to put more money where it can benefit the country the most.

That a rather utopian view of how governments work. Our officials are paid a flat salary as well, but that doesn't prevent them from frivolous spending of taxpayers money, inappropriate reappropriation of funds, or simply paying too much for something.

How a government works and how they're supposed to work are two very different things. It's nice to think that there's a govt out there that does the right thing all the time, but I really doubt there's one in existence.

Also consider that a private company will gear its business practices to making the highest profit for the lowest effort. And any profit made by the company disappears into the pocket of someone no-one has ever heard of, in most cases.

On the other hand, public owned companies are geared towards maximising services provided for minimum cost. And any profits that are made (and making large profits are no longer required) go into the government's money pool, lowering the amount of tax that is needed to top it up to what is actually needed. Basically, you could think of a public owned business as a normal business, where everyone in the country that owns it is a shareholder.

Using Apple as an example, it isn't a private company nor is it a public company based on your definitions. Apple is a public company in that it has shareholders and Apple has to answer to those shareholders. The shareholders are not the govt but range from average people like you and I to investment firms, etc.

Apple does well, their stock price reflects this, the shareholders make money due to the increased value of the stock. On the flip side, Apple does poorly, their stock drops, and the shareholders lose money (or they don't make as much).

I take it there are a number of govt-run companies in AU?

Anyways, I don't think there's any point in continuing this argument, I've made my case. You're not going to convince me other wise, and if I haven't changed anyone else's mind, I'm not going to.

I didn't think of it as an argument but a discussion on how our countries and points-of-view differ. What I didn't care for was the feeling that someone was attacking a country based on misconceptions. Cultural differences are everywhere, but I'm not going to attack someone or their country simply because they're different or I don't agree with them. I'd hope other people would have the same respect.

Anyway, as long as you're happy with your country then that's what matters most. I know my country and govt aren't perfect, but I can't think of anyplace I'd rather live.

 

[inscrewtable]

It's early days yet but there is a curious statistic that the poll is pointing to and that is the lack of people who'd buy applecare on a second hand computer. As it must be bought during the warranty period so for "second hand" read 11 < months old.

I guess it simply means that those who want to save money buying second hand don't see applecare as necessary. Why? I don't know. Maybe because they think if it is going to break it would have already done so.

 

[arcite]

If you're in Australia, why don't you just hop on a cheap weekend flight and buy your Apple products in Hong Kong? Apple has worldwide warranty after all.

Without question though, if you're dropping $3000 on a computer, what is an extra $300 here or there? Especially if it is a machine you depend upon for your livelihood.

 

[Badrottie]

Never tried Applecare for rMBP but it is worth it because I don't have a lot money for repairs.

 

[fskywalker]

For all the early (June 2012) rMBP buyers, you have only a few days to buy it before your warranty expires! Mine is covered until September 2015!