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Is AppleCare worth it?

ytech

ytech

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 15, 2015
64
6
127.0.0.1
Hey,
So my one year warranty is about to end and I was thinking of extending it, Now I should mention that I almost never use my rMBP outside my office and that I try to take a very good care of it, but still I am afraid it will be a mistake not to extend it and I will be happy to hear more opinions..
One more question, if I replace my machine with a new one, is the apple care transferable?

Thanks
 
Depends on where you're located. If the US, I'd say it's worth it. If in the EU, probably not. If in the UK, most definitely not.

AppleCare follows a specific device, not a specific owner. I doubt it can be transferred to another device.
 
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Applecare is tied to the machine. If you sell it, the new owner will have the remaining coverage. I can attest this works because I bought a used rMBP with Applecare and it needed a repair and it was a smooth process.

I would buy it because almost nothing is user-replaceable in the current models.
 
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JTToft said:
- Yes. But different locations have different consumer warranty laws. EU is 2 years. UK is 5-6 years. This makes AppleCare less worth it in those places.
Click to expand...
Yes, but a component failure can easily come down to being classed as wear and tear. It's not easy to do a consumer law claim against Apple. They will fight you for it.
 
ytech said:
Hey,
So my one year warranty is about to end and I was thinking of extending it, Now I should mention that I almost never use my rMBP outside my office and that I try to take a very good care of it, but still I am afraid it will be a mistake not to extend it and I will be happy to hear more opinions..
One more question, if I replace my machine with a new one, is the apple care transferable?

Thanks
Click to expand...


Computers last 6 years as rule and if part breaks down sooner it is defective part and will break down in first year.

That means really use your computer in the first year to weed out any defective part.

Any computer warranty more than year is waste of money.

Most hardware parts are good but defective part to happen and are very common.

If you do not use your computer every day you may want only two year warranty to weed out any defective part.

No part is deign to last more than 6 years. But some people get lucky and get computer to last more than 6 years.

It not like TV that last 15 to 20 years.
 
Bubble99 said:
Computers last 6 years as rule and if part breaks down sooner it is defective part and will break down in first year.

That means really use your computer in the first year to weed out any defective part.

Any computer warranty more than year is waste of money.

Most hardware parts are good but defective part to happen and are very common.

If you do not use your computer every day you may want only two year warranty to weed out any defective part.

No part is deign to last more than 6 years. But some people get lucky and get computer to last more than 6 years.

It not like TV that last 15 to 20 years.
Click to expand...
There is a difference between your (self-made) 'rule' and the law.

What if a part fails a few months after your warranty expires? Or what if it fails after 3 years? You are facing a battle from Apple to get it changed, as you the consumer must prove that the item was defective when you first got the product. That is a tough sell.

Whilst I don't think Applecare is worth it at full price, it is at least easier to get serviced with AppleCare as there is no arguing, you just walk in with the problem and leave with a solution.
 
Sheza said:
Yes, but a component failure can easily come down to being classed as wear and tear. It's not easy to do a consumer law claim against Apple. They will fight you for it.
Click to expand...

As with so many things, it's probably a matter of how difficult you're prepared to be. The person who accepts the first No they hear will always be shafted, but somebody prepared to squeal long and loud is in a different position. As the saying goes, the squeaky wheel gets the grease, or in this case the apple sauce.
 
I'd say personal preference.

I've gotten it sometimes, and other times, I have not. On my 2012 rMBP I did not, but on my 2015 iMac, I have. AC, gives you 2 extra years of warranty, some people feel its worth the price. YMMV
 
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Spudlicious said:
As with so many things, it's probably a matter of how difficult you're prepared to be. The person who accepts the first No they hear will always be shafted, but somebody prepared to squeal long and loud is in a different position. As the saying goes, the squeaky wheel gets the grease, or in this case the apple sauce.
Click to expand...
It is true that I won a consumer law claim by sitting in the shop for an hour, batting away the store manager's actual lies (she attempted to say it was refraction caused by a screen protector, which was cute) but eventually they caved. But has anyone got the patience for that? And what if they still say no?
 
Sheza said:
Yes, but a component failure can easily come down to being classed as wear and tear. It's not easy to do a consumer law claim against Apple. They will fight you for it.
Click to expand...

Sheza said:
You are facing a battle from Apple to get it changed, as you the consumer must prove that the item was defective when you first got the product. That is a tough sell.
Click to expand...
- At least in Danish law, those requirements are relatively easy to meet as a consumer.
Yes, the onus is on the customer when you're beyond Apple's 1-year warranty. But that burden of proof is basically satisfied if you can demonstrate that there aren't any obvious signs of misuse of the machine: deep scratches, dents to the corners, cracked display, etc.

You aren't expected to absolutely and technically prove that the defect was present at purchase.
 
JTToft said:
- At least in Danish law, those requirements are relatively easy to meet as a consumer.
Yes, the onus is on the customer when you're beyond Apple's 1-year warranty. But that burden of proof is basically satisfied if you can demonstrate that there aren't any obvious signs of misuse of the machine: deep scratches, dents to the corners, cracked display, etc.

You aren't expected to absolutely and technically prove that the defect was present at purchase.
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Can you point me to any sources for that, so I'm able to use them myself if I am ever in this situation?
 
maflynn said:
I'd say personal preference.

I've gotten it sometimes, and other times, I have not. On my 2012 rMBP I did not, but on my 2015 iMac, I have. AC, gives you 2 extra years of warranty, some people feel its worth the price. YMMV
Click to expand...

I agree. I use my rMBP professionally where time is money. Having to spend 30 minutes arguing with someone about covering a repair costs me a lot of money. So I got Applecare. And if I never use it, at least I can write it off as a business expense.
 
Yes I would get it if you are in the USA. It will NOT cover anything like damages or spills, but it's pretty liberal with other things. While my experiences have been hit and miss, I've used it on every mac I've owned. My 2009 cMBP had the screen replaced twice due to burn in issues from a hardware defect (nothing I did on my end) and 2011 cMBP had it's charger replaced for free when it began fraying. It also boosted the value of the 2011 cMBP when I sold it since the apple care travels with the item and it had 9 months still left when I sold it.
 
I bought the AppleCare plan on my 15" rMBP from B&H Photo (a substantial discount from the Apple pricing) and I ended up needing a display replacement literally 3 days outside of the included 1 year warranty. This is anecdotal to be sure, but in my case the AppleCare easily paid for itself with the display alone.

IMO, it's worth the peace of mind... That being said, it is generally true that if something is going to fail it will fail within the first year of use.
 
It probably not unless you go there in person to buy it.

Buying online they will think you trying to cheat. And if it breaks down you may have to go their to fix it.
 
Bubble99 said:
Is it even legal for an American to buy an EU Apple computer online and import into the country to get two year warranting?
Click to expand...
- I haven't the faintest idea. But I'm quite sure Apple UK, say, won't ship a Mac order to the United States.

Even if you could do it, warranty claims would be so difficult it would be a pointless exercise.
 
ytech said:
Hey,
So my one year warranty is about to end and I was thinking of extending it, Now I should mention that I almost never use my rMBP outside my office and that I try to take a very good care of it, but still I am afraid it will be a mistake not to extend it and I will be happy to hear more opinions..
One more question, if I replace my machine with a new one, is the apple care transferable?

Thanks
Click to expand...
I never buy Applecare because I don't think it is worth it, and I have never had a need to use it had I bought it.

I always buy my Macs with my VISA card that extends the warranty one year.
 
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AppleCare worked out great for me. My hard drive was dying in my Early 2011 15-inch, so I went to the Genius Bar but they insisted that it was fine and they replaced the logic board instead. One week later, hard drive starts acting up again so they finally agree to replace it. In the middle of that, I also had to go back because they didn't burn my serial number in the new board. A couple weeks later, my graphics started acting up, and they said whoever replaced the board didn't apply the thermal compound correctly to the GPU and it overheated the chip and potentially shorted the whole board. So then they wanted to replace the screen assembly, logic board, and the associated cables. Next day, they call me and tell me they'll just give me a brand new one instead since it was also an iPad release weekend (iPad 3) and Apple wouldn't rush ship the parts because iPads were higher priority. This all happened like a month or two outside my one year since purchase. Still using the same Late 2011 now, but I think the 6770M is getting funny again.
 
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