Get Applecare?

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Hi, new to the forum, love it and appreciate everyones' informative posts.

thinking about getting a macbook soon as first time mac user. Is it really worth it to get applecare? It is around 30% the cost of the laptop itself. What percent of macbooks have to get sent in within first year etc.?
 
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todd51

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Oh, thanks for reminding me, I was going to upgrade to AppleCare here this summer.

I got my MBP last August, and I do believe it's worth it considering you can get it at any time during your first year. I think that right now, the thought of having another 2 years of warranty on my computer is great!
 
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I bought applecare for my 17" powerbook it was $250 with the student discount. My computer had a problem and I ended up having 5 repairs done on it costing about $3,600 and I didnt have to pay a cent for any of it because of applecare. I highly recommend applecare because if something does go wrong you can get it fixed.

Also remember that you dont have to get applecare when you buy the computer, you can buy it anytime inside of the first year you own the computer. The best thing you can hope for is to buy the applecare and never have to use it.
 
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wait so when you buy a mac it comes free with one year of "applecare" type service?
and then you are buying another 3 years of service when you buy the actual applecare package for ~$250

Also wat kind of damages/problems exactly does applecare cover?
 
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Your Mac comes standard with a 1 year manufacturer warranty. Applecare extends this warranty by 2 years, thus making your total warranty coverage 3 years. You can purchase Applecare anytime within a year of your Mac's purchase date. So you have a 364 day window to get it.

Here is the FAQ page for Applecare. It'll answer your coverage question:


AppleCare FAQs
 
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AppleCare is great for ppl who keep their computers for at minimum 3 years. Otherwise, if you upgrade every year or so, it probably isn't worth it.

I bought it on my 12" PB back in '03 and it had the hard drive replaced in a few days--cost me nothing out of pocket b/c AppleCare took care of it and in about 2 days.
 
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My MBP died 6 hours after I got it home. Received a replacement MBP straight away. I will do the Applecare thing when this gets close to the 12 months old IF I don't plan an upgrade straight away. From what I have read/heard it is well worth it.
 
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AppleCare is great for ppl who keep their computers for at minimum 3 years. Otherwise, if you upgrade every year or so, it probably isn't worth it.

I bought it on my 12" PB back in '03 and it had the hard drive replaced in a few days--cost me nothing out of pocket b/c AppleCare took care of it and in about 2 days.

Well, if you do decide to sell, having the additional AC warranty actually does increase its resale value potential if you sell after the 1yr mark. That way whoever buys it knows they have a no-hassle warranty for the remainder of the additional two years. Well, assuming you don't sell it with just a few months left on the warranty anyway.

I bought my MBP back in January '07 so I'll be adding the AC warranty when it gets a little closer to the 1 year mark.
 
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Applecare tends to be more worth the money for laptops than for desktops for the simple fact that laptops get moved around often, and are thus prone to more wear and tear, whereas desktops just sit on a desk without any rough handling.

So if anything were to go wrong with a desktop Mac, it'll most likely happen within the first year. With a laptop, you never know when it might fail. You could one day not wait for it to go into standby before moving it and thus potentially causing hard drive damage. You could leave it on your bed one night, causing it to overheat. Then you have to worry about the battery, which can cause all sorts of problems.

So to summarize, get Applecare if you're buying a laptop. You never know when you'll screw it up ;P
 
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todd51

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I would rather have AppleCare and not need, rather than in need of it, and not having it. :)
 
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One other thing you can look into in addition to AppleCare is a "personal articles" policy through your homeowner's insurance (renter's insurance probably qualifies too). I'm paying about $50/year to cover my MacBook Pro (it's based on the original purchase price). It covers the things that AppleCare does not, such as theft and droppage. Well worth it!
 

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