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.