Applecare - Yea or nay?

Yes, it's me again. Hopefully the final question until after I get my new Mac. (Then I'll have hundreds of more questions, of course.)

I normally don't buy extended warranties but with the price of the MBP, I'm considering buying Applecare. The question is, is it worth it? Macs have a reputation for not needing repair (unless they are abused). What has been the experience of those here? Has Applecare been worth it or has it been a waste of money?

I have had my Mbp for 10 months and bought the AppleCare for it. So far I haven't used it at all. Would I do it again absolutly the piece of mind is priceless.

You can wait to buy Apple care if you wish. You have up until the initial Apple warranty is expired - 12 months. Keep in mind though, Apple telephone support ends after 90 days. Apple care extends that to 3 years.

Also, you may be able to purchase Apple care at a discount from resellers like Amazon.com.

I just bought my first MAC, paid $119 for the 3 year AppleCare protection. This is an expensive and complex piece of hardware. I'd hate to be on my own and have something go wrong. As a "switcher" that could ruin my entire relationship my new iMAC and Apple in general.

Tom

Definitely 'Yea' - I've now had the iMac for more than a year and I've used Applecare perhaps twice but, as someone on the thread says - it's for peace of mind. It's an insurance and the great thing is that when something goes wrong that can be fixed over the phone you're not talking to someone in India whose accent you can't understand. Wait out the 90 days and then buy from an intermediate seller at a lower price. You may not use it, but you won't regret it!

I would rather have it and not need it than to need it and not have it and it saved me on
my previous MBP.

Well it depends on how lucky you think you are. If you are one of these guys that everything seems to hit, yes get it.

My 2nd iMac developed 3 problems within 5days. The bill had run up to over $500 for repairs. Luckily, I had purchased Apple Care and at that point it had not cost me a cent. When the 3rd problem developed I was offered repair or a brand new machine. The first thing I bought for the new machine was Apple Care. Macs are expensive machines and I am willing to pay for the peace of mind that comes with Apple Care.

For laptops, always get extended warranty coverage. You risk damage every time you move it. ('cause it could be dropped)

toMACsh said:

For laptops, always get extended warranty coverage. You risk damage every time you move it. ('cause it could be dropped)

Click to expand...

AppleCare does not cover damage caused by you dropping it.

:faceplam: Of course they don't.

Ok, then, um... because the components are more delicate.

It is most definitely worth getting. If you think about it, there are a lot of very pricey parts in these machines. Far more pricey than the Applecare itself. To me, the peace of mind is more than worth it. Apple computers in my experience last nearly forever it seems. But it just takes one little problem, and the costs can add up quickly. If you're tight for cash, you can always wait a few months, like has been said, you can buy it anywhere up to a year after purchasing your Apple product.

It's the kind of thing you hope you'll never need, and most people never do need. It sucks to give up more cash, but if I ever wake up to a bricked iMac or Macbook Pro, I'll really be glad I got it!

It's absolutely worth it for a few reasons:

Increases resale value. Should you decide to sell it for whatever reason, the buyer will be that much more happy to learn that it's covered as such.

Things happen. Battery can go belly up, Logic board can fail somewhere, GPU can fry etc etc.. Apple is really good about faulty parts, even after the warranty is expired, but when you think about having to spend $1000 on a repair, just in case they don't feel like granting you a freebie, it's painful. Imagine you get Apple care, and right before it expires your logic board and battery decide to die on you. They replace it for free and now you've pretty much got a new laptop after almost 3 years!

That's the way I look at it. And if nothing ever goes wrong in the three years of owning it then great, you're likely good to go for some time after that I would imagine. Just better to be safe than sorry IMO.

Doug

toMACsh said:

:faceplam: Of course they don't.

Ok, then, um... because the components are more delicate.

Click to expand...

That they are.