How long should a Mac last?

Well in that case. Never buy a warranty extension and hope all goes the way you hope. The end. But don't start a new thread when something over the price of AppleCare breaks. I for one get AppleCare, and it has paid off. To each their own. I don't usually like to just hope nothing happens.

Then, in Australia, you might be protected if the law doesn't enforce limited warranties as it does in the US. My reasoning, as pertains to warranties, is that I seldom buy them unless I'm buying an item that I know that I could not afford to repair or replace within the given limited warranty period given the period of time that I expect the item to be in use. That's why I buy AppleCare. Things fail. Hard drives, logic boards, etc. It's a rare occurrence with Apple products, to be sure: I had my first MacBook Pro for 6 years, as I've mentioned, and it only had to have the fans replaced at $17 each.

I live in a nursing home now but I'm hoping to get out within the next year. And when I get an apartment, I'll pay for renter's insurance. If my MBP is stolen, it will be replaced. And if my logic board bellys-up, it will be replaced.

Everyone that sells electronics these days is trying to make money selling extended warranties. I use the rule of thumb above to decide if I actually need one. In the case of a $3,000 laptop, I just feel more comfortable having one. That's just my POV.

Clinton

So you will buy applecare every time you buy a mac? Are you expecting your mac to break within 3 years? If that's the case, why do you keep buying Macs?

I bought my first Mac in 1985. I've had nothing else since then, and I've always bought AppleCare when available. I've only had one major problem with a Mac - a PowerBook 5300cs. The screen just sort of came apart. And I was out of the AppleCare warranty period. But Apple fixed it free of charge because it was a known defect. Still, as I said, it's like a television or a Blue-Ray player (I just bought one of those recently) - if I can't afford to repair or replace it, and I expect to use it for X number of years, I'll buy an extended warranty.

I expect the life of Macs (or any new technology - Apple innovates, others copy) to be around 3 years. I've been surprised when they've lasted so much longer. I keep buying Macs because of, 1) innovation, and, 2) reliability. Does that mean I won't buy AppleCare to assuage my assurance of reliability? Nope, I always buy Macs and I always buy AppleCare.

Clinton

"Steve and Steve (Jobs and Wozniak) were the first to offer a one-year warranty on a computer."

Baloney. Apple had a 90-day warranty, and it was increased only after Apple employees raised the concern that the competition had an edge. The warranty was increased to one-year, in the late-80s, after SJ and SW had left the company.

if you were in my situation, ie. your macbook pro was 2 yrs old, and the logic board broke simply due to a hardware fault. Would you be happy to pay for the repair out of your own pocket? Or would you insist Apple chip in for the repair?

I would not be happy to pay for it, but at the same time, I know what the rules are. One year warranties are very standard, and I chose not to pay for the extended warranty.

That crazy Australian law you referred to probably is difficult or impossible to enforce due to its ambiguity, so just resign yourself to dealing with this problem, hope that the Apple tech you deal with gives you a free repair and be done with it. There's no point trying to convince us that you deserve a free repair or asking us for our opinions on the matter, and that kind of discussion is not what these forums are for anyway.

That's not as the biography of Jobs reads. He was insistent on a one-year warranty for the Apple II.

Jobs also insisted that Apple be different in how it treated customers. He wanted a one-year warranty to come with the Apple II. This flabbergasted Scott; the usual warranty was ninety days. Again Jobs dissolved into tears during one of their arguments over the issue.

Isaacson, Walter (2011-10-24). Steve Jobs (p. 84). Simon & Schuster, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

And, as usual, Jobs won the argument.

And I had a one year warranty on my first Mac in 1985 - far before the "late-80s"

Clinton

Gman001 wrote:

So you will buy applecare every time you buy a mac? Are you expecting your mac to break within 3 years? If that's the case, why do you keep buying Macs?

No, not every time, for instance I don't do it for ipods because i can take my ipod apart and fix hardware in no time and on the cheap, and its usually me breaking a screen from sitting on it or my kids getting a hold on them. But I choose to get it for my computers..which i get every 4-5 years now...not because i HAVE to but i second hand my old computers to my family. In reality my computers (see my first post!) never fail and all still run. and THAT shows how reliable my Macs have been. I'm not going to get into why I choose Macs over PC's because that subject has been beaten to death. But like i said, to spend $180 every 4-5 years for piece of mind is NOT stupid or make me "NOT KNOWLEDGEABLE".

If you actually believe a PC is built better and lasts longer (which IS what you are implying seeing as you have two choices) and that you have no use for a warranty. PLEASE, by all means...don't get another Apple product and go by a PC. You will be much happier, and in the end that is all that matters.

Gman001 wrote:

... So you will buy applecare every time you buy a mac? Are you expecting your mac to break within 3 years? If that's the case, why do you keep buying Macs?

FYI I have never bought AppleCare for any of my Macs. Never. The choice is the buyer's alone and it's not for me to tell someone what to choose.

In my case I chose to "self-insure". The money I chose not to spend on AppleCare for all those computers would easily buy a nice Mac Pro or a couple of really nice iMacs today.

If necessary, out of warranty Mac repair costs are reasonable. PC repairs are often uneconomical because they were junk to begin with.

There is a reason that Apple has ranked first in customer satisfaction for eight straight years, the occasional logic board failure notwithstanding.

See, now I can agree with your comment. It is up to the consumer. Which is why the comments that people are making in this thread that imply that the AppleCare warranty is for stupid people, is just outright wrong. AppleCare is also phone support, which many (and not to judge on age) older people just getting familiar with computers use OFTEN. Can this thread just end. If you want to get AppleCare folks...get it. If you don't...don't. If you think Macs are not built well...get..um a PC 😕.

the comments that people are making in this thread that imply that the AppleCare warranty is for stupid people, is just outright wrong.

Nobody has said anything about AppleCare being for stupid people. You are applying your own interpretation to words that did not remotely imply that.

Thomas A Reed wrote:

the comments that people are making in this thread that imply that the AppleCare warranty is for stupid people, is just outright wrong.

Nobody has said anything about AppleCare being for stupid people. You are applying your own interpretation to words that did not remotely imply that.

But a few pages back...

Thomas A Reed wrote:

Knowledgeable people typically don't buy AppleCare.

And consulting with Roget's Thesaurus:

Knowledgeable

Synonyms: abreast, acquainted, alert, appreciative, apprised, brainy, bright, brilliant, etc.

Antonyms: awkward, foolish, idiotic, ignorant, naive, senseless, stupid, unclever

Yes, this thread has dragged on for too long.

I was going to reply with pretty much the exact same post to him, but...I'm just done with this thread. Cheers everyone.

Yes, of course, by that statement I must have meant that anyone who buys AppleCare is stupid! I couldn't possibly have been referring to people with in-depth knowledge of the topic.

Soto wrote:

applecare $179

Logicboard $700

....Applecare wins

Applecare $179.00

Nothing Broke $0

.....Applecare loses

YMMV