Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

How long should a Mac last?

I bought a Macbook Pro in April 2010 and just found out that I need to have the logic board replaced. This computer cost me almost $3000 when I bought it and is now going to cost me another $700 to fix.


I am not happy about this. When you buy a $3000 piece of computer equipment, you expect it to last, at the very least, until it's obsolete. My wife has a 3 yr old DELL laptop that is still functioning perfectly well. My 6yr PC is still going as well as when I bought it, and it is powered on 24/7.


I guess what bothers me the most about this is that this is my first apple mac and I expected it to be of superior quality to its competitors. And for apple to be a superior company in terms of customer support. I was clearly wrong.


How long do you expect your mac to last?

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.4)

Posted on May 23, 2012 10:13 PM

Reply
88 replies

Jan 17, 2017 10:09 AM in response to Soto

thats a buch of BS nobody should have to pay $200 for AppleCare if the logic board fails Apple should replace for free no matter how old it is or etc. All Apple does is they want your money then they act say go "away, were not reponsible for this." I bought the apple care once and never they never helped me fix my iPhone that has a cracked screen and doesn't help when i had issues with the MacBook air so i had to go out and buy a new MacBook air. Soto all your saying is he needs to buy apple care which shouldn't have tooo the products apple sells are already overpriced so we shouldn't have to pay for apple care its a bunch of BS!!

May 23, 2012 10:27 PM in response to Gman001

Well I feel bad that you have to replace your logic board, but anything could have caused it to fail. all computers are prone to breaking down here and there. Though your computer is already two years old I use an iMac bought in 2008 and it is going strong with zero problems. Though I do not use PC's, I must say that for every Mac that breaks down I have heard of countless PC's breaking down, and I'm not saying that as a jab. I have been using Apples since 1984, and out of the 12 computers and more iOS devices I have owned, only once did I have to repair anything, and it was something that I did, and not the computers fault. Most of my friends that were strictly PC users switched to Mac because they were constantly dealing with broken computers, they haven't looked back since. But like I said a logic board problem could have been caused by anything. You were not clearly wrong because you had ONE problem with a two year old laptop that gets carried here and there. Also, it is a smart investment to get the 3 year apple care plan just in case, of you had gotten it the logic board would have been $0. Good luck with the new logic board, keep your computer clean and I'm sure you will be happy.

May 23, 2012 10:39 PM in response to Gman001

How long do you expect your mac to last?


1987 SE/30 still cute, still works.

1995 Performa 6300. Not cute. Works.

1999 iMac. Tangerine. Runs Panther.

2000 iMac. More tasteful color.

2001 DV SE. Made many iMovies. Recently retired.

2002 Powerbook G4

2003 Powerbook G4 17" - still in daily use

2004 iMac (brother's)

2005 iMac (other brother's)

2005 iMac (sister - in law's) (they're becoming converts all at once)

2007 iMac (Dad's - couldn't stand that tangerine color any longer)

2011 MacBook Pro (maybe John's right about Macs after all)

2011 iMac (this one)

2011 MacBook Air (2011 was a good year)


Oh yes, an original 1984 Macintosh. Given to brother, who sold it. Worth thousands today. Not giving him any more.


Numerous Apple printers, iPads, iPods, iPhones, other stuff.


Not a single problem with any of the above. I expect the more recent of them to become functionally obsolete long before anything breaks.


Perhaps it's you?


I have also had two Windows PCs since 2007. One died after three years, the other was in warranty repair four times. It never worked right anyway. I turn it on now and then to remind myself how bad things could be.

May 23, 2012 10:38 PM in response to Gman001

I always sell them when they're working and upgrade. My first MacBook Pro, the 'original,' I kept for 6 years and someone bought it and is still using it. The thing is that I always buy AppleCare - which gives me a three year warranty from date of purchase. I recommend it to everyone. I know that hindsight is 20/20, but, had you bought AppleCare, your logic board would have been replaced free of charge.


Sorry about your plight, though,


Clinton

May 23, 2012 10:40 PM in response to Gman001

I've considered all my Macs bought this century, which have always had the AppleCare 2-year warranty extension, to have a minimum 3-year lifetime thanks to it. On the 4th year, I wing it coverage-free, expecting to replace them sometime in that period, waiting for the release of the next hardware update. It has worked fine in 3 of the 4 Mac portables I have owned since 2000. Like yours, my Early 2008 MBP had a logic board failure last December and I replaced it with the current one.


In the 90's I had 3 Mac portables, none with AC, but none had catastropic failures. Each lasted at least 3 years apiece in daily use. Of all 7, all but the one that fried still work. Yeah, the attic is filling up...

May 23, 2012 10:54 PM in response to clintonfrombirmingham

clintonfrombirmingham wrote:


Nah, I used to buy them off eBay for $20 or so and turn them into aquariums!

Oh, the blasphemy! User uploaded file Moderator, please dock this sacrilegous apostate with at least -5,000 points for such a sin!! User uploaded file

clintonfrombirmingham wrote:


I had a 5300cs that had massive problems - the screen fell out

Yeah, I too had the screen in my hand one day after the hinges broke off. But got a spare internal frame from my AASP and put it back together myself. Still works, btw.

May 24, 2012 3:41 AM in response to John Galt

1987 SE/30 still cute, still works.

1995 Performa 6300. Not cute. Works.

1999 iMac. Tangerine. Runs Panther.

2000 iMac. More tasteful color.

2001 DV SE. Made many iMovies. Recently retired.

2002 Powerbook G4

2003 Powerbook G4 17" - still in daily use

2004 iMac (brother's)

2005 iMac (other brother's)

2005 iMac (sister - in law's) (they're becoming converts all at once)

2007 iMac (Dad's - couldn't stand that tangerine color any longer)

2011 MacBook Pro (maybe John's right about Macs after all)

2011 iMac (this one)

2011 MacBook Air (2011 was a good year)


Well I hope you are getting a nice dividend for your commitment 🙂


Perhaps it's you?

I did press control-alt-delete one day, just to see what would happen 😉 Are macs really that fragile?

May 24, 2012 3:50 AM in response to Gman001

There is a bit of a contradiction here. The general consesus is, albeit by only a handful of people, that macs are pretty reliable. But at the same time you are all buying AppleCare.


Can no one else see the irony here? Apple has built its brand on quality, reliablity and beauty, but at the same time only offer a 1yr warranty on their hardware. Why is that? It's because we're suckers.


If macs are SO reliable, include a decent warranty period!


Anyway, this has become a bit of a rant, so I'll sign off.

May 24, 2012 4:46 AM in response to Gman001

Steve and Steve (Jobs and Wozniak) were the first to offer a one-year warranty on a computer. I'm not sure what PC vendors offer - I think that Dell offers a one-year warranty, as well, though. AppleCare is great - it's much cheaper, for obvious reasons, for desktops like the iMac than it is for notebooks. A three-year warranty, without additional service agreements, is difficult, if not impossible, to find on any notebook I would think.


Let me know if I'm wrong, though.


With Apple, you pay for innovation - not really the cost of parts plus markup. Take Thunderbolt - it's just now finding it's way onto PC laptops. Apple innovates, everyone else plays catch-up. And that's what you pay for. It's always been that way with Apple which is probably why the Apple 'fans' take the company to heart.


There's no contradiction that I see.


Regards,


Clinton

May 24, 2012 6:00 AM in response to Gman001

Knowledgeable people typically don't buy AppleCare. It's just another extended warranty, which in the long run will not pay off. (If an extended warranty on any device paid off for the customer, the company selling it would be losing money on it, and would not sell it.) The only way AppleCare may pay off, barring unforeseen but rare failures, would be the free tech support calls. Someone who needs a lot of hand-holding from Apple and doesn't live near an Apple Store could really get a lot out of that.


As to the 1 year warranty, most consumer electronics in the US have 1 year warranties. It's fairly standard. It would be nice if Apple gave a longer warranty, but discussing Apple policy is not what these forums are for, and in fact is specifically forbidden by the Apple Support Communities Terms of Use.


I can chime in that I've been using Macs since 1984 and have only had one hardware failure in all that time (not counting the Mac I dropped on a concrete floor or hard drive failures). But I get the idea that you are more interested in complaining than in getting actual feedback, since you seem uninterested in hearing that Macs are actually quite reliable. If all you want to do is complain about Apple, you'll find this is not a place where you will find much sympathy.

How long should a Mac last?

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple ID.