Applecare vs Warranty

Applecare extends the Warranty, but does it ADD on
more to the warranty that is not naturally protected
by the warranty?

More to the warranty? A MANUFACTURER'S WARRANTY protects your product against all product DEFECTS - their software and hardware.

I feel like when I call apple and
say that I purchased my laptop a week ago without
applecare, they treat me like I'm a poor ******* and
underpriviladged.

That is a very serious claim. I understand if you are mad or frustrated, but to allege that you were discriminated or treated poorly are very serious accusations to make.

I know I can wait to purchase
applecare until 90 days, so that I wont be charged
for calling them but does it REALLY add more
protection to it(besides an extra year).

You are mistaken. You can wait until 364 days from your product purchase to purchase your AppleCare Extended Warranty.

Keep in mind the 90 days of "phone support" are for customer support concerns regarding use and software problems. Your warranty covers all calls where you call to get your computer repaired: i.e. Keyboard does not work.


Applecare is an extended warranty. It extends full phone support and full warranty coverage for 3 years from the purchase of your device.

You can go online and read the exact terms and specifications. It would be unfair for anyone here to read you the terms and conditions of the warranty.




Maybe it would be helpful to explain how you were treated "poorly". Maybe list your issue, and how they did not meet your needs.

Similar to the previous response, my understanding is that Applecare basically extends your phone help from 90 days to 3 years (from purchase) and your hardware warrenty from 1 year to 3 years.

I have read mixed reviews on experiences with Apple's support and repair service. You have a right to your opinion and I think it is good to share.

Although I have been very disappointed with the reliability of 2 Powerbooks that I have purchased in the last 6 months, I would rate Apple's help desk as top notch and the mail-in repair service also as good; although I wonder about their quality check.

Call the help line for some computer companies and you get to talk to someone in southeast Asia. Each time I call Apple support, I get to talk to someone in the US, which I really appriciate! They have also been very curtious and helpful. Of course I don't complain to them...what's the use of that?

Based on my experience with reliability, I would suggest that you shell our the extra $$ for the Applecare and reconsider your hardware choice in the future, like me.

In the past I've had great results with AppleCare service but the last two experiences I've had were negative.

Also, I'd like to pass along a specific warning to all AppleCare customers. It doesn't say anything about it in the AppleCare agreement but any pro-rated refund from an AppleCare cancellation is credited to the ORIGINAL purchaser. If you purchase a used computer with AppleCare and want to cancel the warranty, don't expect to receive a refund. You should basically assume it's a non-refundable membership. In my situation, my employer purchased my computer as part of my employment compensation for the year. Thus I OWN the computer as well as the AppleCare and I'm free to use or transfer ownership as I please. However, when I tried to cancel the AppleCare, they would only credit the refund to my employer. Period. I've sold the computer and upgraded to a new one, but I can't get my pro-rated refund as the agreement clearly states. If you find yourself getting a computer from an employer, be sure to purchase it yourself and get them to reimburse. It doesn't make any sense, but that's the way Apple does it nonetheless.

MacBook Pro 2ghz Mac OS X (10.4.8)

MacBook Pro 2ghz Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Evan,

It is unfair to shed a negative light on your experience with the transfer of AppleCare in a situation that is presumably uncommon, but otherwise ABSURD!

Your situation is unique. Since you didn't "PAY" for the computer, rather it was compensation, your company has every right to regain the AppleCare policy funds... NOT YOU.

If they bought you a company car with 15,000 mile per year extended mileage, and you only wanted 12,000 you wouldn't be able to collect the money THEY PAID... that is not your right.

For your future avoidance of such a situation, I would suggest asking your employer for an "allowance" as opposed to a direct product compensation.



Your thread SHOULD bright light to a wonderful thing Apple does... Prorate its return of Apple care... meaning if someone isn't satisfied, they are returned monetary compensation for the service they didn't pay for (remaining months).

I don't think my opinion is highest rated.

I'm not the one that asked for a definition of the manufacturer's warranty, nor someone who thought he was entitled to money for something he didn't pay for.

I find it unreasonable that you would think either questions were reasonable... then again, that's my opinion, which I have the right to have.

I answered your question specifically and politely. Whether it was as polite to your liking that is for your to judge. I understand that you may take ALL CAPS as shouting, or my way of scolding someone, but understand it is the easiest way to emphasize something here... from now on I will use boldface for your viewing pleasure. At no time did my post digress from your concerns, and I did make mention that it is a very serious (see got that boldface down) claim to say that Apple treated you like you were poor and underprivileged.

I also pointed out that you have 1 year from the day you purchased your computer to sign up for AppleCare if you wished, as you had the common misconception that you must purchase it within 90 days.

So to you, my post was very professional and I do not understand why you would think that it was not, nor think I was "bashing you".

Going onto the second post:

The only comment that you can consider bashing is the fact that my opinion was that it was absurd that Evan displayed "AppleCare" in a negative light based on his story. His story was quite unique, and was not one regarding "technical assistance" rather "ownership assistance". The post was off topic, and did not provide your question with any "true" support - answering your original question of "what benefits does owning AppleCare have over a standard warranty".

So I find it unreasonable that you are now chastising me for judging me based on my posts. I must go now, I'm due for a spanking...

homertime33
I totally agree with you .

Let me point out that there are a number of circumstances where this unwritten policy would come into play. I would imagine, for example, that many people receive computers as gifts. They too, would not receive a refund. Then there are people who purchase a USED computer with AppleCare. They also cannot get a refund - even if the AppleCare agreement has been properly transferred into their name. Then there are people who paid for the AppleCare with a credit card and then at a later date closed that account. They also, would not be able to get a refund - as crazy as that sounds.

You may think it's absurd, but it just happened to me and who knows how many other people. My point was that there is no way to know about this policy since it's UNWRITTEN and specifically NOT mentioned in the AppleCare agreement.

Even though I think the policy is ridiculous, my main complaint is that I didn't know about it. If I had, I would have handled the sale of my old Powerbook differently. I was simply trying to alert other people that this hidden policy exists. Sorry if that offended anyone.

Your suggestion about an employer allowance is exactly right, by the way. And if I had known about AppleCare's policy in advace that's precisely what I would have done.

I'm not generally an extended or after-market warranty guy, and as an IT professional I can generally solve my own problems.

I always recommend serious consideration of an extended warranty for a laptop.

I have purchased two Apple laptops and two desktops, and decided go to with AppleCare for all four. I am glad that I did and feel that money was well spent. I have delt with the local Apple store as well as telephone support, and feel the local store has gone above and beyond for me on more than one occasion. I think it might have something to do with AppleCare though I have no way to know for sure.

Apple isn't perfect, and there are certainly some things that I take them to task for, but compared to my experience with Dell and others, I am really glad I've switched to Mac.

I feel like when I call apple and
say that I purchased my laptop a week ago without
applecare, they treat me like I'm a poor ***** and
underpriviladged.

That is a very serious claim. I understand if you are mad or frustrated, but to allege that you were discriminated or treated poorly are very serious accusations to make.

I don't think it's that serious really. Though the people who man the phones at Apple are generally helpful and pleasant, let's try not to forget that a very important part - if not the most important part - of their job is to be salespeople. While it is likely that the poster is a bit over-sensitive to the methods the salespeople at Apple employ to try to get you to buy Applecare, companies makes a tremendous amount of money off of these extended warranties, which is precisely why every retail business from Best Buy to Apple to Radio Shack tries to get you to buy into it. It has nothing to do with "customer care." So no, it is not a "serious accusation," it is merely a slightly reactionary observation. My feeling on such warranties is that the more a company tries to push you towards and extended warranty, the less faith they have in their product. It's like a perverse, passive-aggressive extortion.

I feel like when I call apple and
say that I purchased my laptop a week ago without
applecare, they treat me like I'm a poor ***** and
underpriviladged.

That is a very serious claim. I understand if you are mad or frustrated, but to >allege that you were discriminated or treated poorly are very serious >accusations to make.

what is this? a tribunal?

I for one completely agree with the OP on this. the experience of dealing with apple when you don't have apple care can rarely be compared favourably to when you do..

a friend of mine is a certified apple solutions expert (pro), and it's a fact that apple make a lot of effort to train their dealers to sell apple care with every hardware sale. my friend has told me about the apple reseller conferences he goes to, and they push this line quite hard - apple care is a very profitable sale compared to the thin margins of hardware. it may interest you to know that one of the very techniques they suggest to dealers to use, in order to get an apple care sale, is to explain to the customer that if they have a problem and they have apple care, they will receive red-carpet treatment.. their call will be answered much faster when they quote an apple care number, and they are shunted to a higher tier of service with more authority and autonomy to get the ball rolling immediately on repairs or tech support.

there was nothing 'serious' about the OP's 'accusation'. it was just an astute observation of how it really is.