Warranty Advice

[hamean]

Hi everyone,

I'm a long time lurker, but first time poster. I'm ordering a MBA 13 this week, and definitely want to get a warranty on it. This may be a retread topic, but I'm trying to decide between a SquareTrade Warranty and an Apple Care warranty:

SquareTrade Warranty is 169.00
Apple Care is 249.00

SquareTrade covers accidental damage
Apple Care does not.

It seems to me the only advantage of Apple Care is in ease of redemption. Is there anything else I need to consider. With the above comparison, I'm leaning toward SquareTrade at this time.

 

[Matumeak]

Definitely get the Apple Care. I got mine from B&H Photo Video for $174 for my new 11" MacBook Air. It's the exact same protection plan from Apple, just $174 instead of $249.

Only a few dollars more, and your computer gets better service.

 

[Matumeak]

Oops - new link

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/Apple-Computers/ci/13222/N/4294250034

Click on the above link, click on an Air to look at it, and check the "Add 3 year Apple Care Protection Plan" box when adding the computer to your cart.

Go to your cart, delete the order for the Air, and keep the protection plan. That's what I did, and it's en route to me now, along with about $300 of various accessories for my Air.

It is a great company, B&H. I highly recommend them for speed, support and prices.

 

[hamean]

thanks

Matumeak,

Thanks for telling me about the discounted offering. So you don't think the accidental damage feature is a big deal?

 

[aristobrat]

It seems to me the only advantage of Apple Care is in ease of redemption. Is there anything else I need to consider. With the above comparison, I'm leaning toward SquareTrade at this time.

Unless SquareTrade has changed things, their warranty is only worth the value of the computer.

So if you bought the $1299 MacBook Air, and the logic board goes out, that's a $700 repair. SquareTrade would cover that, but your warranty coverage goes down $700, leaving you with $599 of coverage. So if six months later, your logic board goes out again, you wouldn't have enough warranty left to cover another $700 repair. They'd send you a check for the remaining $599 of warranty that you have, and that's it. You'd have to pay the rest of that repair out-of-pocket, and you'd get no coverage on any other repairs after that.

Again, I haven't looked to see if they've changed that, but that's how it used to be.

 

[Matumeak]

I was looking at your SquarePlan Warranty Accidental Damage clause and it looks like it is a bit vague and there is also a deductible.

Personally, I think that it is possible for Apple to take care of Accidental Damage, depending if you couch your words right and/or you get lucky with who you send it to.

Example - my cousin, she spilled soda on her MacBook Pro and somehow, she got a new motherboard. Maybe it was a mini-miracle, but it was covered.
Me, on the otherhand, spilled coffee on my MacBook Pro and the shop guys at the local Mac Store weren't as great about it. It wasn't covered, so no more Pro for me, unless I wanted to buy a new motherboard, which would be a little cheaper than just buying a new computer.

I'm an honest person, I have a strong sense of integrity. So by "couching your words right" I mean, it could be as simple as saying, "It just stopped working". If there was another significant event on any of my computers, I would be upfront with the Apple repair folks and hope for the best.

The "coffee incident" was a huge one - and I cut myself off from owning a laptop for almost two years as a sort of internal punishment, so that I will really appreciate my new laptop, which is on it's way.

I think it is important to get a really good case for the computer, and to be hyper-aware and diligent about protecting it from spills - especially.

If it drops, it may ding, yet there was a story in another thread about a woman's Air dropping down concrete stairs - a full flight, and landing on a concrete landing. It got dinged pretty badly, yet worked like a charm. That being said, I'm going to protect it from dings too.

One of the reasons I got the 11" is that I hope that by it being so small, I'll be better able to better protect it against theft and accidental spills.

Most folks I know get Apple Care, so it would be interesting to hear about real-world experiences from people who opted for a different warranty plan. Good luck on your choice!

 

[hamean]

I appreciate the advice. I own several Mac products and have never bought apple care. I've never really needed it either. The MBAs are just so small and thin, for some reason I worry more about reliability.

 

[Matumeak]

It's a no-brainer for me to get the Apple Care. If anything at all happens to the Air for the next three years, you have a team of professionals willing to help you with the problem, guide you through it and fix it.

If I ever did have a spill again, *knock on wood*, I would immediately turn the computer off and rush to my local Apple Authorized re-seller/repair place and be completely honest about what just happened.

It's not just accidental damage, it's the rare lemon in the bunch, or the odd problems that may happen for no reason at all, but are covered under warranty.

I spent over $2300 total for the 11", the plan and a heck of a lot of accessories and a nice case system. That's like having a great used car in my lap, I mean, that is a significant amount of money for me, so I am going to be hyper-aware about taking exceptional care of my laptop. I'm hoping they will make a keyboard cover for the 11", I think that will be a great little investment.

This next part of the post may seem odd - but it's along the same line of respecting/protecting the Air. As an Indigenous person, in my culture, we have a cultural norm to "name" things that we use. Everything has a spirit, everything that is formed and has shape and integrity, they all have a spirit and they deserve respect - which involves giving them a name.

I named my 24" iMac Isauna, and sometimes I talk to her and tell her how grateful I am that she is so sturdy and fast and beautiful. So yes, I am going to name my Air and talk to him/her too (haven't met him/her yet).

I name all my vehicles and anything in my life that is electronic and I depend on - my camcorder is named Idris.

Take it or leave it, but I think it makes a difference to name things. That way, you can have a more respectful relationship as you work together. It's a small, yet significant gesture. And I think it helps with the overall performance of your things in the long-term. Yet, that's me, and my cultural beliefs and upbringing - which is unique and I have a right to be unique in my perspective.

Everyone is different, and that is ok. I just thought I'd share an extra layer of my personal way of keeping my things safe and working well.

 

[hamean]

car

I name my cars, because they are apart of my personality. I have a car someone gave me, a little Hyundai accent. I call it the "Fundai" because it drives like a go-cart and sounds about the same.

I guess I see stuff as tools to be taken care of, but in the end their purpose is to serve me. And my purpose as an individual is to serve and honor God.

I appreciate your perspective, and how you take care of and honor your stuff.

If I may ask, what case did you get for your 11"? I went to the apple store and the rep said they had no taylor made case for the 13" in their store.