Purchase extended warranty?

[afesposit]

Was reading Consumer Reports and of course they say not to. Wondering if most people do or not?

If I weren't to purchase, and need end up needing a new hard drive or power supply, does anyone know what the cost may be out of pocket?

Thank you.

 

[P Willie]

good question, I'd like to know also

 

[jamessmells]

One of the cheapest things to replace is the superdrive, this will cost £150+ to replace.

AppleCare is a fantastic buy, especially if your a student, you get 75% off!

The choice of to buy or not depends on your budget and exactly what you are buying.

 

[chscag]

I don't know about a 75% discount for students (at least here in the US) but you can purchase Apple care from eBay for a substantial discount. And yes, it's the real deal. Lots of folks have purchased their Apple care that way.

Since a new logic board for a MacBook Pro can cost as much as $700 or more, an extended warranty might be something you should consider.

Regards.

 

[Sur3Mac]

Could one still do this purchasing of apple care, even if he had his MBP for a month now??

 

[[email protected]]

One of the cheapest things to replace is the superdrive, this will cost £150+ to replace.

AppleCare is a fantastic buy, especially if your a student, you get 75% off!

The choice of to buy or not depends on your budget and exactly what you are buying.

I agree that AppleCare is a good buy, and usually it's a good idea to buy it, but your statement about a superdrive being one of the cheapest things at £150+ is not true. I haven't looked into how much a superdrive costs, but if your hard drive was to fail for example, it is unlikely to cost £150 to replace.

 

[carleymarie]

Could one still do this purchasing of apple care, even if he had his MBP for a month now??

You can buy AppleCare anytime within the first year that you purchased your computer.

 

[kalen]

To be honest, with all the problems I had with my Macbook, if I could go back I would definitely shell the extra money for Apple Care. When you're under warranty Apple is very efficient in its service, I had my superdrive replaced for free in less than a day. But when you run out, like I have now, and it's not an easy thing to diagnose or fix, it's a nightmare. I will probably have to resort going back to the Apple store and pay 60£ just for the diagnostic + eventual repair because I just can't seem to find anywhere else that would reliably solve my problem and do it quickly.

And I found out that in the UK you do get an amazing discount on Apple Care if you're a student. Definitely worth getting.

 

[rocknpop]

Yes, do it. If you can cover your computer for 10% of it's cost it's a no-brainer. Don't be cheap on this. You will regret it later if your hardware fails.

 

[pigoo3]

Was reading Consumer Reports and of course they say not to. Wondering if most people do or not?

If I weren't to purchase, and need end up needing a new hard drive or power supply, does anyone know what the cost may be out of pocket?

Thank you.

One thing to remember...Applecare does not cover most of the common things that people do to their laptops...like:

- drop it
- hard "bumps"
- run it over with a car
- spill a beverage on it
- step on it
- lightning strikes
- and the Applecare warranty does not cover batteries (unless you can prove the battery was defective)

Don't be "lulled" into a false sense of security when purchasing an Applecare Warranty...it does not cover everything!

In a thread like this...you will always hear from folks that purchased the warranty...then had a problem...and Apple took care of it. Which of course is really really great! But also remember that there are thousands & thousands of people out there that purchased the Applecare Warranty...and Never had a problem & didn't need the warranty.

For every 1 person that had a problem that the warranty covered...there are probably 100, 500, or 1000 that didn't have a problem!

Some people like to follow the philosophy that if something is going to go wrong with a computer (from a manufacturing defect perspective) that it will happen in the first 12 months...and since all new Apple computers some with a 12 month warranty...you may not need to purchase the extended Applecare.

So in the end...it still comes down to a personal choice (to buy or not to buy the extended Applecare warranty)...it just good to know both sides of the issue before purchasing.

Food for thought,

- Nick

 

[rukind2]

I bought the Apple extended warranty for my old G4 Powerbook and subsequently for my two MacBook Pro's. All three required service which more than for the warranty. Don't leave home without it!

 

[technologist]

Was reading Consumer Reports and of course they say not to.

What exactly were you reading? I found this

Laptops have among the higher repair rates of the products we track. Forty-three percent of three- to four-year-old laptops have needed to be fixed, our subscribers indicate; typical repairs cost between $100 and $400. But many of these problems occurred outside the coverage period of a typical computer extended warranty. Also be aware that extended warranties usually don't cover problems if you drop the laptop or spill something on it. If you're worried about that, you should get accident-damage protection. Typically, though, you must buy an extended warranty first.

As noted above, Apple offers a measly 90 days of phone support for its computers (a $49 call otherwise). Nevertheless, you might consider an Applecare extended warranty if you buy a Mac, both because it extends the length of support to three years and because that support has long been the finest provided by a major computer maker, according to our surveys.

 

[sonic9t9]

It's just a shame that you have to go to Best Buy and buy one there to get your accidental damage coverage. I sure would buy an apple much faster if they gave that option from THEM.

 

[pigoo3]

It's just a shame that you have to go to Best Buy and buy one there to get your accidental damage coverage. I sure would buy an apple much faster if they gave that option from THEM.

Yes...to be totally honest...what most owners of laptops need is accidental damage coverage...NOT the extended Applecare Warranty.

The situations where an accident is the cause of computer damage is much much greater than manufacturing defects which Applecare covers.

There are companies that specialize in accidental damage coverage:

Laptop, Desktop, Tablet PC and PDA/Smartphone insurance from Safeware Insurance Agency, Inc.

- Nick

 

[deathcloud]

definitely bought 3 year accidental coverage from Best Buy NOT the apple care. Now I can do these things.
- drop it
- hard "bumps"
- run it over with a car
- spill a beverage on it
- step on it
- lightning strikes

However, you have to also know that when you buy this and lets say you spill water on it and bring it to Best Buy and get it replaced with a brand new one, you have just used your warranty and have to repurchase it. So basically what I am getting at is 1 mistake is fine, we all make em but if you are a clutz then keep buying the warranty hahah

 

[pigoo3]

definitely bought 3 year accidental coverage from Best Buy NOT the apple care. Now I can do these things.
- drop it
- hard "bumps"
- run it over with a car
- spill a beverage on it
- step on it
- lightning strikes

However, you have to also know that when you buy this and lets say you spill water on it and bring it to Best Buy and get it replaced with a brand new one, you have just used your warranty and have to repurchase it. So basically what I am getting at is 1 mistake is fine, we all make em but if you are a clutz then keep buying the warranty hahah

Well I guess if you have this coverage running over your laptop with your car could be fun!!!

Thanks for the clarification on the Best Buy "one accident coverage". I really haven't looked into the details...but that would be a good thing to know!!!

- Nick

 

[sonic9t9]

Yes...to be totally honest...what most owners of laptops need is accidental damage coverage...NOT the extended Applecare Warranty.

The situations where an accident is the cause of computer damage is much much greater than manufacturing defects which Applecare covers.

There are companies that specialize in accidental damage coverage:

Laptop, Desktop, Tablet PC and PDA/Smartphone insurance from Safeware Insurance Agency, Inc.

- Nick

Not to sound paranoid, but is a place like this legit?? I mean it is nice that it's much cheaper than the Best buy one that is like 279 for 2 years.. And they jiust want 200.

 

[pigoo3]

Not to sound paranoid, but is a place like this legit?? I mean it is nice that it's much cheaper than the Best buy one that is like 279 for 2 years.. And they jiust want 200.

That of course is a very good question! I personally have not purchased a warranty with them (so I'm not necessarily endorsing this company)...but they are an example of a company that does sell accidental damage insurance.

I linked this website...because they have that free online policy cost calculator for folks to play with to get an idea what a policy would cost. A lot of companies make you call or e-mail them to get a policy estimate...and that is just a hassle!!!

I'm sure that there are other companies that do this as well...someone that is interested in this type of insurance should shop around & choose a company they are comfortable with.

- Nick

 

[blile]

Has anyone here actually used the Best Buy accidental coverage? I was wondering how good it is. Do they really replace your laptop, or do they give you credit to buy a new one? Do they give you the 3rd degree before honoring the warranty?

Just wondering. If they are really good about it, I would buy it. Cheers.

 

[babyt]

I'm totally going through bestbuy even though ut will be 500$ more with their warranty
I have a Sony vaio and I have dropped it like 3 times once on an incline so the drop was 5 feet at least
needless to say I'm a computer clutz so the extra 500$ def worth it lol