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centerchannel68 · Mar 24, 2007, 06:01 PM

Have any of you actually used it? I've owned macs since 1994 or so, and never had a problem with any of them except for the dreadful 5300CD performa. What a pile of crap. I bought a 24" iMac in January... think I should have sprung for the applecare?

brokenjago · Mar 24, 2007, 06:04 PM

You have a year to decide that for yourself, now don't you?

larrinski · Mar 24, 2007, 07:50 PM

I bought it for my 1st gen imac G5 as all it takes is the screen to go and the repair is costly. My imac G5 was having some fan problems and the HD had died. Apple replaced the entire machine with an intel duo core under Apple Care. Now the new machine is covered by the same warranty. The HD died on the new machine and now the fans are acting up...I am not too worried as I have Apple Care...The 3 year telephone and chat support is great too! As the 24" is a 1st generation model, I would get it for sure...It is like insurance. You will be happy only if something goes wrong, but the peace of mind for me meant a lot.

peeb · Mar 26, 2007, 01:30 AM

It's the only extended warranty I ever buy.

JKT · Mar 26, 2007, 04:22 PM

What brokenjago means is that you don't have to buy it right now, you can extend the 1 year warranty at any time so long as you do so prior to it ending. That is, you have a year from the date on your receipt for the iMac to think about getting an extension of another 2 years by buying Apple Care (to give you three in total).

Eug · Mar 26, 2007, 04:26 PM

I just made use of my iMac's extended AppleCare. The hard drive died, a little under 2 years after I purchased the computer.

Mind you, I'm probably more inclined to buy AppleCare than some of you, since I get a very good deal on it through education pricing.

::maroma:: · Mar 26, 2007, 04:52 PM

If you can afford it, get it.

I think there are 2 types of people. Those who are for warranties and those who are against them. Its hard to use data to determine who's right, because its mostly based on chance. For me its the piece of mind I'm paying for, not any actual repairs that might take place. If there are repairs that need to happen, its a sort of bonus for me.

Anyways, if you ask me, get it.

shifuimam · Mar 26, 2007, 08:43 PM

Did you buy your iMac at the Apple store or at another store (Fry's, Best Buy, etc)? Those stores sometimes have their own warranties - you might be able to tack that on, even though you've already bought your iMac.

AppleCare doesn't seem all that great to me, especially since it seems like Apple expects you to bring your computer to an Apple Store anytime you have a problem that can't be diagnosed over the phone.

brokenjago · Mar 26, 2007, 08:55 PM

Don't ever, ever buy a Fry's Warranty.

I'm saying this as a former employee.

Don't ever, ever buy a Fry's Warranty!! (Also called PSCs, or Performance Service Contracts)

kamina · Mar 27, 2007, 01:05 AM

I'm planning on buying Applecare before the warranty ends. I don't care about the support, but I want the warranty. The iMac is such a proprietary machine that if there are any problems after warranty ends you would have a really hard time fixing it yourself. Actually in Finland the extra warranty should not be needed these day's as the consumer law already requires companies to support products they sell for a reasonable length of time (which in case of an Apple is over 3 years), but Applestore is not very good at complying to local laws, and I would not have the time for the fight in case of a problem.

Eug · Mar 27, 2007, 08:18 AM

I watched the tech swap out the screen (on-site service, because of dead pixels) in my 20" G5 iMac. It was certainly easier than a laptop, but still a pain in the ass to take apart.

P.S. What's wrong with Fry's warranty? (I don't live in the US, so I can't shop there anyway, but I'm just wondering about store warranties in general.)

P.P.S. If you get educational pricing, I usually suggest getting AppleCare. However, with lower end Macs (ie. the cheaper ones), it may not make sense to pay for AppleCare if you have to pay full retail for it. That said, often if you shop around you can get AppleCare for less than full retail.

I've never quite understood why Apple charges the same amount for AppleCare whether you buy a $999 17" iMac or a fully blinged-out 24" iMac for $3632.