Applecare worth it or not?

I have decided that i am going to get a macbook with the super drive in the near future and i cant really seem to be able to whether or not apple care is worth $250. i know that if i have some real problem with my mac such as a screen crack or something of that nature it would pay for its self, but saying i never need to use it im basically throwing $250 down the drain. who here has bought the apple care and actually had to use it? and would you have been screwed if you didnt buy apple care?

Yes, it's worth it. It's paid for itself for many times. No knock on Apple laptops quality; stuff happens...

was the stuff that happened self inflicted or did it just one day decide to take a dump on you.

I paid $250 for Apple Care (student discount) and it has saved me over $6000 dollars.

Everything that happened was not self inflicted, it was just a problem with the computer that could not be fixed.

Do some people that did use the Apple Care care to give specifics as to what happened to the computer?

I haven't had AppleCare on any of my Apple products and not had any problems with them at all *touches wood*

I've rang up Apple a few times, even past my 90 days support and they've still helped me.

They even replaced my burnt out charger for my MacBook Pro and my support was expired. They really are good with support.

When it comes down to it, you might buy AppleCare and never use it, on the other hand, you might not buy it and face a heap of problems.

Maybe safe to just buy it?

Well, you'll feel much safer if you buy it since you won't have to worry when problems crops up. Plus, you can always decide it just before your warranty is up, as long as you purchase Applecare before your current 1 year warranty is up.

so what you are saying is that i have a year to decide whether or not i want apple care? if that is the case then i will wait until the future to get it.

yes, you have until the end of the first year to buy apple care.

saxnbass said:

Do some people that did use the Apple Care care to give specifics as to what happened to the computer?

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I had a powerbook that had a rare problem where the computers heat sensors would think it was overheating when it actually wasn't. What it would do is just put the computer to sleep, like it should, except that since it wasnt over heating it wasnt supposed to do this.

It would do it over and over again and the computer was virtually unusable. I took it to the apple store 5 times and they could never figure out what was causing it, so after 4 repairs they decided to replace my computer.

I think Applecare is worth it. When you get down to it, it's a numbers game, a game of risk. If a gambling person or are not extremely dependent on your computer, you can do without, but it like a safety net, it helps you sleep at night.

My MBP is out of regular warranty and I'm glad I have Applecare because I think my audio out is going bad; cracking and popping when I plug speakers in and sometimes only right speaker works. Such a repair is usually not cheap or easy.

I wish I had bought an extended warranty for my car. I'm about 5,000 miles out of the warranty and I've spent $1,100 on repairs in the past month!!

For me, from now on I think my rule of thumb with be anything I purchase from now on that complex in nature and build, and over $1,000 will have an extended warranty if it's available.

To me, its not worth it. But ONLY because i paid for my MBP with a credit card that doubles the 1 year warranty and my home owners policy covers it if ANYTHING happens to it. With Apple Care, if it gets smashed, dropped, gets wet or some other damage caused by me or some other act of God, its not covered. With my insurance policy, i could go toss it on the floor, hard drive could fail, it could crash, get stolen or just about anything and still get a new one. Most insurance is VERY cheap and much more affordable than Apple Care, so its an option id explore before you threw the money at it. I pay 5 bucks a month for the coverage on it and all my other computer related electronics..."iPod, Digital Cameras, Video cameras, etc."

JerrfyLube said:

To me, its not worth it. But ONLY because i paid for my MBP with a credit card that doubles the 1 year warranty and my home owners policy covers it if ANYTHING happens to it. With Apple Care, if it gets smashed, dropped, gets wet or some other damage caused by me or some other act of God, its not covered. With my insurance policy, i could go toss it on the floor, hard drive could fail, it could crash, get stolen or just about anything and still get a new one. Most insurance is VERY cheap and much more affordable than Apple Care, so its an option id explore before you threw the money at it. I pay 5 bucks a month for the coverage on it and all my other computer related electronics..."iPod, Digital Cameras, Video cameras, etc."

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Question about your insurance: does it cover manufacturer defects? Some policies don't, just accidental damage. Also, what is the deductible on your policy? I'm just asking because sometimes people make assumptions about their policies and don't see the fine print until it's too late.

txkneeboarder said:

was the stuff that happened self inflicted or did it just one day decide to take a dump on you.

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LOL. No, it was not user created or self-inflicted. Actually, my experiences relate back to my Powerbook days. My first Powerbook had dvd drive issues, hinge issue. Still, having the peace of mind is well worth the investment especially with any portable device.

MacRealm said:

I've rang up Apple a few times, even past my 90 days support and they've still helped me.

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I called Apple Support yesterday because I'm pretty sure I have a dead pixel, and I got a man who was gruff, rather rude, and quickly informed me that I couldn't talk to him because it was past 90 days...

I was incredibly disappointed.

Completely necessary.

Macs are great, but there's a price for cramming so much into such a tidy package - and that's reliability. They break for no reason - mine's gone back twice in the first year alone, and a few collegues have also had to return theirs. The cost of having anything fixed is so high, that you should always count the 3 year warrenty into the cost price.

I got my AppleCare for less than 200 bucks with student discount!

fleurya said:

Question about your insurance: does it cover manufacturer defects? Some policies don't, just accidental damage. Also, what is the deductible on your policy? I'm just asking because sometimes people make assumptions about their policies and don't see the fine print until it's too late.

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Ive read all the fine print and been sung the song and dance several times. It covers ANYTHING that happens to it. The insurance agent even told me if i didnt like it for whatever reason, they would replace it, basically no questions asked. Only requirement is that i have to provide proof that i owned the machine. And for that reason, they have a copy of my original sales receipt as well as the sales receipts for all my electronics on file just incase so theres no confusion.

Even if a policy covered accidental damage and not manufactures defects, knock it off your desk, problem solved... ;D

They waive the deductible because i also have an auto and motorcycle policy through them too.

I have purchased quite a few Apple products, and I have never purchased Applecare. Macs come with one year of complementary coverage, and I rarely keep my computers for much longer than that, so it's not really worth it for me to spend the extra $$$.

I had a the DELL equivalent on my previous laptop and it was worth the money, I had a CD-Drive go and a motherboard, although I actually suspect it was the graphics card - but anyway. If you want piece of mind get it, if you can live without don't.

Edit: And that Dell laptop lasted nearly 5 years, if macs have the build quality everyone goes on about hopefully I'll get the same out of my MBP.

it is one of those things, if you dont get it, it will break, if you do, it works fine for years, like most insurances, but for some it pays for it's self,

for me i always get extended warrenties on camera, and for my 20D the $275 for 3 years just tripled it's value when my $800 lense shutter broke and my camera needed fixing too.

i didnt get apple care, my own fualt i was waiting for the 1 year and missed it, but this thing has been solid and most computer stuff if it breaks it is going to break right away, unless you abuse it and make it break down the road.