[DakRT]

I am going to order a dual 2GHZ G5 and I just wanted to take a consensus if I should purchase the applecare warranty with it? I am also ordering a 23" cinema display along with it. I am wondering if the warranty is a waste of money.

[striker100]

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!
Can I be more persuasive?
AppleCare will give you peace of mind, lets say your mother board goes 2 months after the standard 1 year warranty (it does happen you know).
With AppleCare your covered, without it you'll be very sorry.
I should know I have an iMac that died just 3 months after the original warranty.
With AppleCare, a certified tech was sent to my home within 2 days and now everything is fine.

Just remember, you do have within the year to purchase AppleCare from the date your G5's warranty begins.

[-Q-]

Originally posted by DakRT:
I am going to order a dual 2GHZ G5 and I just wanted to take a consensus if I should purchase the applecare warranty with it? I am also ordering a 23" cinema display along with it. I am wondering if the warranty is a waste of money.

Don't buy it up front. You have a year from when you purchased your G5 to buy the AppleCare warranty.

I've found that AppleCare is quite valuable when purchased for laptops, and less so for desktops. However, to contradict myself, I'm seriously considering it for my G5 simply b/c this is a completely new machine and being the early adopters, there are undoubtedly bugs to be cleared up. AppleCare may help mitigate that risk.

Just be aware that AppleCare is simply an extended warranty and not insurance. If you spill soda on the keyboard, you're on your own.

[AssassyN]

I agree, don't buy it on the same day you order your machine/display. Wait until about 10 months into it before purchasing as you may find a deal on AppleCare during those 10 months (some retailers run specials every now & then). There's no real hurry, just be sure to do it before the year's up.

[Link]

And even then... many a time the part that dies on you (say motherboard) will cost $150 or so on ebay

[silverlode]

I did get it with my dual G5 for 2 reasons:

1 - powermax.com had a special (expired) where ordering a G5 + Applecare = free copy of Panther.

2 - There are a LOT of new technologies in the G5.

I have never purchased Applecare before, even for my iBook, but i thought given these 2 reasons, it was a good idea.

But I would say that if you can't find a deal on Applecare now, wait...and keep looking. Something will turn up.

[Arkham_c]

I'll be passing up Applecare on my dual G5. I've never had a problem that cost more to fix than AppleCare costs. If your motherboard is going to go, or you have bad RAM, you'll find out before the year is up most likely.

I guess it's like any insurance. You're betting it's going to break, and they are betting it's not.

[Link]

I honestly think it'd be a smart play to get applecare.

For some odd reason when I bought my quicksilver the machine was still rather new and there were ALL SORTS of funky quirks.. some still exist?

[BZ]

Get it and get it when you buy the G5...

Reason: If you buy AC at the time you buy a PowerMac and a monitor, it covers both for the same price.



That is double worth the money.

BZAppleCare

[Angus_D]

BZ: If you buy it afterwards, doesn't it still cover the monitor if you purchased it at the same time?

I'm seriously considering AppleCare for my PBG4 12", but it's �279!!! It only cost �1300 new... Spending almost 1/4 value of the computer again seems a bit excessive. I'm also considering getting it for my G4, seeing as that's the one which has just had its FireWire go (still within the first year for another 2 months, fortunately).

[sray]

When I purchased my powermac + 22" display (one the same order), the AppleCare warrantied BOTH.

This gave me a lot of peace of mind. I'm not worried about the G4 having problems (if it does, I can probably fix it myself). The Apple Cinema Display on the other hand, is expensive and tough to repair.

I'm not sure if Apple is still offering coverage of both but if it is, then it's surely worth it.

Note: The g5 and the ACD MUST be on the same order (not two orders on the same day).

[yanges]

Originally posted by -Q-:
.

Just be aware that AppleCare is simply an extended warranty and not insurance. If you spill soda on the keyboard, you're on your own.

yeah, for that you can buy an insurance policy at safeware.com...

i have $5000 coverage for $69 a year and it covers everything from spilled soda, dropped machine during transit, flood damage, theft etc......

you get the idea......

nice Peace of Mind!

[Eriamjh]

Originally posted by yanges:
yeah, for that you can buy an insurance policy at safeware.com...

i have $5000 coverage for $69 a year and it covers everything from spilled soda, dropped machine during transit, flood damage, theft etc......

you get the idea......

nice Peace of Mind!

But safeware doesn't cover plain old failures... until you spill pop on your machine.

[mosch]

Extended warranties are nice if you aren't likely to be able to afford the repairs, but if you can, you'll be better off taking the cost of applecare and putting it into a savings account specifically for handling unexpected repairs.

Personally, if I had bought AppleCare on all of my macs, I'd be up to about $1500 in applecare, with $0 in covered repairs.

[zigzag]

The first thing is to remember that you're not paying for 3 years of coverage, just 2 extra. The first year is free, so the additional two are $125 per year (I say this only because people who buy extended warranties often justify it by spreading the cost out over the entire term, forgetting that the first year(s) are free).

$125 per year doesn't seem like a lot if you make a living from your machine. There'd be a definite advantage to having quick, on-site repairs.

Seems like it would make sense to wait until the first year is up unless you need on-site repairs. You never know - you might decide to sell the machine for some reason. I think a lot of it comes down to how long you keep your machines. Obviously, if you keep them less than 3 years, AppleCare would make less sense.

All that said, I'm on my 6th Mac and have never needed a repair, even during the regular warranty period. And I have a back-up in case of a failure. So I accept the risk and forego AppleCare. But if I made a living from my machine and/or didn't have a back-up, I'd seriously consider it.

I guess the question to ask is: if my machine fails after one year, will I want to deal with the disruption/expense? If not, seems like AppleCare would be a reasonable bet.

[kcourt]

I'm on my fifth Mac, and like you, have NEVER had a repair. Personally, when I get my G5, I will also not get the AppleCare.

I look at all the software I was able to get for the savings.

[superfula]

The only time I would even THINK about buying Applecare, would be with a laptop, or possibly the iMac. Those lcd screens can get ya. Otherwise, of the 3 powermacs I've owned, I've never had a problem

[jtc]

I'd say that applecare is not worth the $. I've owned 4 macs and have never had a problem after the first year (I used the PB 520 for almost 5 years, and beige G3 for 4 years without a single problem).

Most credit card companies have automatic extended warranties for all purchases made with the card (usually double the warranty for up to one extra year). I just bought an iBook, and called my credit card company before the purchase. I asked what exactly would be covered. The rep I spoke to told me that everything that's covered under the one year warranty is covered for an additional year.

[Number 6]

Hi

My first post to the forums (or is that fora?)

Anyway...I would say to buy the APP after the first year has expired. I can say from personal experience it was definitely worth it. To describe just one incident I had, my PB 400mhz had lots of scratches on it, with paint peeling off etc., and thanks to my APP, the outer 'frame' was replaced. The service I found to be excellent in general from Apple, despite the general whinging you hear from some.

I'm also buying new in the next few weeks. I'm splurging big-time with a dual G5 and 23inch display (a step up from my desktop - PM G4 400 mhz from 3 years ago!), but I certainly WON'T be buying the APP until my first 12 months is up (if for no other reason than the cash!)

Roll on G5s...

[AssassyN]

Welcome to the MacNN Boards!

That's awesome to hear about getting yourself a Dualie G5 & Cinema! Sweet setup!

But just be advised, purchase the AppleCare just BEFORE the 12 months are up, not AFTER. Once those 12 months have expired, you CANNOT extend your AppleCare warranty even if you buy the AppleCare box.

[Webscreamer]

YOU ARE ALL WRONG who said buy it at the end of the first year!!!!

I called Apple telling them to cancel APP on my G5. The guy was very nice and said: NO MATTER WHEN YOU BUY APP, IT STARTS FROM WHEN YOU RECIEVE YOUR COMPUTER...NOT WHEN U BUY THE APP.

So there

[Number 6]

I think you misunderstood what he said to you.

The APP covers your product for three years from the moment the product is delivered to you.

So yes - if you wait until the end of the first year approaches, and then buy, the APP will cover the two following years only. However, since the first year of your purchase is covered anyway (as standard), you can do one of two things: buy the APP right away, or buy it at the end of the year. I wait until the end of the first year approchaes for purely financial reasons because I don't NEED to buy the APP until then (if the system breaks, it will be fixed anyway). So it comes down to WHEN you want to fork out the cash.

[Webscreamer]

yeah.. sorry to be so snippie!

[goldengoose7]

Based on my experience with Apple computers I would say don't bother.

I have owned a total of 7 Macs in the last 15 years.

I still have four of them running here in my design studio and NONE of them have ever needed service. Thats right! Not a single failure of any hardware component on any of them.

Your milage may vary, but based on my past experience with Apple quality I didn't buy an extended warranty on my Dual 2ghz G5.

[The Ancient One]

After Apple replaced the motherboard on my dual 800 just before the end of the regular warranty, I purchased AppleCare to take me through the next two years. I'm sleeping a little sounder now.