[Dr.Michael]

Hi friends,

I have a rev b powerbook 12 inch for nearly one year now. So its the time to decide for or against apple care.

I myself had not a single problem with the machine and this far it looks like it will be flawless for years. The only "problem" is the illumination that is a little bit uneven at the bottom of the screen.

My former bad experiences with macs: I had dvd problems with my tibook. Replacement was 250$/€ for a combo drive. Backlites for the 12 inch screen are available for 65$/€ (thanks to the iBooks that are available for years now with a 12 inch screen). So both together would be cheaper than apple care.
My Pismo had weak hinges. For 145$/€ I got new ones. My blueberry iBook was solid as concrete.

Not buying apple care has the advantage that we can replace the hds with faster ones. The 4200 rpm is a step back for me because I already had 5400rpm drives in my Pismo and TiBook before.

I know its generally a good advice to have apple care. But this time lets avoid anxious thoughts, lets tell the facts.


So let me please ask you:
Did anyone have a problem with a 12 inch machine (rev a - c) that was so expensive that apple care was/would have been a good investment?
Please report it here as a help for everyone.

Michael

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally posted by Dr.Michael:
So let me please ask you:
Did anyone have a problem with a 12 inch machine (rev a - c) that was so expensive that apple care was/would have been a good investment?

Well, my 12"'s Superdrive ate a CD and wouldn't spit it back out, a mere week after the warranty *would* have expired, had I not had AppleCare.

They replaced the Superdrive. I have also had the motherboard replaced due to 115V AC current on the 'book's case (when running on power adapter), which obviously would have cost a shitload of money.

Unfortunately, I still have AC current on the case, so it's going in again.

I will never buy another laptop without extended warranty.

-s*

[Simon]

I have a rev B 12" which is also soon turning one.

I have had zero problems with this thing and it feels very solid so I'm not expecting any problems during the next half year. Afterwards I will probably be selling it to get the next revision.

Anyway, I will be getting AppleCare. Since I work for a university I can get it rather cheap. I figure this PowerBook is going to be tedious to service if something happens so the repair bill would be high enough. As I mentioned already I'm not expecting something to happen, but I prefer to be sure. And the resale value will certainly be better if it has extended warranty too.

[iREZ]

I've had my Rev B since Jan. and have never run into any problems. That being said I would still try to find a cheap Applecare source and get it regardless of repair prices, who's to say you can't have more then one. I've seen Applecare sell as cheap as $99 (that's how much I got it for when I bought my book), check some ebay listings and some mac forums, if you could find one in the $175 range you should jump all over it, and by that I mean buy it and not for you to jump all over it.

[Dr.Michael]

149 views and only 1 report about severe problems.

This seems to be proof that the 12 inch powerbook is a really solid system, isn't it?

[phantomac]

Yep, it's the most solid Mac I owned since the SE/30. If I could justify it, I'd buy a second and a third one - the machine is simply awesome.

Anyway, I'll try my luck and put a 100GB 7200RPM drive in it, once they become availabe.

[Lancer409]

i'm half way through my one year free applecare...

[bbales]

I'd get the AppleCare. Look on cnet.com (price comparison) and you'll find it for less than at the store.

About 6 weeks after my 1-year warranty period on my Rev 1, 12-inch PB, a dark shadow appeared at the bottom left corner of my screen. I took it to an Apple store, showed it to the geniuses -- and off my laptop went to get a new screen. The cost would have been in the hundreds, had it not been for AppleCare. (It went in on a Tuesday afternoon and it was back very early Friday morning, by the way. It was very quick service.)

Now the latch is developing problems -- won't always latch and it's a pain. I'm relatively certain I'll have to send it in or do something soon.

That said, I LOVE this machine. I'd get another with no hesitation whatsoever. But I'd get AppleCare, too.