Is extended warranty worth it?

[James]

I get extended warranties on items that have a high failure rate (LCDs) and things I use for business purposes. As an example for an additional $150 I got a 3 year replacement plan on my $1300 monitor. Perhaps it will never fail but if it does that saves me quite a bit of heartburn. I also have next business day warranties on all my IBM equipment. If something breaks, I call it in and the next day a tech is there to get it back in operation, thus minimizing my downtime. I have multiple laptops so the loss of one of them for a few days is not critical but it is inconvenient.

Now for the PB it was a more open question. Yes I could "be my own insurance" but by getting AppleCare the cost is fixed and known and thus can be put in a budget. I do not gamble, I take the warranty as an expense. Is my PB likely to fail after the first year? Perhaps not, but now I do not need to worry about it either. What I am paying for is convenience and peace of mind.

And a high interest bank account sure as heck is not going to yield a couple grand from the seven to eight hundred I have spent on warranties. Having used my warranty on 1 LCD and my ThinkPad (multiple times), the cost of all the warranties I currently have (3 LCDs, my ThinkPad, and my PB) is less than the replacement cost for the equipment in question. My experience may not be typical, but it is not rare either. Remember the warranties cover the manufacturers cost to replace, not the consumers.

Your case is a bit different though, as business use, as you say, you can charge the extra cost to the business and it makes more sense in keeping what makes you money going quickly.

For a non business person like myself who has fairly decent luck it just doesn't make sense spending hundreds of dollars on extended warranties. I have been buying computers and other electronics for well over 20 years and have never paid extra for them, and have never needed it. Usually if any problem arises it does so in the first year and is covered, at least that is the luck i have had. Others probably have had the oposite luck and should buy the extra protection.

 

[TTheInfamous1]

For me it was a good deal. I havent used a Mac since the Apple 2c days. I am certified in the PC field but very new to Mac. If a problem came up with a PC, Network, or Hardware I could fix it in an instant. Mac on the other hand is not what I know. So getting the Apple Care helps me quite a bit. It'll give me time to learn the Mac in and out with the help of Tech Support for Apple.

 

[blueturtles]

if you just really take good care of your mac, you won't need the warranty. be careful of what you install and clean it up every week. my whole school is on MAC, and the only people i see actually using the APP are those who are careless w their computer. people who just install, save and forget about the stuff in it. if you're careful and on top of things, you shouldn't really need it, i think. i'd rather put that money on ram, memory and whatever else you can use for your computer. besides, there's mac forums. i ask all my questions here and they get answered. for the few times that something goes wrong w the comp, it'll prob happen in the first year. in that case, you're covered.

 

[spong]

IMO, well worth it. I just purchased a Dual 1.8 with the Apple Care. It was the best extra cash I've ever spent. It'll be very helpful when the 90 day tech support is up and when the 1year limited warranty is up as well.

How can it be the best cash you've ever spent if nothing goes wrong?

I'm pretty sceptical of extended waranties. There's no dount they are very profitable, so you could argue they're a lot more expensive than they need to be.

Besides this, I live in Brazil where the normal behaviour on the part of a vendor is to find any reason they can to avoid a claim, so they're basically worthless anyway.

 

[normal1]

Does applecare cover flood damage?