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Need advice: AppleCare

H

haribo

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 4, 2005
6
0
Toronto, ON, Canada
Was the other day at an Apple store. I'm in the market for a new Powerbook and a few other things. Although I told the salesperson I won't be walking out of the store with purchased goods that day, she started to sell me on this AppleCare Extended Warranty offer.

I realize it's her job to do that but I'm seriously wondering if this is a good thing to invest in or just another way to get an additional few hundred bucks out of a sale. (I'm still using an old G3 and never ever had any problems.)

So, what do you think? Definitely do it or safe the money????

Thanks.


P.S.
This is my first post here. Just registered. Glad I found this very informative forum.
 
haribo said:
Was the other day at an Apple store. I'm in the market for a new Powerbook and a few other things. Although I told the salesperson I won't be walking out of the store with purchased goods that day, she started to sell me on this AppleCare Extended Warranty offer.

I realize it's her job to do that but I'm seriously wondering if this is a good thing to invest in or just another way to get an additional few hundred bucks out of a sale. (I'm still using an old G3 and never ever had any problems.)

So, what do you think? Definitely do it or safe the money????

Thanks.


P.S.
This is my first post here. Just registered. Glad I found this very informative forum.
Click to expand...
For books and imac i would get applecare. Its that simple given the history of both.
 
haribo said:
Was the other day at an Apple store. I'm in the market for a new Powerbook and a few other things. Although I told the salesperson I won't be walking out of the store with purchased goods that day, she started to sell me on this AppleCare Extended Warranty offer.

I realize it's her job to do that but I'm seriously wondering if this is a good thing to invest in or just another way to get an additional few hundred bucks out of a sale. (I'm still using an old G3 and never ever had any problems.)

So, what do you think? Definitely do it or safe the money????
Click to expand...

Applecare is always worth it. Just think -- three years from the date of purchase, Apple honored my Applecare to the last day and got me a new logic boad, keyboard, hd, palmrest etc., on my Powerbook.

Of course, ifyou are going around DROPPING your iBook or PBs, you need to get accidental insurance through your homeowner's policy or renters insurance.

As for desktop Macs, I sort of agree, my mom's iMac g3 500mhz never needed it except when they were explaining Panther to her.
 
haribo said:
Was the other day at an Apple store. I'm in the market for a new Powerbook and a few other things. Although I told the salesperson I won't be walking out of the store with purchased goods that day, she started to sell me on this AppleCare Extended Warranty offer.

I realize it's her job to do that but I'm seriously wondering if this is a good thing to invest in or just another way to get an additional few hundred bucks out of a sale. (I'm still using an old G3 and never ever had any problems.)

So, what do you think? Definitely do it or safe the money????

Thanks.


P.S.
This is my first post here. Just registered. Glad I found this very informative forum.
Click to expand...
General concensus regarding extended warranties for any product is to stay away from them. Most people will tell you that it's a waste of money.

However, I will tell you that I bought Applecare for my iBook and it has paid off. I got a replacement battery after the 1st year and they fixed a problem with the screen blacking out. So I'd say that it was worth the $200+ that I spent.

However2, your best bet would be to pay for the computer with a credit card that automatically extends your warranty. Cards like Amex or Platinum Visa will give you an extra year, among other perks. Explore all of your options.

In the end, if you do get Applecare, don't pay full price. Many retailers will sell Applecare for less than MSRP.

ft
 
After buying 2 powerbooks and finally a G5, I got the applecare on my G5 and im glad i did. I live about 2 hours away from the nearest apple retailer and when my powersupply started to make horrid noises applecare brought the tech to my house. to me, that was worth the 250 bucks....and i have two years left of that kind of service.
 
For laptops its a must to have AppleCare, parts are very expensive out of warranty. An iMac is also another computer you should get AppleCare for, there has been a history of repairs with the iMac G5. If you get a laptop and you travel a lot or go to school with it every day I would recommend accidental insurance. AppleCare is not going to cover a cracked screen which easily run you $700 plus labour. Good luck with your Apple purchase.
 
Macmaniac said:
AppleCare is not going to cover a cracked screen which easily run you $700 plus labour.
Click to expand...
That is precisely why I chose to buy CompUSA's laptop coverage over AppleCare's for my PB. They will fix two, yes, two incidences of broken LCDs regardless of whether or not it was the user's accidental fault. And I haven't received the best of customer service from the Apple stores in my closer area but have received better service from the CompUSA. However, I'm thinking that I really might cough up the $$$ for my iMac G5 to get AppleCare.

All those poor rev. A iMac G5ers who are outta warranty and reporting issues have got me freaked out! :eek: :eek:
 
be aware that you can buy the two year extension ANY TIME during the first year you own the computer......so you can wait to see how it goes during the first year and then decide if you want to buy

nobody but Apple REALLY knows the statistics on whether applecare is "worth it" to consumers......and they aren't telling!!!! But they'll be happy to sell you the coverage at a price that you can be sure will give Apple a nice profit

it's all sort of a gamble......if you buy applecare you're kind of betting that your hardware will break down in years 2 or 3 and Apple is betting it wont.....and remember that they know the stats
 
Thanks. I appreciate the advice.
At the Apple store they quoted me around $480 Canadian for AppleCare. That is quite a bid of money. That's why I was wondering.
 
Macky-Mac said:
be aware that you can buy the two year extension ANY TIME during the first year you own the computer......so you can wait to see how it goes during the first year and then decide if you want to buy

nobody but Apple REALLY knows the statistics on whether applecare is "worth it" to consumers......and they aren't telling!!!! But they'll be happy to sell you the coverage at a price that you can be sure will give Apple a nice profit

it's all sort of a gamble......if you buy applecare you're kind of betting that your hardware will break down in years 2 or 3 and Apple is betting it wont.....and remember that they know the stats
Click to expand...

As with any insurance system, which is basically what Applecare is, in the end, it's a good deal for Apple. That means that the majority of people never get out of AppleCare what they put in. Apple collects more money from selling AppleCare than they pay out in fixing/replacing machines under warranty. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that it's a bad deal. I've spent thousands of dollars on car insurance, and have never been in a wreck. BUT, if I ever do get in one, I'll sure be glad that I don't have to suddenly come up with thousands of dollars to pay for the damage. It's the same kind of thing with AppleCare.

My PowerBook's 1-year warranty runs out next month, and I'm seriously considering AppleCare for it. I don't plan to get a new PB until the Rev B. Intel PBs are out, and I figure that's a little less than 2 years away most likely. If this PB breaks, I most likely won't have the money to get it fixed.
 
wow, i had no idea you could buy it at any time during the first year :eek:

i'm in the same boat right now, i'm buying a pb in a few weeks and have been considering applecare, but didn't want to wait the extra two weeks for another paycheck to be able to afford it, but now, i'm deffinately getting it, just not now :)
 
Applecare is not worth it. At all.

Typical pricing for applecare is between 15%-20% of the items RETAIL price. Think about it.

If it breaks within warranty, get it fixed and dump it on ebay (in general I do not like to use repaired goods, irregardless of the quality of repair), and buy a new one.

If it breaks out of warranty, there are plenty of third party repairers to source for. From another forum post I've read, apple charges $1000 to repair a broken TiBook hinge, will the most ardent of fanboys please tell me how that is very reasonable? I certainly do not see it.

Extended Applecare essentially only shields you from Applecare's own rip off prices, you have a choice.

Edit: If your justifcation for getting Applecare is that there is a > 50% chance that your system is going to fail within after 1 year and before the third year, I strongly suggest you forget about this OSX nonsense and look seriously at Linux.

Generally hardware survival rate follows a gausian distribution, with a high failure rate at the start (where bad components die prematurely), and it tapering off towards the end of its lifetime. I wouldn't worry too much if it worked well for the first year.
 
I've had about three years experience total with the new generation Macs (I was a PC user for a while there) and haven't been burnt through not getting AppleCare yet. Touch wood, I find most of the problems I have had have cropped up in the first few months of ownership, much less the first year. Of course, I take very good care of my Macs though. And for the record, the first was the original (rev A) iBook G4 and the current (rev B) iMac G5 - both notorious for breaking.


generik said:
(in general I do not like to use repaired goods, irregardless of the quality of repair)
Click to expand...


Ever been to the doctor then? :p
 
mad jew said:
Ever been to the doctor then? :p
Click to expand...

Well to date no doctor has repaired me yet :)

But when the day comes when I need to have a limb replaced or something seriously stitched up.. I'll let you know how it is like!

Come on, it is not the same!

I once had a laptop repaired (IBM somemore!) and when it came back it had little hairs under the LCD. That drove me totally nuts for the time it took me to get that resolved.
 
I never got it for my G5, and its about a week too late, but I have 11 months left to buy it for my PowerBook and plan on doing so.

My reasoning is this: Besides a logic board failure, the G5 parts are relativley cheap to replace (CD, video card, hard drive, RAM, ect) and I've built many PCs so I have the knowledge to replace any of the above parts. For me, at least, it's not worth it.

But when it comes to the PowerBook, parts are more expensive (compare prices of a laptop HD to desktop HD!) and the thought of installing anything besides RAM inside my laptop scares me. So, Applecare for my Powerbook is definitley worth it.

It's also probably worth it for iPods. My brother got a mini, and it took 3 additional replacements under warranty to finally get one that worked (original stopped holding a charge, replacement's hard drive crapped out, then that replacement had a bad headphone jack. Now, he's finally got a good one) My 4th gen 40 gig's hard drive crapped last month (I bought the iPod the first hour the 4Gs were available in the Apple Store, I think thats about 15 months or so?) and I never had Applecare. Bought a nano, and plan on getting Applecare for it too.


IMO, Applecare needs to cover accidental damage. My friend has a Dell laptop, and he took it to school a couple years ago, and I don't remember what happened, but the LCD cracked (it was accidental, not a defect) and Dell replaced his LCD under warranty. Applecare would be so much more attractive to buyers if it covered their ****-ups.
 
so just so I have this straight, I can add the apple 3 year warranty at anytime correct? or atleast anytime in the first year?
 
m2gc said:
so just so I have this straight, I can add the apple 3 year warranty at anytime correct? or atleast anytime in the first year?
Click to expand...

you can buy Applecare, the 2 year extension to the 1 year basic warranty at any time during the first year after you've bought your new computer....but after the first year is over you can't buy it
 
devilot76 said:
That is precisely why I chose to buy CompUSA's laptop coverage over AppleCare's for my PB. They will fix two, yes, two incidences of broken LCDs regardless of whether or not it was the user's accidental fault. And I haven't received the best of customer service from the Apple stores in my closer area but have received better service from the CompUSA. However, I'm thinking that I really might cough up the $$$ for my iMac G5 to get AppleCare.

All those poor rev. A iMac G5ers who are outta warranty and reporting issues have got me freaked out! :eek: :eek:
Click to expand...

That is why last month i got applecare for my rev A iMac G5. A little reassurance
 
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