Apple Care - do you recommend it?

C

crispeto

Guest
I know there may be some bias since this is an Mac forum, but I'm looking for honest answers as to whether or not you would recommend Apple care for my new Powerbook. It's not cheap but I can get it for about $230 for the PB. Do you all have it or do you advise getting it? What have been your experiences with it? Is it pretty comprehensive? I don't mean like dropping my PB but if something simply stops working (ie: airport, HD, motherboard, etc.) am I pretty well covered with Apple care? My Amex card gives me an additional year coverage so is this worth it? I appreciate any advice you have. Thanks.
 
Joined
Oct 10, 2004
Messages
10,345
Reaction score
597
Points
113
Location
Margaritaville
Your Mac's Specs
3.4 Ghz i7 MacBook Pro (2015), iPad Pro (2014), iPhone Xs Max. Apple TV 4K
I have bought 5 computers from Apple in my life, 4 of them are running in my house right now. I have never bought Apple Care protection. 2 of my Macs (2 iBooks) have had problems to date, but both were within the warranty period. One is now out of warranty and the other had about 4 months to go. My other 3 desktop Macs have never had any problems whatsoever (knock on wood).

I guess my answer would be, you probably don't need it.

Others may disagree based on their experiences though.
 
Joined
Jul 22, 2003
Messages
6,999
Reaction score
187
Points
63
Location
Hamilton College
Your Mac's Specs
20" iMac C2D 2.16ghz, 13" MacBook 2.0ghz, 60gb iPod vid, 1gb nano
It saved me over 400 bucks (and that is including the cost of applecare) on my powerbook a few years back
 
Joined
Nov 24, 2005
Messages
749
Reaction score
6
Points
18
Your Mac's Specs
Powerbook G4/ 15.2"/ 1.67 ghz/ 2 gb RAM/ ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 (128 mb RAM)/ 100 gb hdd@ 5400 RPM
Well, right now I'm getting my logic board replaced, my Superdrive fixed, and a new 1 gig stick of RAM. Now, grated this is within the original warranty period, I can't even imagine how much it would cost to get all this **** replaced...
 
OP
B

Biturbo V12 AMG

Guest
Its worth it on the laptops but not on the desktops. the stuff on the laptops cost a ton to replace not only for the parts but for the labor of opening the laptop.
 
Joined
Nov 24, 2005
Messages
749
Reaction score
6
Points
18
Your Mac's Specs
Powerbook G4/ 15.2"/ 1.67 ghz/ 2 gb RAM/ ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 (128 mb RAM)/ 100 gb hdd@ 5400 RPM
Ok, so I just got back my PowerBook (it's all fixed now). The invoice totalled $1313.13 (Whoa, guess it added-up pretty nicely). Luckily it was in-warranty, but if it were out of warranty, even if you take out $250 for Applecare, it would save you $1063.13.

I don't know about you, but to me that seems like A LOT of money.
 
OP
J

jn4jenny

Guest
to_tough_to_die said:
Ok, so I just got back my PowerBook (it's all fixed now). The invoice totalled $1313.13 (Whoa, guess it added-up pretty nicely). Luckily it was in-warranty, but if it were out of warranty, even if you take out $250 for Applecare, it would save you $1063.13.

I don't know about you, but to me that seems like A LOT of money.

Actually, Apple offers a flat-rate repair service for out-of-warranty machines. I also got a $1300 repair from Apple (logic board/top case/hard drive), but I paid $322 for flat-rate out of warranty service. Yes, it took a few days longer because Apple prioritizes AppleCare repairs, but think of it this way: there are probably a hundred suckers out there who bought AppleCare and never used it for everyone like me who paid an extra $72 to get my Powerbook repaired by Apple. So that's $2500 down the drain compared to an occasional $72 in extra flat-rate repair charges. It's just an odds game.

That isn't to say that AppleCare is a waste of cash. If you travel with your machine or you're very hard on it or you want your machine back as fast as possible when it breaks, then AppleCare is probably a deal. For me and the things I use my Powerbook for, it was a gamble worth taking NOT to buy AppleCare, given the fact that the one flat-rate service I got was probably the only service I'll need in my machine's first three years. It's already rounded the two-year bend, after all.
 
Joined
Dec 15, 2004
Messages
614
Reaction score
3
Points
18
Location
USA
Your Mac's Specs
MacPro, MBP C2D, iMac G4
I didnt get Applecare due to the amount of money that I had at purchase; I havent had any problems. That being said, I do plan on getting applecare on my next notebook or desktop purchase. One thing to keep in mind, you have until the end of the original one year warranty to sign up for applecare, so if the system you buy is problematic, than you might want to get applecare.
 

rman


Retired Staff
Joined
Dec 24, 2002
Messages
12,637
Reaction score
168
Points
63
Location
Los Angeles, California
Your Mac's Specs
14in MacBook Pro M1 Max 32GB 2TB
jn4jenny said:
there are probably a hundred suckers out there who bought AppleCare and never used it for everyone like me who paid an extra $72 to get my Powerbook repaired by Apple. So that's $2500 down the drain compared to an occasional $72 in extra flat-rate repair charges. It's just an odds game.

That isn't to say that AppleCare is a waste of cash. If you travel with your machine or you're very hard on it or you want your machine back as fast as possible when it breaks, then AppleCare is probably a deal. For me and the things I use my Powerbook for, it was a gamble worth taking NOT to buy AppleCare, given the fact that the one flat-rate service I got was probably the only service I'll need in my machine's first three years. It's already rounded the two-year bend, after all.
Remember that AppleCare is like an insurance policy, which is a gamble also. Why do you buy do you buy fire insurance, not because the house will burn down, but incase that there is a fire.
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top