MacBook Applecare

AlanD

My initial 12 month warranty is about to expire on my Macbook. Is it worth the money (€249) to purchase Apple's extended warranty, Applecare?

I mean, what can go wrong with the machines (ok silly question) and how expensive are they really to fix if I had to pay.

I reckon I could make a lot of repairs for €249 if they ever came up.

whiterebel

AlanD wrote: »

My initial 12 month warranty is about to expire on my Macbook. Is it worth the money (€249) to purchase Apple's extended warranty, Applecare?

I mean, what can go wrong with the machines (ok silly question) and how expensive are they really to fix if I had to pay.

I reckon I could make a lot of repairs for €249 if they ever came up.

The smallest repair on a portable woudl normally cost more than that anyway, at least it did whenI worked there a few years ago. I always used to suggest to people to get it. Minimum repair was about €400 then.

needhelpguy

I would definitely get it. The cost of Apple parts on their own is very high and any non warranty repairs would costs nearly as much as the laptop.

Of course it could be argued that you are still covered under statutory rights and it would be a "reasonable expectation" for a laptop to last longer than 12 months. But expect to fight with Apple about it and have to escalate to the Small Claims Court ( but you would win).

Of course to save the hassle and get an extra few years warranty, I'd say get the Applecare.

johnk123

I would buy it if I were you. Like has been said, the minimum repair charge could set you back at least the price of apple care.

whiterebel

Just bought off an eBay seller for $138.00. Sweet.

ozt9vdujny3srf

Yup, eBay is the way to go.

Kid Nothing

whiterebel wrote: »

Just bought off an eBay seller for $138.00. Sweet.

Would you have a link to that seller handy by any chance, all this talk here is making me think twice!

whiterebel

amull87 wrote: »

Would you have a link to that seller handy by any chance, all this talk here is making me think twice!

http://myworld.ebay.ie/angelic84

There you go.

jester77

Are Apple products that poor that you need to but the Applecare?

I've never had to have any of my laptops repaired in all the years I've had them, mainly vaios, samsungs and more recently macbooks. I even have a Vaio that is 10 years old and it runs 24/7 in the corner of a room as a server and has yet to give me a single issue.

ethernet

jester77 wrote: »

Are Apple products that poor that you need to but the Applecare?

I've never had to have any of my laptops repaired in all the years I've had them, mainly vaios, samsungs and more recently macbooks. I even have a Vaio that is 10 years old and it runs 24/7 in the corner of a room as a server and has yet to give me a single issue.

Like any other product: if there's a problem brewing, you're likely to see it in the first few months which is within the warranty. Some people like the extra peace of mind. A lot of retailers like to force their protection plans on each sale as well.

ozt9vdujny3srf

I'd completely disagree, warranty is really important, no matter who makes the laptop. At the end of the day all of the parts in your machine are the same as all the parts in all the other machines. The difference is the way they are packaged for you. Problem is, if you have a problem with your laptop and it isnt the HDD / ram / cpu - It's gonna cost you big time to repair. More then the laptop is worth.

Gregor Samsa

I'm currently on my 6th Mac (brand new MacBook - my first was an LCII back in 1992). Every one of them still run without a problem. I've never bought AppleCare, and more importantly, never needed it.

Personally, I look it as the same as the extended warranties you get in Currys or any other store. Sure, is gives you peace of mind (at a price), but it's a calculation on the part of the manufacturer that far more people won't ever need it than will, so there's big profit to be made in offering it. Of course, if you're one of the people who's screen fails in year 2 and the extended warranty covers it, then certainly you'll see it as a good investment - but really the odds are stacked on the side of the manufacturer, not the consumer.

I read once about someone who, for every electronic item they bought, placed the cost of the extended warranty into a deposit account instead of buying it. They used it as an interest-earning fund to cover any replacement or repair of the products over a 3 year period. If something went wrong, they had the fund to draw from. If nothing went wrong, they had the cash plus interest. If I was a little more organised, that's what I'd do, but in lieu of that I'll just keep taking the gamble that has paid off for me for the past 16 years.

Simon201

Yes, the whole extended warranty thing is a bit of a gamble, although the piece of mind thing is good. I generally never bought it for any of my previous Macs, and never really needed it, but I tend to think that some products nowadays (even Apple gear!) has become a little cheaper in design and quality than it used to be.
At present, I am 'up' on the deal having had to get a replacement mighty mouse for my iMac (yeah poxy scroll ball that gets sh1tty and stops working!) and also a replacement keyboard that had a key that stopped working. That's €100 for replacement parts with Applecare that cost me €69.

projectmayhem

Handy thing about applecare is if you buy any additional items (time capsule, cinema display) they get "added" to your protection plan afaik

swingking

projectmayhem wrote: »

Handy thing about applecare is if you buy any additional items (time capsule, cinema display) they get "added" to your protection plan afaik

Is that true? I've bought an apple airport extreme, express, wireless keyboard and mighty mouse. Are these added to the applecare? If so, then I am REALLY happy. Can anyone confirm this?

johnk123

projectmayhem wrote: »

Handy thing about applecare is if you buy any additional items (time capsule, cinema display) they get "added" to your protection plan afaik

Don't think this is true I'm afraid. But I'm open to correction on it.

Gregor Samsa

projectmayhem wrote: »

Handy thing about applecare is if you buy any additional items (time capsule, cinema display) they get "added" to your protection plan afaik

it's only true for displays bought at the same time as certain Macs:

The AppleCare Protection Plan covers one Apple display if you purchase the display at the same time as your Mac mini, Mac Pro, or MacBook Pro

Otherwise, you need separate cover for each item, and Time Capsule, Airport Extreme, keyboards, mice etc. aren't covered at all:

The AppleCare Protection Plan is available for Apple displays, iPhone, iPod, Apple TV, and Mac computers (iMac, Mac mini, Mac Pro, MacBook, and MacBook Pro). Each product requires a separate AppleCare Protection Plan for coverage.

http://www.apple.com/support/products/faqs.html