Should I purchase a Best Buy warranty ($400) with a MacBook
I plan on purchasing a new MacBook from Best Buy. Best Buy offers a 3 year warranty for $400. It covers basically everything including accidental damage and surge protection. If they can't fix it, they will replace it. Does anyone have experience with Best Buy warranties? Is it worth an extra $400? With the warranty it will bring the price of my new MacBook up to $1700. YIKES!!!!
You're covered for the first year by Apple. You have until that year is up to purchase the extended applecare. If you can't afford applecare when you purchase the laptop, get it sometime before the first year is up.
sueinvenice wrote:
how do the sellers on amazon offer applecare for less than mac stores?
That's a good question - and the answer is that the list price of Applecare, which is what Apple sells it for, is way more than Apple charges dealers for it.
One step more in the deductive chain and you'll realize that AppleCare is overpriced. But it's probably still a good idea, at least on laptops, since Apple parts and repairs are even MORE overpriced.
I would definitely NOT purchase Best Buy protection. I always decline those extended offers, but I know several people, including my wife, who purchased it and was met with extreme push back and reluctance to actually fulfill the terms of the extended warranty when they tried to make a claim.
I just bought a macbook too, and given the price I paid, I will be purchasing applecare.
Just to clarify my earlier point. As a former Best Buy employee who was periodically pressured by department managers to sell service plans at any cost, I can assure you that they are generally a rip-off. (Don't even get me started on the ways BB expects its employees to act like commissioned salespeople without actually giving them commissions) Best Buy pushes the extended warranties, because they are the single biggest way the company can improve its margins. By and large, service plans are all profit. After they're sold, the company does EVERYTHING it can to avoid making good on claims. When I worked in the Geek Squad, I was explicitly told to give customers a hard time: to delay service, try to convince the customer that everything was fine, or to obfuscate as much as possible. Turn around times are terrible, and there is little, if any, support for the end user at the corporate level. Granted, these are one man's observations while working at two stores here in southern Arizona. Still, I would urge you to stick with Applecare and avoid Best Buy's plans like the plague...unless you are exceedingly tenacious and don't mind waiting for multiple weeks/months for repairs/service. True, Applecare doesn't cover accidental damage, but my experience has always been that there is some wiggle room. Plus, Apple's customer support is second to none, in my opinion, and the value of the phone support has inestimable value. Caveat emptor wth BB.
I bought Applecare and added my MacBook to my State Farm Homeowners rider. It cost me $14 a year for full coverage. I have already replace my iPhone with them due to a friend dropping it. The iPhone cost me $8 a year. I am very happy to be TOTALLY COVERED !!
Thanks for everyones help. I purchased my MacBook last night and decided not to purchase the Best Buy warranty. I will purchase an AppleCare warranty at the apple store.
You can buy an AppleCare Protection Plan somewhere other than Apple. If you call the
LA Computer Compnay and ask for the "web special" price, it's only $180. If you want, they'll even open the box and read you the enrollment number and you can
enroll the plan online while they're still on the phone and then you'll save the price to ship you the box.
