[hab]

I was interested in whether folks have bought the AppleCare Protection Plan for iMac (Cost $149). I understand that, in general, this type of extended warranty is said to be a waste of money because most electronics will show problems within the first few months and consumer advocates advise against them. However, the G4 iMac is a new product. Should I consider the insurance. How have people approached this decision so far?

[Alias]

YES! Expensive things have a habit of breaking after the warranty has expired. The $149 is very reasonable when you consider the cost of replacing just one component of the system.

Just think if the SuperDrive died in month 13. That would be a lot more than the $149 to replace, and that's just one part. What about the LCD? If the video, or firewire or ethernet stops working you would have to get a whole new logic board. Not cheap!

I haven't bought mine yet, but will in a few weeks when my bank account has recovered from buying the iMac.

[Elvin]

I'm a certified repair tech, and I agree, most of the problems occur right away..however...I always hate to phone the customer and tell them that their iMac that is out of warranty needs a new motherboard. Just a motherboard alone ranges around $1000 Canadian! For that price you might as well go buy a new iMac. Mac parts are more expensive than most PC parts, and so I fully believe in AppleCare.

[Sebastien]

Here's how I see it:

Spent $3000 (CAD) on a system, and, given the time my last system lasted, this one will probably last me 3-4 years. At about $75 a year (Apple Care only adds a 2 year extension, hence $75/year, but you do get extra support the whole time you've got it, even within the standard 1st year warranty, so you could also say $50/year for 3 years), this is a small price for ensuring you don't have to fork up huge sums to fix anything that might go wrong or for support.

Definitely worth it I think.

[Wardy]

Originally posted by hab:
<STRONG>I was interested in whether folks have bought the AppleCare Protection Plan for iMac (Cost $149). I understand that, in general, this type of extended warranty is said to be a waste of money because most electronics will show problems within the first few months and consumer advocates advise against them. However, the G4 iMac is a new product. Should I consider the insurance. How have people approached this decision so far?</STRONG>

hab

I bought it upfront with my iMac G4 purchase and got a few dollars off the RRP.

It is a pretty small amount relative to my whole purchase and seemed like a good idea for a new model to me.

[FXWizard]

You can purchase AppleCare at any time before the original warranty expires so if you're still on the fence, why not wait until close to the end of your original 1-year warranty and then decide if you want it? That's what I did when I bought my iMac DVSE 400 and even though I haven't had to use it, I look at it as being similar to car or house insurance -- you may never need it, but it's nice to have if you do.

[ 04-04-2002: Message edited by: FXWizard ]

[jwtseng]

Yeah, I think Applecare is a good idea on the new flat panel iMac. It's cheap at $149 compared to the plans for PowerBooks ($350?). Also, consider that the iMacs are first generation designs. Anything could happen. But I would also wait until the end of the first year to see if there are any major probs. The only thing you lose out on by waiting is phone support after the first 3 months. If you have an Apple retail store near you, there is no problem.

[firewired]

I purchased my iPod at the same time I got my iMac and Applecare plan. I was surprised when I called into Apple to register the iMac on the plan that the iPod was also covered for the same three year plan because it was purchased at the same time. Correct me if I am wrong but I think that that iPod only comes with a 90 day warranty, so I was hyped that they would cover the iPod as well for the same price.

[driven]

Can one get AppleCare on the LCD displays?

I have yet to find anyone selling them. CompUSA wanted to charge me $200 for THEIR warrantee, but after they screwed up an iMac I brought them once I wasn't about to pay money to get them to fix anything. (And it was 20% of the monitor price.)

[driven]

Originally posted by firewired:
<STRONG>I purchased my iPod at the same time I got my iMac and Applecare plan. I was surprised when I called into Apple to register the iMac on the plan that the iPod was also covered for the same three year plan because it was purchased at the same time. Correct me if I am wrong but I think that that iPod only comes with a 90 day warranty, so I was hyped that they would cover the iPod as well for the same price.</STRONG>

That is VERY nice.

I've always been impressed with Apple service. (When CompUSA screwed up my 400Mhz 13GB iMac, they replaced it with a 500Mhz iMac DV SE 30GB). I was thrilled. Based on this experience I had no problem buying a G4 Cube. When the cube needed service they picked it up and had it back to me in THREE days! (Awesome!)

For service alone I'll be a long time Apple customer.

[Mac Zealot]

I've had nothing but problems with applecare.

I'm now waiting and have been for 3 weeks for the side panels for my g4. Apparantely, according to apple, "Your dp800 is such an old machine that we have to find the side parts or special order them!"

GOOD RIDDENCE!

[Mac Zealot]

Originally posted by driven:
<STRONG>Can one get AppleCare on the LCD displays?

I have yet to find anyone selling them. CompUSA wanted to charge me $200 for THEIR warrantee, but after they screwed up an iMac I brought them once I wasn't about to pay money to get them to fix anything. (And it was 20% of the monitor price.)</STRONG>

Apple LCDs are covered along with the computer you buy them with..

if you buy a g4 you can get two covered, even the powerbook should if I'm right.

[driven]

Originally posted by Mac Zealot:
<STRONG>

Apple LCDs are covered along with the computer you buy them with..

if you buy a g4 you can get two covered, even the powerbook should if I'm right.</STRONG>

hmm ... but if we purchased our LCD much later than our computer then we have no way to cover them?

[Matsu]

As far as the iMac is concerned, you might as well wait untill month 11 to decide, no? AFAIRemember, you have a year within which to order the Applecare. Maybe you're machine won't sho any problems. It can be usefull if you want to sell the machine and get a new one after the second year.

[JZ]

I just got my new iMac and I fully believe in Apple's warranty service and will definately get an Applecare warranty THIS time.

I had an iMac DV 400 that was in for service (bad modem/logic board) within the first month of owning it. CompUSA fixed it and I was on my way.

Until Month 12 when I got broadband and wanted to use the ethernet port (it was dead). CompUSA screwed around with it for over a month replacing parts and by the time they were done with the thing it didn't even boot anymore!

After another month (Mid January of this year)of phone calls and part replacements, Apple agreed to replace it with a new unit, a comparable new unit. For those of you keeping score....there was no longer a DVD equipped iMac in the line -- Ok, none in the CRT line. So, get this, they shipped me a mid-range NEW LCD iMac instead. I had to wait until March to get it (for a total of 5 months without a Mac in the house) but I couldn't be more pleased with how Apple handled it.

I will definately get the 3 year protection on this new machine!

[malvolio]

Pardon me for saying this but you were crazy to bring a Mac to CompUSA for service! If there was any alternative, you should have taken it!
CompUSA is barely able to handle the most elementary PC problems. Asking them to do anything beyond adding RAM to a Mac is asking for trouble.
The only time I've used my Mac warranty was about 2 months after I bought my current 350MHz slot-loading iMac. The hard drive simply died one day. After 1-800-SOS-APPL talked me through almost an hour of trying stuff, they said it had to be the HD. Luckily for me, there was an excellent Mac-only 'puter dealer about 40 miles away from me. I took the iMac down to them, waited 3 days, and got it back better than new (extra software ).
In the two years since then, I have not had any hardware problems with my beloved iMac.

[driven]

Originally posted by malvolio:
<STRONG>Pardon me for saying this but you were crazy to bring a Mac to CompUSA for service! If there was any alternative, you should have taken it!
CompUSA is barely able to handle the most elementary PC problems. Asking them to do anything beyond adding RAM to a Mac is asking for trouble.
The only time I've used my Mac warranty was about 2 months after I bought my current 350MHz slot-loading iMac. The hard drive simply died one day. After 1-800-SOS-APPL talked me through almost an hour of trying stuff, they said it had to be the HD. Luckily for me, there was an excellent Mac-only 'puter dealer about 40 miles away from me. I took the iMac down to them, waited 3 days, and got it back better than new (extra software ).
In the two years since then, I have not had any hardware problems with my beloved iMac.</STRONG>

Actually I'm thankful that they are woefully inept.

Apparently I'm not the only one in this thread that got a brand new, upgraded machine because CompUSA couldn't fix it.

I guess I should thank them. (And thank Apple for their *UNREAL* customer service.)