Is the extended warranty for macbook's worth it?

After looking through the terms and conditions for the applecare protection plan I found these two very upsetting statements. If I'm going to pay $250 dollars for coverage then apple should at least make sure they are using new parts whenever repairing any part of the macbook.The next section is ridiculous. I'ts basically saying that if your computer is in for a repair and you lose files or your personal information on a file is released, they aren't liable. Has anyone had this plan who thinks its well worth the money? Because Im not sure I'm convinced. Maybe I'm over reacting, your opinions?

-Apple will provide both parts and labor, but may require you to replace certain
readily installable parts yourself, as described below. Apple may provide replacement product or
parts that are manufactured from new, refurbished, or serviceable used parts.
-APPLE SPECIFICALLY DOES NOT WARRANT
THAT IT WILL BE ABLE TO (i) REPAIR OR REPLACE COVERED EQUIPMENT WITHOUT RISK
TO OR LOSS OF PROGRAMS OR DATA, AND (ii) MAINTAIN THE CONFIDENTIALITY OF DATA

Purchasing Apple Care is a decision that you and you alone will have to make. As far as the price ($250.00) goes, you can save by purchasing Apple care from a seller on eBay. Do a search on this forum and you will see that many folks have purchased Apple care discounted.

As to your concerns about Apple using refurbished parts, etc, that is an industry standard. Any parts Apple furnishes to you in the repair process is fully warranted by them anyway.

Loss of data or the confidentiality of it because of a repair is fully your responsibility not Apple's. That's why you should be making backups. Time Machine is provided with Leopard and is an excellent tool for backing up your data. If you're worried about personal data being compromised (credit card numbers, SSAN, and so forth) don't store them on your machine or use encryption.

I believe your concerns are valid (not over reacting) and you are wise to inquire about them. However, Apple is probably the best when it comes to customer service and repair. Again, I suggest you do a forum search and find out for yourself.

Regards.

chscag said:

Purchasing Apple Care is a decision that you and you alone will have to make. As far as the price ($250.00) goes, you can save by purchasing Apple care from a seller on eBay. Do a search on this forum and you will see that many folks have purchased Apple care discounted.

As to your concerns about Apple using refurbished parts, etc, that is an industry standard. Any parts Apple furnishes to you in the repair process is fully warranted by them anyway.

Loss of data or the confidentiality of it because of a repair is fully your responsibility not Apple's. That's why you should be making backups. Time Machine is provided with Leopard and is an excellent tool for backing up your data. If you're worried about personal data being compromised (credit card numbers, SSAN, and so forth) don't store them on your machine or use encryption.

I believe your concerns are valid (not over reacting) and you are wise to inquire about them. However, Apple is probably the best when it comes to customer service and repair. Again, I suggest you do a forum search and find out for yourself.

Regards.

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thanks so much, this info was very useful. I might consider buying a discounted plan on ebay.

I think purchasing Applecare on ebay is worth it. If you shop around, you can find it under $150. I used it to replace a cracked topcase on my whitebook last week and it was a relatively hassle free experience.

Also, you can't expect Apple to be responsible for the data on your HD. They'll replace your HD if needed, but it's your responsibility to maintain backups of essential data.

I would NEVER, EVER even think of purchasing an Apple computer without getting AppleCare ... ESPECIALLY a laptop!

The last MacBook I bought was a total lemon. I spent more than 200 hours trouble shooting it, by myself and online with AppleCare. It was replaced with a NEW MacBook TWICE ... and the second replacement still has problems! So, I've given up, and now just put up with workarounds instead of having my entire life grind to halt just so that I can devote all my time and energy to fixing my friggin' MacBook.

Without AppleCare, I would have been royally screwed. I'm royally screwed as it is, but who know's how much money all that time with (sometimes clueless) AppleCare reps would have cost me, had I not had AppleCare?

My advice: Get AppleCare (then pray real hard you don't get lemon computer).

would apple still honor applecare bought on ebay?

macgirl2423 said:

would apple still honor applecare bought on ebay?

Click to expand...

Yes. They won't know or care where you purchased it from as long as it's a genuine Apple Care package. Once you register it on line with your machine serial number you'll be all set with an additional two years warranty and, telephone support.

Regards.

The Applecare box in the Apple store is actually empty. You're just buying an activation code.

It's like those ridiculous Progressive insurance commercials where people shop for insurance with a grocery cart and buy insurance in cereal boxes.

Is it worth buying the warranty?

My answer to this question is **** YES IT IS WORTH IT!!! Do not be an idiot and not buy the applecare warranty if you can afford it. If you can't afford it, well than that's understandable. But if your buying your MacBook Pro on a credit card and still have thousands of dollars worth of money left on your card, buy the warranty. Here is my story on why. I just got the email telling me my 13 MacBook Pro A1287 2.4GHz 8GB 500GB SSHD MacBook Pro is on its way back from Apple after having a brand new motherboard installed into it. This MacBook was bought in 2010 and there was never a problem with it, not even a mark on it until recently it just wouldn't power on. Well they are sending me back pretty much a brand new MacBook (motherboard 1st and most expensive piece to replace $500 new) and guess when the AppleCare warranty that was $299 is up? On August 12th 2013, 9 days from NOW!! So yes I am very happy that I paid that $250 three years ago. Especially now that my laptop was just serviced by Apple employee's no less, not some idiots at Geek Squad. Right now I am researching if there is a way to extend my warranty somehow because it was so worth it. I would gladly pay another $250 to get three more years worry free out of my MacBook.