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AppleCare for PowerBooks - Worth it or Wasted?
Starquake asks: "I am planning on purchasing a PowerBook in the near future. The choice between models largely depends on whether or not the cost of AppleCare is included. Of course the salesman at the Apple Store suggested I purchase AppleCare, but I am not sure about the cost/benefit ratio. Would the PowerBook owners on Slashdot please advise me on whether or not the AppleCare plan is worth the extra cost? What types of experiences have you had with Powerbook failures and replacements?"
Remember that all their computers come with a year warranty no matter what. During that year you can still buy the AppleCare and extend it out to the full 3 years. So you could theoretically see how you feel about it after a year and if you think AppleCare for two more years is needed.
I don't have a Powerbook, but I do have an iBook, and I've had some hardware problems with it. Every time I have had to take it in I had no hassle with parts replacement and it was totally free. So the care they do provide seems to be pretty good, at least in my experience.
If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe. -- Carl Sagan
Also, how about those of us who have owned a PowerBook Apple Care free for a while. Unfortunately Apple Care begins at the date of your hardware purchase not your Apple Care purchase. This leaves me wondering if I should purchase Apple Care after I have owned my Power Book for a year and half or not. Is it worth it for 1 1/2 - 2 years of coverage?
And for your statistics whizzes how about my chances as I move overseas. Will my moving across an ocean to a strange place increase the probability of needing such a service. Of course the 800 numbers they give probably aren't worth as much to me where I'm going.
It's insurance. Decide if you want insurance.
Personally, I'd get extended AppleCare, and use that as a selling point when I unload it on ebay two years later.
There are no trails. There are no trees out here.
This doesn't have to do with a PowerBook (though I own one now), I still think it applies.
First off, your PB will come with one year of AppleCare. That extra charge is for 2 more years. That rule applies to all Apple hardware.
I bought my PowerMac and didn't purchase the extended AppleCare. One month before the warranty expired, my CPU's got fried. So I took it to the store, replaced them for free, and gave me a receipt.
Apprarently, with parts and labor this came out to an over $800 repair. I immediately purchased two more years of AppleCare.
BTW you can purchase it anytime during that first year. You dont have to buy it with the computer.
But anyways, I figured if Apple is going to charge that much to do repairs, you're better off paying a couple of hundred dollars than eight, especially considering repairs to portables are probably more expensive.
Vonal Declosion
well, I believe I am completely qualified to discuss this subject, since I've never owned a powerbook. ;-)
Whenever I've needed help from apple for a machine under warrenty, it's been great. Otherwise I'm on my own. for instance my mouse cable broke inside and the dude sent me a new one, few questions asked... I took the old one apart and kept the superbright LED and the mouse button switch (same as used in many other products such as my broken logitech trackball! Yay!)
so extrapolating from my experiences I'd say get the applecare.
... get applecare unless you need it. If you do have a problem within the first 90 days (I believe), then it will most likely be covered by the warranty. After the initial warranty is up, you have until one year after the purchase date to buy applecare. I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that applecare lasts for three years after you purchase it. So would it may be smart to wait until the last minute to buy the extended warranty. What you think?
you play the odds. what are the odds that a something w/o moving parts is gonna break in a computer. in my experience, fairly slim.
things that break are typically HDs and optical drives. if you subscribe to this theory than there is no way Apple Care is worth it.
if you think that stuff like LCDs and motherboard will go bad with use and time than Apple care is probably worth it.
out of the 5 Apple computers i've purchased, i've never bought apple care and never had a non-moving part go bad on me.
at work i had a mac's built in NIC go bad, but it was within the one year warranty. i also had a power supply go bad, that wasn't under warranty. it cost $150 to replace. personally i think that if a non-moving part doesn't go bad within a year, it's unlikey to go bad within three.
I admin an office full of Macs, including about a dozen powerbooks of various vintages. I can't say it plainer than: Get The Freaking Warranty. They aren't bad machines, but they are expensive ones. One repair will repay your investment twice over at least.
I know from experience. I'm writing this from a TiBook 400 with 5 1-pixel wide colored lines running vertically across the screen. $1100 to fix it. Needless to say, I didn't approve the order (it's from our other office actually).
Insanity is the last line of defence for the master diplomat. But you have to lay the groundwork early.
Never buy an extended warranty/service plan/whatever.
The company has done its math, and priced the warranty so that on average they make a handsome amount of money. Do you think PC makers are making a profit on $499 machines? Nope. But what about that $99 service plan, representing another 20% of the cost of the machine, which is pure profit if nothing breaks? (the most likely case).
Think of it this way: why would they try to sell you something they would lose money on?
Consider that they wouldn't sell it if they couldn't make money on it. For the cost of an extended warranty, you're paying cost of repair + profit to Apple + commission to salesman. Oh, and opportunity cost for your money as well.
To calculate what they charge for extended warranty, the company uses probability to determine the most likely cost of a repair over X years. It's simple probability math: .05 probability of Y breaking in 1 year, .10 of Z breaking in 2 years, etc. They figure out what the cost is and then tack on profit and commission and offer it to you.
In nearly all cases, it's better to be self-insured. Your mileage may vary, of course...and unfortunately, Apple won't give you the probability formulas they use to make the numbers ;)
Advice: on VPS providers
On a seperate note, does anyone know how to get around Apple's insistance that consumers in Florida aren't eligable for AppleCare?
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
get the Apple Care. That guy is a maniac.
I've had my powerbook for almost 3 years and haven't had a need for the apple care package yet. I've also been extremely rough with it. Throw it in my backpack and toss it in the bed of my pickup truck or under my bed when i get home.
You're milage may vary though.
Altp.
I've had my powerbook since december, and am only covered by the one year warranty. I also have a powermac dual g4 which is approaching the 4 year mark, and have never had an issue with it. The reliability of my tower convinced me that the extended applecare would just be a waste for me.
Since I've had my powerbook I've had two problems. The first was the power adapter pulled away from the plug (they ruled it was abuse, but I contested that it was a design issue with the flexing of the cable, but that's another story). The second issue I had was that I reveived a defective battery. It died about a month and a half after receiveing. I took it in to the campus bookstore, they sent in into apple and I had a new battery within 24 hours.
Applecare is a good thing, but I don't think having it for longer than a year will really make a difference. Most of the warranty related issues I've had with various computers have occured before the warranty expired.
My advice is save your money, and get some insurance on that sucker! Applecare won't take care of any accidents/incidents/mishaps/stickyfingers/natural disasters.
Just my two cents.
PS I'm cheap.
I bought a Powerbook G3 (2000 firewire, pismo). There have been only very minor problems since my purchase.
I had a problem with the backlight develop within the last month of my 1 year applecare and they offered to replace it; however, due to my own negligence, I never took them up on the offer.
My power adapter also fried a month after my 1 year applecare; unfortunately, this was was yo-yo style and was not covered under Apple's recall. I had to purchase a new one ($90) from my own pocket. I'm not sure if Apple would've replaced this under warrenty or not.
With the exception of the screen problem (which is actually quite minor) and the power adapter problem; the machines themselves are built like bricks. I'm also planning on doing an entire revamp of the powerbook with a new screen, upgrade from 400mhz to 900mhz, a new battery and a faster harddrive; I've recently upgraded the machine to 320 megabytes of memory. The machine just turned 3 years old and yet it will be nearly new and for the fraction of the cost to buy a brand-new box.
I have had only a two problems with my iBook that required calling AppleCare (bad logic board, bad power supply) and they were extremely pleasant to talk to. In the case of the logic board, it took them 4 days to replace it. With the power supply, they sent me a new one and had me return the old one in the same box.
While the warranty is an extra cost, it's worth it knowing that they won't give you much hassle if you do need repairs and that Apple will do so quickly and efficiently.
I'd say go for it.
To celebrate the occasion of my 1000th post, I will post no more forever on Slashdot. Goodbye.
I had a used Pismo with no Applecare and after about a week I busted one of the arrow keys. I had the little bit of aluminum that busted off so I called and they said it was out of warranty but send it in anyway. So I did and four days later a package arrived from a local apple shop. It was a new keyboard.
So that may not answer your question but I've had good luck with Apple.
90 days is for phone support. You are covered for a full year for repair.
If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe. -- Carl Sagan
I highly recommend it. I used to work at zones.com. We used to see a lot of people with powerbooks that died and were basically "up a creek". Granted I worked in support and obviously only had experience with the people who had problems, but would you drive your car without insurance? It's worth it. Just do it.
/* oops I accidentally made a comment, sorry */
It's a notebook, which means there's a good chance it's gonna be dropped. If it was a desktop, I'd say skip the warrenty, but since it's mobile, get the warrenty.
AND make sure it's covered by your insurance on the day you bring it home. This advice is from the bitter experiance of having a $20,000 uninsured computer stolen 4 days after receiveing it.
You probably won't have your computer/car/whatever die or have major problems, but you pay a not-too-terrible amount of money so that if something DOES go wrong, you're in the clear.
Yes, it is in Apple's interest profit-wise for you to get the warranty, that doesn't mean it isn't worth it. And, in fact, I think it is worth it.
If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe. -- Carl Sagan
But understand this: anyone who sells extended warranties, makes a profit. On average, you will pay more for the warranty than the amount it saves you. That doesn't mean you're dumb for doing it, but if you have enough reserve cash to be able to handle emergencies yourself, then maybe you should. Hmm.. the rich get richer and the poor get poorer? ;-)
As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
I don't have a Powerbook, I have an iBook. So far AppleCare seems to be a hefty requirement if I am supposed to continue to be able to use this computer in the near future without going bankrupt on continuous repairs.
1. Harddrive broke down. Mailed it in to Apple, they sent it back. I thought the iBook was fine but it turned out to be still broken.
2. Sent it down to Holland and got a replacement iBook.
3. Harddrive broke down again a couple of months later. Got it replaced at a local shop after two weeks of waiting.
4. Harddrive broke down yet a third time! Got it replaced with in days.
5. Months after that the motherboard died! The screen started to become whacky and the local repair shop fixed it.
6. Had to return it once again to the shop because it showed up to be that the audio out jack was bad.
7. I'm about to return it a seventh time because it turned out that the replacement iBook I got back from Holland had some weird shit placed inside of the screen, causing a disturbing crack on the edge -- didn't notice it at first, but I'm doing it now because it's growing as time pass by.
Is AppleCare worth it? Yeah. If I need to take my iBook to the shop seven times a year, AppleCare could probably save me possibly thousands and thousands of dollars.
What's so bad about being lazy? What if there was a war and nobody showed up?
The company I work for has three of them running about.
One had a DVD that ate disks, started in the second year *grind* *grind* *gouge*. Apple Extended paid for itself there.
The second developed an issue with that ridiculous reset button in back, motherboard had to be replaced. I don't even want to know how much Apple Care saved me that time.
The third has run like a dream, never had a problem.
Keep in mind that the original warranty is good for a year on most parts and labor, so you'll be covered if anything really stupid goes wrong. After the first year, each support call costs something in the neighborhood of $49, and most places will charge you $80 just to diagnose your problem (and an additional $80/hr to fix it). Myself, I like to fix computers, so I can usually diagnose the problem myself, and I've always said phone support is for wimps, so I skipped the warranty.
That being said, if your not comfortable hacking around, or if it's a mission-critical computer, don't take the risk--pick up the extra warranty. If it's a hobby/fun computer and you know what you're doing, I'd guess your machine will probably be outdated before you get your money's worth out of the warranty.
It's insurance. Insurance is a losing bet. They make a profit on it. If they are making a profit, then it must be a loss for the buyers (as a group, of course).
The purpose of insurance is not to save money, it's to avoid disaster. That's why insurance on something like a house is a good idea - no because it won't cost you money, but rather so that you're not wiped out if your house burns down.
If you can stand the loss, you're better off in the long run not buying extended warranties. Yes, there will be times when something will break, and you'd have been better off having bought the insurance, but overall, you'll have more money in your pocket if you don't buy insurance on things you can stand (however painful) to lose.
Unless you know that the machine will be subjected to conditions where you know that it will break and be eligible for warranty service, warranties are a waste of time.
Resale Extented Warranties sold by CompUSA or Circuit City retail at a 60-75% margin. In house warranties by companies like Apple or IBM generally retail at 65-80% margin.
Unless you manage to haggle the price of the computer, warranty or accessories so that you are paying 50% or less of the retail cost of the warranty, it is a massive ripoff.
To add insult to injury, most Gold or Platinum credit cards will double a manufacturers warranty up to one year for free! You just need to register.
Also note that coverage for the more common laptop hazards (drops, spills, broken screens) requires a "accident" prevention warranty that is usually very expensive. And even if you buy this warranty, tech support will strongly push you to file a claim against your homeowner, automobile or renters insurance! (Which will raise your rates or make your insurance company drop you)
Whether it is a computer, car, stereo, TV or washing machine, if you cannot afford to replace or repair it after a year or two, you probaly should be buying a cheaper model or saving it for later.
Conformity is the jailer of freedom and enemy of growth. -JFK
I have had my 15" for 2 years and in the last year alone have taken it in for repair 6 times. You never know what will happen. I would still buy the better system now and save for 11 months to buy the apple care.
My theory is that if a hardware component is going to fail, it is most likely to fail in the first year of use. (harddrives excluded) This applies more to desktops than to laptops, but it has proven true even with my iBook. In the first 6 months, the inverter board for the LCD screen failed on my iBook,, and the default applecare took care of it. I have been applecareless for almost a year now, and no problems.
I also believe that after a year of use, it would be hard to prove that a hardware failure is not due to negligence or abuse on the part of the owner anyways. I treated my first iBook pretty hard and it is pretty banged up. In fact, the iBook was my first laptop and I just assumed you could treat it roughly. My dell and IBM toting friends were shocked to find out that I dropped it, multiple times, carried it on a bike in a simple backpack, got the keyboard and screen pretty wet on many occasions next to the shower, and even flung it clear across a room once. Not that I am recommending these activities without making a backup first, but these iBooks are pretty well put together.
My company has 10 iBooks we give out on a regular basis, so they see their share of abuse while moving from room to room and person to person. When we bought them, we talked about getting AppleCare but since we've never had it on other Macs, the management angle was to avoid spending another $3000 to support all of these.
Now, I know the company line that Ni-Cad batteries have no memory. I also have seen on 10 iBooks that if you don't follow good practices of fully charging the laptop and allowing it a few cycles now and then, you'll have 10 batteries with a life of 30 minutes or less within a year. So I've now replaced every battery in my iBooks because of this short-life problem. This IS covered by AppleCare. Free $129 battery if you call and explain your's has no life. In 3 years, I go easily see you going through two or three batteries.
And then...maybe gravity takes hold and one of these laptops happens to "fall." Well, AppleCare will cover the screen and most other parts, so long as physical damage is not evident (no cracked or shattered screen and plastic). We had an LCD completely wig out and fail after the warranty expired. The procedure is this...
You call Apple, and they charge you $50 to talk to them. Then, they decide it needs to get sent back, and you ship it on a credit card which has an estimate of what it might cost. Mine was between $400-800. Two days later I got the iBook back. Two weeks later I got the bill. $869 for a new screen, the repair labor, and shipping.
AppleCare might seem like a waste...and some warranty programs are. But if EVER you need it, you're saving a lot of money in the long run.
-Barkeep, a draft of your most hazardous brew, for the world is slowly stepping into focus, and I don't like what I see.
Insurance is like a casino, it's priced so the house (the insurance company) wins. However, unlike a casino it can be an excellent purchase. If the potential loss would be catastrophic buy the insurance, if not skip it and take the chance. If my house burns down or I am involved in an accident with injuries it would be a catastrophic loss, and I have insurance for those incidents. If my prior 10 year old car was in an accident, I could have afforded another one, so I saved the collision premium. The level of where a potential loss is worth the insurance is something you should decide, in general consumer good insurance is a bad idea since the cost of a new good is something you can afford, but laptops are right at the border of what is worth buying and not worth buying. For your situation it would depend on income, and your willingness to substitute a lower priced computer if you skip the insurance.
Degaussing scares the bad magnetism out of the monitor and fills it with good karma.
AppleCare will ALSO cover any problems you encounter with software that comes installed on your machine - OS X, iDVD, iTunes, iMovie, etc. If you plan on doing things with this apps that are critical to you, then it might be worth it for that alone. I had problems with iDVD and got many hours of phone support through AppleCare until the problem was solved.
I manage 70+ Macs, a good proportion of which are PowerBooks. I make a lot of tech rcommendations and what I say is:
On a desktop, it's up to you. Desktops usually sit in one place, have a healthy airflow through them, and if anything's going to go wrong, often it occurs within the first year (or three months from my experience).
On a laptop, get the AppleCare. Laptops move around all over the place, pack a lot of technology into a little box, and can get damaged anywhere.
It's a small price to pay and you can buy it at anytime within the first year.
i carry my machine with 24/7 and although i try to be carefull i have droped it more than once. with applecare its a no brainer. call or goto an apple store and say "IT NO WORKIE" they take it from there and make it all better.
What happens if I spill a coke all over my open notebook and it ceases to function? Will you hook me up with a new powerbook and/or fix it?
No, that's probably covered under your home owner's insurance, if you have it.
OK, no thanks then.
AZspot
I got my 12" PB in January of this year, and the power adapter died for some unknown reason. Thanks to Applecare, what would have cost me $180 cost me nothing. I have no experience with sending parts in, but the people at the physical Apple Stores are wonderful, and I had no problems getting my power adapter replaced. I have not yet gotten the full 3 year, but based on my experiences in the past 6 months, I am planning to do so this fall.
I work for an authorized repair center in OH ( little mom and pop shop) and I'm an authorized laptop and deskop repair tech and It's totally worth the money.. For example, I bought Applecare on my desktop G4 when I bought it, but have never used it and it's about to expire.. BUT you are thinking of getting a Powerbook.. and they are pretty simple machines.. if any single component died.. (there are only two major ones display and logicboard) they are more than the cost of the Applecare (plus labor). The display itself is over $600 on Apple's site, and the logic board is over $400 and those prices are no joke.. and we've got quite a few machines back recently and for laptops it's totally worth it..
The standard Apple warranty is 1 year hardware support, 90 days telephone support.
:)
You can extened the warranty to a full 3 years from the date of purchase as long as your machine is still under it's 1 year hardware agreement.
so buying AppleCare at the end of the first year doesnt mean you get 3 more years, thats just common misinformation
I say definately get it, but don't bother getting it when you buty the PowerBook. You can add the extra two years to the 1 year standard any time during that first year - or even a little later in my case - giving yourself the time to save up a little more cash.
I've had 3 PowerBooks and repairs are extremely easy with AppleCare. Shipping (really fast shipping), labor and parts, all covered and they usually get it back to you in less than 3 or 4 days. Plus they often fix cosmetic things when you ship it in, a nice bonus.
It's odd, PowerBooks are made so well that you have a tendancy to get really careless with them and then break them doing something for which you think later "what the fuck was I thinking doing that with a *laptop*?!!" When you consider that the extended AC is less than the cost of most PowerBook repairs, it is well worth it.
it will be a perfect excuse to buy a new toy.
I'd definitely recommend getting it right before your first year is up. The most problems I've had so far with the Apple Powerbooks are power adapter related. I take my laptop between home and work and am every day plugging it in and unplugging it.
:)
On my iBook g3, it didn't really like that. I had problems, but the warranty covered it. Currently Apple charges $500-$900 per repair not under warranty, depending on the severity of the problem. So since you get a year with the Powerbook, save yourself some money now. Just circle the date from now in blood red on your calendar.
Also, the batteries tend to die over time with Lithium Ion. Apparently Apple knows all about this and won't blink if you say you need a replacement battery. I'd recommend doing this before your final warranty is up (whenever that is) 'cause they charge an arm-and-a-leg for it. But I still love my Mac
Early Titanium PowerBooks (15" before they called them that) in the 400 to 500 megahertz range G4 processor had problems with the screen developing always-on vertical lines. Apple will charge you around $800 to $1200 to fix this problem. Unfortunately, that's the depreciated value of those powerbooks at this point. Applecare would have taken care of this issue for $50. It took about 18 months before this problem developed widely and powerbook owners were able to corroborate stories that this problem was widespread. I've heard of keyboard-issues with the 12" models, but can't confirm that. My next powerbook will have AppleCare, as this is a piece of business equipment I can't afford to have not work perfectly all the time (kinda like a high availability server).
http://tinyurl.com/4ny52
This year I went to close the display and it appeared like the hinge was fitted around the display, as i closed it the back of the display started to bend. When I called they asked me if the powerbook had any physical damage, this powerbook had seen better days, from use the paint was worn away around where my wrists sit and consistantly throwing it in my backpack and jostling around didn't help the paint, i think they fixed it with the new ones, don't worry!!! not to mention the fact that one month ago my girlfriends mom was moving it off the bed and dropped it cracking the corner (yeah i was mad) i told them all of these problems and two days later, amazingly quick i tell you my powerbook was back in my hands with new outside bezel, back of display, and hinges, my powerbook is practically brand new. So what i can tell you is this, if you plan on using this laptop, i mean really using it, not just as an expensive internet viewer and email machine, get the applecare.
the warranty that comes with it i believe does not cover labor either so i would highly recommend it.
Most credit cards double the manufacturer's warranty (up to a year) automatically. I called my CC co. before buying my last laptop to make sure it would extend the warranty for it, and cover everything the original warranty does. They told me yes and yes.
Since I usually upgrade more often than every two years, I'm always covered without buying extended warranties.
I'm writing this from a tiBook borrowed from another department because my department now has 2 dead tiBooks, including mine. These two have no working screen, which costs $1240 *each* to repair from Apple. Since you can get a new notebook for less, we may not be bothering to fix them.
During the first year, the story was just as ugly. My tiBook went back 4 times for both screen and logic board related issues. Another co-worker in my department had his start smoking while it was on his lap! His had already been back twice and was replaced by Apple after the smoke. The replacement has been back twice. Titanium may be strong and light from a structural perspective, but it's not good notebook material. After the tiBooks were bought (and after the warranty ran out), we instituted a policy of buying the AppleCare on all Apple products.
Since then, our iBook has been back twice, despite being a year and a half old. The last return just got back. The logic board replacement would have cost $955 as it's a year and a half old. Look at the math and you decide.
You can wait to see if the new alBooks are better in quality, but by the time you find out you may be out of warranty if you don't by the extension.
One thing I've thought of is that back when Apple decided to become more of a "consumer oriented" product to try and shake their overpriced image, they not only dropped SCSI and OS support, they cut their warranty down to a year (the amelio years. I wish they would change this). If you think of it as buying the older quality of Apple at a higher price by including the extended warranty, then do it. My boss gets mad about having to buy a warranty, but I'd pay the price that would jump if they made a higher quality notebook. The 500 series would last through years of abuse.
I normally think extended warranties are a scam, but this is a requirement.
I am, and always will be, an idiot. Karma: Coma (mostly effected by
Definitely definitely for your Powerbook. While Apple laptops are pretty reliable (IMHO), anything portable is bound to be beaten and battered into a state of broken-ness. While the price is pretty steep for AppleCare, the service is really good and they will pretty much help you with anything. I have an iBook with AppleCare and it was worth it, considering my screen started blinking out a little while ago. Considering that the repair might have cost several hundred dollars to fix without it and I got AppleCare for about 200 bucks. Got it fixed in about a day.
Of course, if your machine never breaks, then you're probably going to think it was never worth it... but in any case, it will help keep that resale value high if you decide to get rid of it before the warranty is up.
But anyway, I think its worth it.
Sigs are for losers::
One morning, while attempting to unplug my TiBook's power adaptor, I noticed that it was incredibly hot... far more so than usual. I unplugged it, let it sit on the corner to cool down, and noticed that the cord had actually melted near the base of the adaptor!
After it cooled down, it refused to function so having a few months left on my 1 year Apple Care, I took it into one of the retail stores for replacement. They were very nice about it and didn't give me any guff about it, but the warranty replacement took about a week and a half to arrive.
I've seen lots of complaints about power adaptor failures so I would totally recommend picking up an extra adaptor just in case.
I think the meltdown was caused by my accidentally plugging the adaptor in upside down on a powerstrip... very easy to do as it doesn't have a protective guard like 99% of plugs out there.
Even if your plug doesn't die on you, it's very handy to keep an extra one in your laptop case in case you find yourself in a coffeehouse with free WiFi and plugs near each table (ah... Seattle...)
"Under the spreading chestnut tree, I sold you and you sold me."
I used to work for Apple, as an Apple Genius in a retail store; I know the ins and outs of AppleCare very well. I'm admittedly weaker on international AppleCare, however.
Standard warranty, both desktops and laptops, is 90 days phone support and 1 year parts and labor. You may purchase AppleCare, for a varying price dep. on the model, anytime during that first year. Doing so reactivates the phone support (which otherwise expired at the 90 day mark) and continues the hardware+labor to 3 years from the purchase date. Purchasing AppleCare on year+1 day after the purchase of the unit is likely to do you no good; year+1 month almost certainly no good.
AppleCare travels with the unit, not the owner, so it persists through a resale. It expires 3 years from date of original purchase, naturally.
If out of warranty, desktops can be very expensive to repair, depending on the failed part. MLBs + processors are very expensive ($800-$1K); HDs are usually cheaper to replace yourself. Optical drives depend. However: iBooks and PowerBooks, out of warranty, are treated differently. All non-abuse repairs to iBooks cost $280, flat rate. All non-abuse repairs to PowerBooks cost $310, flat rate. That includes any and all parts; MLB, optical drive, HD, etc. Even LCDs--for instance, the horizontal bright line, dim backlights, etc. Now, abuse, or at least determination of abuse by an Apple agent, will change that amount very drastically--Powerbook LCDs are worth closer to $1300, abuse (either in or out of warranty, actually). The abuse qualification naturally gave me lots of argument--but I know it when I see it. A cracked LCD always is. A failed HD wouldn't qualify. A line across an LCD wouldn't qualify, and funky MLB stuff wouldn't usually qualify (as abuse). A drop or a liquid spill is abuse by definition.
Powerbook and iBook owners should be given this same price whenever talking to an Apple employee, be it over the phone or in person at an Apple store. Resellers are free to mark up those costs, and many do. However, for "bright horizontal line" guy in a previous post: either he talked to a misinformed Apple employee, and should talk to another one, or, more likely, talked to a misinformed or overcharging VAR.
As I said, international AppleCare has a number of wrinkles which I never learned very well. And I understood that selling AppleCare into FL was indeed illegal.
I'm afraid that this won't answer the original question: is AppleCare worth it? For that, one would need to know fail rates, which I don't think anyone knows, or has stated publicly. I sure never knew it, and no one that I worked with ever knew it. But those costs of repair should give you a good idea.
--
$tar -xvf
I bought a PowerBook G3 1999 when it first came out, with 3 years of AppleCare. I have to tell you-- it is worth every penny.
1.) I sent in my PBG3 after an electrical storm which fried the ethernet. The entire logic board was replaced. $0.
2.) A while later, the CDROM drive wasn't working properly. I sent in the PBG3, got a new CD drive, and a new 10gig hard drive (it came with 4gig). $0.
3.) I broke off the little door in the back which protects the ports. They replaced the entire bottom enclosure and the door. $0.
Seriously consider investing in a 3+ year AppleCare warranty. You won't be disappointed. The longer the better-- all laptop batteries will go dead eventually.
Well, of the three PowerBooks I've owned (one of which I'm writing this on right now) all had AppleCare, and I only had to send one back (CD-ROM drive crapped out) to Apple. I'm not sure what the current deals are, but I seem to remember CompUSA giving a One Year Warranty on the machines for no additional cost. Since the machine broke within that year, it would have been covered anyway.
Do you travel a lot? Do you move your machine around from one location to the next very often? How long are you going to own the machine for? The more variables come into play, the more the AppleCare will be worth it to you. It is definately not for everyone.
Cheers!
There are two kinds of people in the world: those with loaded guns, and those who dig.
Lithium ion batteries have a limited life span, as I've found out since then. This alone makes AppleCare worth the extra money for laptops, IMO. Desktops? Different kettle of fish altogether; there, I'd probably not worry too much (except perhaps for the LCD monitor -- dead pixels and all that.)
In the end it depends how much you're willing to 'insure' you 'book, and how often you might need Applecare services;
Remember too that some credit card companies add extra coverage when you buy products through them. This might be a good alternative.
AC comments get piped to
It's a very nice deal. They have fantastic service. I've purchased AppleCare on all the Apples I've bought (two), and while I've only needed the repair service on the iBook, because the power connector failed (which was probably my fault, but it's a weakness in the design, and they didn't balk at all about repairing it).
On my G4, when I couldn't figure out how to get it back to life after a power glitch, I called AppleCare, someone answered within about a minute, and they were able to get me back up and running in another minute by telling me how to open it up and what little button to press on the motherboard.
I am not exactly a beginner, so the fact that I've been able to benefit from their phone support is pretty impressive. I really can't recommend them enough - they really do a nice job, and I feel like it's a bargain at $299.
I have AppleCare on all our machines.
I especially like AppleCare for PowerBooks because they must be repaired as an integrated unit. If a display goes dead on a PowerMac I can always plug in someting else, but not on a laptop. (Ok it it is on the desk and the video card didn't fail).
Don't forget, AppleCare also gets you unlimited problem calls on the Apple trouble line. The benefit is not just hardware repair.
My PB G4 667 has required:
-a new battery (drained through heavy usage)
-a new power supply (it just started ticking one day...)
which came to $200 or so.
This doesn't include the power supply I had replaced during warranty either. (Depending on how you use your machine, and in particular how you unplug the power supply, the wires can pull out easily - also happened to my SO's supply as well.)
Most importantly, I'm leaving off the hinge breakage which has put my portable under house arrest - it works fine, but I can't close the case, which doesn't exactly leave it more than take-it-from-the-couch-to-the-bed portable.
I have kicked myself so many times for not shelling out the dough... and for not taking the time to find a plastic screen protector (at least for the 15") to avoid these awful scratches.
I'd say go for it. I have an iBook and I've already had them replace the display cable and one battery, within one year. Apple's service has been amazing, less than 48 hour turnaround time. Now, I don't think these problems should have occurred in the first place, but you can probably expect something unexpected to happen, especially with new models. Consider that one repair will cost more than Applecare.
As another poster commented, you can try it out and then extend it for up to two more years anytime within your first year. This is what I did (didn't think I'd need it, at first) and this is what I recommend.
So the math is: Apple can sell you a $300 extended warranty, fix an $800 RETAIL problem for THEIR COST of $150, and you BOTH come out ahead in the end.
I'd get the warranty.
www.clarke.ca
Apple offered a accidental damage protection + extended warranty like Dell does.
Karma: The shiznight, mostly because I am the Drizzle.
Do not forget, that the Powerbook has one year warranty, you can get the AppleCare later during that first year.
I bought mine on the phone while requesting a replacement for my battery. I thing the two years additional warranty are really worth for a laptop (LCD!).
Of course if you have the chance to buy the PB together with a discounted/free AppleCare from a distributor or your university, well then it is different story...
weeeeed
This is my first Mac, and I've had it 2 1/2 years. I agree that it's worth it. I've only had 1 problem with my Mac, which was with the speakers. The tip ended up getting stuck in the port and messing up the audio connector., which ended up requireing a full MB replacement. I think it would have been easier to replace the part, but since it's built into the MB, there's not much of a way around it. That would have cost over $1000 if I had to pay for it. So my $200? $300? investment for a plan is worth it. And I still have another year on the plan. So if a HD fails, or my CD-RW burns out, my monitor has a tube blow,... voila.. fixed.
In general warantee's are worth it. While Mac's are built very well.. this is especially true for PC's who are often built with crappy OEM, all integrated crap.
Does anybody know if applecare is international or national? E.g., I buy Applecare in the US and move after one year to Japan... Can I call Applecare Japan and get my PowerBook fixed?
Will they have the info about my Applecare on that pb or do I need to provide them some proof? Any experiences with this???
ac
If you happen to go to University either as staff or a student, it may pay to check out your campus' computer shop. Here in Australia (not sure about the US) but the universities have an agreemen with Apple that all machines purchased through an AUC retailer automatically get 3 years warranty - no extra charge. I myself am getting an iBook in the next week or two from our campus' computer shop. Not only was it cheaper than the Apple online shop, but I effectively get 3 years of Applecare for free!
I've replaced a dead battery and a faulty hard-disk and repaired a broken wire which powered the display back-light, all outside warranty at my own expense.
The parts I've purchased (battery and HD) combined cost slightly less than Apple Care would have at the time I bought my iBook, but swapping the HD and fixing the display problem required completely disassembling the iBook, which is actually pretty difficult and, given my lack of technical expertise, could have been disastrous.
Now wash your hands.
I love Apple, but I have had three experiences with the PowerBook G4 400 (first Generation 15" Ti book) that makes me WISH I bought AppleCare.
(1) About 6-mo. after purchase - under warranty
The laptop decided that it would, about 75% of teh time, not respond to waking up or coming on when shut down. Sometimes the solution was to remove the battery and press and hold the power button and yell various curses at it until it booted up. This required sending in the laptop to Apple to have some hardware replaced (don't recall what - not power related).
(2) About 18 mo. after purchase - NOT under warranty
CD/DVD rader started making loud spinning sounds. would not always read a CD or DVD. Then one day, wouldn't read anything - ever. Hav eot have this fixed but since I bought an external firewire CD-Burner, I have not. Repaid cost is about $300 but will upgrade it to a Combo Drive (CDRW/DVD instead of existing CD/DVD only).
(3) Current issue - NOT under warranty
This is a SOFTWARE issue but requires AppleCare to have apple address it. All of a sudden, without me having recently made any software changes to my Mac, I can no longer unlock my keychain. This is bad as you have to use a keychain for things like Apple Mail and it makes eaverything much easier. I read some discussion on Apple's website about a toold to download from Apple that would fix it - it did not work. I then followed a Knowledge Base article to repaire and inaccessible Keychain - the proceedure did not work as described and I found others complaining of the same issue but there is no free Apple support for it - you must have a care plan or pay for support of it.
In summation - I wish I had paid the $150 or whatever for three years of support - would have been worth it.
I only came here to do two things; kick some ass, and drink some beer...looks like we're almost out of beer.
I can't believe I'm the first one to mention this because I'm not really a mac person, but there was a lengthy debate about this over at macnet2.com - I think the general consensus was that applecare wasn't worth it, but the compusa one was as well as something like www.safeware.com or safe something. Go over to macnet2.com and find it - there were two articles and discussions.
K
I didn't get it for my ibook and i've never needed to use it.
Sure, my ibook has taken a lot of damage, but AppleCare doesn't cover any of that.
You should be buying something other than Apple Powerbooks or looking closely at where and how laptops are used in your company.
The organization that I work for has approximately 1,100 laptops at the moment, mostly IBM, Dell and a few NEC and Panasonic machines. In the last year, we've had about 35 sent out for warranty repair.
Conformity is the jailer of freedom and enemy of growth. -JFK
But you don't have to get it right away, you can get it w/i the first year.
I've had 3 pBooks, and had problems with all of them... all fixed under apple care.
Just to be fair, I've had a Dell and IBM that have problems too.
All laptops get more physical abuse than desktops and should have at least a three year warranty.
IMHO AppleCare and extended warranties in general are not worth it (unless you cannot afford to replace the thing warranted if it fails).
Very few of my Macs have ever needed any repairs, and in every case the cost of the repairs was either (a) covered by the original warranty, (b) less than AppleCare for that computer would have cost, or (c) the cost of AppleCare for that computer would have exceeded its resale or replacement cost at the time it went wrong.
In general a computer is worth 50% as much a year after you buy it. AppleCare costs -- say -- $249 for a $1200 iBook, say 15-25% of the new computer cost, or 30-50% of the year old computer's cost. So you need between one in three and one in two computers to die in their useful lifespan to justify AppleCare.
Finally, AppleCare won't necessarily recover your lost data, which is the expensive part of losing a computer. Keep your data backed up and don't sweat the occasional dead box.
Bought an open-box 1 GHz PB and they wouldn't let me out of the store unless I got AppleCare. I was angered by that, but the discount for the open box canceled out the cost of AppleCare. I am very glad I have AppleCare. I've already had the mainboard, a ram stick, and two power supplies replaced. No questions asked, parts shipped overnight. Go Apple!
I second that. I have a 500mhz ibook (the first model iceBook). I had the mobo fixed for free under the 1 year warranty (bad ethernet connector). but later, the antenna wire developed a short so the wireless connection would go away whenever i opened the lid more than 90 degrees. the repair tech told me this is common with this version of ibook. cost me several hundred.
Roll the dice or not. but for me, when i finally trade the ibook in, i'll wait ~300 days, then buy the applecare (to spread the cost and delay the decision). but for a desktop, i wouldn't. as other posters wrote, it's a matter of moving parts and use. a laptop lid is a big, expensive moving part.
also, if you can swallow your geek pride and just want to get answers, i think applecare also extends (the excellent, in my small experience) phone support time.
My 2001 iBook recently took a bang on the side, and I was told it would be an estimated $500-600 to replace the DVD drive. I'm definitely planning to get AppleCare on the next one - although that may force me to get another iBook instead of a AlBook.
Clear, Dark Skies
A few months ago, the cabling on my power supply wore through to the wires at the point where the it enters the metal sheath. Impossible to repair at that point, so had to fork out 65 to get a new unit. Admittedly, the new one is a better design (though still with a potential problem with the wire at the sheath), but if it had happened anywhere else, it could have been fixed for free with what was lying about the house.
The battery, being at least 2 years old by now, has gone distinctly iffy (15% original capacity is a very optimistic guess). Thankfully I have very little call to use the iBook away from a power socket. I need a laptop because I spend half the year at uni in England and half the year at home in Northern Ireland and shipping a desktop back and forth would be a pain. If I did want to replace the battery, however, it would cost around 90 IIRC.
That's a total of 205 for repairs and a new battery. Applecare was, I think, 140 for the standard 3 years when I bought the machine. Slightly more than the repair, but since it would have given me a few new batteris, I think that in hindsight I could justify it.
Insurance is almost always a waste of money on small purchases, such as home electronics, light jewelry, used cars, lawnmowers, etc. The reason manufacturers offer this sort of insurance is that they make loads of money off of premiums, given that almost no one submits claims.
Think about it, the company sells you a piece of paper that says "Extended Warranty". Their cost: a piece of paper, an accountant, and a telephone receptionist. Your cost: a significant portion of the original purchase price. If you never buy small-time insurance, the saved premiums will more than pay for the occasional breakage.
And, yes, a personal computer is a small purchase. If you don't think so, you need to get a cheaper computer, and, then, spend your money on more important things, like your children.
Vote in November. You won't regret it.
MasterCard (and other credit cards probably too) have an automatic "extended warranty" that applies to stuff that you purchase with the card. I don't remember the exact details, but it either extends the manufacturers warranty an additional year or else doubles it.
I used my MasterCard when I purchased my PowerBook two years ago. The DVD drive developed intermittent problems about two months after the one year warranty ran out. The replacement cost for the slot loading DVD drive was around $400. I took the machine to an Apple dealer, paid for the repair with the same card, called an 800 number, filled out some forms and eventually was credited for the $400.
it takes ten minutes on a credit card. It's well worth it. Why? The scale of PB repairs is tiered - it starts at about twice the AppleCare price and goes up dramatically depending on the severity of the repair.
"Win treats sysadmins better than users. Mac treats users better than sysadmins. Linux treats everyone like sysadmins."
I got my bust internal disc drive replaced very quickly and for free on Applecare that I purchsed in Ireland. It was quick and hassle free so I'd say get it. You're playing the odds, as has already been noted above but furthermore you're making life easier on yourself should something go wrong. Over here I imagine it would be a lot of hassle and a lot of money to get a quick and inexpensive repair done on a TiBook.
Calculate the probability of a failure and factor in the resulting hassle and expensive of a repair. More importantly ask yourself how hard you'd kick your own ass if you didn't get it and something did go wrong. Ever not had something insured and have it break/get stolen? It's not a great feeling. The 'If only I'd insured it' sensation is usually harder to stomach than being a little short on your weekly purchases of luxury items by the cost of Applecare for a short while.
Get it.
I took my iBook in 5 months after purchase because it was not going into sleep mode properly, the cd burner was broken, the power adapter stopped working, and some other little things. It took 3 weeks for it to be finished. Apparently, well what Comp USA told me, was that they sent it to Apple, Apple sent it back with nothing fixed, so they had to send it again. Has anyone else had this kind of crappy service from Apple?
My iBook broke so much (hd, hd, mobo, power adapter, etc.) that Apple spent more on overnight shipping (via Airborne) than I spent on the protection plan.
With the new 12" PowerBook that I have, I've had to send it in once for problems with the optical drive. The iBook was finally replaced after being deemed a lemon.
I've had lots of problems and nothing but prompt, exceptional support.
Now, if they only offered this service for iPods... People have been having problems with the batteries and the drives, but there's no protection after a year, and it still requires a shipping/processing fee.
I own an iBook 2001...one of the original of the new all-white models. It unfortunately was somewhat of a lemon with a broken CD drive. During the one year warranty, it was shipped into Apple TWICE for the same problem. I must commend them on their hardware support, though. It's very, very good, and they have superfast turnaround time (less than one work week). They pay for shipping, they fix the problem, and everything's free. However, I decided not to buy AppleCare, as I couldn't justify spending all those hundreds of bucks. Since then, my computer has broken down several more times, and I've had to fix it myself. I replaced the hard drive, replaced the CD-ROM drive...even replaced the Airport antenna. (All three are extremely painful and laborious procedures.) I think the real question is: are you willing and able to replace hardware yourself? Or, are you willing to have to pay gobs of money for someone else to do it when you don't have a warranty? If your organization can provide that sort of in-house support, then forget it. Otherwise, just fork over the money and have Apple do the rest.
So, in other words, I haven't needed any extended warranty. My experience may have been influenced by that fact that the Pismo was the last of the black-bodied Powerbooks, and Apple had been working the bugs out of that model for two years.
YMMV.
I am a believer of momentum and curves.
I've had over 5 different models of Apple laptops over the years and I've had very few problems. The biggest issues, one machine's hard drive failed within the first year, and another's motherboard quit after 3 years. The first one, a 165c, was covered under warranty at no cost to replace. The second one, which didn't have AppleCare, a Pismo, required it to be returned to Apple for $400, but they replaced the monitor, which had many dents on the LCD from being packed in a bag with books, with a new unit along with a new board. It may be worth it to you considering the abuse that most of those machines sustain, but you should read the information carefully behind the coverage. Some machines aren't covered everywhere in the world, and their service may be much less satisfactory. Personally, for the price, it isn't quite a no-brainer, but if you plan on having the machine for a number of years and will beat on it, I would be tempted to throw down for the extra protection. Apple is quite good at stretching the limits of their warranty and will try to solve the problem as best as they can. A satisfied customer is a loyal customer.
-Yim
...when my Rev A TiBook had a crack in the hinge which produced three lines down the right side of the screen. Sent it in and they replaced most of the shell and the screen and keyboard (had some keys sticking).
My experience with Powerbooks are usually something fails after a year or two. On my Powerbook, my DVD failed after a two years. For my boss, his screen died on his earlier Powerbook after two years. Then, on his replacement Titanium powerbook, the dvd died and his screen has static line going through it. For me, it would cost $400 to replace. He would pay about $1200 to $1400. So, obviously, the apple care plan would have save us money. I will probably recommend he gets the plan for his next laptop.
You don't have to be smart to use a Mac, you just have to be smart enough to buy one
I had a Pismo. I have had the motherboard replaced, the screen replaced, 4 power supplies replaced. 4 DVD players replaced and I am sure there is more. It was well wortht he money for me. I finally sold it ot my daughter as it is all fixed up now. I upgraded to a used TiBook.
I probably could have gotten Apple to replace the battery (I've heard of it being done before), and it was probably the fault of OS X anyhow, by not turning everything off when in sleep on that particular model.
The DVD-ROM drive I simply gave up on and got a combo drive instead. But I was going on a trip in the interim, so I hacked up an old Dell laptop CD-ROM that I was lucky to find on short notice. Even then, a year or so later, the bezel from that drive broke and fell off, so I've got ugly CD-ROM guts showing on the side.
And while it didn't happen to this model, other Powerbook models in the past have had problems with the clutches that hold the screen up when open. That's not a cheap repair either.
Laptops get a lot of rough handling. My next Powerbook gets Applecare.
--
"Open source is good." - Steve Jobs
"Open source is evil." - Microsoft
- LCD Screen (Twice)
- AC Adapter (3 Times)
- Battery (Once)
I was really surprised how helpful Apple was. As an example, when my battery died, I called them thinking they'd tell me it wasn't covered. It actually was covered, and they shipped it to me in under 24 hours, without charging me a cent (Well, except for the AppleCare Plan). Well worth the money in my case.Applecare has saved my butt more times than I can count. I just recently connected my PBG4 (500Mhz) to an iMac via firewire target mode, and the logic board got fried on the PowerBook. One phone call to AppleCare and I had a shipping box at my desk the next day. I was without the PB for one whole day, and it came back in working order.
AppleCare covers little things like missing rubber feet (they send you the feet, you don't have to send the unit in for something that trivial,) up to the big things like logic board failures.
Keep in mind that while you do indeed have a year to decide whether or not to purchase Applecare, but you only receive AppleCare type services for the first 30 days. After that you have to take the machine to a local Authorized Apple Repair center for any claims. With AppleCare you place a phone call, and they send you a mailer.
For all that AppleCare is, it is not what it used to be. A local BBS admin here in Michigan had AppleCare on an Apple ][e that was used to run his BBS. The machine was killed by lightning from an unprotected outlet, and Apple replaced the machine under AppleCare.
-- Charles A. Plater
My wife is an artist and owns a PowerBook, but being a laptop and a PowerBook it is a little problem prone. So I would say if you plan on using the computer for more then a year (the base warrenty) then buy AppleCare, but wait until your warrenty period is almost finished, then extend for 3 years (assuming you still like the laptop).
I have an original iBook, and didn't purchase APP with it, but after the first repair it needed (let my cousin play with it, CD drive mysteriously wouldn't stay shut after), decided it was worth it. 3 power adapters (the connector end fritzed on two of them, the cord that attaches to the saucer fritzed on one), 2 batteries, 2 motherboards (power plug [and adapters, see above] fritzes because it's placed right where it sits on my leg, pressing up on it), a modem, a keyboard, and...I think that's all. I'm incredibly hard on my laptops, and I shudder to think how much those repairs would have cost without. Now that my APP has expired, I'm trying to be more careful ;) The only thing that APP didn't cover: when my boyfriend stepped on it, breaking the LCD screen. I literally bought APP on the last day possible, with borrowed money, because I knew I would need it, and it was worth it.
Just follow the day, and reach fo
You should always plan on getting an extended warranty. I have an iBook thats less than a year old and had some hardware failures so they sent me a replacement (and upgraded, brand new retail box!). Also with the replacement comes a new 1 year warranty. Before my year is up I'm definitely going to get AppleCare. I've heard stories of over 2 year old powerbooks being replaced with brand new ones because of failure, not bad. Apple really does they customer service well and AppleCare is really good. Free overnight shipping on repairs too, they send you a box next day, you tear off the outer label and put your computer in, then have it picked up and sent to Apple next day. Then they fix it and send it back next day. That ~$200 or $300 will be worth it eventually (i.e. your first hardware failure). --Ryan
(see subject)
i am sooo dissatisfied with my powerbook. 13 months old, both of its hinges have cracked off, its paint has peeled off due to problems with the primer reacting with my skin, and i've gone through 2 power adapters (on my third now). the frame of the laptop picks up stray charges and shocks me frequently...not from static, either. the polycarbonate frame is cracked and wearing thin, and the titanium shell is really flimsy above my combo drive. apple's products are beautiful, and so is their software, but, in my experience, my 15" PB is a total piece of crap. Proudly Made In China.
I think it is worth it for those with many machines, but maybe not for those with only one or two machines.
I admin a K-12 charter school with 55 Macs. My rule of thumb has been to buy AppleCare on anything with an LCD (from past experience with expensive LCD repairs) or anything portable (due to highly integrated circuitry, eg. dead Ethernet port requires whole new motherboard, etc.). Previously, LCD=Portable, but now with iLamps and LCD displays, I increasingly buy AppleCare for desktops as well. It is worth mentioning that AppleCare is significantly cheaper for desktops, and includes the display when purchased concurrently. I have found that the few repairs I need to effect tend to "pay" for all the AppleCare warranties I purchase. Because we have so many machines, we are likely to experience failures at a somewhat constant percentage. With a typical home user with one or two machines, it is more like a 50/50 shot that you will never use the warranty. That said, I bought AppleCare for my Cube at home...
Some other notes...
AppleCare also gets you free unlimited telephone tech support for three years. Many people have pointed out that you get a one year warranty with any new Mac, but telephone tech support is limited to the first 90 days (so-called "up-and-running" support). It's even worse when you consider that Apple used to start your 90 days from the time of the first call, but now start the 90 days from time of purchase
Apple will run you through the ringer with tech support before authorizing a repair. Be patient, try everything they suggest. Document, document, document. They will eventually give up and authorize repair.
It helps if you live near an AppleStore. Apple will send out a repair guy (or gal) but dispatch can take a week or more. For portables, Apple offers a very decent return service; they send you a box overnight, you pack your 'book and return it postage paid overnight, they fix and return to you overnight. Still taking your Mac into an Apple store means you can "supervise" the repair easier, and your stuff is less likely to get stolen, broken, or lost.
Watch out for a company called Warrantech. They are targeting Apple customers for their inferior, albeit legitimate, extended warranty product. What is shady about them is that they advertise via direct mail to Mac owners in a ambiguous fashion that leads many consumers into believing they are purchasing an extended warranty from Apple. Their price is as high as AppleCare, so they are no bargin.
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from Macintosh...
I've replaced the external case on my Rev. A tiBook *3* times. I wouldn't wish this fate on anyone, not even my worst enemy, not even once. It is a terrible task. It is like trying to get a deadly sharks guts put back into it once you've cut it wide open, and then hoping it still swims again later. *3* times.
I have two pieces left I cannot figure where they came from - but hey, my laptop still works somehow.
AppleCare is worth it, even though it is expensive, it is nice to know I'll never have to do such a thing again in my entire life.
; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
I would definately recomend getting it, but just be careful with your computer as well. Apple care only really covers failures and not damage. So if you break something, they don't have to cover it (and may or may not).
T Money
World Domination with a plastic spoon since 1984
I got AppleCare for my Nov 2001 iBook. It has since paid for: - 1 dying battery - 1 corrupted hard drive - 1 dead airport card (after the airport card warranty expired, the iBook's AppleCare covered it.) It was definitely worth it and I will buy AppleCare with every future purchase.
I've got a g3 powerbook(pismo). Great laptop -- I've never had any trouble with it until the last year or so of warranty (I got the 3yr apple care).
Some people may not have these problems, some will. I used my g3 as my main computer for over a year, brought it all over the place with me, etc etc. I got a lot of use out of it. But towards the end of the applecare some stuff started to flake, I got my screen, battery, dvd, and headphone jack replaced.
Quality product, stuff just gets old -- and I used it _alot_. The 3 year apple care has been very worth it. Don't be cheap about this stuff, the warranty pays off on laptops. Desktop machine? much less moving around, things are less prone to abuse. AppleCare is a must on laptops!
I've had a PowerBook for 2.5 years now and I decided in the last week of my original warranty to purchase AppleCare. I have not regretted it, nor will I ever again do without it for a portable computer.
Portables tend to get a lot of day-to-day grief that a desktop doesn't come close to.
My PowerBook G4 400 MHz has been to Apple for various repairs about 8 times over the past 2.5 years, most of which were not defects in the machine. I've been quite happy with my PowerBook and found the AppleCare to be a good selling point, too! I was able to wrangle a better price for it because it still has warranty coverage through April of next year.
Today I received my new 17" PowerBook G4, which I plan on purchasing AppleCare for, as well.
Jory
If you think about what a laptop has to endure in comparison to a desktop computer, it seems miraculous that they hold up as well as they do. It's much more likely that the little things that you tug on every day will wear out or break - I've had the AC adapter separate from the motherboard on two different PowerBooks (a 3400 and a G3 Wallstreet) which had to be replaced and that can't have been cheap. (I worked for Apple at the time so I don't know.) Now I've got an iBook and Applecare. I wouldn't buy any laptop without an extended warranty.
Apple Care is essentially an extended warranty with a few frills (good service and extra user technical support). My sister has AppleCare as our local LEA bought it for her with the computer and has found them very helpful
But in the UK even after the manufacturers warranty has expired normally after a year the retailer is liable should your computer develop a fault within 6 years (5 in Scotland) of purchase. This makes all extended warranties here pretty much a total waste of money.
Check out some of the info online. If you have this sort of problem in the UK you can get your local trading standards officer involved too.
http://www.consumereducation.org.uk/laws/english/Don't blame me - this
My experience with AppleCare was not as good as others. I had an intermittent problem with my iBook, and not only did they send it back unfixed after 2 weeks of downtime, they told me on the phone that they did not have time to look at intermittent problems, nor would they trust photographs of the problem that I included.
AppleCare is not insurance. Insurance covers all kinds of loss and damage, including spilling coke on the machine. If you want true peace of mind, buy a real insurance policy that covers accidents, misuse, abuse, whatever.
Sometimes AppleCare honors damage, sometimes they don't. One of the most valid complaints I've heard of AppleCare is that they are inconsistent. For every story I find of someone getting an obviously abused machine fixed, I've found stories of machines damaged by design not being honored.
So remember: AppleCare is NOT insurance, it's just additional warranty period, and there are any of a number of sellers of computer insurance that will cover loss from theft, dropping, even a can of coke on the keyboard.
At least in the UK, almost all extended warranties aren't worth the paper they're written on - AppleCare included. Not because the service is poor, but simply because under UK law, all consumer items sold must be "reasonably durable". If they fail early, you get your money back or a repair. The only reason stores get away with selling the warranties is that most people don't have a clue what their consumer rights entail.
Now what's meant by "reasonably durable" is not defined, but a motherboard or screen on a $2000 laptop failing within 2 (or even 3) years sounds pretty unreasonable to me. Even if it's been knocked about -- after all, that's the whole point of a laptop. So UK buyers -- if your Mac fails, march back down to the store where you bought it and demand a repair or your money back.
The author of this post asserts his moral rights.
Here's my suggestion: wait 11 months and then decide. After all, you can purchase AppleCare anytime in the first year. Just be sure to put it on your iCal so you don't forget.
Get the machine now. If you find something wrong with it in the first 11 months, purchase AppleCare, and then have them fix it. It'll cost about the same (~$300 for a typical repair), but obviously you'll be getting a better deal with AppleCare, since that will cover future repairs for free.
After 11 months, if nothing has required repair yet, you'll have a better idea of how important it will be to you. If the optical drive broke in 6 months, would that be the end of the world? Or could you afford the $300 to fix it? How long do you think you'll keep the machine? Has it tended to be reliable, or flaky? Battery problems? Stuck pixels? It will be much easier to decide at that point.
I bought a new 15" Powerbook about a month ago. Straight out of the box, the optical drive wouldn't burn discs - audio or data - and the error message I got was one the support people said they couldn't trace. Because the machine was less than a fortnight old, Apple declared it 'dead on arrival', immediately shipped me another machine, and sent a courier to pick up the old one. The new machine is running like a dream, and I'm tempted to wait until the end of the first year to buy AppleCare. On the other hand, there's nothing like being able to pick up the phone as soon as there's a problem and get an answer straight away. Certainly my experience with the standard warranty has been nothing but good.
You automatically get a year to think it over. A lot of the decision depends on how long you usual keep a computer/plan on keeping this one. I have a powerbook(am actively typing on it right now), with Applecare, and have been really happy that I've got Applecare. I tend to be rough/clumsy/unlucky with my stuff occasionally... and laptops don't jive with any of those. I broke the screen once by dropping it(long drop for a laptop), and had to pay for it(the rest of the thing was fine). All my other repairs though have been covered(broken backlight, weird harddrive problem, one or two problems with the DVD drive). That stuff got fixed, and both quickly and not out of my wallet. It's paid for itself several times over for me, and by the time it runs out early next year, I'll have gotten a new laptop(with another Applecare warranty).
*honk*
This is my sig. It's prescription, I swear. I need it for reading things... on the other side of things
I've had three PowerBooks (a Wallstreet, a Lombard, and now a 12" G4) and AppleCare has been worthwhile so far.
Both the Wallstreet and the Lombard had failures towards the end of their lives (i.e. two or three years in) which were fixed promptly and efficiently under the AppleCare programme, both in the USA and the UK. I've bought AppleCare for my 12", but haven't had cause to use it yet, but I expect I will need it if I'm still using the machine in a few years' time.
I use my PowerBook for all my work (I'm a travelling consultant), and so it is critical to me to get prompt repairs. If it's not your main machine you may be willing to wait longer for service or take the risk of having to pay for it somewhere.
Judging from the comments here, it seems the current Apple laptops are pretty flimsy. I've owned 4 laptops in my life, two thinkpads, one toshiba portege and a pismo powerbook. I've never had any hardware problems (other than batteries not holding charge) on any one of them. Most of these were used for 4+ years. I'm a moderate/intensive user, I treat laptops with a reasonable amount of care (but certainly not as if they're babies...). Have I just been lucky so far? Is this discussion skewed towards people with problems? Is the manufacturing quality of laptops getting worse? Based on my past experience, I would certainly not pay for extended waranty...
Definetly. You may want to purchase it later into the one year free warenty though.
I've had Applecare on four Powerbooks over 6 years. All but one Powerbook has had a problem (cracked screen, knackered logic board - twice, dead powersupply, dodgy CD drive, dead screen, cracked screw beds). Applecare has enabled me to keep them (all but one, a 1Ghz Superdrive TiBook which was lemoned and replaced under Applecare a month ago). Applecare got my cinema display LCD replaced when it developed a rash of dead pixels.
Recognising that Powerbooks are luxury items (you want reliable get a desktop, want cheap don't buy Apple), Applecare protects the luxury and prevents it becoming a burden. Highly recommended.
I've had the keyboard and display replaced over the past few months on my 2-1/2 year old PowerBook G4/400. Definitly worth the price of purchase.
My wife has had the keyboard on her 14" iBook replaced three times already due to keys snapping off. The printed letters are already wearing off the new keyboard. Again, very glad to have AppleCare.
Recommended on any iBook or PowerBook.
Depending on what rev of the powerbook you're getting it's a good idea. Also, consider what you'll be doing and where you live. If you're gonna be traveling a lot with it, it's especially worth it...or even if you're just taking it to work and back. If you have kids and it's gonna be at home all the time, you'll probably want it even if they're drinking from sippy cups. When I purchased my first apple laptop, I got a powerbook 5300cs right when it came out. It's still live and kicking, however, the thing was recalled b/c apple had switched their parts dealer(s) and stuff needed to get changed. Of course, the 5300cs was a big step in moving towards the newere trends on the mac laptops. Either way, I had to get 2 new displays, 3 new power adapters, new keyboard, and a new plastic back panel over a 3 year period. The screen alone ran $700 each time it had to be replaced. I took relatively good care of the thing too as the farthest it'd go was my desk to my bed...a whole 6 feet. Applecare is always worth it in my eyes and it's saved me about 2 grand. Keep in mind, I'm probably one of the few that's had the applecare come in a serious benefit (i've never had any problems w/my g3 since 4 or 5 years ago when I bought it). Especially for laptops, I'd definitely recommend it.
It's definately worth it. What if you drop it in 366 days? What would you do then?
I bought a 12" PB in february, when they came out, and by and large the machine has been flawless (and I don't regret it one bit).
But two things have happened, one which was cheap, and one which if fixed, would likely be hideously expensive. First, the cheap one: the little rubber feet simply won't stay on. And no matter what, the apple stores simply don't have any extras for the 12" PB (which brings up the question, why must every apple laptop use different feet?). I live in DC so there are two stores in reach for me (Tysons Corner and Arlington) -- I've gone about once every two weeks for the last couple months to ask if they have extra feet and they never do. Finally, last week, a nice apple "genius" gave me 15" PB feet and I superglued them on. I had to do some cutting, to get it to fit on the battery, but otherwise it's fine.
Now, the expensive part, which makes me wish I had apple care. back when it was snowing every day in dc (I walk 2 miles to work every day) I slipped on ice and fell on my back, landing right on top of my PB. it's fine, but I broke the magnetic latch thing. It kept working, albeit unreliably, until about 3 weeks ago when the latch finally just fell out.
So, the trouble is, to keep my PB asleep when I close the lid, I have to wrap a rubber-band around it, which has been independantly described as "ghetto" by all my friends and my GF.
So, I'd like to get it fixed, but I'm dead certain that it will cost a small fortune and require I get my machine shipped to california. I need my machine to get my work done, and three weeks without it will be, frankly, awful. And anyway, I'm certain it will be expensive, so I just can't afford it.
Now, I hear that with apple care it would probably be fixed faster, and probably be cheaper if not free.
So, well, as somebody who wishes he had apple care, I say "go for it". Yeah, warrantees are for suckers, yes, but then so is car/health/home/renter's insurance as long as nothing bad happens. When the sh*t hits the fan, though, you're going to wish you had.
[note, I'm still a proud PB owner -- I love that beautiful machine]
lorem ipsum, dolor sit amet
BTW, there was an article somewhere a while back that pointed out the AppleCare is not insurance. If you spill coffee or break your iBook, AppleCare won't do anything.
But - if you insure your iBook, your insurance will buy you a new iBook!
Go off and google for computer insurance ibook.
Here at my office, we have a number of Titanium Powerbooks. Hand my boss a laptop, and it's going to be destroyed. As such, all our 'books have 3 years of AppleCare on them. So far, we've had to send back two of them in the last 6 months. The first time we sent one back, it had a broken LCD. The screen hinges were broken and it was practically falling off. The wires were sheared. The case was scratched to hell. The keys were sticky. It was quite the mess. When we got the machine back, it wasn't only repaired, it was one model newer and 133mhz faster. The machine had been dropped off at an Apple Store, and was back within 2 weeks. Excellent.
:)
Second time around we sent in a 500mhz machine. It had obviously been dropped numerous times. The sides were dented and the hard drive was randomly spinning down and up. (Interestingly, OS X hardly skipped a beat) When this machine was returned about 18 days later (dropped it off at our local Apple Store) once again, we were bumped to a 667mhz machine.
Needless to say, our AppleCare has been well worth the price of admission. As of me typing this, the 667 has been abused and broken by my boss and is due for another round of repairs.
I hope they don't fix it, because I want to order a 17" model.
Both the iBook and 12 inch PB are a total pain in the ass the disassemble. Well, from my personal experience, not so much disassemble as re-assemble. A lot of shops charge a premium for replacing parts on these models because of the ammount of labor involved. I repair macs on a daily basis. There is really only one type of repair for a powerbook if you get it done at an Apple authorized shop: Replace the logic board. With logic boards running around $600, Applecare is well worth it for any Powerbook even if you are a techie. You should get your computer back in less than 48 hours.
Sweet Christ, that was frightening.
I bought a 12 inch PowerBook G4 last month (a wonderful little machine) and decided not to buy AppleCare for it. I can still change my mind for eleven months, I suppose, but reports of faulty units are few and far apart, so any repairs that I would need would probably come from `abuse'. The only thing that worries my is the `warping' thing: the case is slightly bent already. I'll have to see how that develops. And again: I can still decide to have it repaired or replaced for nearly a year from now.
I have owned 4 Macs, and never bought AppleCare (it might not have been availabel in my country at the time I bought them). Maybe I am lucky, but I never had any problem that AppleCare would have covered. The only thing I remember was a (partly) broken video board on a 6100 in its 5th year, so not covered by AppleCare anyway.
By the way, all of my machines were desktops. Laptops may be exposed to more hazards...
Though for anyone who can afford it Applecare is a good idea, let me make a few suggestions based on a few years of working in macintosh labs in a university setting. 1. If you buy with many credit cards you can get a doubled warranty up to a year. Theoretically, you get a one year from apple, that is extended to two years for free just by purchasing the computer with your credit card (check your credit card company for details). 2. Many new computers do have something go wrong, but usually it's noticeable within the first month or two of ownership, well within the initial coverage. 9/10 if a computer survives the first year, the chances of something breaking that applecare will cover is rare. 3. Laptops have variables more likely to fail than desktop machines. Batteries and power adapters are especially quirky beasts. Be wary of those, but also keep in mind, it's cheaper to replace them than to buy applecare. A battery can usually be had for about 120, an adapter for 70. 4. There are many third-party repair companies (some better than others) that do repairs a lot cheaper (and often better) than Apple's. They also have varying warranties on their work. These are often cheaper than apple warranties. 5. BIG POINT - APPLECARE IS NOT INSURANCE. It's a warranty. If you drop your laptop or spill coffee, apple is not going to repair it. Of course there are some examples of apple doing this, but technically this is not what applecare is designed for. It's designed for faults with the hardware, not damage to it caused by user behavior. Get a good insurance company like safeware.com. They'll cover a fully loaded powerbook against *ANY* accidental damage no matter whose fault for about $100 a year. Dropping a laptop rather than some hardware randomly failing is a more common repair. Good luck.
One thing I haven't seen discussed here, that convinced me that Applecare is a good idea, is the fact that under the std. waranty you need to bring / ship it in to an Apple rep or Apple. With Applecare, as long as you're within a 50 mile radius of an Applecare provider, service is on-site.
Also not mentioned yet is that the signup kit includes a "lite" version of Tech Tool. Not quite as good as getting the full package, but nice.
My wife's uncle bought a tiBook back in the fall and didn't get Applecare. He's out past the 90 days of phone support, so when he calls in to get tech support for a connection problem w/ his ISP after a move (they referred him to Apple) they want to charge him, I suggested he look into Applecare to re-activate phone support (as well as all the other "goodies").
MSRP - Tax, Title & Licence Extra Your Milage May Vary
Wednesday morning: The screen on my PowerBook G3 dies
After some time spent troubleshooting I call AppleCare.
Wednesday Afternoon: UPS guy arrives with empty padded box. I put my baby in. He takes it away.
Thursday: I'm miserable.
Friday morning: UPS guy arrives with my precious package.
The screen was fixed and the computer looked like it was cleaned and detalied. Joy!
AppleCare is always worth it on a new Mac, because you get worry-free operation for three full years, but it's especially good on PowerBooks. They are small and thin and have a lot of delicate, portable components that you don't want to be paying to replace or repair.
A new PowerBook bought right now will give you a lot of service over the next three years so get the AppleCare and then work the computer hard.
There may be other items where you don't want the extended warranty, but if there is a display involved, like a Mac or a big TV, then it's worth it to let someone else be responsible to keep it working for multiple years.
Apple service is also good and worth paying to extend.
Buying any kind of extended warranty is playing the odds. But here's a good way to think of it.
There are three curves that the manufacturer, when offering an extended warranty, is managing.
The first curve is the probability of a malfunction appearing in the item due to a manufacturing error. This starts high on the left side of the x-axis, descends rather quickly, then is a slow angle off to infinity.
The second "curve" is really a flat line. It represents the chance of a malfunction due to straight "chance."
The third curve starts where the x- axis and y-axis meet, increases relatively slowly, then shoots up rather markedly well along the x-axis.
When you put them together, they take the form of the profile of a bathtub.
Built-in warranties handle the first curve rather well -- so you're already covered there.
Extended warranties tend explicitly not to handle the third curve -- it's too expensive for the manufacturer.
In other words, extended warranties cover the part of the curve that is the lowest chance of a mulfunction/breakdown. This is great for the manufacturer because there is a good chance that the program will be profitable and the cost to the consumer is low enough that people will buy the warranty.
Is it good for you, since you're covering the area when there is the least chance for a malfunction? As with most things, that depends. Is the equipment mission-critical? (I know my laptop is.) Do you head straight into a snot-flying rage when something breaks? (i.e. what is your temperment?) Do you like taking chances (and not buy the warranty)? (temperment, again)
Take all these into account before making the call. I know that for me, I just include it in the cost of the laptop and never look back. The piece of mind is worth it for me. (temperment, again)
I have had my powerbook since feb of 01. It has traveled by rail & car from florida to boston to omaha & back & I have never had a reason to use applecare. but i have felt better having the applecare since I have traveled so much with it. As one poster said, it is insurance for that just in case scenario. In the past I have traveled with an hp & a dell & the powerbook has held up better than both. The dell did better than the hp but I wonder if that was luck more than anything.
On my ibook I went with the compusa 3 year service plan. Compusa covers screen damage no questions asked. Or at least they did. Either way the extra warranty is a good idea on a powerbook. I think everyone I know who has a PB has had work done on it under warranty at some point.
Your ad here ask me how!
No Applecare for you. NNNNyyaaa NNNNNnyyyyyaa!
-A.G.
Apple Board Member
Florida Hater
-Ocelot Wreak.
"I figure you're here 'cause you need some whacko who's willing to stick his finger in the fan. So who are we helping?
A lightning strike in my neighborhood a year ago somehow managed to damage the motherboard in my family's G4 tower. My father brought it to the Apple store and they estimated the repairs at being ~$800. Of course, it ended up being covered by AppleCare.
I'm willing to put down $200 under the assumption that at some point within three years I'll make it back in the form of covered repairs. I've recommended it to everyone whom I've switched to Macs, too.
"First you gotta do the truffle shuffle."
I bought a Powerbook G4 in December of 2002, and decided not to get AppleCare with it. So far it has taken one not-so-elegant dive onto hard ground from 1m high, without any problems (all ports and drives still work fine, display is still perfect). At the time of purchase, I had the opinion that if these computers are as good as everyone says they are, the warranty shouldn't be necessary. For the most part, I still believe this to be true even now.
Oh my god -- black smoke just started coming out of my laptop!!! It's getting real hot all of the sudden! The capacitors are melting! AAARRRGH!!!!!! (Just kidding)
Slashdot's first reaction to VMware
I got a 15" TiBook in March, and at the time the Applecare bootable CD that contains TechTool Deluxe refused to boot the TiBook. 6 months later they have yet to update the CD to be able to boot my computer.
I also sold my first G4 Powerbook and the transfer of the extended warranty was a major factor in the sale, I was told by the person who bought it.
Finally, you will find that if you need tech support for Apple peripherals that are outside of their warranties, you can use the Powerbook's extended warranty to avoid paying for tech support calls, such as for an AirPort base station or something similar.
Definitely worth it for me.
The hinges on the cover ARE known to fail. My Chiroprator's 15 inch Ti snapped the hinge the other day when we opened it.
the following info relates to the 15 inch model. The 12 and 17 have different opening mechanisms and may have different problems.
The screen is BOUND to get key imprints into it. To prevent this, I left the plastic cover on the screen and with a backing piece of metal and a straight edge and a knife, trimmed the clear plastic protective screen cover so that it protects the REAL screen and there is no extra plastic going outside the display.
The rubber nubs on the edge of the keyboard WILL rub off as a result of use. This makes it more likely that your screen will get keys etched into it.
Two products that I STRONGLY recommend are the rubber nubs to place on the border around the display and the hinge lubricator from RadTech.us.
They have kept the hinge smoothly operating and have given enough clearance for the display to avoid key etchings from rough treatment.
The products are called Wildeepz and TiGlide Hinge Conditioner.
http://www.radtech.us/
They are cheap and really do the trick.
The other issue is with scratching - the painted surface of your TI will scratch so be careful and get a good case for it.
Anyway, my Chiropractor has applecare and is getting the hinge, a bad battery and other issues fixed at no charge. But he's without his computer for a week.
Hope this helps.
- Zav - Imagine a Beowulf cluster of insensitive clods...
I had my harddrive crash within the first year and got it replaced for free (didn't get some of my data back, though). The DVD drive went bad after the warranty expired. Wish I had bought it now!
About a year ago, I did a rough analysis of AppleCare on the value of a PowerBook. I did a search of EBay's closed auctions for PowerBooks with and without AppleCare.
As I recall, systems that came with AppleCare sold on average for $250 more than those without. Since AppleCare if fully transferable with the machine, prospective buys place a premium on systems with AppleCare. For someone like myself who replaces my PowerBook every 2 to 2.5 years, I believe that this boost in resale value nearly pays for the AppleCare.
Plus, I have used AppleCare three times over the years. In each case, Apple overnights a shipping box. I send the system back at my connivence, and have had the repaired system returned in less than 48 hours. Apple has also been very lenient about how they define "owner abuse" and "normal wear". While I am gentle with my PowerBook, the fact is that it is my primary system and I carry it with me everywhere I go.
Lee
I don't want to start a holy war here, but what is the deal with you Mac fanatics? I've been sitting here at my freelance gig in front of a Mac (a 8600/300 w/64 Megs of RAM) for about 20 minutes now while it attempts to copy a 17 Meg file from one folder on the hard drive to another folder. 20 minutes. At home, on my Pentium Pro 200 running NT 4, which by all standards should be a lot slower than this Mac, the same operation would take about 2 minutes. If that.
In addition, during this file transfer, Netscape will not work. And everything else has ground to a halt. Even BBEdit Lite is straining to keep up as I type this.
I won't bore you with the laundry list of other problems that I've encountered while working on various Macs, but suffice it to say there have been many, not the least of which is I've never seen a Mac that has run faster than its Wintel counterpart, despite the Macs' faster chip architecture. My 486/66 with 8 megs of ram runs faster than this 300 mhz machine at times. From a productivity standpoint, I don't get how people can claim that the Macintosh is a superior machine.
Mac addicts, flame me if you'd like, but I'd rather hear some intelligent reasons why anyone would choose to use a Mac over other faster, cheaper, more stable systems.
I bought an iBook and a couple months later, the power adapter (the power cord, basically) went out. Apparently, this is pretty rare. So I drove all the way down to the Apple store where I bought it to get a replacement. The guy tried it out on a working laptop and confirmed that it was broken, and not my computer. All fine.
Then he tells me that they don't have any extra in stock. They have ones they could sell me, sure (for some stupid amount of money - $90 or something), but none for repairs that they could just give me. Yes, I know that stock for repairs and retail stock are different, but that's bullshit. If I go to Home Depot and buy a drill that doesn't work, they let me exchange it for a new one right off the shelf. If the cord for the drill doesn't work, hell, they take a new one out of a box, swap it with my old one, and let me be on my way. Okay, that never actually happened, but I bet they would. Here, let me give you a true example: I bought a Strat at Guitar Center a while ago. After taking it home, I noticed that the knob for the pickup switch was missing. The next time I came in, I mentioned it to them. They just pulled one off a demo model and gave it to me, no questions asked. Same thing with my Ozone keyboard. One of the nubs was missing, right out of the box. The guy pulled one off a demo model and gave it to me. Needless to say, I do all my music shopping at Guitar Center.
So here I am in an Apple store in the mall, an hour away from home, with a now useless laptop. I ask if I can swap my broken adaptor with one of the many working demo ones. "No." I ask if I can leave it, and he'll "fix" it (basically order another one), and I'll pick it up later. He tells me I can, but I have to leave the computer too. WTF? Yes, that's right, they don't have any forms or whatever that say "broken power adaptor." Just "broken computer." The tech guy tells recommends I call Applecare (which I could've done from home). I ask if he can call from the store, so I can get to them directly. So he calls the fucking 800 number. I'm on hold for like 20 minutes. They say, they're going to send me a new cable/adaptor, and I just put the old one in the box and send it back, postage paid. As long as I send it back within 2 weeks ( i think it was 2 weeks), I won't get charged. Yeah, that's right. They made me give them my credit card #.
Well I get the new one in a couple days, and it works beautifully. I pack up the old one and peel away the mailing label till I see Apple's address showing. I bring it to the local package delivery place. They tell me they can't send it out. They do Airborne, but they can't send it. It's not a return slip. Well, I'm about to move to Boston and I can't be bothered with looking all over for another delivery place. So I move. I call Apple to make sure there's nothing wrong with the label. They tell me I probably peeled off one too many layers, but I swear I don't remember the second one having their address on it. But they tell me that if I wrote their account # on it, it should be fine. So I look up the nearest Mailboxes etc., and go there. It's turned into a UPS store, and they don't do Airborne. Fine. So I go back home and actually call up the Mailboxes Etc. store this time. One after another, they've turned into UPS, or they simply don't do Airborne (all this time, days are passing, mind you, because I'm spending most of my time looking for a job, which as we all know, isn't as easy now as it was in '98). Apparently there's one in fucking Southie. Right, like I want to spend half the day on the T.
So I'm getting nervous that the 2 weeks will pass soon, so I say fuck it, and take it to the Post office and mail it out of my own pocket. Not more than $5, IIRC. Then I get my credit card statement. Apparently, I missed the deadline, because the fuckers charged me $115. At a time when I DON'T need extra charges on my card, you can be sure.
And now it's been like a month. I was hoping they'd get it and refund my card, but it doesn't look like that's going to
c-hack.com |
This is a machine that gets hauled around, moved, etc. It's basically more fragile than desktop systems. Everything is a bit closer to the edge.
I have a first-generation TiBook ordered the day they were announced. I've had 3 keyboards, a new disk drive, and new memory. Hasn't cost me a dime and Apple has gotten the machine turned around very rapidly.
For me the AppleCare warrenty running out is the mark of when it's time to consider buying a new laptop. By that time there should be 1.5GHz machines at least anda much bigger disk drive etc etc.
I was doing recearch at the library of congress in DC. I had my dad's 15" Ti with me. I had so much weight in shoulder bag that the hinge broke. My papers were fine but the Ti would not load CD-R's or burn them anymore, the case had a big fat bend in it, and there was a crack runing almost all the way through the case where the screen was. Sent it in to appple care and they replaced all the case parts and a new cd-r. 4000% worth it! It makes me want to get a mac someday!
My first PowerBook was a G3/233. A year after the warranty expired, it developed audio and battery charging problems that cost me several trips to CompUSA for repairs, four weeks of total downtime, and about $900. More than I wanted to spend, but not near as much as the cost of a new iBook, and most notably, a lot more than the AppleCare extended warranty.
Absolutely, positively, buy the AppleCare policy. Given the expense of Apple notebook parts, it more than pays for itself the first time you might have to use it.
WHOA!! Ken and Barbie are having TOO MUCH FUN!! It must be the NEGATIVE IONS!!
I bought a G4 powerbook about a year and a half ago, and about a month ago, the cdrom drive failed. I called up apple, and though I did not purchase additional apple care, they replaced my drive free of charge, and they had it back to me in about 4 days. Though the process was smooth, I'm sure they will treat you even better if you have applecare.
I agree with the previous post about buying the warranty and then selling the unit after two years. I did exactly that and having the warranty still on it made the unit much easier to sell.
The most important point to consider is the battery. The battery will wear out. It's not a question of 'if' as much as 'when'. You'll notice the battery life degrade slowly over time until their advertised 5 hours is more like less then one hour. That's when you call Apple and get them to send you a brand new battery for free. How much does a battery cost? Add a little more for piece of mind and I think the decision is clear.
Oh, and BTW, the person who responded that the warranty covers physical abuse is sadly mistaken. As an ex-Apple Service Guy, I can tell you as a matter of fact, that some parts (such as the outer plastic molding, called a 'bezel' or 'casing') are simply not covered. Apple will not allow the part order to exist as a part of a warranty claim so an Apple service shop can not order the part without paying for it.
Another common repair is the data cable that runs from the base of the laptop to its display. This cable runs through the hinge and its replacement was one of our most common PB repairs because of the nature of the usage. The cost was usually less than $200 CDN but still, wouldn't free be better?
My iBook went through: two hard drives, two lcds, four logic boards, two batteries, a power inverter and various and sundry other bits, all within its first year. All problems speedily repaired by Apple at no cost to me. Opting for Apple Care to extend the hardware coverage beyond the first year was something i didn't have to think twice about.
So, unless you think you're going to need telephone tech support beyond the initial 90 days -- which I never did -- I would advise you to see how it goes over the course of the first year and make your decision based on that. I'm told that Apple doesn't like it if you don't have continuous coverage, however, so if you do decide to go with AppleCare, make sure to purchase it before the anniversary of your powerbook's purchase.
Given that any single hardware repair on an out of warranty powerbook is $379, and the cost of 3 years of powerbook applecare is $350, even if you only need it once, it's a deal.
I bought an iBook about a year ago, and chose not to get AppleCare - because the UK retailer I bought it from offered a two year warranty. Since I thought I might be replacing the laptop after two years anyway, I went ahead.
Since then, I've managed to get 200 from the reatiler for one dead pixel and a new battery with no fuss at all - something I doubt I'd have been able to do easily with AppleCare. Since AppleCare would have basically only extended my existing warranty by one year, it didn't make much sense to purchase.
I bought AppleCare extended coverage, but when I accidentally jerked my laptop off my desk when I tripped over the ethernet cable, I was told that it was not covered and that it would cost me $700! Luckily somebody recommended a place in Fremont that fixed it for $250. OK, admittedly the damage was totally my fault, but accident-prone people should not assume that their mishaps will be covered... and if they are not, they should probably get their equipment fixed somewhere other than Apple or expect to pay a lot.
It's up to you, but I have had (as the Mac Admin for a large company) a number of problems in the past with Powerbook screens. Mind you this is mainly due to individuals who care about their machine as much as Rumsfeld cares about Western European diplomacy. Since you are asking the question, then I will assume that you are a careful person.
Anyway, we have had a number of problems with screens in the past which is quite an expensive fix. Screens will cost at least 1000 if you are found at fault. Apple is really really good (anecdotes aside) about not pointing fingers at you for repair liability which is a blessing you will not receive with other companies' support.
In light of that info, I would recommend the support contract for the machine because invariably 2.5 years from now...
Let's say that you're a chump, and you have a cheap renter's policy. If you have, say, $20k in possessions, live on non-coastal property, get a $1,000 deductible, and a policy with, say, Travelers, then you'll pay about $200/year for coverage. Not a bad deal. Unless you start building up claims. If you file a claim for the $2,000 loss of your Powerbook, getting you $1,000 in coverage, your premium on renewal is going to climb to something closer to $400/year. If you've already had a claim, or you have to use your insurance for something important (robbery, fire, whatever), then your premium could climb to many hundreds or thousands of dollars each year. Even if you go to a new carrier, that claim history will follow you around. If you have a decent carrier, or you own your home, your annual policy will cost much more, maybe a grand or two each year. In that case, filing a claim for spilling soda in your laptop is really stupid, because your premium could go up to $3k-$4k annually, or the carrier could simply non-renew your coverage, since you're filing what amounts to nuisance claims.
Or you could use insurance for what it's meant for -- catastrophic losses. A tip: If you can do without whatever you've lost, or you can afford to replace it yourself, don't file a claim. You'll regret it later.
-Waldo Jaquith
I personally own a PowerMac 6500/250Mhz w/128 MB RAM. I've had my share of problems on that outdated OS 9, but it seems to run circles around any PC equivilent. If the computer is taking 20min to copy 17MB, then the problem is probably a corrupted disk or OS. Your filesystem may be out of whack or something. I have a friend who has a 350Mhz PII and that thing can't even play a CD using Windows Media Player w/o skipping constantly, let alone try to render visualizations. My PM runs iTunes flawlessly with increadible visualizations for how old the computer is.
Now, we come to a major issue. If you are using a Pre-G3 Mac, and a pre-OS X OS, you are going to have a lot of problems. You fall under a common misconception that "Macs are old" b/c you haven't used a semi-modern one. I'm wondering if the OS you are using is even above 8.1.
Next, we come to the question of stability. Yes, pre-Mac OS X OSes were prone to crashing, but compared to Wintel machines, the crashes were a million times easier to fix. It is a sinch to remove an extension and solve a conflict.
Finally, we come to the idea of how to solve the problems. Fist, run disk first aid. Second, install a semi-modern OS (9.1 should suit your needs). Third, give the computer a chance, and it'll probably grow on you.
I came, I saw, She conquered.
here are the two experiences where AppleCare paid for itself:
1. 15" PowerBook Ti - trackpad and mouse button imprinted on the screen - replaced for free due to AppleCare.
2. PowerMac 733 - replaced with 867 because the repair would cost more than replacement. (it was a floor demo from a Fry's Electronics store)
Both of these have paid for all the AppleCares I've ever bought. It also increases resale value - I never keep a computer 3 years.
My PowerBook 800 failed twice in one year. The problem seemed to come from the motherboard. And they changed the motherboard the second time (the first time, they did nothing just to check in and out even if I wrote a very detailled report shipped with the machine and have had contacted and Apple employee friend of mine).
This happenned in the first year. My 1 year warranty is over since, err... yesterday. I bought AppleCare with the PowerBook. From now on, I'm on AppleCare Extended and, seeing what happenned in one year (two motherboard-related serious problem), I definitively says YES! to AppleCare (avoid distributors guarantee such as FNAC in France or, say, compUSA or others. They basically send the unit to Apple but you have to wait for the unit going from the vendor to Apple and back so it is longer and not cheaper).
Plus, a laptop is an integrated computer, you cannot change a lot by yourself.
A laptop is a fragile computer. A PowerBook is fragile even by laptop standards (contrary to iBook, wich is considered as robusts). Thus, a PowerBook is especially prone to problems. You can play odds with an iBook, not with an more expensive and more fragile PowerBook (look at the prices for PowerBook warranties, they are higher than for iBook, there is a reason)
-- Force & respect, Vrykolaka
I recommend AppleCare (or something similar)! The mainboard of my "old" 400 mhz TiBook died after ca. one year and nine month! :(
:-)
For the new 12.1 inch PowerBook I bought a three year warranty extension from the dealer (including insurance against all kinds of things including theft); it costs only one fourth of what Apple charges you for for the original AppleCare (100 Euro instead of more than 400) and I can live without the phone support...
AppleCare has saved me thousands in cash, and weeks in time. Their definition of what's covered is in practice "anything". Cracked a motherboard by twisting my PB, no problem. Pulled my power supply out by the cord too often, no problem. And so on. -- Foo
Most of this has been in the first year (so far ...), but I would feel insecure without the coverage.
I used to say Apples are the Mercedes of computers, but now I think the Jaguars (always in the shop). But as others here have said, they are very fast on repairs and cover a lot.