AppleCare: Worth the money?

[Usul52]

Guys -

With the purchase of an iBook Dual USB and Pimso Powerbook, I've crossed over from PCs for my personal computing. I'd appreciate input on whether the 3 year extended warranty offered by Apple is worth the money. I've heard good things about their customer service/warranty work, but wanted some first hand experience and advice.

Thanks a lot

 

[menoinjun]

Apple Care

Absolutely, just make sure that you do it right. When I bought mine, I bought a refurbished monitor and I was told that Apple Care would cover it. Well it doesn't cover refurbished products (my question is then why is there an option to buy Apple Care on the refurb page at all then? Maybe it's just monitors.) and I had to bitch and moan to get it covered. Whenever you buy from Apple or Dell, it is a great idea to get the warrantee. My Zip drive stopped functioning last week, and I had a new one at my door in 2 days. The same for when I had my Dell, but they were even better. Overall, for $250 for essentially two extra years on the warrantee, it's worth it.

Now about retail stores. NEVER!! They all are way too expensive and they hassle you too much. If they offer you a REPLACEMENT plan over a warrantee though...get it. They will simply give you a new device with (usually) no questions asked.

-Pete

 

[fvollman]

Hope the following helps...

I have a "subscription" to AppleCare...

Over the past 15 years my company has purchase over 20 Apple computers (from desktops to laptops) and`I have never had need to send any of these units in for physical repairs. The hardware (in my experience) has been flawless.

As regards the "technical support" aspect of the AppleCare plan...

As I mentioned, I've used Macs for over 15 years and am "self-taught" when it comes to this computing platform. Otherwise, I've had no formal training and while not a "novice" user, I would not describe myself as a "pro".

With that said, here is my opinion on AppleCare. It's expensive but TOTALLY worth it if you are not really well acquainted with the OS platform. In the long run it will save you hours of "trouble shooting"... simply pick up the phone and call... the service has been excellent, and to date, they have been able to satisfy all my needs.

Now, let me also say that I DIDN'T have AppleCare for the first 14 years of my experience with Mac (I only purchased it in the last year when I came across a problem I couldn't handle and didn't have the time to "research" the solution). This should tell you how user-friendly the operating system is... 14 years and no major problem... just a few small ones that I was able to handle on my own with a little research!

Bottom line, if you can afford it, get it... expecially if you are new to the OS and are not a "computer wiz"... also, if you are using this for business purposes you may not have the luxury of time to "research" a solution for the few problems you might have.

 

[Traveler]

I agree with fvollman

I've been using Mac's for 8 years now and am entirely self taught. There is virtually no software problem I haven't been able to tackle successfully on my own, especially with the advent of the internet... a great source of quick-fix information. From an informational/software stance the plan is pretty much useless.

However, from a hardware perspective I hold a different outlook. I've never had an apple care plan, mostly because I'm too cheap to spend the extra bucks, but I'm in the market for a new laptop and this time i'm seriously considering the possibility. Essentially, I've had bad luck with a couple of lemmon computers who conveniently failed just after their warranties expired. In general I still think of apple hardware as fairly reliable, but I'm getting a little jaded as time goes on. Each time my hard drive failed or my battery exploded I managed to delude myself into believing this was actually a fortunate happenstance because it gave me the opportunity to upgrade or switch to an ibook instead of a desktop (incidentally, I can't live without my ibook even if it is getting a little dated) In reality, what I went through was an expensive pain in the ass. $250 is worth guarding your multi-thousand dollar investment... plus, the more expensive your computer, the better deal it is.

 

[jefhatfield]

experiences from my clients

as a hardware tech, when i see a client with any extended warranty, i get one of two simple answers

1) if their machine had a glitch in the extended warranty period and the extended warranty got them free service or parts, they are believers

2) if their machine never breaks down in the extended warranty period, i hear about what a scam the extended warranty was and that how that client will never buy from that company ever again because the trust has been broken as far as they are concerned, they felt ripped off...and this includes apple, too

i say get the warranty and if the machine breaks, then you will be happy that you had the extra protection and if it doesn't, just be happy that your computer did well and you didn't have someone like me coming over to your house trying to get your computer fixed while you lose money due to downtime

[Edited by jefhatfield on 10-26-2001 at 12:59 AM]

 

[sparkleytone]

as an HONEST employee at CompUSA i feel as if i can answer this question well. My thoughts are that Applecare is a great program that offers most of the same things we do for a better price. Plus most of us know that Apple's technical support and customer service is above and beyond most anyones. For an iMac ($149), LCD WITH Powermac or PowerMac solo ($249 either way), and an iBook ($249) Applecare is the best choice for value and support. My thoughts on PowerBook G4s and Apple LCD's alone are different though, as our programs offer you better value and coverage. Applecare for a PowerBook is $349, when for $499 you'll get ACCIDENTAL DAMAGE protection on the laptop AND THE SCREEN!!! (for three years) I would say the average screen replacement for a PowerBook would cost about $1500 (thats a low estimate) so the plan is worth it. The apple LCD's are another thing to buy the CompUSA replacement plan on for $159 because first of all apple doesnt have anything to cover it alone, and accidental damage is covered. Hope I have shed some light on this for you guys.


P.S. you can also get 2yrs laptop protection at $349

 

[jefhatfield]

re:honest employee

i was an honest employee at one of your major competitors (you know, the big, big one with the red uniforms) and i got into trouble for that...microserf came along and recruited me to be an MCSE or MCP and all that cr** and i left that place with the red uniforms

i did not sell the extended warranty because i knew it did not cover much

with apple, i tell people to get the applecare if they can afford it

if they buy it and nothing happens to the computer, i risk losing a high tech client and having them think the applecare is money tossed out the window...it is a risk you have to take with extended warranties and there are horror stories on both sides of the issue

 

[sparkleytone]

hmmm the only thing i can think of with red uniforms is short circuit. the deal with our programs over everyone else's is that we do 90% of everything at the store in our shop. worstbuy's shop operates as an upgrade and MINOR repair center, and short circuit doesnt even facilitate service at their stores. therefore i can truly believe in the coverage our programs provide.

 

[jefhatfield]

close but no cigar

hint:

we sold more office equipment and computers than any other corporation in the world last year

and we are not "office" max

 

[Ensign Paris]

Personally....

I have got AppleCare, and I personally think its worth it.

My iBook (Original) broke down about 2 months ago and they replaced the enitre Monitor section with in one week.

Go for it

Guy

 

[magneto465]

so does applecare include accidental damage or ney? from sparkelytone's post I can't tell if Compyusa offers accidental damage coverage or if applecare does.
?¿

 

[sparkleytone]

resurrected threads rule.

applecare does NOT cover accidental damage. compusa's coverage does. i no longer work there being that i go to school again, but from what i understand their prices are much lower, and they are no longer the only retailer offering accidental damage protection.

 

[Grimace]

For laptops - definitely get AppleCare - they are a lot harder to fix on your own, and possibly more prone to little blurps here and there. Desktops - that's your own call. Sit with the unit for a year, if you like it enough to keep it for two more years - buy Apple care.

REMEMBER - You don't have to buy the extended warranty when you buy the computer. That is the glorious thing about Applecare. It's guaranteed for a year - extend it if you like what it's done for you.