Applecare for IMac?

[candyman]

b/c the iMac is an all-in-one, i think applecare is definitely worth it.

you can't just open up the machine and replace bad parts easily. AND b/c of it's all-in-one design in my opinion I think that makes it an increased risk for something to go wrong

I agree 100%. I ordered it on my new iMac. It's the same reason you carry health, auto, life and homeowners or renters insurance. You are protecting your investment.

My experience has been opposite of what should have happened. I bought a PowerBook G4 6 years ago and an iBook G3 5 years ago, both portable machines that were constantly on the move, didn't get AppleCare for either one (not sure why). However, never had an issue with either. Just sold off the iBook last year, still running the PowerBook to this day!

Three years ago I added a PowerMac G5 to my Mac collection. Something told me to buy AppleCare, be it the cost, being the top of the line machine at the time, being that it had a liquid cooling system. So I did. Here is a machine that never moved off my desk in a temperature controlled enviornment and less than 6 months after having purchased it, one of the CPUs went bad. Thanks to my AppleCare everything was replaced for free. Total cost for parts and labor would have been around $1,000.

Just two months ago and less than two months after my AppleCare expired, once again a CPU was going bad. Cost to repair this time around $1,100. This would have to come out of my pocket this time but I have since done away with that machine.

Point is, you can get lucky or just have the assurance that things will be taken care of if something goes wrong. On most items, I do not purchase the extra insurance, however, my life is on and depends on my computer. Plus with the iMac being an all in one device, I made sure to protect my new investment as just about anything can go wrong, even if it is a machine that is just going to sit on my desk.

For less than $5 a month, it's a bargain for this model machine in my opinion. I just eat out at a fast food joint one less time a month instead! Makes me eat healthier too!

 

[Sweetfeld28]

Has anyone bought an AppleCare plan off of eBay? I have been looking into it, and i could get the plan for my iMac Alu 20" for $104 vs. $181.40 through the Apple Store.


I asked the guy if they send me the code, or ship me the the AppleCare code and paper work, the seller responded that they email the code to me within 10 hours. Should i do it?

Item Page on eBay

 

[Dimwhit]

Has anyone bought an AppleCare plan off of eBay? I have been looking into it, and i could get the plan for my iMac Alu 20" for $104 vs. $181.40 through the Apple Store.


I asked the guy if they send me the code, or ship me the the AppleCare code and paper work, the seller responded that they email the code to me within 10 hours. Should i do it?

Item Page on eBay

Do it. It's how I got my iMac AppleCare (I paid $87!). Best thing is to view all his feedback. Looks like the seller has several positive feedbacks specifically from selling AppleCare, so it looks legit.

 

[Sweetfeld28]

Do it. It's how I got my iMac AppleCare (I paid $87!). Best thing is to view all his feedback. Looks like the seller has several positive feedbacks specifically from selling AppleCare, so it looks legit.

Cool, thanks for the reply. I'll have to do it soon, my existing AppleCare runs out on the 14 of this month.

 

[Shivetya]

I can hardly believe it, but I'm coming up on one year of owning my aluminum IMac. I still love my IMac and have really enjoyed it! I am trying to decide if it's worth buying the Applecare warranty. I'm not big into buying extended warranties. Quite honestly, I typically hope to get about three years out of a computer before moving on to the newer technology.

What do you think, worthwhile purchase?

YES!

Damn thing died on me just a little into its second year. Just don't expect the same great service you get with Dell; who comes to your house whereas I have to cart the damn iMac in for anything

 

[Lord Zedd]

No! Never do that on ebay unless they send you the sealed box. If he is just sending codes they may be stolen.

 

[Dimwhit]

No! Never do that on ebay unless they send you the sealed box. If he is just sending codes they may be stolen.

Anything you buy on eBay may be stolen.

 

[Lord Zedd]

A sealed box is far less likely than just the code.

 

[Sweetfeld28]

True, True.

 

[TheDoctah]

A couple questions about apple care...

Does the LA computers place mentioned earlier in this thread ship outside of the US? Specifically to Canada?

Can applecare warranties be extended? ie...after the first 3 year warranty ends.....can you extend it another 3 years from that?

Thanks.

 

[alphaod]

A sealed box is far less likely than just the code.

You could be getting rocks instead.

 

[SaSaSushi]

YES!

Damn thing died on me just a little into its second year. Just don't expect the same great service you get with Dell; who comes to your house whereas I have to cart the damn iMac in for anything

Apple sends a courier out to pick up the iMac and overnights it to the service center here in Japan.

Last time I used it I got a bad LCD panel replaced and I doubt very much had it been a Dell that the repair tech would have happened to have brought one with him.

 

[SaSaSushi]

A couple questions about apple care...

Does the LA computers place mentioned earlier in this thread ship outside of the US? Specifically to Canada?

Probably not but you'd be best served by visiting their website and checking. They may ship to Canada. They don't ship to Japan.

I had it shipped to my parents in New Jersey who then sent it on to me.

Can applecare warranties be extended? ie...after the first 3 year warranty ends.....can you extend it another 3 years from that?

No, 3 years from date of purchase, period.

 

[TheDoctah]

Probably not but you'd be best served by visiting their website and checking. They may ship to Canada. They don't ship to Japan.

I had it shipped to my parents in New Jersey who then sent it on to me.



No, 3 years from date of purchase, period.

Thanks SaSaSushi. I found a local place that sells it less than Apple does, so I'll probably be going that route.

Too bad the coverage is limited to 3 years. Considering how my experience with mac has begun, I will definitely feel safer having coverage as long as I can.

 

[dsharits]

Its true that something big(ish) has to go wrong on Applecare for laptops as the initial purchase price is high (if you paid for it...).

on an iMac, full price is still low, and to be honest very little would have to go wrong to mean it would make sense.

Yes i think insurance on some things is not worth it... mobile phones for instance i have never bothered with (as you generally keep them for a short period of time).

In saying all this, i'm not sure if i would have got it, if it wasn't free....

Actually that's not entirely true. Considering anything that goes wrong on a laptop is going to be pretty much a minimum of $400 to fix it, and the most expensive AppleCare is $349 for the MacBook Pro, it pays for itself in the first repair. AppleCare on laptops costs more because the repairs are much more. Practically anything that goes wrong electronically on a laptop is going to require the logic board to be replaced, which is somewhere around $600.

The iMac price of $169 is almost nothing, so I do agree that it is definitely worth it to buy AppleCare with it (or any Apple product for that matter).

 

[iboost79]

i bought mine with my AMEX so there is 1 more year additionalwarranty. Is that worth it to get the applecare ?

That means you'll get a total of 48 months coverage. AMEX adds an additonal year of coverage. Definitely worth it. I bought all my Mac products with my AMEX.

 

[jazyje]

Cool, thanks for the reply. I'll have to do it soon, my existing AppleCare runs out on the 14 of this month.

I bought applecare from that seller today for $104- $26 live.com discount = $78!!!

Great deal, the code was emailed to me in less than 1 hour, I activated it on apple's site in 5 minutes -- what'snot to like????

PS> I've seen Apple care for less than $60 on ebay before -- beats buying it directly from apple in my view...