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Ask HN: Mac users, do you get AppleCare for your Macs?

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Re: Ask HN: Mac users, do you get AppleCare for your Macs?

#51

Post by arihant »

ericd wrote: post #37
arihant wrote: post #27

Yes. Got fan replaced twice, battery once, keyboard components once because of weird sound. Also, I check it in every month for general cleaning and service. Fan, keyboard and logic board failures are very common with Macs. Just google and see. I'd suggest you get AppleCare. But don't buy it at the time of purchase, you can wait 11 months and buy, sometimes you might end up changing the machine in less than a year, t…

Still doesn't necessarily make sense economically... most of those things are a cinch to replace yourself with a $10 electronics screwdriver set from Radioshack. From iFixit.com, my model MBP: Fan - $50 Battery - $100. Keyboard - $85. The logic board is probably a bit trickier, but I don't know how common those failures are (a Google search on any mass market device will show a lot of failures... .1% of a million is…

Those replacements would be around $315 compared to $249 I paid for it. Also, more things can break. It also saved time.

If one has to do dollar-to-dollar comparison for $10/mo service, they aren't ready to buy a $1200 laptop.

Just because I can rip apart my laptop and can reapair it myself doesn't mean I shouldn't buy service which cover failure of it's components. That's like saying a doctor shouldn't buy medical insurance for his family.

Re: Ask HN: Mac users, do you get AppleCare for your Macs?

#52

Post by tptacek »

We're an all Mac shop, and we buy roughly one machine every month of the year. We skip AppleCare.

However, several years ago, before Matasano, we bought Erin a G3 iBook which went on the fritz, and AppleCare got her machine not only replaced, but replaced with a G4. So, I've had good experiences with it.

Re: Ask HN: Mac users, do you get AppleCare for your Macs?

#53

Post by arihant »

endtime wrote: post #49
arihant wrote: post #27

Yes. Got fan replaced twice, battery once, keyboard components once because of weird sound. Also, I check it in every month for general cleaning and service. Fan, keyboard and logic board failures are very common with Macs. Just google and see. I'd suggest you get AppleCare. But don't buy it at the time of purchase, you can wait 11 months and buy, sometimes you might end up changing the machine in less than a year, t…

>Fan, keyboard and logic board failures are very common with Macs. This could be an argument for Applecare, but it could also be an argument against buying a Mac.

You might be right. The only notebook that I ever had a fan issue was my MacBook. I own notebooks from Sony and Dell too.

Re: Ask HN: Mac users, do you get AppleCare for your Macs?

#54

Post by jackowayed »

zacharypinter wrote: post #33
gte910h wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with you on all other warranties. I've seen Applecare, especially for students, turn out very well though.

Warranties seem to have a lot of parallels with gambling. People love to tell the stories about how they bought a $2000 television and the warranty saved them when it broke 1 year later. However, they rarely mention all the warranties they purchased and never used. That said, warranties are not always bad. In the specific case of students, I suspect the answer to "If having to repurchase/cover the item would seriousl…

Also, the education pricing gives a big discount on AppleCare. I've been looking at MBP's, and it's ~$300 for AppleCare normally but ~$200 for it with education pricing, which makes it a much better bet.

I'm purchasing a 15" MBP (with education pricing) as soon as the back-to-school sale starts, and I'm pretty sure I'll get AppleCare.

Re: Ask HN: Mac users, do you get AppleCare for your Macs?

#56

Post by gte910h »

zacharypinter wrote: post #33
gte910h wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with you on all other warranties. I've seen Applecare, especially for students, turn out very well though.

Warranties seem to have a lot of parallels with gambling. People love to tell the stories about how they bought a $2000 television and the warranty saved them when it broke 1 year later. However, they rarely mention all the warranties they purchased and never used. That said, warranties are not always bad. In the specific case of students, I suspect the answer to "If having to repurchase/cover the item would seriousl…

The issue with 99% of warranties is you have to send the item in for fixing. That is often not the case for apple items in the AppleCare cycle, which makes it a LOT more valuable.

Gateway warranties on the other hand, took my last laptop for 4 months to fix it.

Re: Ask HN: Mac users, do you get AppleCare for your Macs?

#57

Post by elai »

jeremymcanally wrote: post #39
zacharypinter wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Warranties seem to have a lot of parallels with gambling. People love to tell the stories about how they bought a $2000 television and the warranty saved them when it broke 1 year later. However, they rarely mention all the warranties they purchased and never used. That said, warranties are not always bad. In the specific case of students, I suspect the answer to "If having to repurchase/cover the item would seriousl…

Maybe I'm cynical, but paying $80 for 3 years of coverage is a no-brainer for me. I mean, heck, my battery died after 2 years of usage and they replaced it for free. As a result, I've already "made" $20 off of it, and that's without any major repairs (which I've definitely had them do under AppleCare before). Of course, my machine and maybe my TV ($50 for 3 years) are the only warranties I've purchased. I think I agr…

Applecare is like 250/300 is this a third party insurance?

Re: Ask HN: Mac users, do you get AppleCare for your Macs?

#58

Post by samratjp »

As a rule of thumb, you are better off buying your Mac with a credit card that extends warranty by a year such as American Express. I've had a smooth experience dealing an expired warranty repair with my macbook - all I had to do was get an estimate from Apple, then fax it to my cc company. I received the money in no time.

This should be good enough for 2 years (1 Apple + 1 cc company). That's all you need anyways.

As about other stuff like tv, get third party warranty.

Re: Ask HN: Mac users, do you get AppleCare for your Macs?

#59

Post by drewcrawford »

zacharypinter wrote: post #19

No. My thoughts are warranties/insurance are the following: * If having to repurchase/cover the item would seriously hurt my financials, then I buy it (car insurance, rental insurance, etc are good examples). * For everything else, I skip it. I figure that by self-insuring, I come out ahead in the end. Sure, there's always some gadgets that fail past the end date of the manufacturers warranty. However, replacing thos…

As a student, re-buying a MacBook Pro would seriously hurt my financials.

Re: Ask HN: Mac users, do you get AppleCare for your Macs?

#60

Post by sant0sk1 »

Most people don't realize that you can buy AppleCare any time during the first year of ownership. I always wait until the 1-year standard warranty is about to expire before deciding. At that point you have a better idea if the machine is prone to having problems or not.

Also, you can gauge how your hardware is holding up against new technologies that have popped up since you bought it. Perhaps you want to ensure the machine lasts at least 2 more years... perhaps you have your eye on something a little shinier.

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