AppleCare

I'am just wondering how many of you would see AppleCare as an essential purchase as when the time comes for me to buy my powerbook so i wont have much money, but if its worth it im willing to shell out a lil bit more.

many thanks

I would highly recommend it for a notebook. They are prone to having more issues than a desktop. Even if you only use it once in the 3 years you've more than paid for it. You won't be sorry having it.

I agree with Schweb but I'll also add that if you have any screens (monitors) you might also want it for the sole purpose that the monitor will cost anywhere from $500-$1000 to fix out-of-pocket whereas the Applecare warranty will fix it for free.

In this day and age of technology, nothing is guaranteed to work for a specified length of time, regardless of the company making the product. For a couple hundred dollars now, you can insure that you won't have to pay to get your item fixed if something (within the warranty) were to go wrong.

Just my 2 cents, and no I don't get paid for this advertising, I'm just a happy customer.

I'm getting a PowerBook soon but don't have enough for AppleCare. Can't I buy AppleCare before my first year is up? The first year is covered am I right?

Yeah, as long as you buy it during the first year, you're fine.

Hmmn.... I disagree here. I've owned four laptops over the last ten years, and none have been made at the high quality level of a ibm or mac, yet none have needed additional coverage. Apple's defect per million is one of the lowest of all vendors, making applecare needed less than if your purchasing another kind. My .02 cents.

I think the point isn't that we're saying it's likely to break, just that it's more likely to happen on a portable vs a desktop. Not to mention, the cost of one repair if something were to happen on a notebook is easily twice to triple the cost at least of Applecare.

Personally on the cost of Applecare vs cost of potential repair ratio, I think it's worth it.

Well, for the little extra money, i'd say buy it... if you decide to sell it before the plan is up, that will grately increast the resale value, and if something does break, it will pay for itself...

Does applecare cover the batteries?

Normally I never buy extended warranties, but unfortunately for a Powerbook I would reccomend the AppleCare because essentially they're not made of high quality and you'll need it at least once in the 3 years of the warranty. I've had $1000 worth of repair done to my then 4month old powerbook and can only imagine what will happen in 3 years. Basically I see it as being cornered into buying AppleCare for a Powerbook because they're incredibly problem-proned.

I'd say, use the following formula:

(Estmiated cost of repair) * (Likelihood of failure) vs. (cost of warranty)

Since laptop repairs tend to be expensive, and fairly common, an extended warranty is not a bad idea.

SamR said:

Normally I never buy extended warranties, but unfortunately for a Powerbook I would reccomend the AppleCare because essentially they're not made of high quality and you'll need it at least once in the 3 years of the warranty. I've had $1000 worth of repair done to my then 4month old powerbook and can only imagine what will happen in 3 years. Basically I see it as being cornered into buying AppleCare for a Powerbook because they're incredibly problem-proned.

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Sounds like you're justifiably pissed because you had some bad luck. Your experiences are not typical.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1626236,00.asp
Your mileage may vary.

technologist said:

Sounds like you're justifiably pissed because you had some bad luck. Your experiences are not typical.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1626236,00.asp
Your mileage may vary.

Click to expand...

Good read, looks like Toshiba knows how to take care of customers. Apple would not talk to me to even help troubleshoot my problem 2 DAYS after my warranty expired (the 30day one) They said basically deal with it or pay us $50 MORE to even try and troubleshoot the problem. Not to mention you can only call Apple between 8-4 or something ridiculous like that.

Hey thanks for the feedback,

From what I can see its definately a worthy purchase and even if i dont need it, it will be nice knowing it there just in case things take a turn for the worse.

Thanks for all your help guys. Cant wait to make the switch <thumbs up to ya'all>

SamR said:

Good read, looks like Toshiba knows how to take care of customers. Apple would not talk to me to even help troubleshoot my problem 2 DAYS after my warranty expired (the 30day one) They said basically deal with it or pay us $50 MORE to even try and troubleshoot the problem. Not to mention you can only call Apple between 8-4 or something ridiculous like that.

Click to expand...

Your initial warranty (sans Applecare purchase) covers 90 days free technical phone support and 1 year technical support via mail/store/remote visit. Once you purchase the Applecare then your phone support is extended from 90 days to 3 years (laptops, iMacs, eMacs, PowerMacs) and the mail/store/remote is extended from 1 year to 3 years.

Just to clarify, and I'm sorry you had a bad experience.

rberry88 said:

Your initial warranty (sans Applecare purchase) covers 90 days free technical phone support and 1 year technical support via mail/store/remote visit. Once you purchase the Applecare then your phone support is extended from 90 days to 3 years (laptops, iMacs, eMacs, PowerMacs) and the mail/store/remote is extended from 1 year to 3 years.

Just to clarify, and I'm sorry you had a bad experience.

Click to expand...

Sorry, you're right, it was 2 days after my 90 day phone support warranty. Thought that sounded a little too short.

Definetely pickup AppleCare. I have an IBM Thinkpad, the #2 company in reliability and support behind Apple. I have the 3 year warranty on it and have made much use on it. Have had the following replaced: CDRW/DVD Drive, Hard Drive, Motherboard. May also need to take it in for an intermittent keyboard issue. Before this I had a Gateway laptop, definetely not high ranked for anything. The system had a few small quirky problems, and in about 2~3 years it developed a progressive overheating problem that lead it to be usable only in ~30min blocks. After 4 years it was dead altogether.

Short story: Got a laptop? Get a 3 year warranty!

will a do it yourself upgrade (more ram) void your warranty or applecare plan? most manufacturer's will void it. but apple themselves list step by step diy instructions for the ram upgrade.

I bought my pbook and I will buy apple care before the year is up. Apple tried to sell it to me on the phone saying after 90 days I lose tech support which was supposed to be some incentive to actually get it in the next 90 days. I however believe I will buy it no later than june 10th, which is when my next bonus comes. this bonus i am about to get is allocated towards a road trip.

What happens if your computer is lost or stolen? Your Applecare which cost about $250 is void?

Don't lose it or leave it unattended.