To Applecare or Not to applecare?

J

jonpb

Registered
Hello all,

First, please excuse me if this has been posted before -I searched but couldn't find anything.

Second, I think this is the 'correct' area to post in, I couldn't see a more relevant place.

I have a MBPro coming up on one year this month. Should I extend applecare for another 2 years? I haven't needed it in the past, but I guess it's nice to have just in case...

Anyone have any thoughts / insight on this? It's enough money where I think it prudent to get advice from the community here.

Thanks all
 
I have been a long time Apple/Mac user and I have had many, many, many Macs over the years and Apple II's before that. I have never purchased any type of extended service contract.

Here is what I have found from my experience, both with my own systems and those who I know.

Problems with hardware usually happen when it arrives (DOA) or within the first 90 days. Typically, if your machine goes beyond 90 days, your not going to have any odd hardware issues, short of a faulty disk drive or something down the road (many many years usually). Apple gives you a full 1 year warranty and your allowed to purchase Applecare up to a full year from your purchase. So, if you sense things are going in a bad direction with your hardware, then you can purchase Applecare at that time.

The people who need Applecare IMHO are people who need tech support, they want to be able to call up someone (Apple) and get support on the phone. But, Applecare is limited, they don't support "everything".

I imagine the Applecare program supports itself. I think enough people buy it who never need it or use it and as such, another profitable area for Apple. But, thats good news because that means that the products are quality.
 
Let me be the bug in ScottW's ointment and say that if you're buying a Mac today, get AppleCare. Considering some of the issues I've seen lately on the news sites and from Mac-using friends (and even my own experience), Apple's hardware reliability has slipped from what it used to be. I've owned an Apple IIc when it was new, and have used various Macs throughout the years. My parents' Performa 6220CD is still working with all of its original hardware, and a Quadra 650 that I acquired some years ago from a friend is still going strong after 15 years of its manufacture. Heck, most of Apple's Macs have been rock solid until the issues with some G4 iBooks and the G5 iMacs and Power Macs. And even since the Intel switch there have been reports of hardware problems on MacBook Pros and iMacs. So if I were to buy a new Mac today, I would most definitely make sure that the cost of AppleCare was something I saved up for. I just wish Apple would do away with the standard 1-year warranty and move to 3-years like everyone else, and make AppleCare something that would last longer than that. But of course, I doubt that would be financially beneficial to Apple. Then again, is the short term financial benefit better than the long term loyal customer? I guess the current Apple doesn't seem to think so, but I digress from the topic at hand.

So should you extend your current AppleCare? If your MacBook Pro is that important an investment to you, yes. Don't run the risk of not extending it and then having something happen. It will cost you more than you know.
 
I first bought my Mac Book Pro from someone here in MacOSX.com. Having a Mac Book Pro I immediately purchased AppleCare (especially on a portable) and three months later had to use it. The right speaker blew out and AppleCare took it and fixed it and had it back to me with 3 business days. I was surprised at the speed and service.

I say it is very wise to purchase AppleCare on any MacBook or MacBook Pro because working on a portable is VERY hard doing it yourself. Portables are VERY cramped and almost impossible fixing them at home. So take your chances but don't come crying 6 months from now when something fails on it.

I feel not preparing from the future will ALWAYS bite you in the end. Don't even get me started on not backing up because hard drives will all eventually fail.
 
I just bought my 2nd Mac Portable last week & purchased the Apple Care immediately without a 2nd though. My previous PowerBook G4 went in 3 times over the course of the 4 years that it was covered. I probably wouldn't pay for Apple Care on a desktop Mac. The portables are a different story with the extra wear and tear from moving place to place all the time.
 
I have seen many comments about Apple Care being a life (and wallet) saver for Portables over Desktops and note the above posts also mention this.

I have Apple Care and in a sense was forced into buying it because just in the last 8 weeks of my first year of warranty, my iMac G5 broke down for the 4th time and I was trying to have Apple replace it. It took me over 2 months to resolve the case as it was very hard to make headway but that's another story. In the end, when the warranty was nearing it's end, and a replacement Mac wasn't materialising (any time soon), I figured that to sell my iMac I would need Apple Care for sure. So I purchased it in the last couple of days of that initial year.

I did receive my new iMac, and lucky me! It was an Intel C2D!

Since then (nearly 20 mths ago), I have needed to call up tech support a few times only and in all fairness, as ScottW points out, I probably could have solved it myself if I was prepared to wait it out on the forums.

But with my personal experiences, I feel that my purchasing Apple Care is justified.
 
I wouldn't buy it for a Mac mini or an iPod, but certainly for a Mac Pro, an iMac or any of the MacBooks. It's just a matter of calculating the risk. Go ask your Apple Service Provider what it'd cost to repair a broken display or motherboard after the regular warranty period. Compare that to the price of the AppleCare package. While I don't think one of the biggies will happen to you _personally_, your Mac ain't invincible or immortal. ;)

Of course in this calculation it's also important to think about how long you intend to be using the machine, really. If you'll sell it after 1.5 years to get a more modern version, AppleCare certainly isn't for you.
 
Thank you ALL for the feedback. I think I'll get the plan after all, the extra insurance can't hurt.
 
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