[blendy]

I plan to buy a 1.2GHz iBook soon here in Japan. I am looking at 256M memory, 80GB HDD and Bluetooth.

Since adding memory does not violate the basic warranty (ref: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=13946 ), in my reading, I plan to add 1GB when I can get it cheap enough (newegg.com don't ship internationally - "darn it").

My only remaining questions are:

1) Is the cost of the 3-year plan is a worthwhile expense? I would be especially interested if anyone has any stats on reliability and repair costs.

2) The Apple site say it is it possible to enrol in APP post-purchase (ref: http://a1712.g.akamai.net/7/1712/51/...tPlanFacts.pdf , page 2). Could anyone who has done this please reply with their experiences?

Thanks
B

[far200]

I was told that you have one year from the date of purchase to buy apple care.

Now if you should up grade to apple care. Well thats up to you...I feeel that at this time it's not really worth it unless you need the tech support often..but thats just me...As long as you don't have a first generation product you should be fine. All the bugs should be out of your ibook......

[MARINEOSX]

I think it is worth it because it extends the telephone assistance to a year. If anything happens to it they will replace and fix it can't beat that. also you can extend the warranty anytime within the first year. I do lots of traveling so if something where to happen to it like sand from a sandstorm in iraq or something like that I like to know that I could get it cleaned and repaired.

[gcvt]

I definitely think it's worth it for laptops, even if they spend most of their time sitting on a desk. I didn't buy it for my G5, but I got it for my iBook.

After the 90 day phone support is up, it'll cost you $50 to talk to a human at Apple. And, if the unit needs work after the warranty has expired, it'll likely cost at least $100...probably a lot more.

[Phiber]

Yes, Applecare is definatly worth the money. I plan on doing a post purchase as well, so I can get all the goodies I want up front.

[fhoubi]

It depends, my 700mHz june 2002, with Applecare bought in week 49 after purchase, broke down 2 times with a logical board failure just 2 weeks later, and last week (2.5 years after purchase) the harddisk failed. The logical board should have been covered by regular or extended warranty, and you can buy these days a 2,5" hd for less than 60 dollars/euros. And the feet and 2 key-caps which broke off are nevered covered by Applecare anyway...

[cold aspiration]

yes most definately. My year just was up and my combo drive pooped out. It would have cost 500 for complete repairs but EVERYTHING was free for me. phone call, next day shipping, new drive, and assembly of book.

[swichd]

The real question ahould be: are you willing to service your own iBook yourself if it breaks? If yes, don't get the extended warranty, as you can get aftermarket parts for cheap (that combo drive can be found for about $60USD. If you don't want to work on it yourself, the extended warranty is highly recommended. My G3 went in far too many times, but it was covered by the extention program.

[Kelvin]

My G4 iBook is about 7 months old. It was replaced within 10 days after I bought it due to the case warping. The second one has had it's logic board replaced because the ethernet port went out and this week the keyboard was replaced because the letter "N" started wearing off. I have an iSkin on the new keyboard. I think I'll buy the extended warrany in the next couple of months. Anything that breaks on these laptops will be expensive to replace. I'd be comfortable in replacing my own harddrive or DVD drive if there was an adequate repair manual that showed detail steps on how to disassemble the iBook so when it's finally out of warranty I can upgrade it myself. Is there such a thing available?

I live close to an Apple store and so I didn't have to go through the $50 phone support fee.

Despite these hardware issues, Apple warranty service has been excellent and having the piece of mind for an addtional 2 years will be worth it. My iBook is the computer I use the most. If I had bought a PC I would've had to talk to someone in India who I probably wouldn't be able to understand very well or buy would've had to buy the higher priced in-home warranty.

Kelvin

[fhoubi]

Hmm.. Bought an iBook and Airport base station in june 2002, I had 6 issues so far, from dead battery after 7 months, 2 logical board failures after 1 year, base station went dead after 2 years, bought an Express, which had an Audio plug failure from day one, and now the harddisk died.

The good thing, which nobody told me, is that an Airport base station is covered by Applecare also. So, my deadforahalfyear snow one is going back to Apple!

[Wiskedjak]

Originally posted by blendy:
1) Is the cost of the 3-year plan is a worthwhile expense? I would be especially interested if anyone has any stats on reliability and repair costs.

Only if you believe that it's ok for you to be required to pay $250 to guarantee that your $1000 laptop lasts longer than one year.

[Randman]

For a desktop, it's arguable. For a laptop, it's well worth the investment. Get ram first, 256 is not enough. And yes, you have one year from the date of purchase to add AppleCare.
Also, if you might upgrade in the next 3 years, AC adds value to your iBook if you're ever going to sell it.

[blendy]

Thanks for your responses everyone . Sounds like the (apparent) frequency and cost of repair make it worth getting for me. Taking it apart by myself can wait for 3 years.

I wonder what would happen to sales if Apple included AC in the price?

[Wiskedjak]

Originally posted by blendy:
Sounds like the (apparent) frequency and cost of repair make it worth getting for me.

Fascinating. Knowledge of the frequency and cost to repair a product results in the desire to spend more money on that product ... I like the MacOS as much as they next loyalist, but knowledge of poor Apple hardware quality has been driving me to search for something that doesn't ask me to pay more money to guarantee it's survival beyond one year.

[Lh'owon]

Ive been repairing Macs for 8 years now. I don't see many systems under two years old, but I can tell you an Applecare is well worth the money on desktops and laptops. From the service shop I work at it will cost at least $500 to send off an out of warranty PowerBook/iBook for repairs. Desktops are almost as expense to repair out of warranty, on average I see the cost being $200- 1,000+.

Plus having an Applecare on your laptop or desktop makes my job much easier should I have to order parts for it.

[Ji Eun]

Originally posted by Wiskedjak:
..... search for something that doesn't ask me to pay more money to guarantee it's survival beyond one year.

but not many warranties for consumer electronics devices go beyond 1 year, think digicams, televisions, mobile phones, PCs, etc. apple offering to extend their warranty for an extra two years for an extra sum is fine by me. even though i'm on a tight budget i'll purchase applecare in march when my ibook's 1 year is up if for no other reason than peace of mind. also, there's no other way you're going to get OS X on longer base-warranty (non-apple) hardware without emulation, and finally, consider too, the post above mine.

[brettcamp]

I've always had applecare on my laptop Macs. I've only once needed it for hardware repair, but I've found it very useful for friendly, thorough support on software issues. It's worth it to me for the peace of mind alone.

BTW, shop around for prices. Some stores sell it discounted. I got a call this week from an Apple rep who noted that my 90 day Powerbook telephone service warranty had expired and wanted to sell me AppleCare. I said I was planning to wait till the end of the 1 year repair warranty (although, as I said, since telephone support is a big benefit of applecare, I was a hesitant to wait that long). She offered me a discounted price that got it under $250, but that includes an education discount (I'm a university faculty member).

[brickcam]

FWIW, Applecare is transferrable as well, so it will increase your used selling price. Since it extends the warranty from the time of Purchase, note that waiting until your free parts warranty year is up is basically useless (buy it now and get the phone support). UNLESS you are worried about losing the comp altogether, I see no reason to wait.

[ghporter]

Applecare is worthwhile if you have problems, and becomes an extra expense if you don't. Keep in mind that everyone that posted about problems had problems. What about all the folks that didn't have problems? There's hundreds of thousands of us out here who haven't had a lick of trouble with our iBooks. I'm typing on a year-old G4-800MHZ iBook that has just quietly done its thing whenever we've wanted it to. I've traveled with it some, and it's nicely robust, particularly for its light weight.

As with all extended warranties, Applecare is a wager that you'll need it enough to justify the cost. I ALWAYS get an extended warranty when I buy a new car, because the cost of repairs for labor and parts that just wear out justifies my "bet" that I will actually have a problem with them-and I keep cars for a long, long time. I don't usually buy extended warranties on electronics or computers because I usually upgrade before the warranty becomes useful (two to three years is about when I start looking), and I'm "handy" with hardware.

It's your call, but weigh the alternatives carefully, and as has been noted, you can buy Applecare all the way up to the expiration of the original 1year warranty. Keep an eye on your particular iBook's performance and any problems you have with it during the factory warranty period, and base your decision on the facts you gather, not what other people have experienced with their own machines.

[brickcam]

Moderation in all things. Sounds like a moderator.

I fully agree. The sample here is highly skewed.

/research_scientist

[afireinside]

I dont think its worth it. I'm voiding the warrney soon anyway. I've never had any PC hardware die so I'm not gona worry about this. HDD/optical and stuff can by self repaired. If the logic board goes I'm ****ed but oh well. All the more reason to buy a PB.