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Portables (Apple) Businesses Upgrades Apple Hardware

AppleCare for PowerBooks - Worth it or Wasted? 289

Posted by Cliff from the seeking-decent-technical-support dept.
Starquake asks: "I am planning on purchasing a PowerBook in the near future. The choice between models largely depends on whether or not the cost of AppleCare is included. Of course the salesman at the Apple Store suggested I purchase AppleCare, but I am not sure about the cost/benefit ratio. Would the PowerBook owners on Slashdot please advise me on whether or not the AppleCare plan is worth the extra cost? What types of experiences have you had with Powerbook failures and replacements?"
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AppleCare for PowerBooks - Worth it or Wasted? More

AppleCare for PowerBooks - Worth it or Wasted?

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  • Year warranty (Score:5, Informative)

    by Dephex Twin ( 416238 ) on Wednesday July 30, 2003 @05:50PM (#6574561) Homepage
    Remember that all their computers come with a year warranty no matter what. During that year you can still buy the AppleCare and extend it out to the full 3 years. So you could theoretically see how you feel about it after a year and if you think AppleCare for two more years is needed.

    I don't have a Powerbook, but I do have an iBook, and I've had some hardware problems with it. Every time I have had to take it in I had no hassle with parts replacement and it was totally free. So the care they do provide seems to be pretty good, at least in my experience.

    • Re:Year warranty (Score:3, Insightful)

      by DoctorTuba ( 688153 )
      AppleCare is a must have. While I'd never buy it for a desktop machine (and never have) laptops take a tremendous amount of abuse and no matter how careful you are and how good the hardware is things will break. I've seen screens, optical and hard drives, motherboard connectors, keyboards, and batteries replaced without a hitch under AppleCare.

      While the price of AppleCare for PowerBooks is the highest Apple charges (that might be indicative of the percentage of claims that relate to PowerBooks), it's less
    • You automatically get a year to think it over. A lot of the decision depends on how long you usual keep a computer/plan on keeping this one. I have a powerbook(am actively typing on it right now), with Applecare, and have been really happy that I've got Applecare. I tend to be rough/clumsy/unlucky with my stuff occasionally... and laptops don't jive with any of those. I broke the screen once by dropping it(long drop for a laptop), and had to pay for it(the rest of the thing was fine). All my other repa

  • It's worth it when you need it. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Elwood P Dowd ( 16933 ) <judgmentalist@gmail.com> on Wednesday July 30, 2003 @05:50PM (#6574567) Journal
    It's insurance. Decide if you want insurance.

    Personally, I'd get extended AppleCare, and use that as a selling point when I unload it on ebay two years later.

    • fwiw, yes, Virginia, AppleCare travels with the PowerBook, not the owner. So the parent poster is correct: a new purchaser would acquire the remaining benefit of the AppleCare. A call to Apple is all that it takes to change the registration, if you care to change the names on the paperwork, also.

    • It's insurance.

      No, it's definitely not what most people think of as "insurance". It is an extended warranty, basically covering "... defects in materials and workmanship", to quote the AppleCare terms and conditions. It does not cover damage due to accident, abuse, flying monkeys, etc. So if you drop your PowerBook and crack the screen, or damage it through some other accident, AppleCare isn't going to cover it (or, at least, they're not obligated to according to the AppleCare terms and conditions).

      • Replying to my own reply, just wanted to add that I didn't mean to sound quite so negative about AppleCare ;)

        No, it's not what most people would think of as "insurance", but that doesn't mean it's worthless. A lot of the other posts in this thread indicate that Apple is pretty lenient in what you call a manufacturing defect (and thus covered by their warranty) versus what they could argue was damage due to, you know, flying monkeys. So it may be well worth the money.

      • Re:It's worth it when you need it. (Score:5, Informative)

        by Daniel Dvorkin ( 106857 ) on Wednesday July 30, 2003 @07:39PM (#6575646) Homepage Journal
        Technically, you're right -- but the neat thing about AppleCare, as opposed to most other "extended warranty" schemes that are really scams, is that Apple is very generous in their definition of what's covered. I have friends who treat their Apple laptops like absolute hell, and they always get fast, efficient, and most importantly, free repair on their machines through AppleCare. I mean, cracked cases and stuff like that -- clearly the result of abuse, but the AppleCare folks fix it without bitching.

        Personally, I treat my iBook like a baby, and it's had very few problems; but the battery did die a while back, and I was very impressed with the service I got. The only other time I've ever used AppleCare was with a desktop Mac, years ago, when the monitor died -- most likely as a result of my very long-haired cat sitting on it all the time and getting hair in all the vents -- and again, I was quite happy with the service.

        So in short, hell yes, get the AppleCare.

        • ... the neat thing about AppleCare, as opposed to most other "extended warranty" schemes that are really scams, is that Apple is very generous in their definition of what's covered... So in short, hell yes, get the AppleCare.

          Thanks, Daniel. Yes, I'm seeing similar testimonials elsewhere in this thread and it's painting a much more encouraging picture of AppleCare for me. This is good news, as my shiny new 15" PowerBook is supposed to arrive via FedEx sometime tomorrow morning ;) Based on your and others'

        • Very true.. this extends over to the iPod that my friend has. He's dropped it a dozen times so I wasn't surprised when one day his iPod showed an unhappy face. Since it was accidental damage, we were a little hesitant about sending it off to Apple, but since we had nothing to lose, we called up Apple.

          Next day, we got a box to put the iPod in.

          2 Days later, we received a phone call about the iPod and how it cannot be fixed.. but.. they're sending us a new iPod (although still 2nd generation).

          I've alway

  • A story: (Score:5, Informative)

    by CptChipJew ( 301983 ) * <{michaelmiller} {at} {gmail.com}> on Wednesday July 30, 2003 @05:51PM (#6574579) Journal
    This doesn't have to do with a PowerBook (though I own one now), I still think it applies.

    First off, your PB will come with one year of AppleCare. That extra charge is for 2 more years. That rule applies to all Apple hardware.

    I bought my PowerMac and didn't purchase the extended AppleCare. One month before the warranty expired, my CPU's got fried. So I took it to the store, replaced them for free, and gave me a receipt.

    Apprarently, with parts and labor this came out to an over $800 repair. I immediately purchased two more years of AppleCare.

    BTW you can purchase it anytime during that first year. You dont have to buy it with the computer.

    But anyways, I figured if Apple is going to charge that much to do repairs, you're better off paying a couple of hundred dollars than eight, especially considering repairs to portables are probably more expensive.

    • Re:A story: (Score:3, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Here is a caveat: find out who the Applecare service will be done by first. I understand in the USA apple sends you a shipping box and you send it directly to them.

      In my case, in Canada, the Applecare is done by the local shop (I can't send machines back to Apple, I can only send them to this shop, even if I didn't buy them there).

      And... that leaves lots of opportunity to get ripped off. In my case the local place unilaterally re-wrote what was covered by the Applecare. Didn't matter what the docum

      • In the US you have the option of either shipping your Mac to Apple, taking it to an Apple store, or an authorized Apple reseller.

        And as your story shows us, never go to the reseller :\
        • Actually, I have no qualms about my local reseller (The Mac Experience). They've bent over backwards to help me out, and I recommend that people make purchases there instead of The Apple Store.

  • it's all about odds (Score:5, Interesting)

    by nicholas. ( 98928 ) on Wednesday July 30, 2003 @05:56PM (#6574638)
    you play the odds. what are the odds that a something w/o moving parts is gonna break in a computer. in my experience, fairly slim.

    things that break are typically HDs and optical drives. if you subscribe to this theory than there is no way Apple Care is worth it.

    if you think that stuff like LCDs and motherboard will go bad with use and time than Apple care is probably worth it.

    out of the 5 Apple computers i've purchased, i've never bought apple care and never had a non-moving part go bad on me.

    at work i had a mac's built in NIC go bad, but it was within the one year warranty. i also had a power supply go bad, that wasn't under warranty. it cost $150 to replace. personally i think that if a non-moving part doesn't go bad within a year, it's unlikey to go bad within three.
    • It's also about cost to repair. For a desktop machine that's easy to get into, easy to swap parts, very standardized, I wouldn't worry so much.

      Laptops are a little more trouble, so you're looking at a higher bill if something breaks.

      Also consider the cost of being without. If the laptop is your sole machine, it may be helpful to have a fast and efficient repair mechanism available.

      Data point. I've never had an extended warranty on a desktop box. I did however buy it for my Cinema display...and yes, I

    • I see your argument execatly and agree with it but with one point to add

      If you take the money you could have spent on extended warrenties for all sorts of things you buy, TVs, computers, DVD players, Video players and kitchin stuff etc and put it in a savings account I bet over a life time you would be better off.

      Just for an example my PC fried 3 weeks ago, it was a £350 I need one quick PC. It had already died once under guarante but this time it was out. I spent £1500 on a new one which I h

  • Hell Yes (Score:4, Informative)

    by Rand Race ( 110288 ) on Wednesday July 30, 2003 @06:00PM (#6574696) Homepage
    I admin an office full of Macs, including about a dozen powerbooks of various vintages. I can't say it plainer than: Get The Freaking Warranty. They aren't bad machines, but they are expensive ones. One repair will repay your investment twice over at least.

    I know from experience. I'm writing this from a TiBook 400 with 5 1-pixel wide colored lines running vertically across the screen. $1100 to fix it. Needless to say, I didn't approve the order (it's from our other office actually).

    • Re:Hell Yes (Score:2, Informative)

      by Johnny Mnemonic ( 176043 )

      I believe you were misquoted. I've seen that issue, and your cost should have fallen under flat-rate charges for PowerBooks, which is $310 + shipping. Unless it was abused--and whoever gave you that quote would be better able to make that determination, to be sure--the flat rate should apply, LCD or no.

      I'll be happy to discuss this off list, if you care to. email is above.
  • ...extended warranties are bad. I don't know specifically about AppleCare.

    Consider that they wouldn't sell it if they couldn't make money on it. For the cost of an extended warranty, you're paying cost of repair + profit to Apple + commission to salesman. Oh, and opportunity cost for your money as well.

    To calculate what they charge for extended warranty, the company uses probability to determine the most likely cost of a repair over X years. It's simple probability math: .05 probability of Y breakin

    • While this is very true, you are forgeting a major downside for the consumer. And that is the fact that the repair cost will be 100 dollars for Apple in their formula, but when it ultimately breaks - they will charge you 200 dollars to fix it (so they can get their profit on the repair center)
      This subtly changes the numbers, basically you are paying the profit margin up front or during the repair (if you need it)
      • "When it ultimately breaks" implies that it will, which is not always the case. Also, you are paying for a SIZE of repair that may not occur. If you pay $100 for AppleCare and only have a $50 repair, then being self-insured was a better bet.

        It is a guess, of course. Most of the literature (consumer advice, consumer reports, etc.) weighs against extended warranties, which is what I base my analysis on.

    • > Consider that they wouldn't sell it if they couldn't make money on it.

      Apple, like all businesses, doesn't sell stuff unless they can make money doing so. Why would AppleCare be an exception? You state the obvious as if it's a bad evil thing. It's just business.

      > + commission to salesman

      Ask any Apple Store salesperson if they make commission and the answer will be "no".

      > I don't know specifically about AppleCare.

      Obviously.
    • In general, yes. I used to work selling cameras, and we loved it when the sucker, errrr, customer, bought an extended warrranty.

      On my iMac, I don't have AppleCare. It just sits there, not much to go wrong

      On my iBook? Oh yeah. I abuse the hell out of the poor thing daily, toting it around with me wherever I go. Apple's been very good on repair, too. It's easily worth the price to pay for insurance on something that's this valuable (not in terms of $$$, but convienence) to me. AppleCare on a portable is the

  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • Yeah, get the laws in Florida changed?
      • Comment removed based on user account deletion

        • When I worked at Apple, I understood there to be laws that prevented all extended warranties to be sold to Florida residents. I would suppose this also applied to Circuit City; it may be that either a) that's not true; b) it's a new law and they haven't gotten the message yet (or you haven't shopped there since the law was made); or c) Circuit City knows and doesn't care, until they get taken to court.

          You can get around it, by buying it as a business or registering the computer out of state. However,
  • I've had my powerbook for almost 3 years and haven't had a need for the apple care package yet. I've also been extremely rough with it. Throw it in my backpack and toss it in the bed of my pickup truck or under my bed when i get home.

    You're milage may vary though.

    Altp.
  • I bought a Powerbook G3 (2000 firewire, pismo). There have been only very minor problems since my purchase.

    I had a problem with the backlight develop within the last month of my 1 year applecare and they offered to replace it; however, due to my own negligence, I never took them up on the offer.

    My power adapter also fried a month after my 1 year applecare; unfortunately, this was was yo-yo style and was not covered under Apple's recall. I had to purchase a new one ($90) from my own pocket. I'm not sure i
  • I have had only a two problems with my iBook that required calling AppleCare (bad logic board, bad power supply) and they were extremely pleasant to talk to. In the case of the logic board, it took them 4 days to replace it. With the power supply, they sent me a new one and had me return the old one in the same box.

    While the warranty is an extra cost, it's worth it knowing that they won't give you much hassle if you do need repairs and that Apple will do so quickly and efficiently.

    I'd say go for it.
  • I had a used Pismo with no Applecare and after about a week I busted one of the arrow keys. I had the little bit of aluminum that busted off so I called and they said it was out of warranty but send it in anyway. So I did and four days later a package arrived from a local apple shop. It was a new keyboard.

    So that may not answer your question but I've had good luck with Apple.
  • I highly recommend it. I used to work at zones.com. We used to see a lot of people with powerbooks that died and were basically "up a creek". Granted I worked in support and obviously only had experience with the people who had problems, but would you drive your car without insurance? It's worth it. Just do it.
  • It's a notebook, which means there's a good chance it's gonna be dropped. If it was a desktop, I'd say skip the warrenty, but since it's mobile, get the warrenty.
    AND make sure it's covered by your insurance on the day you bring it home. This advice is from the bitter experiance of having a $20,000 uninsured computer stolen 4 days after receiveing it.
  • If you want your expenses to be higher but more predictable, buy extended warranties. If you want to save money (on average) then don't.

    But understand this: anyone who sells extended warranties, makes a profit. On average, you will pay more for the warranty than the amount it saves you. That doesn't mean you're dumb for doing it, but if you have enough reserve cash to be able to handle emergencies yourself, then maybe you should. Hmm.. the rich get richer and the poor get poorer? ;-)

  • I don't have a Powerbook, I have an iBook. So far AppleCare seems to be a hefty requirement if I am supposed to continue to be able to use this computer in the near future without going bankrupt on continuous repairs.

    1. Harddrive broke down. Mailed it in to Apple, they sent it back. I thought the iBook was fine but it turned out to be still broken.
    2. Sent it down to Holland and got a replacement iBook.
    3. Harddrive broke down again a couple of months later. Got it replaced at a local shop after two weeks of

  • I'd say do it (Score:2, Interesting)

    by whatparadox ( 560642 )
    The company I work for has three of them running about.

    One had a DVD that ate disks, started in the second year *grind* *grind* *gouge*. Apple Extended paid for itself there.

    The second developed an issue with that ridiculous reset button in back, motherboard had to be replaced. I don't even want to know how much Apple Care saved me that time.

    The third has run like a dream, never had a problem.

  • Insurance (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Paradise Pete ( 33184 )
    It's insurance. Insurance is a losing bet. They make a profit on it. If they are making a profit, then it must be a loss for the buyers (as a group, of course).
    The purpose of insurance is not to save money, it's to avoid disaster. That's why insurance on something like a house is a good idea - no because it won't cost you money, but rather so that you're not wiped out if your house burns down.
    If you can stand the loss, you're better off in the long run not buying extended warranties. Yes, there will be ti
  • Unless you know that the machine will be subjected to conditions where you know that it will break and be eligible for warranty service, warranties are a waste of time.

    Resale Extented Warranties sold by CompUSA or Circuit City retail at a 60-75% margin. In house warranties by companies like Apple or IBM generally retail at 65-80% margin.

    Unless you manage to haggle the price of the computer, warranty or accessories so that you are paying 50% or less of the retail cost of the warranty, it is a massive ripof

  • Buy it for the batteries... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by TexTex ( 323298 ) * on Wednesday July 30, 2003 @06:29PM (#6575019)
    My company has 10 iBooks we give out on a regular basis, so they see their share of abuse while moving from room to room and person to person. When we bought them, we talked about getting AppleCare but since we've never had it on other Macs, the management angle was to avoid spending another $3000 to support all of these.

    Now, I know the company line that Ni-Cad batteries have no memory. I also have seen on 10 iBooks that if you don't follow good practices of fully charging the laptop and allowing it a few cycles now and then, you'll have 10 batteries with a life of 30 minutes or less within a year. So I've now replaced every battery in my iBooks because of this short-life problem. This IS covered by AppleCare. Free $129 battery if you call and explain your's has no life. In 3 years, I go easily see you going through two or three batteries.

    And then...maybe gravity takes hold and one of these laptops happens to "fall." Well, AppleCare will cover the screen and most other parts, so long as physical damage is not evident (no cracked or shattered screen and plastic). We had an LCD completely wig out and fail after the warranty expired. The procedure is this...

    You call Apple, and they charge you $50 to talk to them. Then, they decide it needs to get sent back, and you ship it on a credit card which has an estimate of what it might cost. Mine was between $400-800. Two days later I got the iBook back. Two weeks later I got the bill. $869 for a new screen, the repair labor, and shipping.

    AppleCare might seem like a waste...and some warranty programs are. But if EVER you need it, you're saving a lot of money in the long run.

  • Question I asked at the Apple Store... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Naum ( 166466 ) on Wednesday July 30, 2003 @06:39PM (#6575161) Homepage Journal
    ... where I purchased my new powerbook, when prompted by the salesperson for a decision on Applecare.

    What happens if I spill a coke all over my open notebook and it ceases to function? Will you hook me up with a new powerbook and/or fix it?

    No, that's probably covered under your home owner's insurance, if you have it.

    OK, no thanks then.

  • worth it, especially for early life-cycle models (Score:4, Insightful)

    by ubiquitin ( 28396 ) * on Wednesday July 30, 2003 @06:59PM (#6575333) Homepage Journal
    Early Titanium PowerBooks (15" before they called them that) in the 400 to 500 megahertz range G4 processor had problems with the screen developing always-on vertical lines. Apple will charge you around $800 to $1200 to fix this problem. Unfortunately, that's the depreciated value of those powerbooks at this point. Applecare would have taken care of this issue for $50. It took about 18 months before this problem developed widely and powerbook owners were able to corroborate stories that this problem was widespread. I've heard of keyboard-issues with the 12" models, but can't confirm that. My next powerbook will have AppleCare, as this is a piece of business equipment I can't afford to have not work perfectly all the time (kinda like a high availability server).
  • Most credit cards double the manufacturer's warranty (up to a year) automatically. I called my CC co. before buying my last laptop to make sure it would extend the warranty for it, and cover everything the original warranty does. They told me yes and yes.

    Since I usually upgrade more often than every two years, I'm always covered without buying extended warranties.

  • 2 out of 5 tiBooks dead after first year (Score:4, Informative)

    by Kalak ( 260968 ) on Wednesday July 30, 2003 @07:10PM (#6575417) Homepage Journal
    I'm writing this from a tiBook borrowed from another department because my department now has 2 dead tiBooks, including mine. These two have no working screen, which costs $1240 *each* to repair from Apple. Since you can get a new notebook for less, we may not be bothering to fix them.

    During the first year, the story was just as ugly. My tiBook went back 4 times for both screen and logic board related issues. Another co-worker in my department had his start smoking while it was on his lap! His had already been back twice and was replaced by Apple after the smoke. The replacement has been back twice. Titanium may be strong and light from a structural perspective, but it's not good notebook material. After the tiBooks were bought (and after the warranty ran out), we instituted a policy of buying the AppleCare on all Apple products.

    Since then, our iBook has been back twice, despite being a year and a half old. The last return just got back. The logic board replacement would have cost $955 as it's a year and a half old. Look at the math and you decide.

    You can wait to see if the new alBooks are better in quality, but by the time you find out you may be out of warranty if you don't by the extension.

    One thing I've thought of is that back when Apple decided to become more of a "consumer oriented" product to try and shake their overpriced image, they not only dropped SCSI and OS support, they cut their warranty down to a year (the amelio years. I wish they would change this). If you think of it as buying the older quality of Apple at a higher price by including the extended warranty, then do it. My boss gets mad about having to buy a warranty, but I'd pay the price that would jump if they made a higher quality notebook. The 500 series would last through years of abuse.

    I normally think extended warranties are a scam, but this is a requirement.
    • You should be buying something other than Apple Powerbooks or looking closely at where and how laptops are used in your company.

      The organization that I work for has approximately 1,100 laptops at the moment, mostly IBM, Dell and a few NEC and Panasonic machines. In the last year, we've had about 35 sent out for warranty repair.

  • Definitely definitely for your Powerbook. While Apple laptops are pretty reliable (IMHO), anything portable is bound to be beaten and battered into a state of broken-ness. While the price is pretty steep for AppleCare, the service is really good and they will pretty much help you with anything. I have an iBook with AppleCare and it was worth it, considering my screen started blinking out a little while ago. Considering that the repair might have cost several hundred dollars to fix without it and I got A

  • Here's the skinny: (Score:5, Informative)

    by Johnny Mnemonic ( 176043 ) <mdinsmore@NoSPaM.gmail.com> on Wednesday July 30, 2003 @07:20PM (#6575510) Homepage Journal

    I used to work for Apple, as an Apple Genius in a retail store; I know the ins and outs of AppleCare very well. I'm admittedly weaker on international AppleCare, however.

    Standard warranty, both desktops and laptops, is 90 days phone support and 1 year parts and labor. You may purchase AppleCare, for a varying price dep. on the model, anytime during that first year. Doing so reactivates the phone support (which otherwise expired at the 90 day mark) and continues the hardware+labor to 3 years from the purchase date. Purchasing AppleCare on year+1 day after the purchase of the unit is likely to do you no good; year+1 month almost certainly no good.

    AppleCare travels with the unit, not the owner, so it persists through a resale. It expires 3 years from date of original purchase, naturally.

    If out of warranty, desktops can be very expensive to repair, depending on the failed part. MLBs + processors are very expensive ($800-$1K); HDs are usually cheaper to replace yourself. Optical drives depend. However: iBooks and PowerBooks, out of warranty, are treated differently. All non-abuse repairs to iBooks cost $280, flat rate. All non-abuse repairs to PowerBooks cost $310, flat rate. That includes any and all parts; MLB, optical drive, HD, etc. Even LCDs--for instance, the horizontal bright line, dim backlights, etc. Now, abuse, or at least determination of abuse by an Apple agent, will change that amount very drastically--Powerbook LCDs are worth closer to $1300, abuse (either in or out of warranty, actually). The abuse qualification naturally gave me lots of argument--but I know it when I see it. A cracked LCD always is. A failed HD wouldn't qualify. A line across an LCD wouldn't qualify, and funky MLB stuff wouldn't usually qualify (as abuse). A drop or a liquid spill is abuse by definition.

    Powerbook and iBook owners should be given this same price whenever talking to an Apple employee, be it over the phone or in person at an Apple store. Resellers are free to mark up those costs, and many do. However, for "bright horizontal line" guy in a previous post: either he talked to a misinformed Apple employee, and should talk to another one, or, more likely, talked to a misinformed or overcharging VAR.

    As I said, international AppleCare has a number of wrinkles which I never learned very well. And I understood that selling AppleCare into FL was indeed illegal.

    I'm afraid that this won't answer the original question: is AppleCare worth it? For that, one would need to know fail rates, which I don't think anyone knows, or has stated publicly. I sure never knew it, and no one that I worked with ever knew it. But those costs of repair should give you a good idea.
    • Just curious, when I bought my iBook two weeks ago the guy at CompUSA tried to talk me into buying my airport and memory there saying installing it myself voided the warranty. I'm assuming what he really meant was, if I install both and break it, then the warranty doesn't cover the damages.

      Also, I'm thinking about getting Appelcare, but noticed you said all non-abusive repairs for iBooks are $280? Retail for Applecare is $250 -- so assuming I had one major malfunction while owning it, a $280 flat rate to

      • Just curious, when I bought my iBook two weeks ago the guy at CompUSA tried to talk me into buying my airport and memory there saying installing it myself voided the warranty. I'm assuming what he really meant was, if I install both and break it, then the warranty doesn't cover the damages.

        He was either ignorant or lying, in order to sell you either AppleCare or CompUSA's own plan. Of course you can install your own memory and AirPort. nb: if you use any memory besides "apple" branded memory, the fir
  • I bought a PowerBook G3 1999 when it first came out, with 3 years of AppleCare. I have to tell you-- it is worth every penny.

    1.) I sent in my PBG3 after an electrical storm which fried the ethernet. The entire logic board was replaced. $0.
    2.) A while later, the CDROM drive wasn't working properly. I sent in the PBG3, got a new CD drive, and a new 10gig hard drive (it came with 4gig). $0.
    3.) I broke off the little door in the back which protects the ports. They replaced the entire bottom enclosure
  • The whole time you have Applecare, you also get full support instead of the 90 day stuff.

    In the end it depends how much you're willing to 'insure' you 'book, and how often you might need Applecare services;

    Remember too that some credit card companies add extra coverage when you buy products through them. This might be a good alternative.

  • Get AppleCare if you can afford it. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by mellon ( 7048 ) * on Wednesday July 30, 2003 @07:37PM (#6575626) Homepage
    It's a very nice deal. They have fantastic service. I've purchased AppleCare on all the Apples I've bought (two), and while I've only needed the repair service on the iBook, because the power connector failed (which was probably my fault, but it's a weakness in the design, and they didn't balk at all about repairing it).

    On my G4, when I couldn't figure out how to get it back to life after a power glitch, I called AppleCare, someone answered within about a minute, and they were able to get me back up and running in another minute by telling me how to open it up and what little button to press on the motherboard.

    I am not exactly a beginner, so the fact that I've been able to benefit from their phone support is pretty impressive. I really can't recommend them enough - they really do a nice job, and I feel like it's a bargain at $299.

  • Yeah, go for it (Score:3, Informative)

    by jim3e8 ( 458859 ) on Wednesday July 30, 2003 @07:46PM (#6575698) Homepage
    I'd say go for it. I have an iBook and I've already had them replace the display cable and one battery, within one year. Apple's service has been amazing, less than 48 hour turnaround time. Now, I don't think these problems should have occurred in the first place, but you can probably expect something unexpected to happen, especially with new models. Consider that one repair will cost more than Applecare.

    As another poster commented, you can try it out and then extend it for up to two more years anytime within your first year. This is what I did (didn't think I'd need it, at first) and this is what I recommend.
  • If you happen to go to University either as staff or a student, it may pay to check out your campus' computer shop. Here in Australia (not sure about the US) but the universities have an agreemen with Apple that all machines purchased through an AUC retailer automatically get 3 years warranty - no extra charge. I myself am getting an iBook in the next week or two from our campus' computer shop. Not only was it cheaper than the Apple online shop, but I effectively get 3 years of Applecare for free!
  • I've replaced a dead battery and a faulty hard-disk and repaired a broken wire which powered the display back-light, all outside warranty at my own expense.

    The parts I've purchased (battery and HD) combined cost slightly less than Apple Care would have at the time I bought my iBook, but swapping the HD and fixing the display problem required completely disassembling the iBook, which is actually pretty difficult and, given my lack of technical expertise, could have been disastrous.

  • I love Apple, but I have had three experiences with the PowerBook G4 400 (first Generation 15" Ti book) that makes me WISH I bought AppleCare.

    (1) About 6-mo. after purchase - under warranty
    The laptop decided that it would, about 75% of teh time, not respond to waking up or coming on when shut down. Sometimes the solution was to remove the battery and press and hold the power button and yell various curses at it until it booted up. This required sending in the laptop to Apple to have some hardware replaced
    • I can no longer unlock my keychain


      Did you change your password with the "passwd" command? Be sure to change it in NetInfo (or in System Preferences -- I can't recall) also.
      • Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately, that did not correct the issue.

        My next attempt will be to have another mac user create a keychain on their system and copy it to mine in the hope of some success.

  • I can't believe I'm the first one to mention this because I'm not really a mac person, but there was a lengthy debate about this over at macnet2.com - I think the general consensus was that applecare wasn't worth it, but the compusa one was as well as something like www.safeware.com or safe something. Go over to macnet2.com and find it - there were two articles and discussions.
    K
  • I didn't get it for my ibook and i've never needed to use it.
    Sure, my ibook has taken a lot of damage, but AppleCare doesn't cover any of that.
  • But you don't have to get it right away, you can get it w/i the first year.

    I've had 3 pBooks, and had problems with all of them... all fixed under apple care.

    Just to be fair, I've had a Dell and IBM that have problems too.

    All laptops get more physical abuse than desktops and should have at least a three year warranty.

  • IMHO AppleCare and extended warranties in general are not worth it (unless you cannot afford to replace the thing warranted if it fails).

    Very few of my Macs have ever needed any repairs, and in every case the cost of the repairs was either (a) covered by the original warranty, (b) less than AppleCare for that computer would have cost, or (c) the cost of AppleCare for that computer would have exceeded its resale or replacement cost at the time it went wrong.

    In general a computer is worth 50% as much a yea

  • My 2001 iBook recently took a bang on the side, and I was told it would be an estimated $500-600 to replace the DVD drive. I'm definitely planning to get AppleCare on the next one - although that may force me to get another iBook instead of a AlBook.

  • I dropped a plug on my iBook's screen last year, putting a nasty crack in it. Nasty feeling when you've just dumped half your savings into it and you're only weeks away from starting uni. Didn't have Applecare, but household insurance covered it, so instead of 1000, it only cost me 50 to replace.

    A few months ago, the cabling on my power supply wore through to the wires at the point where the it enters the metal sheath. Impossible to repair at that point, so had to fork out 65 to get a new unit. Admittedly

  • Insurance is almost always a waste of money on small purchases, such as home electronics, light jewelry, used cars, lawnmowers, etc. The reason manufacturers offer this sort of insurance is that they make loads of money off of premiums, given that almost no one submits claims.

    Think about it, the company sells you a piece of paper that says "Extended Warranty". Their cost: a piece of paper, an accountant, and a telephone receptionist. Your cost: a significant portion of the original purchase price. If y
  • MasterCard (and other credit cards probably too) have an automatic "extended warranty" that applies to stuff that you purchase with the card. I don't remember the exact details, but it either extends the manufacturers warranty an additional year or else doubles it.

    I used my MasterCard when I purchased my PowerBook two years ago. The DVD drive developed intermittent problems about two months after the one year warranty ran out. The replacement cost for the slot loading DVD drive was around $400. I took
  • it takes ten minutes on a credit card. It's well worth it. Why? The scale of PB repairs is tiered - it starts at about twice the AppleCare price and goes up dramatically depending on the severity of the repair.
  • Bought a Powerbook G3 (Firewire) - the Pismo - in February 0f 2000, didn't get the extended warranty. Four months after I got it Apple diagnosed a problem with the machine which required it to be sent back to them for repair, which it did with no problems - there and back in four days with no cost to me. The only other problem I've had with the machine was the DVD drive going flaky about a year ago. I bought one for $50 from a guy who had replaced his DVD drive with a DVD/CD-R combo drive and swapped out th
  • I didn't get Applecare with my Pismo and I wished I had. First of all, 11 months later the battery is almost dead, but I didn't recognize the symptoms (immediate falloff from 75% to 0%), then a few months later the DVD-ROM drive dies.

    I probably could have gotten Apple to replace the battery (I've heard of it being done before), and it was probably the fault of OS X anyhow, by not turning everything off when in sleep on that particular model.

    The DVD-ROM drive I simply gave up on and got a combo drive inst

  • My wife is an artist and owns a PowerBook, but being a laptop and a PowerBook it is a little problem prone. So I would say if you plan on using the computer for more then a year (the base warrenty) then buy AppleCare, but wait until your warrenty period is almost finished, then extend for 3 years (assuming you still like the laptop).
  • I would definately recomend getting it, but just be careful with your computer as well. Apple care only really covers failures and not damage. So if you break something, they don't have to cover it (and may or may not).
  • I've had a PowerBook for 2.5 years now and I decided in the last week of my original warranty to purchase AppleCare. I have not regretted it, nor will I ever again do without it for a portable computer.

    Portables tend to get a lot of day-to-day grief that a desktop doesn't come close to.

    My PowerBook G4 400 MHz has been to Apple for various repairs about 8 times over the past 2.5 years, most of which were not defects in the machine. I've been quite happy with my PowerBook and found the AppleCare to be a g

  • At least in the UK, almost all extended warranties aren't worth the paper they're written on - AppleCare included. Not because the service is poor, but simply because under UK law, all consumer items sold must be "reasonably durable". If they fail early, you get your money back or a repair. The only reason stores get away with selling the warranties is that most people don't have a clue what their consumer rights entail.

    Now what's meant by "reasonably durable" is not defined, but a motherboard or screen on
  • Here's my suggestion: wait 11 months and then decide. After all, you can purchase AppleCare anytime in the first year. Just be sure to put it on your iCal so you don't forget.

    Get the machine now. If you find something wrong with it in the first 11 months, purchase AppleCare, and then have them fix it. It'll cost about the same (~$300 for a typical repair), but obviously you'll be getting a better deal with AppleCare, since that will cover future repairs for free.

    After 11 months, if nothing has require

  • it was worth it for my ibook (Score:3, Insightful)

    by mumkin ( 28230 ) on Friday August 01, 2003 @03:02PM (#6590600) Journal
    My iBook went through: two hard drives, two lcds, four logic boards, two batteries, a power inverter and various and sundry other bits, all within its first year. All problems speedily repaired by Apple at no cost to me. Opting for Apple Care to extend the hardware coverage beyond the first year was something i didn't have to think twice about.

    So, unless you think you're going to need telephone tech support beyond the initial 90 days -- which I never did -- I would advise you to see how it goes over the course of the first year and make your decision based on that. I'm told that Apple doesn't like it if you don't have continuous coverage, however, so if you do decide to go with AppleCare, make sure to purchase it before the anniversary of your powerbook's purchase.

    Given that any single hardware repair on an out of warranty powerbook is $379 [apple.com], and the cost of 3 years of powerbook applecare is $350 [apple.com], even if you only need it once, it's a deal.

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