About the warranty when you buy a new MBA

[SR71]

When you buy a new MBA, you get a 1-year limited warranty with it and 90 days of free phone support, right?

Well, since the 1-year limited warranty covers most things, would it be smarter to buy the 3 year AppleCare after the 1-year limited warranty runs out?

 

[McGiord]

Apple quality has been going down the drain in the recent years, if you have the money go for it, it will give you peace of mind and might become useful if you are planning to keep it for more time, I mean after the warranty expires. You can buy it later during your first year of ownership. The service is top notch.

 

[jenzjen]

When you buy a new MBA, you get a 1-year limited warranty with it and 90 days of free phone support, right?

Well, since the 1-year limited warranty covers most things, would it be smarter to buy the 3 year AppleCare after the 1-year limited warranty runs out?

To be safe, I would activate AC before the 1 year warranty runs out, you could wait until the 51st week, etc but still make sure you get it activated before the 1 year anniversary.

 

[flatfoot]

When you buy a new MBA, you get a 1-year limited warranty with it and 90 days of free phone support, right?

Well, since the 1-year limited warranty covers most things, would it be smarter to buy the 3 year AppleCare after the 1-year limited warranty runs out?

Just to be clear: AppleCare won't extend your warranty by 3 years but by 2; no matter when (within the first year) you buy it. You'll get a total of 3 years after the date of purchase.

 

[eljanitor]

Always, always get the extended Applecare. I recently went to help someone figure out why their newer iMac was having strange video issues. After looking at the unit I realized it was a bad video processor at the least.

We reviewed their Applecare and it was still covered. When they picked up their machine from the Apple service provider we asked what was replaced in the repair. it was :Logicboard, display, and front glass. Knowing that this was an expensive repair we inquired as to how much this would cost out of warranty. $1,300.00 The iMac costs about that much new.

Also you can only go to an authorized Apple Service Provider to get hardware repairs (and hardware that you can exchange) done on your Mac in and out of warranty most of the time. Macs are not like mass produced PC's that you can get parts for anywhere at low prices even though Macs use some more PC parts now.

So the lesson here is if you have the money to buy a new Mac you should spring for the extended warranty. Even if nothing goes wrong it's piece of mind at the least.

 

[Psychmike]

With all respect, I disagree with most of the opinions posted. In my experience and in most consumer studies, extended warranties are not worth the cost. Your mileage, preferences, and needs may of course vary.

If an extended warranty costs 15% of the price of the product, it makes sense to calculate the odds of the product going south in Years 2 and 3. If something goes wrong in Year 1, it's covered under the normal warranty. If something goes wrong in Year 4, the extended warranty doesn't help.

I've owned 6 or 7 laptops in my lifetime and none have ever required repair. Extending that to electronics in general, in my experience, things generally are wonky out of the box or they're fine.

I understand that Apple Care is available at a cheaper rate from re-sellers. In this case, it might well be worth it but Apple's costs are on the high side. I don't use a lot of telephone support services but this alone may be worth it for some people. Also, those who re-sell their equipment may get more by being able to offer a warranty.

 

[MRU]

I find Apple Care worthy. Especially if after a year or 18 months you decide to sell / trade up your laptop. Resale value holds up better when your offering a machine with 18-24 months left on warranty than a machine with no warranty what so ever.

 

[Kebabselector]

I don't bother with Apple Care on my Macs (iPhone yes cos it's had a few issues), but I buy from a UK retailer who offers 2 year warranties.

Really though if Apple stand by their quality they should include a 2 year warranty free of charge. Students get 3 years free, so why shouldn't ordinary punters get a better deal.

 

[hcho3]

When you buy a new MBA, you get a 1-year limited warranty with it and 90 days of free phone support, right?

Well, since the 1-year limited warranty covers most things, would it be smarter to buy the 3 year AppleCare after the 1-year limited warranty runs out?

No.

The smartest thing to do is buy your apple products with credit card company that gives you extended warranty at no charge. There are some credit card companies that do this. Check them first before you spend more money on warranty. Apple care is not cheap.

 

[hcho3]

I don't bother with Apple Care on my Macs (iPhone yes cos it's had a few issues), but I buy from a UK retailer who offers 2 year warranties.

Really though if Apple stand by their quality they should include a 2 year warranty free of charge. Students get 3 years free, so why shouldn't ordinary punters get a better deal.

Is this True? I never heard of this.

 

[rkaufmann87]

When you buy a new MBA, you get a 1-year limited warranty with it and 90 days of free phone support, right?

Right!

Well, since the 1-year limited warranty covers most things, would it be smarter to buy the 3 year AppleCare after the 1-year limited warranty runs out?

If you are going to buy AppleCare which extends the original warranty to 3 years (it doesn't add 3 years) you MUST buy it before the original 1 year warranty has expired. Wait 1 day over and you're out of luck!!!

 

[leowyatt]

Is this True? I never heard of this.

This is true any mac bought through a HE discount comes with a 3 years hardware warranty as standard

 

[iStudentUK]

Is this True? I never heard of this.

Only UK students (as far as I know) and only online/phone not in store.

 

[Fhame Rashid]

im a uk student and ordered a macbook air 11.6 ultimate last week with apple care, i had to pay only 40 GBP more.....one of the best deal in my life!!! you can do it instore as well

 

[gnasher729]

When you buy a new MBA, you get a 1-year limited warranty with it and 90 days of free phone support, right?

Well, since the 1-year limited warranty covers most things, would it be smarter to buy the 3 year AppleCare after the 1-year limited warranty runs out?

You can only buy AppleCare as long as your Mac is still under warranty. And the three years count from the day you bought the Mac. So you won't get longer warranty by waiting. However, after 11 months you will know whether your Mac had any problems or not. So you might decide to buy AppleCare if your Mac had any problems, and don't buy it if your Mac worked perfectly fine all the time.

 

[Kebabselector]

im a uk student and ordered a macbook air 11.6 ultimate last week with apple care, i had to pay only 40 GBP more.....

The £40 was for the 3 years telephone support, the hardware bit of the warranty was free.

Great deal anyway, enjoy!

 

[firewood]

In general, all extended warranties are profit centers for the company selling the warranty. Apple charges more for Applecare than any estimated future repairs will cost Apple on average.

So if you can afford to self-insure, you will be better off on average by not buying Applecare (or any other extended warranty).

But not every product is average. What I generally do is wait a few months and then read the extended reviews from heavy users to see if a product fails a lot more than expected. If something is reported to fail way more often than I want to risk, then I get Applecare before the standard warranty expires. I've only done that twice in maybe 2 decades, and that's paid off once (I sent my PowerBook Duo back for repairs something like 3 or 4 times after the standard warranty expired. I've only had to send an Apple product back once since.)

I haven't heard enough mid-life mortality horror stories about the MBA to convince me they aren't plenty rugged and well built. The guy who dropped his MBA out of a moving truck and only wrecked the display tells me that they are pretty bullet-proof.

...so far.