extended warranty worth it?

Paul thank you for that revelation!! i shall be looking it into it fist thing monday morning!! But isnt it quite cheeky of Apple to offer extended warranty on hardware that is a few thousand ponds or dollars to buy??? It should be you get what you pay for and should be built to the highest standards without the cop out phrase 'Within our design specs' from Apple. Come on Apple i purchased your hardware on the grounds that you make great products straight outta the box. You shouldnt take your new found fame of the new Macbook/MBP fanbase for granted.

Stu

If you're going off to college, check the price of Apple Care on the ed site. I believe it is cheaper than $300 - $239 to be exact. As a college professor with students filling my classrooms with notebook computers, stuff just happens unexpectedly and I've seen more notebooks damaged inadvertly by use in a classroom than just about anything else. My favorite is when the guy sitting next to you spills his coffee on your keyboard. Pay for the peace of mind. Odds are good that you will need to use the warranty at least once and paying for it out of pocket is a real bummer.

Some things to keep in mind:

While credit cards may provide cheaper or better hardware replacement options, they do not offer telephone technical support. Without applecare, who will help you configure your new wireless internet connection at school? Who will walk you through troubleshooting a wireless printing issue? When your computer will not boot up past the grey apple screen, who will help you troubleshoot it so that you do not lose all of those projects you have not backed up?

Applecare is far more than 3 years of hardware coverage. It is peace of mind that when you really need help, you can pick up the phone and not have to worry about having the $49 to pay for support (that is what it costs without Applecare after your first 90 days.)

Also, since you are a student, applecare does not cost you $349. It is more like $239.

Yes. Accidents happen in the most innocent of places; however, I don't think your neighbor spilling coffee on your MB/P is covered under AppleCare. It would be great if it covered accidental damages such as this!

Hi robgoesvroom,
Welcome to Apple Discussions.

Hey, me too. I got my new MBP a few days ago. The difference is that I picked up mine from the Apple Store 'cuz my old one needed a part that was on back-order and unavailable. With 4 months left of my extended AppleCare and an unrepairable PB, I have a new computer and another year of complementary hardware support. The refund check is on the way for the unused portion of my AppleCare Protection Plan. (Call for a refund if you don't still have the covered equipment.)

The normal one year of coverage was up in September of 2005. Another year through a credit card would have been up in 2006 and the part wasn't available, anyway without an extended wait (I'm told.) The software, pre-installed, was re-installed and I was sent on my way with a smile a few hours after the new one was pulled from stock. Repaired or replaced at Apple's discretion... this worked-out quite well for me and others.

On the other hand, my buddy got a new iMac and he lost the logic board a year after the first year's complementary coverage. $1200!

That's my C$ 0.02. I hope it helps you.

Spilled coffee isn't covered by APP; but, can be by a rider on your home-owner's policy. Talk to your insurance agent who will be overjoyed to amend your policy.

Cosmetic damage, accidental damage and damage as the result of ignorance, neglect, or stupidity is beyond AppleCare Protection Plan coverage.

I have a no food policy in my school. I always thought it was an issue with waste. Now, I see there can be another benefit to my 'lectric book.

Credit cards' extended warranty service is GOOD, but, as far as I know, credit cards can cover the repair of Macs only for 1 years after the expiration of the basic 1 year warranty. A laptop gets less reliable as one uses it, and, in my experience, there was a bigger chance of repair around 3 years after the purchase of a laptop. Although I knew about credit cards' extended warranty, I decided to purchase Applecare. I did not want to pay $400 for a LCD panel part only. Also, I might cance or not renew my credit card.

Some online sellers including those on eBay sell Applecare for Macbook Pro for as low as $240. I purchased my Applecare for about $170 including shipping fee from an online store (this seller has Applecare remaining only for other Macs).

MBP 15.4" (CD, Week 17, 2GHz, 2GB Samsung RAM, 80GB Seagate HDD) Mac OS X (10.4.9)

"Surprisingly there is no catch, just benefit"

There is a catch: the vast majority of users (approaching 90%) do not make a warranty claim, and the money paid to Apple is additional revenue (and profit) for them. The gross margin on the extended warranty is greater than on the product itself.

I'm not sure your "catch" is a catch, but rather a business/product model. There isn't a good company in existance that is in business to give stuff/services away for free.

Without applecare, who
will help you configure your new wireless internet
connection at school? Who will walk you through
troubleshooting a wireless printing issue? When your
computer will not boot up past the grey apple screen,
who will help you troubleshoot it so that you do not
lose all of those projects you have not backed up?

The wonderful people here on the Apple Discussion Boards?

Personally, I rely on the extended warranty that comes with my credit card. I have not had to call on it but I also sell my computers after around 1 to 1 1/2 years to upgrade to the next model. (Not because of profligacy but because of the incentives the Australian tax system provides to do this.)

But it does cover the screen damage that occurs when someone swirls around and their backpack knocks your laptop off the desk and onto the floor.

Real stories: I've 4 Intel Macs. Three of them are notebooks (2 MB and 1 MBP). All three are first revisions. All three of them have needed warranty service of some sort. In two out of three cases the warranty service wasn't needed until after the 12 month factory warranty expired. One involved a bad screen; another a power supply that went south. PS might have been a cheap repair; the screen was another matter. The Applecare warranties have paid for themselves already.

Another point. I use American Express for all my computer purchases. The claim process is tedious and you'll be out of service for generally longer than you'd be if you need Apple service and have a local store. This has been my experience; others' may differ. It took two weeks to get authorization for a repair on a different brand laptop. So far, none of my Apples have been out of my sight for 24 hours and all of my claims have been made, in person, at Apple Stores.

Dell used to provide great service. Not anymore. One of the reasons I switched to Apple.