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AppleCare for iMac?
- Thread starter daanodinot
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It is the day you make the purchase of your iMac.
I ordered AppleCare with the iMac, they sent me a booklet with the terms and agreement the very same day. A couple days later I received notification that the iMac was being prepared for delivery, a day after the shipping notification I received an e-mail that everything had been taken care of regarding auto-enrolment of AppleCare. The end date specified in that e-mail is the same date I ordered the iMac.
You should buy Applecare for a Mac within 12 months after you purchased it. Then you get 2 extra years of warranty. Despite what Apple claims, but in the EU you should always get 2 years if the error/cause is with the manufacturer. I think Apple officially gives you one year of factory warranty. The second year (in Apple's view) is with the seller. So if you buy the iMac from Apple directly, Apple should honour two years of warranty. If bought via a reseller, the 2nd year is with them.
I had the problem in the Netherlands, that the reseller went bust (Mycom, iCentre) and was taken over by another company. To avoid issues (it's far from clear if the new owner maintains the original conditions) I bought Applecare as well. On an investment of ~2500 euros, the extra money of Applecare is easy to defend.
For Applecare you need to enter details online using a registration code in the package and submit the receipt to them. Usually within a couple of hours, Applecare is activated for your iMac. The start date is the purchasing date (or the activation date in Apple's systems ??). The proof of Applecare can be mailed or e-mailed to you. There's also an online record.
I think I could add another reason that why you should buy an apple care.
My iMac 5K just broke because of the dust inside the screen. And I contacted the apple people and get to know that if you buy apple care, there will be someone who picks your iMac from your house. (If there is a apple authurized repairing company near you less than 30 kilometers), repairs and turns it back.
If you doesn't buy an apple care, you will have to go to the company yourself with your iMac twice. It is really convenient since iMac 27" is really big to delivery.
My iMac 5K just broke because of the dust inside the screen. And I contacted the apple people and get to know that if you buy apple care, there will be someone who picks your iMac from your house. (If there is a apple authurized repairing company near you less than 30 kilometers), repairs and turns it back.
If you doesn't buy an apple care, you will have to go to the company yourself with your iMac twice. It is really convenient since iMac 27" is really big to delivery.
3/4 of the time, really? Maybe we need to start buying reliable products if these things fall apart in the first 3 years with that kind of regularity?
I just looked it up because this didn't sound right. According to Apple,
Onsite service. Onsite service is available for many desktop computers if the location of the Covered Equipment is within 50 miles (80 kilometers) radius of an Apple Authorized Onsite Service Provider.
So, good luck in a lot of places.
Anyways, one of the problems with this sort of discussion is that people show up saying "I always buy it and it's paid for itself....". Meanwhile, the guys who have never used it never show up.
When I sold the cheese, salespeople would always say "yeah, I see these come back a lot, just the other day..." Of course, they'd forget that it was a 30-day return or that they were an authorized service center so where were the products going to go? And what is a lot anyway? The reality is that they had no idea how often products came back and even if they were being honest about the situation, not very likely based on what I saw, their observations were useless in the grand scheme of things.
Note: I'm not saying anyone here is lying, just pointing out that when I sold them, the pressure, and the rewards were such that, it was very hard to sell them honestly. I was probably the worst cheese salesman ever. Even at an Apple store, where they don't have commissions, I bet there is pressure to sell them, it just takes a different form.
A couple of other points, I have a Discover card, so that doubles the warranty period up to 1-year. Also, I'm a government employee so I get AC on the iMac I'm looking at for $119 vs $169. Interesting!
I never ever buy AC and never once had a need for it after owning multiple Macs of every kind since the 12" Powerbook G4 in 2003. I have owned multiple Mac Pros, multiple iMacs, and several Mac portables and not once would I have used AC had I bought it. I am currently using a 2014 13" rMBP and if it broke tomorrow I could literally throw it in trash and but a new one and I would still be ahead with all the money I have saved by not buying AC over the years.
I think what you mentioned is true. These threads do tend to draw out the people who have needed AC so it ended up being a good investment for them. Personally, I just see it as another profit center for Apple.
I always use my VISA card that extends the original warranty one year, and that is good enough for me.
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Damn, I only have (5) stores to choose from.
IMHO there is no sense spending time debating this subject...........it's a gamble and similar to an insurance policy.
Sometimes you make out and other times not.
I feel it's cheap enough insurance considering the cost of the product purchased...mine is a loaded 5K iMac and cost much more than the base $1799.
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