AppleCare- Is It Worth It

[Kenya]

Hi,

New to this forum but not forums in general. I am a new student (well, really a re-entry student) and I'm buying myself an MBP with part of my student loan money (forgoing food and clothes). I have owned two desktop Macs and one used PowerBook previously and have never bought AppleCare. I plan on using my MBP at home and at school in the library. I like the fact that I can sit in Starbucks and go online but I probably never will.

What is your opinion?

TIA,

Kenya

 

[WildCowboy]

You won't find a unanimous opinion here, but the majority of people (myself included) seem to think that AppleCare for laptops is a good idea. Most repairs would be difficult to do on your own (unlike desktops that are built for access and expansion), and Apple charges enough for them that one decent-sized repair will make it worth while. Especially if you use a student discount for the AppleCare.

 

[Sesshi]

Do you intend to keep it for longer than a year? If so, Yes. If not, no. My personal experience is that due to the crappiness of Apple hardware, an active warranty is definitely a must for as long as you have the machine.

 

[Scottyk9]

Depends on your risk profile. Would you prefer a 100% probability of spending a small amount of money (applecare), or a small (not zero, but difficult to precisely define) risk of spending a large amount of money (when your computer dies at day 366).

Note that typically companies make money by selling product insurance

 

[WildCowboy]

Note that typically companies make money by selling product insurance

If they're not making money, they typically don't last very long...they're not charities.

What they can do is help you manage your risk...it's worth it to me. I've already made back my outlay on my PowerBook AppleCare...keyboard replacement + a top case replacement.

 

[IJ Reilly]

You won't find a unanimous opinion here, but the majority of people (myself included) seem to think that AppleCare for laptops is a good idea. Most repairs would be difficult to do on your own (unlike desktops that are built for access and expansion), and Apple charges enough for them that one decent-sized repair will make it worth while. Especially if you use a student discount for the AppleCare.

Please, there's never been a consensus and nobody has ever done a poll on this issue, so you have no way of knowing what opinion is in the majority, which would not answer the "worthwhile" question in any event.

Anyway, this question pops every second or third day now. So searching the board for the previous threads is definitely worthwhile.

 

[OnceUGoMac]

Kenya, welcome to the forums and next time go to Forums -> Search. This topic is asked each week if not more.

 

[WildCowboy]

Please, there's never been a consensus and nobody has ever done a poll on this issue, so you have no way of knowing what opinion is in the majority, which would not answer the "worthwhile" question in any event.

I never said there was a consensus of any sort...far from it. I also included the word "seem" to indicate that I don't "know" the real numbers. A few polls have been done several times over the years, but they haven't really been broken down by desktop versus laptop and don't exactly address the question of whether people think it's worthwhile. (They tend to be more along the lines of "Did you buy AppleCare?") What the polls find is that it's almost 50/50...actually it's just slightly less than half of the people buy AppleCare for their machine. I think if someone took the time to ask the correct question about laptops versus desktops, you'd find that the majority would recommend AppleCare for laptops. But yes, I'm pulling that out of my ass.

Anyway, this question pops every second or third day now. So searching the board for the previous threads is definitely worthwhile.

I would definitely agree with this.

 

[Kenya]

Thank you

Thanks for the advice. I will search the forums before asking a question. I <em>knew</em> this question had to have been asked...

Thanks again,

Kenya

BTW, I plan to keep the 'book for as long as I can. I had my iMac G3 SE 500mhz for four years before I thought I needed another. I would like to keep the MBP just as long.

 

[IJ Reilly]

I never said there was a consensus of any sort...far from it. I also included the word "seem" to indicate that I don't "know" the real numbers. A few polls have been done several times over the years, but they haven't really been broken down by desktop versus laptop and don't exactly address the question of whether people think it's worthwhile. (They tend to be more along the lines of "Did you buy AppleCare?") What the polls find is that it's almost 50/50...actually it's just slightly less than half of the people buy AppleCare for their machine. I think if someone took the time to ask the correct question about laptops versus desktops, you'd find that the majority would recommend AppleCare for laptops. But yes, I'm pulling that out of my ass.

Ewww. I mean, okay.

I think a good question to ask in a poll is, out of the people who've bought AppleCare, the number who've collected more in repair value than they paid in premiums. This is a much more useful thing to know, IMO, rather than whether a majority buy or even recommend buying AppleCare.

 

[ipoddin]

well, from what I've been told on these forums, you can buy applecare anytime within the first year of purchase. Since it comes with a one year warranty, put a reminder on your calendar 11 months from purchase to buy applecare and you're extended to 3 years. This way, you don't get hit with the additional money for applecare right now.

If I'm completely wrong with my assesment, I'm sure someone will chime in.

 

[Kenya]

well, from what I've been told on these forums, you can buy applecare anytime within the first year of purchase. Since it comes with a one year warranty, put a reminder on your calendar 11 months from purchase to buy applecare and you're extended to 3 years. This way, you don't get hit with the additional money for applecare right now.

If I'm completely wrong with my assesment, I'm sure someone will chime in.

very good to know!

 

[Kenya]

Ewww. I mean, okay.

I think a good question to ask in a poll is, out of the people who've bought AppleCare, the number who've collected more in repair value than they paid in premiums. This is a much more useful thing to know, IMO, rather than whether a majority buy or even recommend buying AppleCare.

I think that's a good question. Out of the people that purchased AppleCare, how many of you have collected more in repair than you paid for the insurance?

--
Kenya

 

[IJ Reilly]

I think that's a good question. Out of the people that purchased AppleCare, how many of you have collected more in repair than you paid for the insurance?

--
Kenya

And how many have not?

 

[fenixx]

Someone should make a Poll, and sticky it..