Ask HN: Mac users, do you get AppleCare for your Macs? • Hacker News Board

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

#61

Post by electromagnetic » Sun, May 02, 2010, 3:22 AM UTC

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…

Agreed, students more frequently setup and move their devices compared to the average home user or business user. If you're moving between 4/5 classes per day and moving in crowded halls of people, then the warranty is probably more beneficial, especially considering that many likely can't afford the replacement cost mid-semester.

I generally avoid warranties completely. I seriously hate being asked for certain things, especially purchasing DS games (I've had cartridges survive washer/dryer cycles and being run over by a truck).

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

#62

Post by CamperBob » Sun, May 02, 2010, 3:32 AM UTC

bphogan wrote: post #30

I'm not making this up. Intern of mine spilled 32oz of soda on his mbp. He dumped as much out of his keyboard as he could but it wouldn't come back on the next day. You're not hiding that from Apple. His machine was on year 3 and had a few screen issues too. He figured he'd send it in under applecare and see what they said. They fixed it. Replaced the keyboard, replaced the screen, replaced the trackpad. No questions…

Interesting; one of Jobs' famous email zingers was directed at someone who was refused AppleCare service after getting his MBP wet.

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

#63

Post by [deleted] » Sun, May 02, 2010, 3:43 AM UTC

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…

[deleted]

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

#64

Post by stretchwithme » Sun, May 02, 2010, 3:59 AM UTC

masterj wrote: post #50

stretchwithme wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

yep. $80 each. a known problem, they said. yeah, that new design looks a lot more robust

There's a newer design that they're using on the new laptops, similar to (but sleeker than) the air adapter pictured above. http://www.notebookcheck.net/typo3temp/pics/d4598c4081.jpg

awesome, thanks.

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

#65

Post by pinko » Sun, May 02, 2010, 4:00 AM UTC

orangecat wrote: post #12

No. Assuming the seller isn't stupid, insurance has a negative expected value. You should still buy it if the loss you're protecting against would catastrophic, which is the case for health and homeowner's insurance, and is absolutely not the case for a Mac. I've owned around 10 Macs in the last 15 years. Foregoing AppleCare has "saved" me over $2000, and the damage that would have been covered had I bought it is les…

I mostly agree, but would say, "Assuming the seller isn't stupid or you have information they do not...", which is sometimes the case. E.g., you know you'll be subjecting the device to conditions that contribute to failure but don't void the warranty.

For example, I recently bought a comprehensive SquareTrade warranty for my Roomba because they priced it as a "vacuum cleaner", when in fact I know that the Roomba (a) an immature technology compared to most vacuums and (b) more likely to fall or be knocked down the stairs. I did the math and decided the odds of this thing dying or being killed in the first three years were greater than the warranty/purchase price ratio.

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

#66

Post by bcl » Sun, May 02, 2010, 4:13 AM UTC

For my MacBook, yes. For my Mini, no.

My rationale is that laptops are more fragile than desktops so the extra protection is worth the expense. Its been 2 years now and I haven't needed it yet though :/

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

#67

Post by andrewljohnson » Sun, May 02, 2010, 4:36 AM UTC

The motherboard on my MacBook just fried. I don't have AppleCare, but Apple fixed it for free, well outside of any warranty.

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

#68

Post by lleger » Sun, May 02, 2010, 5:09 AM UTC

Absolutely — AppleCare has paid for itself multiple times over every time I've purchased it.

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

#69

Post by rogermugs » Sun, May 02, 2010, 5:10 AM UTC

for me reimbursing applecare is easier than every problem it will have down the line, even if the later problems are cheaper. - YES

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

#70

Post by jexe » Sun, May 02, 2010, 5:14 AM UTC

Yes. My macbook is the single most important device that I need to do my job. It goes pretty much everywhere I go, and I will use it every day until its untimely demise / upgrade.

It's worth paying a little extra to help ensure my source of income doesn't go up in smoke (literally?).