iMac Pro: AppleCare alternatives?

[mcgroarty]

Is anyone aware of any AppleCare alternatives for the iMac Pro? I only need hardware coverage, not tech support.

I would like to find an option that offers warranties longer than three years, and which allows me to ship the iMac Pro in for service if it is ever needed. AppleCare requires me to drive 400 miles for service between pick up and drop off. I learned the hard way that they won’t do mail-in service on iMacs.

I looked at a few of the PC extended warranty places, but they either only cover laptops or have price limits well beneath that of a high end iMac Pro configuration.

 

[chscag]

To be honest, AppleCare is the best extended warranty for your iMac Pro. I'm assuming you're referring to driving 400 miles to an Apple Store genius bar to obtain warranty service for your iMac Pro? You mentioned mail in service. Have you checked to see if you can UPS or FedEx the iMac Pro to Apple for service?

Check with Square Trade to see if they have a clause in their warranties that allows you to ship the iMac Pro in for service. However, I'm not sure they warrant desktops. Their website doesn't mention desktops.

 

[maflynn]

ppleCare requires me to drive 400 miles for service between pick up and drop off. I learned the hard way that they won’t do mail-in service on iMacs.

If you bought a third party extended warranty, would you not still need to drive 400 miles for service?

There are no extended warranties that include a repair service, well maybe one. I know BestBuy has their geek squad, so maybe that's you're only option.

 

[mcgroarty]

To be honest, AppleCare is the best extended warranty for your iMac Pro. I'm assuming you're referring to driving 400 miles to an Apple Store genius bar to obtain warranty service for your iMac Pro? You mentioned mail in service. Have you checked to see if you can UPS or FedEx the iMac Pro to Apple for service?

The main problem with AppleCare is it can only add 3 years. If it had a 5 year premium option I would entertain it.

With past iMac failures, Apple offered zero flexibility on shipment. There wasn’t even an option for me to do it and eat shipping costs. In one case I took a couple half days off work to do some driving. In the other, I ended up having to pay a stranger on an errand service to receive it, take it to the Apple store, verify the fix, and ship it back. This added a lot of time, stress, and cost to the repair.
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There are no extended warranties that include a repair service, well maybe one. I know BestBuy has their geek squad, so maybe that's you're only option.

It’s actually the norm with third party extended warranties that cover PC notebooks that they send customers a mailer with a label to send the computer to a repair partner. Even Apple uses certified third party shops for MacBook Pro mail ins. It possible it’s not the case with any desktops though.

 

[maflynn]

t’s actually the norm with third party extended warranties that cover PC notebooks that they send customers a mailer with a label to send the computer to a repair partner.

The issues is the iMac Pro cannot be touched by anyone other then an authorized apple dealer. The parts are just not available to anyone but an Authorized apple dealer.

Linus Tech Tips ran into this very issue because he broke his iMac Pro and he was willing to pay for the repair but even apple could handle it. He went through a lot of crap with Apple and so I think third party repair centers will not (and cannot) repair the iMac Pro.

 

[borgranta]

The issues is the iMac Pro cannot be touched by anyone other then an authorized apple dealer. The parts are just not available to anyone but an Authorized apple dealer.

Linus Tech Tips ran into this very issue because he broke his iMac Pro and he was willing to pay for the repair but even apple could handle it. He went through a lot of crap with Apple and so I think third party repair centers will not (and cannot) repair the iMac Pro.

He has since not only fixed it but also even more recently upgraded it.

 

[DarthVader!]

He has since not only fixed it but also even more recently upgraded it.

Correct, however it only after getting the parts through dubious means and doing the repair himself.

 

[ApfelKuchen]

Is anyone aware of any AppleCare alternatives for the iMac Pro? I only need hardware coverage, not tech support.

I would like to find an option that offers warranties longer than three years, and which allows me to ship the iMac Pro in for service if it is ever needed. AppleCare requires me to drive 400 miles for service between pick up and drop off. I learned the hard way that they won’t do mail-in service on iMacs.

I looked at a few of the PC extended warranty places, but they either only cover laptops or have price limits well beneath that of a high end iMac Pro configuration.

I understand you don't want to pay for tech support as part of the coverage, but it's very unlikely you'll find that option, because it makes the plan less appealing to the masses. For that matter, the coverage would likely be more expensive, rather than cheaper, because service organizations depend on their tech support staffs to separate physical repairs that require parts and hands-on repair from software-related issues that can be fixed over the phone/chat.

Similarly, while I'm sure there would be some takers for the 5-year "premium" coverage if available, the price might be too high to appeal to the masses. The cost of providing coverage (risk exposure) increases with each year a product ages - more things are likely to go wrong in year 4 than year 3, and even more things are likely to go wrong by year 5. So, the public may think, "If 3-year coverage costs $180 ($60 per year), then 5-year coverage should cost no more than $300." Meantime, the service provider may have to charge $400 or more due to the greater likelihood of a major claim. How many takers would there be? And not to mention, there aren't likely to be many potential customers who'd agree that "premium" coverage would not include tech support.

 

[VictorTango777]

I understand you don't want to pay for tech support as part of the coverage, but it's very unlikely you'll find that option, because it makes the plan less appealing to the masses. For that matter, the coverage would likely be more expensive, rather than cheaper, because service organizations depend on their tech support staffs to separate physical repairs that require parts and hands-on repair from software-related issues that can be fixed over the phone/chat.

Similarly, while I'm sure there would be some takers for the 5-year "premium" coverage if available, the price might be too high to appeal to the masses. The cost of providing coverage (risk exposure) increases with each year a product ages - more things are likely to go wrong in year 4 than year 3, and even more things are likely to go wrong by year 5. So, the public may think, "If 3-year coverage costs $180 ($60 per year), then 5-year coverage should cost no more than $300." Meantime, the service provider may have to charge $400 or more due to the greater likelihood of a major claim. How many takers would there be? And not to mention, there aren't likely to be many potential customers who'd agree that "premium" coverage would not include tech support.

On the other hand, a longer hardware warranty reflects the manufacturer's confidence in their products. We have all seen reports of computers lasting well beyond 3 years with no hardware failures. Obviously, the manufacturer needs to balance between standing by their products vs. "convincing" people to buy new ones. But with all the good things people say about longevity of Macs, it would seem like easy money for Apple to offer longer coverage for those who want it.

Other examples: Dell and Lenovo offer extended hardware warranties on their computers for up to 5 years. Dell Ultrasharp monitors have a standard 3 year, 0 dead pixel warranty with options to extend coverage to 5 years. Last time I checked, Samsung EVO consumer SSDs have a 5 year standard warranty while their Pro level SSDs have a 10 year warranty.

On a side note, would anyone care to speculate on the warranty coverage for an Apple Car? 1 year/2000 miles?