Apple Care Warranty worth it?

[bigcountry]

Well the time has come for me to make the decision about getting the extended apple care warranty.

I am wondering what people's opinions are on this...worth it or not?

I know some will say the peace of mind is worth it, but how many people out there have had problems with their apple products?

My apple produce is an iMac, the metal version.

[crn3371]

I got it with my iMac. It's not all that expensive, and seeing as how the iMac isn't really user serviceable, I figured it was well worth the peace of mind.

[gary88]

I got it when I bought my MacBook Pro a few months ago. Three years will last me until I'm out of college. I just like the peace of mind also, especially with something I use so frequently.

[whatabum]

You should get it for any apple product. I got my iphone replaced 4 times in the last year so i bought procare for another year.

[Nick Pro]

Yes. Bought it on my Macbook, and have gotten 2 brand new HD's, 1 battery, 1 CD reader, all for free. If I didnt have the plan, I would have had to pay for all that. Mind you, to replace a HD it costs about 300.

[xarqi]

Yup - I got it for my G5 iMac and used it.
The main unit itself has been faultless, but I'm on my second keyboard (key bounce) and third mighty mouse (that stupid, stupid design that makes it impossible to clean the track ball).

Although it didn't apply in my case, as the warranty is transferrable (so I believe), it's a huge advantage on resale.

[dadCameraGuy]

i love macs - have 4 of them in the house right now (well 3 because 1 is being repaired haha)... my iMac has been in the shop once - dead HD. My daughter's macbook has been in 3 times now - 2 HDs, one cracked case. I've had my iPhone replaced once. The quality on Apple products is outstanding, but you've got to realize that computers fail. Especially HDs. Back up your files!!!! And buy Applecare.

[rklepper]

It is just like any insurance. You are essentially gambling against yourself. But the piece of mind alone is worth it

[TylerOxendine]

Sorry to jack your post, but quick question. I bought Apple Care with my laptop over 5 or 6 years ago, and have never used it only thing is maybe opened it. Can you re-sell this product or once its bought it's yours kind of thing?

[dadCameraGuy]

Sorry to jack your post, but quick question. I bought Apple Care with my laptop over 5 or 6 years ago, and have never used it only thing is maybe opened it. Can you re-sell this product or once its bought it's yours kind of thing?

If it wasn't ever activated, then it didn't do you any good to buy it. I don't know if a 6 year old Applecare can be used on new equipment. Most applecare boxes are specific to the type of hardware and whatever you bought is no longer avail so my expectations are you're screwed.

[PrOxY]

I don't know if a 6 year old Applecare can be used on new equipment. Most applecare boxes are specific to the type of hardware and whatever you bought is no longer avail so my expectations are you're screwed.

Its now activated/linked automatically with the unit purchased and starts its 3 years at the time of receipt (I don't think they send out documentation anymore).

I have purchased Apple care on every one of my Mac's since the first G3's. It has not only paid for itself, it helps boost the re-sale (which is outstanding on Apple towers to begin with). I get a new tower about every 1.5 years and have had Apple care replace to date....one G3 Laptop LCD, one G4 motherboard (non-mirror drive), one Apple/NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra (which was almost as gawdawful expensive as the G4 MoBo that tanked), a couple ATI cards and some certified memory.

IMHO, always buy it! Its good peace of mind, good value and will help in re-sale (provided you sell it within 3 years of course:)

[ben_r_]

For a laptop or PC, I would. Everyone I know who has owned an Apple (like any big box pre-built computer) has had issues that needed to be repaired after a year or two. For the iPhone, I wouldnt bother, too expensive and youll probably want the new version after your one year is up anyway.

[bps]

And if you buy it, you can get it much cheaper from a reputable seller on eBay...

Bryan

[Fastfwd13]

Sure if something expensive breaks you will be glad you got the warranty but statistically you should be OK. This may not apply if you need frequent phone support and can benefit from the 3 years phone support.

And even if you do have the warranty prepare to make your case because they will try to say it's not covered.

[DisrupTer911]

for $60 for the $400 iphone its piece of mind.

just get it. if you don't use it, its a small sum in comparison to something catastrophic happening to your kit

[smcclelland]

IMO it's always worth it and the best part about the program is when you purchase the item you have a year to decide if you want it or not. When I bought my Macbook Pro the sales person on the phone simply told me to try the refurb out and see how it went, if I ran into problems I was covered for a year and at any point in that 12 months I could opt in for the 2 year extended apple care plan.

[Village_Idiot]

If you believe that "they just work", then no. But like every device with moving parts, there's always a chance of failure. In fact, it's going to happen at some point. Maybe 10 years, 5 years, or 5 weeks...

[MaxxuM]

If you believe that "they just work", then no. But like every device with moving parts, there's always a chance of failure. In fact, it's going to happen at some point. Maybe 10 years, 5 years, or 5 weeks...

No, it will happen a day after it comes out of warranty. ;)

[Electric Shepherd]

Lol!

I took it out on my MacBook when I bought it a couple of years ago and have needed to claim on it for a new battery - around £100 if you were to buy one yourself IIRC.

[ZGMF-X20A]

Electric Shepherd: What kind of warranty support on the battery? Does it cover greatly reduced (about 30 mins even fully charged) battery?

[Fastfwd13]

Electric Shepherd: What kind of warranty support on the battery? Does it cover greatly reduced (about 30 mins even fully charged) battery?

On our macbook that was barely more than one year old the macstore refused to replace the battery when it went from 3 hour autonomy to not even 5 minutes from one day to the next. We had to call apple support and they agreed to replace the battery.

Sometimes even with the warranty and obvious defect you have to argue to get what you want. They would not a covered a 2-3 years old battery that had gradually lost autonomy time.

[mattyb240]

I believe if your battery has less than 300 cycles with a health of less than 80% (don't quote me) they will replace it.

[ZGMF-X20A]

Thanks guys...

[rodal126]

I've bought it for my 23" Cinema Display and had the monitor REPLACED! Definitely worth it if used at least once.

[Crayons15]

def. worth it. got it on my macbook pro and after one year there were dead pixels in my screen and my DVD burner drive went. Would have cost me over $1,000 to get everything fixed - i had applecare so i paid nothing!

my battery was also bad from leaving it plugged in all the time - and apple gave me a brand new one for free! they said if it tested as bad they'd replace it, and they did!

[Damian75]

I always get apple care even being an Apple Certified Tech and not voiding my warranty by taking my laptop apart there are just too many parts that are cost prohibitive to replace if not under warranty.