[WayzataXC05]

My 1 year warranty is about to run out, should i buy applecare?

[hollowflame]

I don't own any Applecare. I am content with trusting myself that I will be careful with my powerbook

However, If I was going to be doing more traveling I would probably purchase applecare.

[B Gallagher]

I don't own it - my PB is two months old. I will see what I am like financially when it gets close to the one-year mark. If I can afford it, I'll get it.

[HarriganC]

I do not have it on my current PB, however, I have owned it on (2) Previous PB's and (1) Ibook and never used it. I am not sure If I am gentle with my machines, or just damn lucky!

Chris

[iREZ]

your a fool if you think that problems will not occur if your 'careful' with your powerbook. i baby my powerbook like a child and in the two years of owning it, the optical drive needed replacement, and just recently i had to send it in for a new AC input and new trackpad because it started peeling up and out of the frame. if you plan on owning ur book for another year, cough up the cash and you wont regret it.

[mrmister]

"I don't own any Applecare. I am content with trusting myself that I will be careful with my powerbook"

Careful has nothing to do with it--no matter how careful you are you can get a motherboard issue or screen display problem, which is exactly the kind of thing AppleCare covers.

[rem]

I don't have AppleCare at present but am planning to purchase it before the one year warranty expires...

I'd take my chances with a desktop machine but too many things can happen with dire consequences on a PowerBook. Let's say one day your PB overheats too much or gets a power spike and BAM, the vid ram is toast...

Video memory is integrated on the video card, which is integrated on the logic board, which costs about $900 just for the part

Try to imagine having to decide whether its worth ~$1k to save a laptop that you could maybe sell for $1.2k (in working condition) due a probably $40 chip failure.

[SEkker]

My revA PB17 is nearly 3 years old, and its Apple Care will run out in March.

It has been back to Apple 3 times -- one for a defective modem, one for a motherboard problem, and one for a bad screen. All happened within the first year of ownership.

I think Apple Care is essential for laptops that are mission critical.

[iREZ]

applecare is soo important that i have just resent my machine back for repair today for the second time in about 2 weeks time. do yourself a favor and get a warranty on any portable you purchase.

[Scooterboy]

For a PowerBook, AppleCare is a must have. I've had the screen replaced on my 17" PowerBook. That would have been expensive without the warranty.

[tooki]

Originally Posted by WayzataXC05

My 1 year warranty is about to run out, should i buy applecare?

Laptops, by their nature, get battered (by computer standards). While a desktop machine kinda just gets set up and sits there for a couple of years, laptops get jostled, jarred, bumped, shaken, etc, all while turned on. They wear out.

One single out of warranty repair costs more than AppleCare. I wouldn't even consider doing without it.

tooki

[SEkker]

From today's macintouch:

http://www.macintouch.com/reliability/laptops.html

note their conclusions regarding AppleCare.

[iomatic]

Get AppleCare for piece of mind—as others have said, it's good insurance. And, get Safeware insurance, if you think you are more likely to have accidents, theft, or other mishaps—none of which AppleCare covers.

If this is your primary machine for income I would also rely on daily FireWire backups, and multiple DVD archiving (create an archive folder, and use that as an archive-delete folder). That's what I do.

[Chito]

Just enrolled my 11 month old Powerbook last week.

[Fozz_uk]

Why not shop around? Apple aren't the only company who will repair your laptop if something breaks. My laptop is covered for hardware failure *and* accidental damage, for less than the price of Applecare and for 5, rather than 3, years.

Personally, I'd say that some sort of cover was essential for any laptop.

[Leo the 3rd]

I own it. I have had my display replaced (due to white spots) and when my lower ram slot went out due to a logic board, it was covered also (just outside of my 1 year original warranty). I'd swear by it for my next PowerBook purchase. You can never be too careful.

[Randman]

1 use of A/C after the 1 year original warranty expires more than pays for the cost of it. For a desktop, it's debatable. For a laptop, it's insurance.

[TimothyJay]

If you're a student, your AppleCare price for a PowerBook drops by $110 from $349 to $239, which is a pretty sweet deal. I think I'm going to get this once my warranty comes close to an end.

I do have a question though...

The price on Apple mentions the $239 price for AppleCare as: AppleCare Protection Plan for PowerBook (w/ or w/o Display)

Now, I'm a little confused. Does the $239 price (or even with the regular $349 price) cover everything BUT the display? and would I need to purchase an extra protection for the screen on top of that price?

If not, then $239 for everything is definitely a steal!

Please enlighten me =]

TimothyJay

[madmacgames]

that is with or without an external Apple display, not with or without the powerbook display


PS. I have AppleCare and have never used it, and that is kind of the point, because it is when you don't have something that you need it the most.

[jstein]

To each their own, and as far as they goes for me I would go with Applecare. The only reason that one should not be purchase Applecare is they cannot afford it or if you have some other form of computer insurance. A Powerbook is a costly investment and one should want to protect their purchase by the best available possible. Unfortunately as technology has progress computers have become more and more delicate or so the computer industry would have us think and out of that laptops are even more sensitive to things.

It is not about one being abusive to their machine or being extremely careful with it, there is just so much that can go wrong with a computer. Just in the last few weeks Apple has been hit with problems concerning Powerbook users who downloaded the latest Mac OS upgrade to 10.4.3 and the lower RAM slots going bad. Any look on this board and you will see the numerous motherboard failings, faulty HD, RAM problems, heating issues etc etc. Are all of these problems from abuse or neglect not likely.

So if feasible one should go with the Applecare and it adds value to your computer if you choose to resale it. More importantly if something does wrong the amount of money you are going to spend on repairs is going to make the Applecare price seem so insignificant.

[Dakkon]

On my old wallstreet I it, and the the video cable from the video card to the lcd went bad. Don’t know exactly what happened, but it was a semi popular problem with that model, and with the amount that you open/close your laptop, I can see how something like that would just wear out after time. And I was very careful with that machine. Like tooki said by the nature of laptops they will most likely have a problem at least one time in their life..

[TimothyJay]

Originally Posted by madmacgames

that is with or without an external Apple display, not with or without the powerbook display t.

Ahh, gotcha. *feeling like a doof*

TimothyJay

[ncsurfer]

My 15" is about 10 months old and I do not have applecare. I don't think I am getting it. I plan on purchasing a powermac in May or June. If I planned on having my PB for 2-3 years, I would buy it.

[Autumn]

I've had my first PB for 3 years now and I don't have applecare.

Except I have to buy a new AC adaptor during the second year, everything works great! I'm planning still keep it for another two years.

I'd say if you can afford it, go for it. Or just try your luck.

[headbirth]

Yep ... have it and used it twice on my old PowerBook. Apple replaced my battery free of charge after it stopped holding a charge after about 2 years of use :-) Then then replaced my screen for me after it was getting a little pink at the bottom (turned it around over night).

I'm pretty happy with and feel better having an extended protection plan.

[fisherKing]

i didn't have it with my previous powerbook...and spent $450 with apple, to replace the logic board.

i have it with my current pb, and, just after the first year, had to have the harddrive replaced.
plus i've used phone support twice since.

well worth it.

[analogika]

I will never buy a laptop without any sort of extended warranty, ever again.

Not necessarily AppleCare, but *something*.

My 2¢.

[bbales]

I can't believe the above poster got a battery replaced b/c those aren't supposed to be covered but, hey, good for him.

I would never not get AC for a Powerbook. Too many things can go wrong. About 6 weeks after my 1-year warranty ran out my screen (RevA 12-in PB) developed darkening at the edges. The repair probably would have been at least $700 -- it was free. More than paid the cost of the care.

You could get someone who's a teacher to buy it through the education store... Brings the price down considerably.

[_kevin]

Originally Posted by bbales

I can't believe the above poster got a battery replaced b/c those aren't supposed to be covered but, hey, good for him.

I was suprised by this too; most other manufacturers omit coverage of battery replacement. I called Apple a few days ago to inquire about their official policy on battery replacement.

The receptionist I spoke with told me that battery replacement is indeed covered by AppleCare, unless water damage is obvious. This is a great policy.

The justifications for purchasing AppleCare on a notebook are plentiful. This battery replacement policy makes the plan that much more appealing.

[bleee]

I used apple care to replace a hard drive in my late 2001 iBook and to replace my 10Gig iPod (twice) the replacement they sent me died within 2 weeks so I called them up and they said that all refurbs have a 90day warrenty so I get a second replacement for the first replacement they sent me.

[JoshuaZ]

My applecare paid for a new Hard Drive and a new Super Drive. I treat my laptop very well. Its well worth it.

[chris v]

I've sent my PB in twice, but both issues (white spots, bad video card) both manifested themselves pretty quickly, and fell under the original warranty. I've used Applecare on my QS tower twice, though.

[Drakino]

Issues Applecare has been used for beyond the normal warranty:

1. New hard drive, though this was misdiagnosed because of...
2. Logic board had an intermittent ATA controller issue causing hard drive data errors.
3. New 256mb memory module when one failed a memory test
4. Mail smart folders malfunctioned. Tried posting here for suggestions and on Apple.com, finally called and had it fixed after 20 minutes. Odd deep seeded issue.

It has definitely been worth it, and on my next Intel based Powerbook, I will be buying it again.

[romeosc]

Originally Posted by hollowflame

I don't own any Applecare. I am content with trusting myself that I will be careful with my powerbook

However, If I was going to be doing more traveling I would probably purchase applecare.

Safeware.com insurance is more valuable. They cover more than Applecare and often fix defects as well as damage due to theft, lost, liquids, cracked screen, broken hinges, dead battery, etc. Most defects have been repaired as "miscelleanous damage"

I sent my TIPB in with broke hinge, they replaced screen as well as replaced battery because it wouldn't hold charge for "more than 90 minutes!"

Better than Applecare!!!!!!!

[euphras]

My Combodrive went bad after three years (actually three weeks after my AC expired). They fixed it for free (!!!); AC highly recommended

[ginoledesma]

Not sure how you got your batteries replaced under AppleCare, but I was told their policy is if the battery has been in use for only under a year. Beyond that it is subject to the "normal wear and tear" argument, and since it is a consumable does not mean it is automatically subject to replacement.

I had an iBook G4 (2 years into AppleCare) and it could barely hold a 30 minute charge. After an hour on the line, the end result was that they feel the battery has just been through a lot of wear and tear, and that they wouldn't honor a replacement under warranty.

As for me, I've had AppleCare for both my iBook G4 and PowerBook G4. For the iBook G4 I've never been able to use it. But for my PowerBook G4, I got the display inventer replaced as I noticed my screen was dimmer than normal.

[teknopimp]

i haven't used it yet, but still have another year left on it.