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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Mac Desktops > If you're buying a PowerMac, is AppleCare a no-brainer?

If you're buying a PowerMac, is AppleCare a no-brainer?
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FTrain
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Mar 22, 2002, 10:36 PM
 
Just curious. I never buy the extended warranty on any electronics item I've ever bought, but I've never bought an electronics item with this many things that could go wrong. Is it crazy not to get it, or is it usually a waste of money?
     
raferx
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Mar 22, 2002, 11:35 PM
 
Get it, get it, get it. $250 US, for three years of no limit telephone support, and full warranty repairs is as dirt cheap as it can come. A very small price for total Mac peace of mind. I'm sure you will get a lot of responses telling you the same thing, and giving examples.
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raferx
     
seanyepez
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Mar 22, 2002, 11:36 PM
 
I think AppleCare is more useful on portablesk, and I would probably never buy AppleCare for a Power Mac.

Portables are moved around much more frequently, and they don't spend their lives sitting passively in a corner like Power Macs do. Manufacturing shortcomings usually show up faster on portables than they do on desktops.

If a desktop doesn't fail within a year, it's probably not going to fail unless exposed to extreme heat or dropped. Sure, the hard drive is going to eventually fail, but it's normal for a hard drive to give out after five to ten years of faithful service.
     
mdcarter1
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Mar 22, 2002, 11:52 PM
 
If you plan on selling your PowerMac to upgrade, I think it will be easier to sell it with Apple Care. People are more willing to take a risk on a used computer if they know it's covered.
     
Nep2ne
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Mar 23, 2002, 12:35 AM
 
Originally posted by FTrain:
<STRONG>Just curious. I never buy the extended warranty on any electronics item I've ever bought, but I've never bought an electronics item with this many things that could go wrong. Is it crazy not to get it, or is it usually a waste of money?</STRONG>
You know, I was the exact same way until I started working on Macs. And for 99% of electronics, I would still say no to the extended warranty. How often will you REALLY use that DVD player? Or that microwave? Or that dishwasher? Most "consumer" based electronics are used so infrequently that it doesn't even matter.

But how often do you use your computer every day? For more than two-three hours a day? I spend more time on my computer than I do in my car, and you have to have insurance to drive a car. Anything you can do to extend the service life of your computer, do it.

I've seen people come in exactly a year and one week after they purchased their iMac, and it needed a new Power Analogue/Video board...not cheap at over $300. Right there it would have paid for itself. On the same token, I can't tell you how many people have waited two and a half years to see a $500 repair covered by Apple.

Two words: do it. DO IT, DO IT, DO IT. You will not regret it. And the best thing is, you have up to a year from purchase to decide.
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Bodhi
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Mar 23, 2002, 12:48 AM
 
I always buy an extended warranty when I buy a television. Ever have to get a TV repaired? Its a fortune.
~Peace~
     
Big Mac
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Mar 23, 2002, 02:21 AM
 
I don't think it's worth it under normal circumstances. Most everything that may go wrong will usually do so within the first year, and things usually don't go wrong. However, you have the option of purchasing AppleCare Protection Plan within the first year, and if you have a problem with your machine within the year, it probably does make sense to extend the service.

[ 03-23-2002: Message edited by: Big Mac ]

"The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground." TJ
     
mitchell_pgh
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Mar 23, 2002, 01:00 PM
 
I would have to say I have never purchased one. It it doesn't break after one year, who cares... I usually buy every 30 months or so (2.5 years) That $250 in a good bump in the right direction. Other then the motherboard, after a year, you can just replace whatever you have with something better. Looking at my 733 tower... HD's in a year will be cheaper and much larger, video card will be better and cheap, firewire/USB can be purchased via PCI, there are others, but nothing that important...

I would do it if it were my work computer or if I had a home business tho. If you have anything worth something on your computer or if you don't back up on a regular basis, go with the insurance. Also, if 250 isn't going to be an issue, get it...
     
danbrew
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Mar 23, 2002, 01:16 PM
 
I too am in the camp where buying the extended warranty hasn't made much sense... except in te case of a G4 Tower & Apple Cinema Display combo.

Generally speaking, a component will fail within the first few hundred hours if there is a manufacturing defect or other problem - on computers I just leave them turned on all the time and have never worried about it. I'll do the same with my G4DP. BUT... ever look into how expensive it is to replace any piece of the ACD? Heck, I could replace almost everything in the computer, I seriously doubt I could replace anything on the monitor without screwing something else up in a big way. I've heard horror stories about how it costs, minimum $1000 to have anything done to the ACD - I figure it's worth the piece of mind. But I won't bother purchasing until towards the end of the factory warranty.

Think about it - it's like getting the Applecare for the LCD for free - since it was purchased at the same time as the G4DP. The thing that's ironic is that it's extremely likely that I'll replace the computer once or twice before I think about replacing the monitor -- matter of fact, I don't recall the last time I bought a monitor with a computer (other than the G4). I always just take the new box home and plug it into my KVM switch and I'm off and running. Now we just gotta wait until somebody makes a decent KVM solution for the ACD.

I paid about $5500 for a new DP1gHz model with the 22" ACD. AppleCare for this combo is about 4.5% of the purchase price - $250 bucks. If I can afford the $5500, I can afford the $250 (or $299 - whatever the price is...!) At some point you'd have to draw the line and decide the percentage isn't worth the investment - for example, if you purchased one of the lower-priced G4s ($1599), I don't expect that approximately 20% of the purchase price going towards Applecare is that good a deal...

Anyway, I'm in it (or will be) for the ACD.
     
mitchell_pgh
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Mar 23, 2002, 01:28 PM
 
Great point Dandrew!!! think about that... if I would have got the insurance, that would have been like a 20+% tax on my computer (I got my 733 tower for $1202. That's 20% closer to getting a new computer. But if I spent $4000 for the computer and $3000 for the monitor, it's a no brainer!!! that's not even 4%.

I'm also using two crap CRT, if I had the 22" ACD, you bet I would have the insurance!
     
buchrob
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Mar 23, 2002, 10:46 PM
 
Look at the expense of what you may have to replace.

No monitor. CDRW drive. Forget it.
Any type of monitor and Superdrive, think about it, since most repair centres would rather swap parts than spend hours in exhaustive diagnosis.
     
Mac Zealot
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Mar 23, 2002, 11:28 PM
 
The ACD is every reason to have applecare, especially the backlight...

I'd hate to be out of warranty WHEN the backlights on mine pass out
In a realm beyond site, the sky shines gold, not blue, there the Triforce's might makes mortal dreams come true.
     
Dan Szwarc
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Mar 24, 2002, 01:53 PM
 
AppleCare for portables: yes, definitely.

AppleCare for PowerMacs? I think there are cheaper alternatives. CompUSA warranties are cheaper and cover more. VISA and Amex Extended Warranties (when you bought it on one) are free!

The are a few good threads on AppleCare, mostly in the Powerbook forum. Search for them.

My vote on AC for PMs: Save your money. Use a Gold VISA or AMEX and upgrade every two years (new machine, sell the old). unless you don't need the extra speed.
Dan
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(not a guarantee)
     
jtice
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Mar 27, 2002, 06:45 PM
 
I've owned eight Macs since '87. Ordered a new dual 1gig G4 today! Out of all those Macs I've had one repair--a power supply in a Mac SE 1mb machine after several years of use. Can't remember the exact cost, but less than $250. So, I take the $250 I would've paid times eight and I've come out about $2000 &lt;less the cost of the power supply on the SE&gt; to the good by not buying extended warranties. If you consider all the electronic gadgets for which I've not bought the warranty, the savings (or my accumulated repair fund) is huge.

The reason they will sell you an extended warranty is that the odds of you needing a repair that exceeds the cost of the warranty is very small. They're very profitable... for the seller.
Now that everyone knows it's just a matter of waiting for 1.20.09.
     
WhackamoleX
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Mar 27, 2002, 08:43 PM
 
So what repairs does apple care cover?

Repairing/replacing a manufacturing defect is obviously one.

What about components that just fail for no apparent reason?

I am on my second mac and have apple care on my two machines. Never had to use them though. Both have at least another 2 years of apple care left on both.

Maybe people could share stories of how apple care worked for them. Anybody? Complaints?
     
buchrob
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Mar 27, 2002, 09:03 PM
 
The parts price of a DVD drive or any board at all plus installation will quickly exceed the cost of the extended warranty. And if there's any doubt (is that drive problem software or hardware, the techie will be more inclined to replace anything he thinks might be wrong if he knows that he doesn't have to call you and say "Maybe it's this @ $$$, or it coud be that @ $$$$$$, we can't be sure. Let's set up a series of inconvenient appointments over the next 3 months. And let's book a lot of time at the end so that we can argue over the final bill".

Look at these extended warranty plans like insurance policies. No one's hoping to die ot have an accident, but in the event....

You can also dispose of your previous baby-now-grown-to-retirement-age much more easily if there's time left on a warranty backed by Apple. Your swearing up and down on a stack of bibles that your machine runs perfectly doesn't really carry much weight in the resale market. You can even give it to your mother-in-law and then sleep nights.

Coverage normally includes anything not abuse-related, but excludes cosmetic parts. BUT please be aware that Apple's threshold for dead pixels on a 17" LCD is 8. These are considered "final sale" items by Apple, with no refunds or exchanges considered.

P.S. Lest I alarm too many people, I have to tell you that my 17" LCD looks marvellous, and that the dead pixel deal is probably muchly over-rated.
     
raferx
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Mar 27, 2002, 09:48 PM
 
Originally posted by buchrob:
<STRONG>
Coverage normally includes anything not abuse-related, but excludes cosmetic parts. BUT please be aware that Apple's threshold for dead pixels on a 17" LCD is 8. These are considered "final sale" items by Apple, with no refunds or exchanges considered.

P.S. Lest I alarm too many people, I have to tell you that my 17" LCD looks marvellous, and that the dead pixel deal is probably muchly over-rated.</STRONG>
Well said, I have a 17" LCD, (and plan on adding a second) I have no dead pixels whatsoever, and I would agree that the whole "dead pixel" thing is really overblown. I have used over 30 17" LCD's in the past 6 months, and not one had a dead pixel. (lab use, home use)

Cheers,
raferx
     
nemanirc
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Mar 28, 2002, 01:58 PM
 
I religiously keep my PowerBooks under AppleCare because of their tremendous service (one is at Apple right now for a battery issue). Over the last five years, I have probably sent a PowerBook in to Apple about seven times. Over the last 11 years, I think I have had only one warranty repair done on any desktop Mac.
R. C. Nemanick, Ph.D.
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vmarks
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Mar 29, 2002, 02:41 PM
 
hey, I didn't buy applecare on my powermac until it was a month away from ending the one-year warranty.

It seemed expensive and possibly unneccesary at the time, but I also didn't want to take the chance of anything bad happening.

It's now six months past my getting the AppleCare warranty, and my 20gb hard drive died. kaput.

I went out and bought a 60gb from compusa in the meantime, but I called AppleCare this morning to find out how they want to handle this.

They were polite, and said I may take my machine in to get a new hard drive installed, or I can have them ship me a hard drive and install it myself.

Sure, the 20gb isn't worth the cost of the AppleCare warranty- but the peace of mind is.
If this post is in the Lounge forum, it is likely to be my own opinion, and not representative of the position of MacNN.com.
     
Danny Ricci
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Mar 29, 2002, 02:59 PM
 
AppleCare saved me $505 in repairs for my 733 quicksilver last night.
     
vmarks
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Mar 29, 2002, 03:05 PM
 
Originally posted by Danny Ricci:
<STRONG>AppleCare saved me $505 in repairs for my 733 quicksilver last night.</STRONG>
How? Did I miss the story of what happened?
If this post is in the Lounge forum, it is likely to be my own opinion, and not representative of the position of MacNN.com.
     
Danny Ricci
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Mar 31, 2002, 01:31 AM
 
By simply opening the side door on a clean, flat, soft surface it decided to re-align it'sself so it didn't close properly. Then after that the USB devices would randomly work and not work, and sometimes the USB ports would just not give out enough power (the pro mouse would glow but very dark).

So I took it into the Apple Store and the guy got the door to close allright, but it would show no sign of life when plugged in.

So the receipt said it would have cost $505 to repair but I owed $0.00 since it was covered under Apple Care.

[ 03-31-2002: Message edited by: Danny Ricci ]
     
   
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