Here’s a simple equation why Mac Users should REALLY invest in the Apple Care Protection Plan.
I sent my MacBook Pro (late 2007 model) to an Apple Service Provider for ALL those said repairs and I did not pay a single cent. Nada. The only inconvenience I felt was the 3-weeks laptop-less period that made me squat from one computer to another. But then I was unlucky since the Apple Service Provider I sent it to was extremely slow with the requests. But still, paying ZERO cash for all those major repairs were worth the wait.
And I still have year to go before my Apple Care expires, so in case anything else breaks within a one year time-frame, I can still have the parts replaced and have it serviced for free!
I hear newbie Mac Users argue that since they paid so much already for an Apple unit, paying for Apple Care is just way too much. But let me remind you that you don’t actually have to buy an Apple Care at the same time you buy the unit. You can actually defer it until a month before your current Apple Warranty expires. So that gives you ample time to save up for an Apple Care Protection Plan that costs roughly around $250-$350, depending on the Apple Product.
Just remember to send yourself a reminder if you plan to buy the Apple Care later on, because you might forget! Do what I do, put it on your iCal and set the alarm!
Which reminds me, I need to buy Apple Care for my iPod Touch.
To check when your Apple Warranty is going to expire, you can click this link: https://selfsolve.apple.com/GetWarranty.do
8 thoughts on “Why Mac Users Should REALLY Invest In Apple Care…”
For my previous powerbook and iPod I got AppleCare. Both crashed and I received an upgrade replacement for my iPod and 200 dollars of Apple Gift cards. When my mac crashed I got an upgrade on my hard drive. This time as Chris mentioned I went elsewhere for my AppleCare purchase for my MacBook Pro and saved over a 100 dollars on its price via Amazon. So if all that stuff happens like it did for the writer of the article my savings will be 100 dollars more than his. Also if you delay registration of your laptop by a month or two that gives you some more “time” for your warranty.
I think AppleCare is a great idea for laptops, but this post is full of bad information.
1) It’s very rare to get the battery replaced under AppleCare. It has to truly be a defective battery, not just one that’s used up after a year or two.
2) You can buy AppleCare for around HALF what Apple charges on eBay.
3) I believe Apple has a flat repair service where you pay one fee and they just fix it, so I don’t think you’d have to pay for all that itemized.
Yes to AppleCare, but do some research and save yourself a few bucks.
I am a former Apple Employee.
This entire article is wrong. If your Apple Notebook is out of warranty, you pay a “Flat rate” if the failure is not due to damage. For the MacBook Pro it is $349, for the MacBook it is $279 This is available for FIVE years after purchase. Or you have the option to pay for labor and the part if it is cheaper than the “flat rate” price.
Now, for Apple Desktops, there is NO “Flat rate” repair option. Then you would want to buy AppleCare.
AppleCare used to be much more of a cash cow for Apple, cause most long-time Mac users took extra good care of their Macs. Now that Windoze users are switching, they’re breaking things Apple didn’t think could break!
Call me lucky but I’ve owned a total of 12 Macs since 1993, including towers, iMacs and laptops. Out of the 12 Macs, only 2 had hardware problems that needed to be repaired. One was a faulty logic board which failed shortly after the 1 year warranty and the other, my most recent 24 inch iMac, freezes randomly and not even Apple Geniuses could figure out what’s wrong with it.
Assuming I purchased AppleCare for all 12 of my Macs, I would be a few thousand dollars in the hole.
But of course, everyone’s case is different and I’m sure someone out there who may have owned 12 Macs just like me and all 12 were faulty.
AppleCare is a must because if you happen to buy a badly designed Mac that fails too often at least you’ll be able to survive three years without really superexpensive repair bills until something better appears. And no, it’s not the Windoze users but the all too spotty track record of Apple this last couple decades.
You nearly gave a panic attack by saying it had to be bought one month before regular warranty expires – that’s not correct is it? Nothing on Apple’s site says that. I’m at 11 months and 1 day and have it on my task list to buy Applecare for my MacBook in the next week. Going to look on eBay, though, not Apple store.
I had a faulty iMac 27inch just after i bought it early 2009. It had a faulty screen,all washed out in the top right hand corner,and spreading. It was sent away and the screen was replaced,however after about 3months it started again. It was again sent away and the screen was replaced again. This happened a further 3 times. The third time they replaced the Graphics Card still Ongoing.
I am not a tech guy this is what i think it is. The Aluminium casing got extremely hot you could fry an egg on the top. The screen was the same hot. If any body has seen a house after it has been burnt out, you will notice that the glass is all stained by the heat.