what good is applecare?

[peas]

im sitting on enough money right now to buy a pretty dream setup.
however, im real real hesitant because of all the horror stories
im reading here and other mac forums.
it almost seems like a win-win for apple and lose-lose for
the buying customers.

applecare itself is no pocketchange so im curious from those that purchased it
how big of a difference it makes in getting problems fixed.

i hate warranties and extended warranties and store warranties and damn near
anything else extra that bloats the final price. for the most part i feel like im getting raped by them just for kicks.

anyways, about applecare...if i have a problem, i want it fixed, yesterday.
im not into waiting and leaving it here or box it and ship it there or anything else that seperates me from my investment.

is it worth the damn near 400 bones?

 

[Zwhaler]

Well, Apple Care is basically a peace-of-mind option that you can buy for your mac. It doesn't prevent things from going wrong, it just prevents things from going wrong, when things go wrong. (Ex. your mac breaks after warranty expires) I'm guessing you are purchasing a MacBook Pro, because Apple Care is $349 for it. If the standard warranty is Labor-90 Days, Parts Hardware-1 Yr., I would be hesitant to dish out that much cash. Problems usually arise within the 1first month or so of ownership, so I think you can feel pretty safe about not buying it.

 

[extraextra]

im not into waiting and leaving it here or box it and ship it there or anything else that seperates me from my investment.

You have one year of support when you buy it. You can choose to extend it any time before the one year is up. I'd generally recommend it for laptops because if it falls apart two years down the road, you don't have to worry about it or pay $300 to fix whatever part broke because you have the extended Applecare warranty.

Applecare is a box it and ship it or leave it at the store kind of deal. They normally don't fix things on the spot (unless it's something that can be fixed on the spot, like a missing keyboard key or something).

 

[Zwhaler]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention about how you can buy applecare within the first year of purchase. I would purchase it near the end of your first year of ownership.

 

[IJ Reilly]

AppleCare is a bet you make with Apple that your new Mac will crap out sooner than Apple thinks it will. Like any other insurance policy, the odds are always in favor of the house.

 

[dansgil]

I just (today) purchased AppleCare for my iBook. I plan on having my iBook for at least 3 year, if not longer.

For me the peace of mind knowing that if something goes wrong after the 1st year, I don't have to pay anything, is worth it.

It all comes down to whether you thing that peace of mind is worth the money to you.

 

[7on]

Note: Applecare does not protect against accidents.

 

[dansgil]

Note: Applecare does not protect against accidents.

Oops, I guess I forgot to mention that.

If you want accidental damage (or theft) coverage, consult your home insurance company instead.

 

[Sun Baked]

Oops, I guess I forgot to mention that.

If you want accidental damage (or theft) coverage, consult your home insurance company instead.

Usually best to look at your credit cards for some free coverage, than attempting to collect from a homeowner's policy and getting a black mark against you that can cost you your insurance.

 

[JAT]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention about how you can buy applecare within the first year of purchase. I would purchase it near the end of your first year of ownership.

Hey, does anyone know for sure? If I buy a computer today and skip applecare for now...and then purchase applecare one year from now.....does that extend my warranty to 3 years from the purchase of the computer or 3 years from the purchase of applecare?

 

[balamw]

Hey, does anyone know for sure? If I buy a computer today and skip applecare for now...and then purchase applecare one year from now.....does that extend my warranty to 3 years from the purchase of the computer or 3 years from the purchase of applecare?

Yes, but be careful not to forget about it, I planned to for my iBook, but remembered a week too late.

It extends to 3 years from purchase. Note that it also gives you phone support after the 90 days.

B

 

[IJ Reilly]

If you register the product (or buy it from Apple directly), you'll get a card in the mail reminding you of your expiring AppleCare purchasing opportunity. Seems to me, I even got a phone call one time. They really don't want you to forget.

 

[Easy Rider]

If you register the product (or buy it from Apple directly), you'll get a card in the mail reminding you of your expiring AppleCare purchasing opportunity. Seems to me, I even got a phone call one time. They really don't want you to forget.

because it's free money to them, they are a company after all.

 

[IJ Reilly]

because it's free money to them, they are a company after all.

Not "free money" exactly, but a product on which they expect to make a profit. I imagine the margins on AppleCare are pretty darned good.

 

[dansgil]

I imagine the margins on AppleCare are pretty darned good.

Just like every other insurance policy. Apple's profit margins on AppleCare are probably higher than just about any otehr product they sell.

 

[qtip919]

Just like every other insurance policy. Apple's profit margins on AppleCare are probably higher than just about any otehr product they sell.

I wouldnt quite say that...call care centers are extremely expensive to maintain. Even when you pay employees 10/hour, you need to factor in health care coverage, insuarance, bulding and hardware costs, etc etc.

I think they are providing a very good deal overall...the applecare I bought was right around 200 or so for my macbook, and I have had to call them on 2 seperate occasions and my isight camera burnt out as well. The computer came back fully fixed in a matter of DAYS, not weeks. It was an excellent experience. In fact, I really figure that over the course of 3 years, there will be at least 2 more occurances where I will need some sort of support. That's a pretty good deal for 200 dollars. Shoot, the shipping costs, etc would have easily been more than that by now.

However, you could always take the risk that most of your problems will occur during the first year...

 

[sulhaq]

You get complementary 90 day phone support and 1 year warranty with your mac. So if you dont wanna spend money on applecare, then don't. Get your mac. Run it, play around with it. If any problems occur you're covered for a year.

When the year is coming to an end you can always buy applecare to extend your warranty for another 2 years. You can purchase applecare any time it isn't necessary to get it WITH the mac.

 

[skubish]

if i have a problem, i want it fixed, yesterday.
im not into waiting and leaving it here or box it and ship it there or anything else that seperates me from my investment.

There is no getting around this part. If you have a problem you are either going to have to take it in or ship it to Apple. Unless you know how to fix it yourself.

I generally say Yes to applecare on notebooks and No on desktops.

 

[IJ Reilly]

I wouldnt quite say that...call care centers are extremely expensive to maintain. Even when you pay employees 10/hour, you need to factor in health care coverage, insuarance, bulding and hardware costs, etc etc.

I don't have any way of knowing whether AppleCare is one of Apple's more profitable products, but I do know that Apple has all the information they need to price AppleCare in such a way as to make a profit from it.

My personal approach to insurance is to buy as little as is prudent and feasible. Unfortunately, my business is required to purchase all sorts of pricey insurance policies which provide no useful coverage at all.

 

[damado]

If I bought a cinema display almost a year ago, how can I find out if it's still within the year and get applecare for it? I know it was just around this time last year...I think it's still less than a year.

 

[poppe]

One thing I was add to the original poster:

You say you could get all those extended warranties from the store you buy it in but I'd argue that Apple provides better service. Yes there are some horrible stories on here, but its forums, this is where all the ranting collects (along with all the praise).

From the magazines I've read Apple has been at tops of the lists with their warranty service.

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My personal approach to insurance is to buy as little as is prudent and feasible. Unfortunately, my business is required to purchase all sorts of pricey insurance policies which provide no useful coverage at all.

Are you talking about Best Buy? Haha (joke), but honestly they push warranties on you for practically everything...

 

[Sun Baked]

Are you talking about Best Buy? Haha (joke), but honestly they push warranties on you for practically everything...

Do they sell condoms yet.

Hate to see how much that extended warranty would cost.

 

[bossass]

If I bought a cinema display almost a year ago, how can I find out if it's still within the year and get applecare for it? I know it was just around this time last year...I think it's still less than a year.

Go to apple.com/support

On the lower right there's a field to enter a serial number of an apple product to find out about coverage.

Regarding Applecare, students and teachers get a significant discount, so if you know one....

Also, I have a friend who's a tech for Apple retail. Parts are expensive and there are no cheap fixes on laptops or imacs. Applecare will pay for itself a few times over if you end up using it. How salty will you feel in the 13th month when you need a new logic board and you're looking at a $600 bill?

 

[PALitig8r]

Applecare for Cinema Display

I've got a MacPro and 30" ACD on order (the display has already arrived sitting on my desk waiting for something to do). I originally order Applecare, but looks like I can still cancel it. My thinking was that if I'm going to drop $2k on a monitor, having a 3 year protection vs. 1 year makes sense. I'm much less concerned about the MacPro (but it, of course, is covered as well).

Anyone have any thoughts about durability / problems with ACDs after the first year? Do pixel problems appear immediately only or can they develop spontaneously over time?

 

[abbottpc.com]

I don't think that Apple will cover pixel problems with their displays. I think there has to be a certain amount of pixels that have to be dead before they cover it under warranty. I would hold off on applecare and see how the computer runs within the first year. You know can buy it anytime within the first year of owning the computer. If it's gonna break, theres a good chance it will happen within the first couple months of owning it.