[Bolero421]

Hey everyone, newbie here. I recently bought a MacBook (which I absolutely love, I must say. No sign of moo-ing, whining, discoloration, etc) off the Apple online store but I did not get Applecare because, well, traditionally I have never gone for the "extended warranty" deals. However I've read a lot about first-gen apple products and have been wondering whether or not I made a mistake and should get the extended plan.

Now I am fairly competent in technical matters and before this I had a iBook G4 with which I have never had any problems at all (except for having to remove some 47-odd screws in order to upgrade the hard drive / combo drive, that was no walk in the park).

Anyhow, I guess I just wanted to ask people's opinion as to whether or not buying Applecare is a good idea for this new MacBook

Thanks in advanced...

[larrinski]

On PC desktops, I never bought the warranty, but with my all in one imac, I went for it, and it has paid for itself in spades. Apple replaced the entire machine 1 year and 4 months after my purchase. It was a first gen imac. Now I have a 1st gen intel imac, and the HD went after only a month. As I am still under the original Applecare, they replaced it no problem. I would get it on a laptop if you are going to be mobile with it. I don't normally buy these things, but I plan on not buying a brand new computer for a long time...

[masugu]

larrinski

You make some good points / and have made me feel better for buying Apple care for my MacBook, I too have never purchased Apple care. Just gave my 4-year old Ti PowerBook to my sister after getting my BlacBook. If the heat ever prematurely kills this PC, I am hoping Apple care comes thru as it did for you.

[amazing]

You have one year within which to buy Applecare, so you can wait until much later, thereby spreading out the expenditure. The one-year Applecare that comes with every new or Apple-refurbished Mac will cover anything mechnical during the first year, except the phone tech support expires earlier.

And, reading these forums, with all the posts about MB stuff, don't you think you'd better get Applecare?

[Case]

I know this is dishonest but hey, If im spending that much money on a computer I would do it. Im getting a base Macbook soon, with upgrades and not buyin Apple Care, if something goes wrong, buy Apple Care then report it.

[amazing]

Case: Every new Mac has Applecare for one year. You can buy the additional 2-year extension anytime within the first year. There's nothing illegal about calling Apple about a mechnical problem even when the phone support has expired, but you'd better be sure that it's not a software problem or bad RAM, because then you'll be charged.

[chipchen]

You can't buy AppleCare after the one year warranty is up. So if something happens under the original warranty, it's covered anyway... and if you wait to buy it until there's a problem, you're screwed like you should be since you're trying to commit fraud.

There is a difference between the one year limited warranty and AppleCare. The first year is a one year limited warranty that only covers 90 days of phone support and the unit itself. AppleCare is three years total from the date of purchase of the machine, and it has unlimited phone support. Additionally, it covers some Apple accessories. For instance, if your machine is under AppleCare, and you have an AirPort base station (any generation) that fails, it's covered, and will be replaced under your AppleCare.

[ybbmadysu]

I bought my iBook G4 new and didnt get the warranty. I had a prob with the mobo, display would get green lines, hd would shut off and cpu fan would turn on. Brought it to compusa, had 4 days of orig warranty left. They replaced EVERYTHING except for the keyboard and Airport Extreme. Now its all new again.

Applecare is worth it, very much. I will purch applecare when I buy another mac.

[Mac Man]

In my opinion, if you have the extra cash, then you should buy it.

[mac128k-1984]

For laptops, I think its crucial that you have apple care. More so for the Macbooks, because they are a rev A model and some issues (heat, case discoloration, moos) have been reported.

A single repair of a laptop will exceed the cost of apple care, and laptops have one thing that desktops don't - mobility and with that mobility, issues can arise.

[Mojo]

With all the problems associated with MacBooks and iBooks extended AppleCare should be considered a required purchase and part of the cost of buying a portable Mac.

Shop around...the L.A. Computer usually has the best AppleCare prices.

[AppleOptionFour]

Get the AppleCare at a student discount...its like 30% off. Worth every penny.

[gooser]

i hate applecare every time i don't need it and absolutely love it every time i need it. a brand new laptop design? by all means get it.

[iMACBeth]

In order to get the educational discount, do you have to buy AppleCare at the same time as the computer or can you purchase it later?

[mgl]

If you keep your book for 2 years, buy AppleCare. It might pay off in the second year and even if it doesn't, it really helps the resale value because a buyer of a 2-year old laptop knows they're still getting a 1-year warranty.

If you keep your book for 3 years+, then you have to justify it based on the value you think you'll get from it. In the US, AppleCare can be had for a decent price. It's overpriced in Canada. While I buy all of my other Apple gear in Canada (prices are fair otherwise), I would buy AppleCare on a trip to the states to save money.

If you keep your book for 1 year, duh, don't buy AppleCare.

[bembol]

It just makes sense to buy Apple Care on Notebooks...a piece of mind/worry free...especially if you can get Student Discount....!!!


Sorry, what's "mooing?"

[azncreazion]

I myself was thinking of buying Apple Care. Question, if I buy one off of ebay, and they claim it is unused, is it possible to buy it of of ebay?

[ginoledesma]

I've always purchased AppleCare for my Mac laptops. I've already sent in both my iBook and PowerBook under it (once after the 1 year warranty expired, and once before). Thankfully I haven't had to use it for something overly critical/serious, but if you spread its cost for over 2 years, it isn't that bad of a deal.

bembol, check this video out that shows the "mooing" effect of the MacBook.

azncreazion, I bought AppleCare over eBay once before. It came in a sealed, retail box. I was able to use it to register one of my Macs. I got a pretty good deal ($80 less retail, cheaper than student discount, too). What I'm wary about are those that will ask you for your serial number so that THEY (the seller) can register it. These usually sell for less than 1/3 of the retail price (so they're very tempting).

[imitchellg5]

I would definetly buy AppleCare. I don't have it on any of my computers, but I do for my iPod and my best friend has it on his iBook G4. AppleCare has replaced the iBook's logic board twice and is right now replacing the hard drive. My iPod has been replaced once ( the whole thing!).

[bryanmsi]

The flipside is that Apple is clearly making money by selling you AppleCare, so they've determined that their cost for all the repairs, replacements, and support will cost them less than the price you pay.

Put another way, the "list" price of AppleCare for the Macbook is $249, so Apple has determined that on average, it will cost less than $249 per MacBook over 3 years and probably significantly less. The real question is if every MacBook will require, on average, around$200 bucks worth of repair over a 3 year period - that that is the repair pattern, you're better off saving your money . Or if 4 out of 5 MacBooks will require nothing and one will require significant repairs which is a stronger argument for this type of insurance.

Basically, what you are doing by buying AppleCare is fixing the repair cost of your MacBook, in advance. You're saying that you fully expect to spend $250 on repairs so you want to prepay that amount. From a financial perspective, it doesn't pay to by AppleCare...but only if you can take the chance that you'll have to pay for a catastrophic repair yourself.

[anamexis]

Originally Posted by bryanmsi

The flipside is that Apple is clearly making money by selling you AppleCare, so they've determined that their cost for all the repairs, replacements, and support will cost them less than the price you pay.

Well, car and house insurance companies make money too, but most people tend to get those. It's the basic concept of insurance -- you pay a fee to know you will not get stuck with any large repair costs.

[masugu]

Well...I am just hoping that should I need a logic board / there is a new heat fix...I can get me some of that.

[kentuckyfried]

It's like buying comprehensive insurance on a car, or any other type for that matter...calculated risk.

I've bought two laptops from apple and quality-wise, they've been rock solid except for some hiccups that occurred within the normal one year warranty (the pb 15" had the white spots, the ibook had that logic board problem, but that was covered completely even out of warranty).
One would hope that the legacy of quality would continue, but since this is a rev A machine, it's very possible that the Applecare is worth it.

That said...if you can get the $179 student rate, it's worth it for a rev A. Rev B...meh...might be able to skip it. Beyond the 3-yr period, I'd say it's almost worth passing on since you're probably going to buy a new computer at that time, so any extra life you get out of the laptop up to five years is a bonus.

Check the depreciation on the ibook...a 700 mhz book is now worth almost $120.
It's almost worse than a car.

Originally Posted by bryanmsi

The flipside is that Apple is clearly making money by selling you AppleCare, so they've determined that their cost for all the repairs, replacements, and support will cost them less than the price you pay.

Put another way, the "list" price of AppleCare for the Macbook is $249, so Apple has determined that on average, it will cost less than $249 per MacBook over 3 years and probably significantly less. The real question is if every MacBook will require, on average, around$200 bucks worth of repair over a 3 year period - that that is the repair pattern, you're better off saving your money . Or if 4 out of 5 MacBooks will require nothing and one will require significant repairs which is a stronger argument for this type of insurance.

Basically, what you are doing by buying AppleCare is fixing the repair cost of your MacBook, in advance. You're saying that you fully expect to spend $250 on repairs so you want to prepay that amount. From a financial perspective, it doesn't pay to by AppleCare...but only if you can take the chance that you'll have to pay for a catastrophic repair yourself.

[AppleOptionFour]

AppleCare any time with the student/faculty/staff ID = $183 + Tax

[Dillon-K]

hmm... would it be illegal if YOU'RE not in college, and your cousin that is buys your AppleCare for you at a discount?? .

[ghporter]

Everything to do with a laptop is more expensive and harder to get at. That means ALL repairs (with only a few, minor exceptions) are much, MUCH more expensive than on a desktop system. I think AppleCare is crucial for laptop owners.

[mac128k-1984]

Originally Posted by Dillon-K

hmm... would it be illegal if YOU'RE not in college, and your cousin that is buys your AppleCare for you at a discount?? .

illegal, no.
immoral yes.

[Dillon-K]

heh.

[Yakov]

Originally Posted by Mac Man

In my opinion, if you have the extra cash, then you should buy it.

you should buy it ESPECIALLY if you dont have the extra cash -- because if you think you can't afford applecare, you're a lot less likely to be able to afford $400 repairs or to be a "new computer every two years" type.

if your funds are low, BUY APPLECARE!

(mine are, and i did)

yakov.

[Heebs]

I just bought my Macbook last night and was denying the need for Applecare. I had to send the sales rep back into the storeroom to get me a copy after thinking about it for a few mins. Like everyone said, it's calculated risk + new design = buy it. Plus I got the student discount

[kaido]

Yeah I went with AppleCare (got the student discount price too). I typically never buy warranties, but the MacBook is a laptop, laptops are integrated all-in-one designs, and if something breaks in an integrated all-in-one design like the LCD or something, it's not only pricey but you may have to get the whole machine replaced. Plus it's currently my main computer, so I wanted to make sure I had coverage on it because I would need a replacement ASAP if it failed for whatever reason.

[harrisjamieh]

I will decide to get AppleCare or not at the end of my first year of free warrenty. If the machine turns out to be consistantly problematic, I'll get it, if not, I won't. Obviously this idea doesn't account for unforseeable circumstances like dropping the MB and buggering the hard drive, but I am very careful with my stuff, and I have the knowledge to replace mundane things like RAM, hard drives etc, so the only thing that would screw my plans is a failed logic board or screen really...

[MacDude88]

here's what I, rising college freshman, intend to do:

1) use money from summer job to get a macbook while borrowing some money from my parents to get a nano (apple's back to school get a mac/free ipod deal)

2) wait for the rebate check ($199) to come...after it does, sell the nano on eBay (cause I already have a 60 GB iPod video)

3) combine the funds to get AppleCare for the Macbook, return money to parents

4) use leftover money on ramen noodles