[Mac Donald]

There is a general feeling amongst Apple people that AppleCare is worth the price -- at least, I think there is. Anyway, do people think it is worth the price. For example, I am mulling getting it for my new MacBook Pro -- but it is over 15% of the Purchase Price. Thus, there should be about a 15% chance that the MacBook will break down in the two years after the first year of warranty I already get . . . that seems way too high.

Usually, it is a given that after-market warranties are a big ripoff -- and are just gravy for a retailer. Why do people think AppleCare is different? Or why not?

[Windswept]

Originally Posted by Mac Donald There is a general feeling amongst Apple people that AppleCare is worth the price -- at least, I think there is. Anyway, do people think it is worth the price.

Short answer: YES.

Get it.

You *won't* be sorry.

[Banana]

It's a rip-off for a consumer desktop, definitely. However for a laptop or for a professional machine you're making money off, it will keep you in business for an extra day and that's all you need.

[murbot]

ThunderPoit and his 14 month old iMac with a fried processor might disagree with that opinion... but to each his own.



As for the MacBook Pro, hell yes get the AppleCare. Wait until you've had it for 10-11 months and are sure you'll be keeping it for a while longer before buying it, if you like... no sense buying it and not using it.

[WrestleEwe]

I believe Applecare borders on the illegal. Well at least here in the EU.

My iBook has extended warranty and insurance from a third party. All bought from a trusted reseller. It cost me 1/3 of Applecare AND it's insured against theft and accidents (i.e. if i drop it in 2 1/2 years, or it gets stolen, I will get 90% of the iBooks purchasing price in store credit).

So far the main disadvantage is that Apple will not give me phone support, but then again, I live close to a certified apple centre, so that's not really a problem.

I do think that 3 yrs warranty/insurance is an absolute MUST for any laptop.

But I refuse to give Apple US$350 (EX VAT!) for 2 years extra warranty and the support they should have been giving me free of charge in the first place.

EDIT: Warranty related support of course, not the other, "i can't get my Airport to work" kind.

[BlueRabbit]

Yes, since the MacBook Pro is a laptop it's a lot more prone to having its hard drive shaken around and whatnot. If it was a Powermac I'd be hesitant, but with any laptop/iMac/Mac Mini it's probably a good idea to go with Applecare.

[Luca]

Lenovo charges ~$130 for an extra two years of mail-in warranty service. Their on-site warranty for the same length is much closer to what AppleCare costs.

AppleCare is much more expensive than it should be, but you should still get it.

[Mugge]

Well, I guess Apple isn't exactly loosing money on Applecare. It's probably just like insurance. You pay a little too much, but you don't have to worry about suddenly having to spend large amount of money on a new MBP, because it decided to fry itself on it's 13 month birthday.

I'm more of a gambler, so I would probably not go with Applecare. I do back-up my data. But in case of HW failure outside ordinary warranty I would just fork over a new pile of money. I have savings for that. This reasoning behind this is that the average cost of repairs and replacement over time is less than the price demanded by Apple for Applecare. Which I assume is true, because otherwise Apple wouldn't make any money of Applecare.

But then again, it's not critical for me to avoid loss of my iBook. I have a PC at home and PC's at school. And almost every Apple sales point has an iBook identical to mine, so it's fairly quick to replace and do a SuperDuper™ to restore most of the data.

[Franz Josef]

In response to the original question, I'd say, yes, particularly for a laptop. But fair to say that Apple gets a lot less flak (circa none) for Applecare at a time when other providers of extended warranties (certainly in the UK) are very unpopular for the value they (don't) add.

[alcimedes]

Any machine that's a laptop should have applecare. As far as I'm concerned, the G5 iMacs are basically laptops. They use laptop parts that are exposed to a lot of heat in a small area. They're a lot more likely to die eventually.

On a Rev. A product built on a new chipset? Yeah, I'd get Applecare.

[chucker]

Originally Posted by WrestleEwe I believe Applecare borders on the illegal. Well at least here in the EU.

As a fellow EU citizen, I'm saddened to see you spread such FUD.

[kbk]

I was also pondering getting applecare for my Macbook Pro. Do i need to get it straight away? Or do I wait a year (ish) before getting it?

[chucker]

You can wait until just before the 1-year warranty expires until you get it; it doesn't make a difference either way.

[CD on G5+MBP]

As previously stated in this thread..

• Do purchase it, for any Mac.

• You can purchase within the first year of owning the machine
(make sure on your receipt to see the date of purchase so you don't go over it by a day or two by accident)

• It could save you potentially a large sum of money if say your screen, logic board and some other component all go out at once.