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Thoughts On AppleCare
By Derek | November 15, 2007
My brother in CO asked me what my thoughts were on Apple’s extended warranty, or AppleCare product.
He purchased a MacBook for his wife some time back, and now the battery isn’t holding a charge. I forwarded him to a couple of places that could sell him a replacement battery, but I also asked him if he had purchased AppleCare.
He had not, but AppleCare for that one would have cost $249, so if all it needs is a battery in three years, he’s still ahead, since a replacement battery should be considerably less than $249.
Generally, though… I have decided to buy AppleCare for laptops that I purchase, but not desktops… although if I bought an iMac I probably would throw it on there, just because it’s basically a laptop in a nice desktop case.
I do have AppleCare on my PowerBook, and this year after T-Day it’ll be 2 years old, so I’ll still have a year left. On this one it was $349. Of course, my battery was part of the infamous Sony recall, so I got a new battery for free earlier this year. 🙂
However, I also own 2 Mac minis that I do not have AppleCare on… I think the Mac mini “replacement cost” is too low to spend the money, even though it’s only $149, not $249.
On my son’s iMac, it was a gift, so we didn’t put it on there.
So, basically, I have 4 macs and only one has it, the laptop. But if I bought another laptop I would certainly buy it.
Now, all of that said… I think that AppleCare is a MUCH better deal than most stores’ “extended warranty” (or “performance plan” as some of them call it)… basically, with it you take your product to the Apple Store, and they fix it. Seriously.
As an example, I bought an iPod 5G, a 30 Gig, used from a friend, and it failed (hard drive) within a year (of my friend’s original purchase date) — the Apple employees still let me buy AC for $59. Even though it was in warranty, I would have had to leave it at the store, and wait for a new (or refurbished) one to come in. When I bought the AC, they just gave me a new one. Furthermore, that same iPod failed again after 6 months (bad batch of HDDs, I guess) and the second time it cost me nothing except my time for a trip to the Apple Store, and I again walked out with a new one. If I hadn’t purchased AC within the first year, I wouldn’t have been eligible for it the second time around, and I would’ve had to pay to fix or replace my iPod.
Another thing I just thought of — I bought an Apple Mighty Mouse, sometime after I bought my laptop, but it broke while I was trying to clean it (the little scroll ball on top). When I called it in, since I used it on my laptop (which had AC) they replaced it for free… I called them around 3pm, and a new mouse was on my doorstep at 10am the next morning… with a return box and an 800 number to call for pickup. $0 out of my pocket for overnight shipping on a replacement MOUSE!! Who the hell else does that?
UPDATE: More Thoughts On AppleCare, Or At Least, Apple Support (2007 Nov 26th)
Topics: Apple, Me | 1 Comment »
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November 26th, 2007 at 18:54
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