Should I (Me) Purchase applecare?

[RavingMac]

I wouldn't mind helping either, though I don't have paypal and would have to get my wife to agree first, but there is a bigger problem.
I just finished double-checking by reading the terms and conditions for AppleCare and according to sections 7 & 8 it is only valid in the country or region where you purchase it.
For US purchase AppleCare it is only valid in the fifty states.

 

[6string]

My AppleCare which was purchased in the US off ebay was valid here for my old MacbookPro, and when I called up Apple about it, they told me that it was fine.... that it was still valid here.

 

[chscag]

The latest legalese for Apple Care is dated Feb 2011. Razormac is correct about what it states about only being good in the US and Canada.

Here's the LINK to the PDF.

I always thought it was good world wide if purchased here in the US.

 

[class77]

I bought an iMac in June last year, and its been fine. I dont need telephone support or additional help. But I am thinking it would be nice to have the warrantee, should anything go physically wrong with the imac.

Then I started thinking. I bought a sony vaio laptop about 4 years ago, and it still works fine today. I bought the sony, because at the time, it was 'good quality' (Less likely to go wrong) and it hasn't...

So that got me thinking. What is the likelihood of the imac (again, great quality) going wrong in the next two years?

Stuff happens, the worlds an imperfect place and I know that, but I am simply wondering if a great quality computer such as the imac is likely to go wrong in the next 2 years? Are there any general statistics available?

I dont think I have ever really had a computer go wrong on me within a 5 year period ever... So why should it happen with one of the top end products from apple?

Or am I thinking this wrong and there is some kinda benefit I am not aware of ?

Please help me make up my mind. Should I buy applecare?

What's your peace of mind worth? .33 per day seems like a pretty low price to me.

 

[6string]

The latest legalese for Apple Care is dated Feb 2011. Razormac is correct about what it states about only being good in the US and Canada.

Here's the LINK to the PDF.

I always thought it was good world wide if purchased here in the US.

Yep, I recall reading that actually.... also, I recall another article which stated that for any AppleCare purchased after a certain date (around the same time of that), that you had to have the receipt, packaging, etc for it to be valid.

Legally, I don't think Apple would have a leg to stand on.
I buy a Mac and Applecare while I am in the states, come here, and it is no longer valid.... I think not!
Apple is worldwide, the warranty is worldwide, and extended warranty is still going to be worldwide.

 

[Doug b]

I'll find out tomorrow about all of this from a couple of friends who will have first hand/professional knowledge. Is there another Pdf aside from that one? The one linked only specifically addresses the iPod, Apple TV and Apple Cinema displays.

Doug

 

[Lifeisabeach]

I think the rabid fandom over the AppleCare warranties is a bit bizarre. No one offers extended warranties out of the goodness of their hearts. They do it because they make a LOT of money off it. Apple is no exception. The only extended warranties I ever buy is for a new car, for the simple reason that the risk of a major repair bill while still paying for the vehicle is not an option. I've never bought an AppleCare warranty for the various pieces of Apple gear I've had over the past 7ish years, and never have had an occasion to have needed it. "Peace of mind" alone is a terrible reason to part with yet more of my hard earned money, especially if you look at the "big" picture and realize that if you buy extended warranties on everything you buy, you'd spend more in the long term than what you'd get back out of it. If it was a critical piece of equipment that my career and income relied on, then perhaps I'd think a bit differently on that.

Basically, I see this as a gamble. You are taking a chance that, by buying a warranty, you will either reap greater rewards in terms of utilizing it for a repair that would have cost more, or by helping the resale value if you intend to upgrade before the warranty would expire. The risk is that you never utilize it and basically lose the gamble. A good gambler though, will know the odds and play his hand accordingly.

That said, given how cheap it can be had as others have mentioned here, I am seriously re-considering it for my iMac, which I bought last August (I can't believe I'm saying that). The iMacs in particular aren't easily serviceable computers, and if I decide to upgrade to a newer model before the warranty would expire, it does help the resale value. When I put my first Mac on eBay a few years ago, I got a few inquiries on if it had AppleCare, so it's possible that it hurt my resale value a little (though I was satisfied with what it sold for, so maybe not). Still, it feels like a waste of money.

 

[bobtomay]

I'm with ya lifeisabeach. I may be even more fanatical because I have never and will never purchae an extended warranty on a new vehicle. If I'd done that on all the new cars I've bought so far, I'd be out close to $50k right now and not made use of a single one of them.

(edit: actually, I'd be out the stuff that $50k did buy. ;D)

 

[cjjr72984]

I have a macbook pro 2009 model. I bought the insurance for it. Being as expensive as it was, I figured whats another 349.00. I have yet to have a problem with it. But I still have another year and them some before it expires. It is nice to have the tech support though. Which I have used several times. It gives me peace of mind.

That's really what it's all about for me and many other Mac customers. Knowing that in the back of our minds we have immediate cust service if we have any problems.

That's a good feeling to have

 

[Lifeisabeach]

I'm with ya lifeisabeach. I may be even more fanatical because I have never and will never purchae an extended warranty on a new vehicle. If I'd done that on all the new cars I've bought so far, I'd be out close to $50k right now and not made use of a single one of them.

(edit: actually, I'd be out the stuff that $50k did buy. ;D)

Wowza! Just how many new cars have you bought over the years? My extended warranties have run roughly $400-$500 each, and I've bought… let's see… 4 new cars in 25 years, so we're talking a couple grand. I did have to use it a couple times on my Ranger for repeated problem with oil leaks from the engine. Although I've since decided that not buying Fords is a better warranty.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

That's really what it's all about for me and many other Mac customers. Knowing that in the back of our minds we have immediate cust service if we have any problems.

That's a good feeling to have

I feel very badly for people who live in constant fear of their computers breaking. Paranoia is a dreadful disease to live with.

 

[ptk70]

I purchased 7 year/100,000 mile, no-deductible extended warranty from Toyota for my $30,000 car for $990 this year. Compared to that, paying $350 for 3 year warranty on a $1800 MacBook Pro doesn't seem very appealing...

 

[osxx]

Its simple look up the cost of the screen and logic board what can you get a new one for and how are your skills at doing the work yourself then weigh in the cost Apple Care it starts looking pretty good.

 

[cwa107]

I purchased 7 year/100,000 mile, no-deductible extended warranty from Toyota for my $30,000 car for $990 this year. Compared to that, paying $350 for 3 year warranty on a $1800 MacBook Pro doesn't seem very appealing...

Agreed. We did about the same thing with my wife's new Subaru (although I haggled it down even cheaper than that). Anyway, even at $250 from LA Computer, it's still very high, especially considering it doesn't come with accidental damage protection.

Squaretrade is doing a booming business with their warranties. And from what I've read of consumer reviews, they're very easy to work with. For less than half of what Apple charges, you can basically get the same "peace of mind", if not toll-free, 24/7 tech support.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

Its simple look up the cost of the screen and logic board what can you get a new one for and how are your skills at doing the work yourself then weigh in the cost Apple Care it starts looking pretty good.

If you weigh in the actual likelihood of that repair being necessary, then it looks really lousy.

 

[baggss]

If you weigh in the actual likelihood of that repair being necessary, then it looks really lousy.

While that may appear to be true on the surface, I think it really depends on wether you've been burned or not. The more you have had to pay out of pocket or just buy a new machine to replace the broken one that could have been repaired with Applecare can make that deal seem pretty darn good. I don't abuse my hardware and both my Macbook and iPhone get treated well (not to mention my iMac). My concern is for hardware failures though, not abuse.

For example, I never used to buy Applecare at all. Then my Wife's CD iMac went south and required a new board. $800 out of pocket. A year and a half later it went south again, new board AND a new drive. $1200 out of pocket. Now, If I had purchased Applecare, the first would have been covered and with continued Applecare the second would have been covered as well. Applecare when the machine was new was less than $200.

Another Example. My Quad G5 cost me ~$2500 when purchased. When the CPUs started having heat issues I could have had it fixed under Applecare. Instead I got a quote from Apple for at least $300 to diagnose it. Once it got worse they quoted me at least $1500 to fix it. Had I purchased Applecare it would likely still be running today. Applecare was around $250 when I bought the machine.

So right now, all of my iPhones are covered. My iMac is covered, my daughters Macbook is covered and I am planning on purchasing it for my MacBook. My wife's iMac is too old at this point. I've been burned enough and even if I never use it, I'll never pay out of pocket for repairs again.

 

[Doug b]

Ok, so the "official" answer (this is coming from an Genius as well as a manager and Specialist) is that "The Apple Care must be purchased where you live, not where you purchased your Mac".

So much for trying to help you guys out with a discount I guess. Sorry.

As for this:

I think the rabid fandom over the AppleCare warranties is a bit bizarre. No one offers extended warranties out of the goodness of their hearts. They do it because they make a LOT of money off it. Apple is no exception. The only extended warranties I ever buy is for a new car, for the simple reason that the risk of a major repair bill while still paying for the vehicle is not an option. I've never bought an AppleCare warranty for the various pieces of Apple gear I've had over the past 7ish years, and never have had an occasion to have needed it.

Your actions are obviously a direct result of your experiences. And while that's great for you, not everyone has had the same good luck. That's really all it is... is luck of the draw. If you only ever have two or three Macs in your life, then there's a good chance you'll have good luck. But up that number past 5, and statistics say that eventually you'll run into bad luck.

I happened to have poor luck my very first time around with my 2009 MacBook Pro, and the logic board needed to be replaced, AFTER the initial warranty period was over. They also replaced the battery. What would that have cost me out of pocket? Right.

My Apple Care for said Mac is up this June, and guess what? I keep getting a "service battery" indicator. So, if and when I'm told that it needs another battery because the current one is faulty (it was replaced less than a year ago and was said to be new so.. how could either it, or something else not be faulty?), there will be no cost to me in any way, since it's not my fault.

This isn't rabid fandom, and this isn't paranoia. This is called ponying up a bit more money to NOT have to be paranoid or rabid.

Doug

 

[TattooedMac]

Ok, so the "official" answer (this is coming from an Genius as well as a manager and Specialist) is that "The Apple Care must be purchased where you live, not where you purchased your Mac".

So much for trying to help you guys out with a discount I guess. Sorry.

Thanks for all your hard work anyway Doug. After the conversation Kane and i had yesterday in this thread i started to think if anything did go wrong and we needed to get our Mac fixed, how much a pain in the @ss it would be trying to get said Mac to the US to get fixed.
I could see this becoming to not so great deal in the end.

Thanks again though

Cheers

 

[chscag]

If either you or Kane should ever need to get your Mac repaired, I would just take it in anyway and show them your Apple care registration. My bet is that they'll honor it. I can't believe Apple Australia would be insensitive to someone who purchased a Mac and Apple care in the US and then needed repairs in Australia.

 

[Doug b]

If either you or Kane should ever need to get your Mac repaired, I would just take it in anyway and show them your Apple care registration. My bet is that they'll honor it. I can't believe Apple Australia would be insensitive to someone who purchased a Mac and Apple care in the US and then needed repairs in Australia.

I'm willing to bet that you're right. The "written law" as it were, likely stands as a guideline for certain discretionary instances. Also, I can think of a few scenarios in which one might actually need to purchase Apple care outside of their own country. Say you're visiting the States for a few weeks, and the one year warranty period is ending during that trip. You decide you want to extend it with the Apple care. Will they deny you such a thing? I'd hate to say that money is the main reason, but I doubt such a thing isn't considered.

Doug