Apple Care?

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Hey everyone, I'm going to be ordering the iPad 3G 32 GB model and I'm wondering if Apple Care will be worth it or a waste of money.
 
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Hey everyone, I'm going to be ordering the iPad 3G 32 GB model and I'm wondering if Apple Care will be worth it or a waste of money.


I don't think it's worth it. If it was a Mac or Macbook Pro that would be different.
 
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I am kind of on the fence with this one too. I think I am going to wait 6 months or so before I decide if I want to purchase the Apple Care. You have one year of coverage anyway, and you can always buy the Apple Care before it expires.
 
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I will pass, even if it's out of warranty Apple has covered items in the past.
 
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I got applecare when I ordered my Ipad wifi. I figure after spending 800.00 plus, whats another 100.00.
 
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I'm going to have to also pass on applecare. I've had many small apple products and have never needed apple care since the first ipod came out. When I did need applecare, it was on my ipod video, which ran out of the extended apple care warranty anyways(battery was gone after 4 years)…ended up fixing it myself for 9 bucks!

The only reason I would have that would make me buy apple care is one thing…peace of mind! Also, wait till the first year on the original warranty is up before you buy it. You might be able so snag one for even cheaper than 100 bucks if you wait.
 
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Hey everyone, I'm going to be ordering the iPad 3G 32 GB model and I'm wondering if Apple Care will be worth it or a waste of money.

I never get these extended warranties on items of this type. The underwriters know that they are only going to have to pay out on 20 to 25% of the claims. In 2 years there will be a better iPad out and you would be better off putting the money for the Apple Care twords that.

Extended Warranties are good for household appliances like washers, dryers, and refrigerators.
 
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a good thing about buying an applecare support. they are always online to help you out and if your hardware fails? they fixed it first and if they cannot fix it, they will replace it.

example of my mouse on my macpro. they asked me to clean the small roller ball but it did not fix the scroll up issue/trouble. so they've decided to send me a new mouse (same model) for free.

provided that i give them a credit card number. why? they need an assurance if you did not return the mouse in 10 days, they will charge my credit card with 53$.

they use fedex courier by the way.

i may say buying an applecare for 500$ or less is not worth it. it has it's warranty. but for rich kids out there, 100$ is nothing. LOL! :)
 
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Those of you deciding to pinch pennies to forego Apple Care are misguided. Just wait till your phone accidentally drops and the screen breaks. Except for a few circumstances, the screne replacement will come out of your pocket. Cost of the screne alone is $199. Apple Care has more than paid for itself.
 
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Those of you deciding to pinch pennies to forego Apple Care are misguided. Just wait till your phone accidentally drops and the screen breaks. Except for a few circumstances, the screne replacement will come out of your pocket. Cost of the screne alone is $199. Apple Care has more than paid for itself.

Different strokes. I've never bought a warranty and think it's misguided to do so.
 
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chas_m

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With the iPad I would wait to get the AppleCare until close to the 1-year anniversary, then evaluate.

Another option is that some credit card companies will double the warranty of a purchased product. If you can, buy your iPad with one of those, and that gives you two years of coverage without any extra charge.
 
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Links allowed? Here's a great article on TUAW about AppleCare.

In one instance, it wouldn't have paid off for the author. However, on his other Apple purchase, Applecare paid for itself--- and the Applecare for the first, well behaved product.

AppleCare without Apple stores... still worth it


Myself, I'll be waiting for the first year coverage to run out before purchasing... I may or may not get it... Hmmmmm.
 
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Extended warranties are a gamble... simple as that. No company offers extended warranties out of the goodness of their hearts... they do it because they know they will bring in more money than what they pay out overall. Yes... sometimes an extended warranty will pay off. So will a lottery ticket. In the long run, you will spend more money on extended warranties if you pay it on everything than you will get back out of them. You can hedge that a bit if you are a "smart gambler" by evaluating the odds on any given device and its warranty option. Me... I've never bought an extended warranty on an Apple device, and have never had an occasion to need one.
 

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I generally tend not to buy extended warranties either. However, when I purchased a new Honda for my daughter, for some reason I also let the salesman talk me into an extended warranty. Turns out it paid off because three years later the transmission went out. If I had not purchased that warranty, it would have cost me upward of $3000 or more to replace it.

But like "lifeisabeach" stated, it's a gamble.

Regards.
 
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chas_m

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I think part of the problem here is the attitude too many people (including some posters here) have about AppleCare.

If you think of AppleCare as a "bet" that pits you against Apple, then of course you're not going to want to spend the money. You'll probably "lose the bet," since your machine will probably NOT have a serious manufacturing defect.

If, on the other hand, you think of AppleCare as an insurance policy, that what you're buying is peace of mind (and extra goodwill from the manufacturer), then suddenly an extra $100-200 doesn't look so bad, $300+ maybe looks a little pricey, but I've not yet had a situation where I had to pay "full retail" for Applecare at that level. Bargain hunting can be your friend.
 
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My general rule of thumb on AppleCare is that I purchase it for anything mobile since it tends to be at more risk of something happening because it's exposed to more extreme conditions than the average device that just sits in the same spot in your home all the time.

But I never pay full price for AppleCare since I either use my student discount or find it cheaper on eBay or Amazon.
 
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I think part of the problem here is the attitude too many people (including some posters here) have about AppleCare.

If you think of AppleCare as a "bet" that pits you against Apple, then of course you're not going to want to spend the money. You'll probably "lose the bet," since your machine will probably NOT have a serious manufacturing defect.

If, on the other hand, you think of AppleCare as an insurance policy, that what you're buying is peace of mind (and extra goodwill from the manufacturer), then suddenly an extra $100-200 doesn't look so bad, $300+ maybe looks a little pricey, but I've not yet had a situation where I had to pay "full retail" for Applecare at that level. Bargain hunting can be your friend.

I would hardly call it "extra goodwill". They don't provide extended warranties out of the goodness of their hearts. They make more money coming in than they pay out in the long run. The simple reality is that if you buy extended warranties on everything you buy, you are throwing money away. You can self insure yourself by taking that money, throw it in a savings account, earn interest, and pay for repairs from that, and still be way ahead.

Me, I just weight the risks of what could happen, how likely it would be, and how much. I still think extended warranties on Macs are a waste of money. I'm already buying them in part because of their higher-than-average reliability. A car, on the other hand, I always get it. There are too many things that are very costly that could go wrong, and a major repair bill on something that I may still owe 10 grand on is very unappetizing.
 
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. You can self insure yourself by taking that money, throw it in a savings account, earn interest, and pay for repairs from that, and still be way ahead.

I'll give you that's probably true in most cases, but how many people do you honestly think would stick that money aside and not touch it. :D
 

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