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Applecare for my MBP - is it worth it?

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Karel Bata

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I've had to send my MBP back to MacHospital twice in the 6 months since I bought it. So buying Applecare to extend the warranty for another two years seems like a no-brainer.

Any thoughts on this?

BTW for any one else considering this, it's available on Amazon a lot cheaper than at the Apple Store.
 
for laptops I always get it because they are much harder and more expensive to fix, plus they are put in situations, like on a table, or on a box at a shoot that might lead to accidents. I just consider AC part of the price of the laptop and write it off the same as the laptop.
 
Jay Gannon said:
My general feeling on Applecare is:

If you travel a lot no.
If you don't probably.
Click to expand...

I don't understand the logic here.

Over the long run, all extended warranties are a bad deal. It hurts when you have to fix it out of pocket, but if you multiply all the money you'd spend on AppleCare (or any other extended warranty) by the number of computers you'll own in 10 years, you'll spend a lot more on the warranties than you are likely to spend on repairs.
 
I bought Apple care for my iMac, because it was a 180 euros extra cost, which is okay.

On laptops, Apple Care is very expensive.
I bought a kind of Apple Care in Belgium, called Switch Care (Switch is a chain of stores that sell Apple-stuff in Belgium), it was 180 euros for a MBP and covered it for 3 years, including times when you would break something and it was your fault (with a franchise cost of course)

I'm glad I bought it, because I would already have had +1000 euros of repair costs (one thing my own fault, another not my own fault). Motherboards of Apple Laptops cost like 800+ euros. But now Apple only let's Switch stores sell Switchcare ON TOP of Apple Care, which really sucks and makes it all too expensive.

Still... I think it's very expensive for laptops, but on the other hand: some repair costs are also very expensive, and as I showed here, can easily go upwards of 1000 euros.
Considering the Premium-image of Apple, I actually think they should include Apple Care with every Mac. Your's has already been in repair for twice in six months, which doesn't bode well. (of course, it's the nature of electronics to be open to defects, but still...)
 
Basically if you ever need a repair AppleCare is cheaper than paying to fix it without.

Also AppleCare helps keep resale value of your MBP.
 
its like alota things you only wish you did get when you need it...hey i say get it its too little an expense for something that is likely to have issues as it ages...
 
Karel Bata said:
Resale is a very good point. When I was considering a s/h MBP (but decided against) I only bothered looking at those that had some warranty.
Click to expand...

You can buy AppleCare within the first year of purchasing a Mac.

So if you want a s/h Mac, get one that was bough within the last 365 days, then call apple and register the AppleCare.
 
sergio arguello said:
its like alota things you only wish you did get when you need it...hey i say get it its too little an expense for something that is likely to have issues as it ages...
Click to expand...

It's your money, but in the past 9 years, i've owned 4 Macbook Pros and 3 Mac towers. If I'd bought Applecare for them all I'd have spent $2143. In that time, I've had one of the Macbooks back to the Apple store for replacement of a battery that was faulty. It was after the warranty ran out, but they replaced it for free.

YMMV, but I've saved $2143 by not buying Applecare.

Also, Applecare does not cover "accident, abuse, neglect, misuse (including faulty installation, repair, or maintenance by anyone other than Apple or an Apple Authorized Service Provider), unauthorized modification, extreme environment (including extreme temperature or humidity), extreme physical or electrical stress or interference, fluctuation or surges of electrical power, lightning, static electricity..." so buying it because you might drop the Macbook won't really help.
 
noahvolek said:
You can buy AppleCare within the first year of purchasing a Mac.

So if you want a s/h Mac, get one that was bough within the last 365 days, then call apple and register the AppleCare.
Click to expand...
I think if you have multiple Apple products you can also transfer Apple care to that as well. At my work we have a slew of MP and MBP and was told by Apple that any of the plans would work on any of them no matter when it was purchased. I havent tested this "theory" and I hope never have too :)
 
Eric Santiago said:
I think if you have multiple Apple products you can also transfer Apple care to that as well. At my work we have a slew of MP and MBP and was told by Apple that any of the plans would work on any of them no matter when it was purchased. I havent tested this "theory" and I hope never have too :)
Click to expand...


Applecare phone software support is also registered to one serial number, but you could call with one serial and get software support for another machine.

Applecare hardware support is tied to ONE specific serial number.
They will only fix that computer registered with the AppleCare.

Unless you work has a business support package with Apple but that is separate from the standard consumer AppleCare.

- ex AppleCare slave
 
Another reason a good robust PC is better for professional work. Less closed system, less expensive and better support for less money. I have one mac, a Mac Air and it's nice for writing and doing lesser stuff on the fly, but for professional work, grading, editing, etc. a HP EliteBook with dreamcolor display is... better in all aspects.
Though you can't use FCP, why do you need to? I rather spend the remaining sum of money buying something else... like a Red for example :)
 
For some it has and for others it hasn't. I've probably purchased over 20 apple computers and have never once purchased the apple including 4 laptops. We all know technology and before you blink your invest is in the drain. In 3 years, the OS will be so advanced it will make your computer cry and force you to upgrade. Just me...
 
I view AppleCare like health insurance. Does it cost money? Yes. Do you hope you'll never need it? Yes. Do most people/machines go through life never needing it? Yes. Will you be insanely glad you paid for it the first time you actually have to *use* it? Hell yeah.

I've bought AppleCare on every Mac I've owned. Admittedly, a lot of them were with a student discount (And the discount on AppleCare is *AWESOME*) but the point remains. I almost didn't buy it on my last MBP, but decided to go ahead. Fast forward two years when it needs a logic board replacement. Cost out of pocket, had I not had AppleCare, would have been in the "Screw it, I'm just buying a new machine" range. So, yeah, I'm glad I've got AppleCare, and will continue to buy it on new Macs.
 
Ben Brainerd said:
Fast forward two years when it needs a logic board replacement. Cost out of pocket, had I not had AppleCare, would have been in the "Screw it, I'm just buying a new machine" range.
Click to expand...

New logic board installed by Apple 1 month ago was $419 on my 2007 MBP
 
Ben Brainerd said:
I view AppleCare like health insurance. Does it cost money? Yes. Do you hope you'll never need it? Yes. Do most people/machines go through life never needing it? Yes. Will you be insanely glad you paid for it the first time you actually have to *use* it? Hell yeah.
Click to expand...

Well, if you're that bad at math, have at it. It's insurance. It's not a good deal for anybody but the insurance company. Your Mac is not going to get cancer and need $100k worth of treatment.

Here's my suggestion - take the money you'd have to spend on AppleCare and put in it's own bank account. Do it for every Mac you buy from now on. If the Mac breaks, pay for it out of that account. Then when you retire, take a vacation on the money you've collected. Or send the money to me. I'll take the vacation.

OK, I'll shut up now. It's your money, do what you want with it.
 
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