OK... well AppleCare is $60 for 2 years, and the Best buy plan is $50 for 3 years, obviously a much better deal... but is it? Like financially it is, but is the service and everything good too?
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Best Buy Protection Plan?
- Thread starter rye9
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rye9 said:
Make sure you read exactly what's covered and what the restrictions are.
Retailers, like BestBuy, make a lot of money selling these protection plans/extended warranties.
I'm not too fond of the applecare program COMPARED TO other store programs. Applecare is nice because it's right through the manufacturer, realtively easy, software support, and you know it'll be taken care of well.
The problem with applecare? No protection against physical damage. All retail stores (Ccity, bestbuy, comp) offer protection that includes accidental damage. I'm very familiar with circuit city's (but they don't have macs), and I've heard that best buy's is great. I recommend buying the store protection + applecare. That way you get software support right through apple themselves along with great tech support, and best buy can just give you a new laptop after two and a half years when you decide to chuck it out the window.
The problem with applecare? No protection against physical damage. All retail stores (Ccity, bestbuy, comp) offer protection that includes accidental damage. I'm very familiar with circuit city's (but they don't have macs), and I've heard that best buy's is great. I recommend buying the store protection + applecare. That way you get software support right through apple themselves along with great tech support, and best buy can just give you a new laptop after two and a half years when you decide to chuck it out the window.
No No No!
Do NOT buy Best Buy's warranty!
I watched a co-worker try to get his machine repaired by Best Buy. They had his machine for over 10 weeks !?!? for three repair attempts, and then returned it to him without actually fixing the problem each time.
The last time they returned it to him without fixing the problem, the refused to repair or replace the machine because the warranty expired while they had it for repair!
It is true that APpleCare will not cover incidental damage, but if there is something wrong with your machine because of a defect, they will fix it, and if they can't fix it they will replace it. And their turn around time for repair is fast. The last time I sent my iBook in for repair, I shipped it Tuesday morning and DHL dropped it off Wednesday afternoon.
Good luck.
rye9 said:
Do NOT buy Best Buy's warranty!
I watched a co-worker try to get his machine repaired by Best Buy. They had his machine for over 10 weeks !?!? for three repair attempts, and then returned it to him without actually fixing the problem each time.
The last time they returned it to him without fixing the problem, the refused to repair or replace the machine because the warranty expired while they had it for repair!
It is true that APpleCare will not cover incidental damage, but if there is something wrong with your machine because of a defect, they will fix it, and if they can't fix it they will replace it. And their turn around time for repair is fast. The last time I sent my iBook in for repair, I shipped it Tuesday morning and DHL dropped it off Wednesday afternoon.
Good luck.
I've heard similar horror stories of BestBuy and their Canadian subsidiary Futureshop.
Check into your home insurance, assuming you have some, there may be accidental coverage in their.
Check into your home insurance, assuming you have some, there may be accidental coverage in their.
I have a BestBuy plan. I got it because I can receive a new free battery every year of the plan so long as the current battery doesn't hold 100% charge. For that it's not a bad deal, BUT as far as actual service goes it blows. I've taken my laptop in a couple of times now for an issue where it freezes when coming out of hibernation. The first time they fixed the fan and this last time they just reset the software settings after having it for almost a month--in essence the problem isn't fixed. Luckily, I have over a year left of the plan so I plan on taking it in....again. Supposedly you get a new machine if they can't fix it by the third try so here's hoping for that at least.
You can also see my rant on this service here.
You can also see my rant on this service here.
Yeah, get the Best Buy Plan....if you don't mind being without your iPod for a VERY long period of time. AppleCare shipped=about 3 days, AppleCare in the store=instant repair.
I have to concur with most of the posts in this thread. In-store extended warranties are a complete ripoff.
I'm not sure what to advise. Back in the day(with my original 3G) they would just replace it if anything was wrong. Now? Well, too many people own iPods now. They would get forced out of business. Now, they send it back to Apple to have them taken care of. My most recent iPod has had the hard drive worked on four different times and they finally just replaced the hard drive. Well, it's already clicking again so I'm not sure what to expect. Expect a lot of downtime if you're hard on your pod. I have spent quite some time without the thing and am actually bummed about it. I have had good service and very poor service. All I can say is that I will never buy anything at Best Buy ever again. I mean this too, not even a cd.
haha wow this is hard, ive got strong opinions on both sides.. i might just forget a protection plan all together... however im leaning towards the best buy plan if i get one for one reason... all I want a plan for is the battery, bc I know iPods and their batteries dont last too long... and i hear that Best Buy will support battery stuff better than Apple.. so yeah, idk
Some of the in-store plans for iPods are not bad actually. With some of them, they'll just give you a new one thats the same price as the one you originally bought, which by that time is obviously a much nicer one.
If they give you a new one if it breaks, then I'd say get it. (And make sure it covers physical damage, like drops, etc...) But if it just gets repaired, then probably not worth it.
If they give you a new one if it breaks, then I'd say get it. (And make sure it covers physical damage, like drops, etc...) But if it just gets repaired, then probably not worth it.
the way i see it is when i worked at best buy... everyone always complained about the service plan.. even tho they dont work on comission they are still getting 100% profit from ur service plan sale. the batteries they replace with as POS from china that dont work a damn. now if they gave you OEM batteries i would be happy.. but they even cheat you out of that... so in my opinion... dont buy it.. 
I worked at Best Buy for a while as well...in the department responsible for mp3 players and iPods. I of course would sell them ever single day, they look good on paper, but it was always a hastle for customers coming in when something did happen to their iPod. I say don't bother, their customer service in general is a hastle, if not completely apathetic. In addition, when they send out, say an iPod, I do not believe it's a facility nearly as reliable and trustworthy as somewhere Apple may send it.
Do not do it my friend.
Do not do it my friend.
A while back i actually got the plan for a cd player i bought (yes i know it was a while back) and it was a very good choice for me. Eveytime my cd player started acting weird because i had dropped it i would take it in and they would give me a new one or i could buy a nicer one and pay the 10 dollar difference or so. I exchanged it about 7 times with the same plan which basically meant i got a new cd player every month or so. I though it was really awesome how they exchanged it without asking many question and to be honest some of the times i actually dropped the cd player redering it inoperable So maybe they are more lineant on cheaper electronics or maybe they have become more strict over the years but just though id share my experience
So maybe they are more lineant on cheaper electronics or maybe they have become more strict over the years but just though id share my experience